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starmac
12-24-2014, 02:13 AM
The saw mill I have been hauling logs too lost a dozer through the ice. I have hauled a couple hundred loads across, in this exact spot, but I would have balked at crossing now, we just have not had any cold weather to speak of this year.
I'm just glad it went through befor it got out in deep water.

The news story says the fuel tank is above the water, cat must have relocated them since I have run a dozer. lol

http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/bulldozer-falls-through-ice-on-nenana-river/article_ec032758-8aed-11e4-8b89-0fc33c8ff0b2.html

freebullet
12-24-2014, 02:21 AM
Yeah I'd say that's a big oooops. No ice bridges for me lol. We do have plenty of interesting adventures without adding ice bridges.

ozarkhillbilly49
12-24-2014, 02:23 AM
hope no one was hurt. merry Christmas. try to stay warm up there in the north country.

lightman
12-24-2014, 09:00 AM
That was a pretty neat show about those guys driving across the ice. Is that what you do? My hats off to ya!

Hickok
12-24-2014, 09:06 AM
Starmac, I agree with you on the fuel tank. I run heavy equipment, mostly CATS, and they never changed the location of the fuel tank on the ones I have run. That fuel tank is under water.

Happy no one was hurt or worse!

dakotashooter2
12-24-2014, 10:54 AM
LOL The DEC rep says the tank is above water, then in the next paragraph says he has not done an on site evaluation yet.................. OOOOOOK

bikerbeans
12-24-2014, 12:00 PM
The dozer probably has LGP tracks and is floating on the surface.:rolleyes:

BB

Hardcast416taylor
12-24-2014, 04:33 PM
Maybe it`s one of those new dozers that was made with "lightweight" iron and steel?Robert

rmatchell
12-24-2014, 04:43 PM
I would love to hear that call to the boss.

starmac
12-24-2014, 05:07 PM
I'm betting it was the bosses idea. lol I would bet the operator would have not started across, unless there was a boss telling him the ice was thick enough. lol The funny part is the D7 is light compared to the processoer they have to get across. lol They may be screwed on that sale for the year, if we don't get some cold weather, or they get some water trucks out there.

tomme boy
12-24-2014, 05:56 PM
Heck that happens here, DNR will fine $5K/day to get it out

starmac
12-24-2014, 06:40 PM
You can net, if it floats any oil or fuel out of it, it will turn into a major deal here. Heck, a fuel spill on dry ground here runs up into the millions.

leeggen
12-24-2014, 09:22 PM
Starmac I keep waiting to see you hauling logs for one of them loggers on TV. LOL Yes I would be very nervous about hauling acrossed the ice------anytime!
CD

MT Gianni
12-24-2014, 09:42 PM
I know a man that rode a scraper down eight feet while wearing carhart coveralls. He says the swim up took a long time as he dislocated his shoulder.

MaryB
12-24-2014, 10:06 PM
Been a bunch of ice fishing houses and a few trucks through the ice here in MN. It has been way to warm and there is no way I would trust that ice yet. And the DNR here has a hefty fine for every day in the water. Friend used to ice dive recovering cars/trucks/bodies, quit after recovering a family and 5 kids under 10.

starmac
12-24-2014, 10:22 PM
We had 2 pickups go through on the chena last week. I never saw the draw to cross it. I cross when we need to be on the other side, but the chena ice bridge only saves you 8 miles by dry land.

fast ronnie
12-24-2014, 11:30 PM
My old D-4's fuel tank is about level with the arm rest, and there's a full headache rack on it. I think if that fuel tank was under water I would have other things on my mind!

TXGunNut
12-25-2014, 12:59 AM
Been a bunch of ice fishing houses and a few trucks through the ice here in MN. It has been way to warm and there is no way I would trust that ice yet. And the DNR here has a hefty fine for every day in the water. Friend used to ice dive recovering cars/trucks/bodies, quit after recovering a family and 5 kids under 10.

Cold water preserves bodies quite well for several days. They look quite life-like and it can be haunting for the folks that recover them. I hope your friend has someone to talk to about this. He knows his efforts provided closure for survivors but some images last a lifetime.

MaryB
12-25-2014, 01:24 AM
Actually was a she, yes she talked with people after every ice dive to recover a body but after 20 years she said enough. She was one of the few certified ice recovery divers for the state at the time. She had one happy ending, family all got out except a 1 year old in a car seat. Buckles jammed. At that age kids go into this hibernation mode where the body protects itself. After 10 minutes in 32 degree water they brought him back to life. He went on to grow up normally.

We were up on MilLacs one year walleye fishing. Ice conditions were iffy for trucks so we paid the resort to run us out in the snow cat. Guy about 100 feet away drove out in a new Ford Ranger. We heard a crack, water shot up our holes and I saw the Ranger go gliding by into deeper water as it sank. Lucky nobody was in it at the time. But the guy was hurting, car insurance stops at the edge of the ice unless you get a rider plus it cost about $10k to recover the truck.

starmac
12-25-2014, 01:33 AM
Starmac I keep waiting to see you hauling logs for one of them loggers on TV. LOL Yes I would be very nervous about hauling acrossed the ice------anytime!
CD

Will never happen, where they film axeman is in the real log woods, we are amature big time compared to them.
I was filmed several times, when they filmed Ice road truckers, but was always edited out.

starmac
12-27-2014, 01:01 AM
I heard a little more about this today, from a source that should know (but you know how that is).
He told me they had measured the ice at 17 inches and marked it off for him to cross, he took it on his own to go where he thought it looked better, and found 6 in ice. If that is the case, the operator might be looking for a job. lol

TXGunNut
12-27-2014, 01:20 PM
Looking for a job might be best for all involved. Second-guessing folks who took the time and trouble to work out a safe crossing puts him and the equipment he operates in jeopardy.

