Ok, now we have here a real good conversation about snow cat use and it's 76 degrees outside. I like it. First I don't disagree with anything that has been said on this thread but I do think the more a person new to off road living hears the better off they will be. I see it time and time again, in my neck of the woods, when people are going to live the bush life style without a real clue as to all the difficulties. It takes a tremendous amount of preparation and there is a huge learning curve if they are to succeed. I would honestly have to say at least 90% of the folks who give it a try living off road around here don't even make it two years. It's lonely, hard, frustrating and never ending work. I prefer it.
On the access issue I was saying "first" get the snowmobiles, they are by far the best over the snow mode of transportation in most situations and there is not one single person in my community that does not have one, if they live off road, even the die hard greenies have this "tool" as they call it. There are only 5 snowcats in a 30 mile radius that I can think of( I've got an eye for these things) and I own 3 of them. One of the others I use to own and it sits idle and in disrepair because the owners didn't relise what it takes to keep one in working condition. The other one sits idle in the guys yard and has not moved once in the 3 years he has owned it. This is a very popular winter recreation area, for Alaska, and there are hundreds of remote cabins with a good sprinkling of homes.
It baffles me there aren't more snow cats used around here, or in Alaska in general, but they are far and few between but the snowmobile is a whole other issue. One thing I think a person who is new to snowcats needs to understand is that they are generally unreliable. That's right I said, it but let me explain what I mean. For MOST people they are unreliable unless you luck out and get one that is fairly new(unlikely) or has just been rebuilt by someone who know what they were doing. Then you must keep up with the maintenance and repairs or they quickly become unreliable. I compare them to a airplane that mated with a boat.
Every single snowcat I have owned (7) has needed to be completely disassembled, repaired, parts replaced and reassembled to be reliable. 3 of them I bought from reputable factory dealers from out of state and was guaranteed they were ready to work when in reality they were ready to be work on. I owned 2 bombies, loved and worked them like no other. I had a 76 Spryte and it would be high on my list of access cats. The others are the big alpine cats that I use for contract grooming and it takes 3 of them to keep 1 and 1/2 going.
As far as safety due to break downs any machine is only as reliable as the owner keeps it and the factory made it. I carry the essential survival gear on both my snowmobile and snowcat permanently, never leave the yard without it. A broken down snowcat becomes a cold snowcat very quickly. Unfortunately I have seen people walk away( and some die) from stuck or broken machinery when if they had the knowledge to fix or get unstuck would have been home sleeping in a warm bed. If you are not mechanically inclined I would not recommend a snowcat as a primary mode of transportation unless your neighbor is running a snowcat repair business. Snowmobiles can be bought new, with a warranty and the dealers are usually not too far away, once you get to the road that is.
I actually think Cletis's idea of a tracked truck/suv(hybrid) would be a good way to go if he used a snowmobile or snowcat to groom his trail after a deep snow. He could also groom with the hybrid while it is snowing or after light snows with good results. The key to a good trail wether used by cats or snowmobiles is keeping a good base and then keeping on that base and that sometimes requires having more tools than beer.
I have first hand experiance with both they both have there place. Yes they ATT will easily climb in 3-4ft of powder. We will not tell Mtntopper that though......
