Snowcat

Major manufacturers are PistenBully (Germany), Prinoth (Italy), and Tucker (United States).

In addition to grooming snow they are used for polar expeditions, logging in marsh areas, leveling sugar beet piles, medical evacuations, and seismic studies in the wilderness.

The cabs are optimized for use in sub-zero weather or cold conditions worsened by wind chill, with strong forced heating and a windshield designed to be kept clear of internal and external ice or condensation through a variety of means such as advanced coatings, external scrapers (windshield wipers of a modified type), and internal ducts blowing hot air on the surface.

The forerunners of the snowcat were the tracked "motors" designed by Captain Scott and his engineer Reginald Skelton for the Antarctic Terra Nova Expedition of 1910–1913.

[2] Theodore P. Flynn and the United States Forestry Service in Oregon developed a snow tractor in 1937.

This specialized over-snow vehicle dominated the snow transportation market until the 1960s when other manufacturers entered the business.

[5][6] In the 1955–1958 Fuchs and Hillary Transantarctic Expedition, four modern snowcats were used, produced by the Tucker Sno-Cat Corporation.

Between 1956 and 1968, Kristi Company made two-track snowcats in Colorado but ceased production with fewer than 200 total units sold.

[8] The Spryte, sold later as 1200 and 1500 series machines, are still popular in commercial, industrial use, and as privately owned snowcats.

[11] In 1972 Japanese Ohara snow groomers worked the Sapporo Winter Olympic Games.