Not so much winter fun, and I have posted some of these before, but this is my airboat just after we got it out of the river ice.

You can see just what was sticking out of the ice when we started!

When I worked for Alaska DOT and we played with lots of snow

shorton wrote:You can see just what was sticking out of the ice when we started!

That is some serious winter action. If ever there was a picture in need of more explanation it is this. How did your boat get stuck in the ice? How did you get it out? What damage does it have?

Alternatively, we could have a story telling competition using this picture as the starting point. 500 word maximum... go

Well, we had a wreck with the boat, hit a big cottonwood log laying horizontal about four feet above the water. Had some serious injuries on my daughter, she was driving. the boat was pinned in place and sank.

I was concerned for the people so just tied a rope off and left the boat at that time. We could see the lights on the top of the prop cage once in a while as we went up or down river for the rest of that hunting season.

The river current was too strong to have any safety trying to raise the boat so I decided to wait until the river froze up and try recovery at that time.

We cut out the ice and using chain hoists and come alongs got the thing up on top of the ice. We hooked it up to a snowmachine with spikes in the track and a four wheeler with chains and started pulling it up river to where I could get my little John Deere tractor to with the idea that I could tow it out to the plowed road and get it on a trailer.

We made it a few hundred feet and it proved too heavy for the 8" of ice and it broke though and sank again!
At this location there was a large tree up high on the bank and we were able to drag the boat up above the high water line and chained it off and left it for the rest of the winter.

Come spring time I went back upriver with some tools and a water pump, I pulled up the deck boards and we shoveled out a ton or two of sand and then flushed it out. We then spun it around to face the water and pulled it into the river with a big jet boat.
We ended up with another friend of mine stopped to help us and we put a running boat on each side of the airboat and floated it downriver to the landing where we got it on its trailer and took it home.

I rebuilt the prop cage, built a new engine, cleaned things all up and put it back in use.

I am presently looking for an old Cadilac 500 V8 engine for it.

Two of my favorite ladies...


Mrs Burns had a little ski wreck a couple of weeks ago. Four broken ribs and three broken transverse process later our winter action has turned to early spring recovery. Got her out in the sun today while I putzed around at the hanger. Couldn't get her to help push the plane out though.....

Welp, I was the last in 2025, might as well be the first in 2026. Although we have had snow on the ground since Thankgivingish and have been out skiing and snowshoeing fairly often, today was the first really nice snowfall. 14"-15" so far of super light powder. Shunned the crowd at ski area and got out for a nice backcountry jaunt.

Winter in the PNW is a non-event. There is snow up in the mountains if you want to play in it, but down at sea level it stays clear most of the winter. We might get a dusting of snow for a couple of days, but many years we don't have any snow at sea level. The mountains around here rise to over 14,000' from sea level (Mount Rainier), so there is LOTS of elevation difference to play with. That's the way I like it. I did take a flight through several of the river valleys to see the snow on surrounding peaks. It was pretty and I got to land back home on dry, clear ground.

My route through the Stillaguamish, Sauk and Satsop river valleys. I stopped at Anacortes for "cheap" avgas:


Whitehorse (6,840') and Three Fingers (6,859') Mountains:


White Chuck Mountain 6,989':


Mount Baker 10,781':


Mount Shuksan 9,131':

pburns wrote:Welp, I was the last in 2025, might as well be the first in 2026. Although we have had snow on the ground since Thankgivingish and have been out skiing and snowshoeing fairly often, today was the first really nice snowfall. 14"-15" so far of super light powder. Shunned the crowd at ski area and got out for a nice backcountry jaunt.

Nice, Pete! That's pretty much the extent of our fun this time of year too. Looks like a nice cold shot of snow there.

I've been trying to put together an ultra light backcountry tele setup that can turn better than my NNN-BC rig, which is terrifying to turn on in any kind of steeper slope. Sloppy boots are great for flats but not turning.

Yeah, it's tough to find the right compromise. Diana has a older pair of Scarpa T3's for light backcountry. It's a decent combination of light weight and enough beef to turn the ski.

Pete

Zzz wrote:I've been trying to put together an ultra light backcountry tele setup that can turn better than my NNN-BC rig, which is terrifying to turn on in any kind of steeper slope. Sloppy boots are great for flats but not turning.

I'll have to look into Scarpas. I've been eyeing Karhu backcountry skis for this purpose, too. I'm not sure they qualify as ultra light, but my 210cm Rossignol Randonee skis are too skinny and almost posthole when I'm breaking trail in a couple of feet of new snow, which happens a lot in the Sierra. I'm due for new boots, so I might as well get a tele set up that will float better and take me more places. Now, if we can only get some more storms. It's been a dry January out here.

Just flew a Colorado - California - Oregon round trip… super chilly at 11500’ on the return but the tailwinds made it worthwhile… Ashland Or to Longmont CO in 7.75 flight hours.

CAVU wrote:

Zzz wrote:I've been trying to put together an ultra light backcountry tele setup that can turn better than my NNN-BC rig, which is terrifying to turn on in any kind of steeper slope. Sloppy boots are great for flats but not turning.

I'll have to look into Scarpas. I've been eyeing Karhu backcountry skis for this purpose, too. I'm not sure they qualify as ultra light, but my 210cm Rossignol Randonee skis are too skinny and almost posthole when I'm breaking trail in a couple of feet of new snow, which happens a lot in the Sierra. I'm due for new boots, so I might as well get a tele set up that will float better and take me more places. Now, if we can only get some more storms. It's been a dry January out here.

I have a lot to say on the topic if you want my advice.

Flyhound wrote:....My route through the Stillaguamish, Sauk and Satsop river valleys....

Skagit, not Satsop.

Escalante has got to be one of the premium airports for camping. Really nice spot.

Zzz wrote:I have a lot to say on the topic if you want my advice.

pm sent. Lay it on me!

LuscombeRob wrote:Just flew a Colorado - California - Oregon round trip… super chilly at 11500’ on the return but the tailwinds made it worthwhile… Ashland Or to Longmont CO in 7.75 flight hours.

NIce! That's a great trip. Is Ashland as far north as you made it?

It's been a weird winter in the Pacific Northwest as others have mentioned. I didn't get much flying in last year, but now I have a beautifully running engine overhauled by Brian at Steve's Aircraft , a newly overhauled prop and a fresh BFR so I'm making the most out of this weather!



edit: Oh yeah, scarpa T3's are my jam as well for light telemarking. I have a pair of fishscaled Karhu's with basic Voile bindings that work great. If only we had some snow!

Here’s some winter action from a little farther south!

Flew down and camped at the Red Creek Airstrip by the Matazal wilderness area, between Flagstaff and Phoenix.

Typical winter weather, but I will caution desert dwellers to bring along a pair of the extreme weather pants that go below your knees, since it did get into the 40s at night

Usually don’t see people for miles, but this gentleman who was looking for some lost cattle, saw me land and rode up to say hi.

Haven’t gone far this winter, my 120 is still on floats.



Still dealing with this lung crud all winter, but it seems like I’m getting on top of it now. The skis are calling to me…

Rocket