Mtnfolk75
12-27-2014, 04:19 PM
Starmac, have you ever been to Coldfoot Camp? My 34 year old daughter & her better half might be going to work up there. She has worked the last 7 summers at Creekside Cabins near Denali, tried working the winter in 2010/2011 at Kotzebue, she lasted one 21 cycle. Came home for her 21 days off and never went back .... :|

wlc
12-27-2014, 04:59 PM
Starmac, have you ever been to Coldfoot Camp? My 34 year old daughter & her better half might be going to work up there. She has worked the last 7 summers at Creekside Cabins near Denali, tried working the winter in 2010/2011 at Kotzebue, she lasted one 21 cycle. Came home for her 21 days off and never went back .... :|

Not starmac, but I spent part of the night there after getting back to the road from a caribou hunt. Coldfoot is basically a fuel stop, restaurant, and "hotel" out in the proverbial middle of nowhere. IIRC it used to be a pipeline camp during the construction of the AK pipeline. Starmac can probably give you more info than me.

The cabins your daughter works at: is it McKinley Creekside cabins and café? Just north of Cantwell? If so, I used to know the folks that own it (haven't been up by there in a few years so don't know if the same ones still do). Always stopped there to eat when we would go up that way. Got my smoked salmon spread recipe from them.

Starmac, I got the tractor out on the ice here the other day. Was hoping that I could get an area cleared off for a skating rink. Eased out and all seemed fine. Got about a 30X50 cleared and went back to clean up some snow that had rolled off the side of the bucket. I stopped to dump the loader bucket, and looked down at the front tire and watched a spiderweb crack start to form. Decided that ice skating would just have to wait a while longer. Ice is usually more than thick enough for a truck or the tractor by Thanksgiving. Just not enough cold yet. Weatherman is saying that the first of the week we are gonna have temps in the 40's and rain.

Now, I'm all for global warming (especially up here...:)), but I was hoping that it would take the form of a longer summer and fall and shorter normal winter....

starmac
12-27-2014, 06:59 PM
Yes I have been to coldfoot too many times to count, still stop in there anytime I run north. It is not like I have a choice, if I want a cup of coffee, it is the only place open in the winter for 500 miles. lol I stop there even in the summer, as the other 2 places that are open in the summer are only 3 hours north of town, so I am just heading out, or just getting back when I pass by them, coldfoot is pretty much the halfway point.
I think the employees there work on 6 month contracts, and it is not really a bad gig. The pay is probably decent, and if they are waiting tables I'm sure the tips are good. The waitresses and cooks are the only ones I really ever meet, but I know of several that keeps coming back.

Mtnfolk75
12-27-2014, 08:09 PM
wlc, yes to Creekside Cabins. My daughter is the Housing Manager & Supervisor, and yes Holly & Tracy are still the owners. She won't be back there until the 1st week of May. I spent the summer of 2010 working on the Stampede & stayed down there on days off to get a shower and do my laundry. The Café has some really good food, Holly & Tracy are good people. Next time you are through stop by for a cup on me, I'll pass the word ...... :bigsmyl2:

Starmac, the positions they are considering are the Cleaning Lead & Cleaner at the Slate Creek Inn. She started as a house cleaner at Creekside in 2008 & has parlayed that into a Manager/Supervisor position. Her job in Kotzebue in 2010 was at the Hospital as a Housekeeper. She has worked most winters in the lower 48 as a housekeeper somewhere, usually Arizona. They took a 20 day Cruise out of Florida after Alaska this year and most of the housekeeping jobs have already been filled for the winter. She is on salary at Creekside from May 1st until October 31st, she just needs something to hold them over until May. SWMBO calls them our travelers since they live out of backpacks ..... [smilie=s:

starmac
12-27-2014, 10:14 PM
I didn't know that is what they call the motel at coldfoot. Just never thought to look at what it is called. It is funny as my wife is the house keeping manager at a large motel here in Fairbanks. If they do go to coldfoot this time of year, there is not a lot to do this time of year, unless they are into snowshoeing or cross country skiing. The folks that work there will sometimes ust catch a ride with a trucker into fairbanks for their days off, then go to hilltop to catch a ride back, totally safe and they can catch a ride anytime they want.

Mtnfolk75
12-27-2014, 11:47 PM
Thanx, I will tell her. She has a car at Creekside, a 90' Ford Taurus Wagon. She bought it about 3 summers ago at an auction in Anchorage, it is a retired Alaska DOT car. She said they probably wouldn't go down and get it, it is more of a summer sled that she calls "Old Stinky " ..... :shock:

Mtnfolk75
12-28-2014, 12:02 AM
Starmac, I just got a text from her, they are still in Pittsburgh with his folks. They accepted the jobs and will fly out on January 6th. Thanx for the info on Coldfoot Camp.

starmac
12-28-2014, 12:13 AM
They will not want to drive that car to coldfoot even in the summer, but especially this time of year. It would not be safe for them, or anybody else on the road.

Mtnfolk75
12-28-2014, 12:43 AM
That is kinda what I figured, she hates driving it to Fairbanks even during the summer .... LOL