# 1st Snow of the season is here !! Sept. 26, 2010



## Alaska Boss

Well boys & girls, the first snow of the season has arrived! Altho it's not much (maybe ½" or so), it's enough to turn the ground white. And we are currently under a winter weather snow advisory, with 1-3" more today, 4-8" more tonight, and 2" more tomorrow. If it all happens to the max (which it won't), that's a total of 13" in the next 24-36 hours! But even for around here,... it's still a little too early,... the ground isn't froze enough yet for anything to stick/stay,... and a foot of snow right now would make a terrible mess. but,.. it is pretty cool to see the first snow each year,.. :bluebounc:waving:


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## tls22

congrats AB....Have you gotten the trucks ready?


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## Brian Young

We all hate you right now,lol Yeah you dont want a ton of snow on the ground at first, it acts like insulation and nothing freezes up under it.


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## Pushin 2 Please

Although it is nice to see it I am soooooooooo jealous! Congrats!:waving:


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## oman1999

Please send this weather south. Haha


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## SullivanSeptic

oman1999;1077930 said:


> Please send this weather south. Haha


x2 on that. We need snow here now please! Good luck this year AB


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## DeVries

Wow I hope we don't get that for some time yet, not ready for snow maybe in December though.


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## Young Pup

Always like to see your pictures. Thanks for posting them.


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## erkoehler

I'm ready!


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## albhb3

sawwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettt it would be in your best intrest to take pics tonight


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## Fatality

Thats awesome! We cant wait to get started!


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## Alaska Boss

Well.. it's been snowing all day,... and not a slushy-rain either,... nice light, dry flakes slowly drifting down,... but there's still too much heat in the ground yet for things to stick for good. This looks like a huge storm,.. at least in it's compass, so a lot of areas up here should be seeing flurries, and at the higher elevations, some real snow depth. Waking up tomorrow is kinda gonna be like Christmas,... wondering if Santa came & left anything,... :bluebounc:waving:


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## snowman6

I am so envious. wish that was here well wait about two weeks lol I am refurbing my new to me spreader and hooking up my plow on Friday jut to make sure everything is still good to go. CONGRATS thoughpayup


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## ajslands

How long does it snow till in te spring?


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## CGM Inc.

nice!.......


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## forestfireguy

I'm so jealous right now.............


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## EGLC

man all you guys saying you want that snow this early are CRAZY!!!


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## Alaska Boss

Well.. it's still snowing pretty hard yet as darkness starts to set in,... I had to make a short trip up the road this afternoon,.. and snapped a couple more shots of the snowy landscape, which went from autumn to winter overnight,....


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## bighornjd

WHAT! No plows on the trucks yet and already snow covering the windshields? LOL.

Around here people would act like that is a blizzard. You wouldn't be able to get within 500' of a grocery store...


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## deere615

Wow! and I am still walking around in t-shirt and shorts here! I can't wait to see the first white stuff here


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## Alaska Boss

In places, it's almost a white-out blizzard on the roads,... we were suppose to get 1-3" of snow today,... so I stopped to measure my tire tracks,... and it looks to be pushing right at 4" so far,... and now the updated forecast for tonight is for up to 10" more thru tomorrow morning,.... so if we get a half-foot or more of snow overnight,... I might have to hook up the Blizzard tomorrow,... :bluebouncpayup:waving:


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## doo-man

So is this earlier than normal for you guys???


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## 91AK250

looking great!!!! wish we had more down this way...but i need more time still.

funny we both got our first snows on the same day this year!, ours came outta nowhere.


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## Alaska Boss

doo-man;1078206 said:


> So is this earlier than normal for you guys???


Not really,... we always get our first snow on the ground in September,... but usually I don't start plowing until the 2nd half of October,... so if I have to plow tomorrow,.. then yes, that would be earlier than normal,... :salute:



91AK250;1078214 said:


> looking great!!!! wish we had more down this way...but i need more time still.
> 
> funny we both got our first snows on the same day this year!, ours came outta nowhere.


Yeah,... I knew we were going to get nailed,... but I didn't know it would go all the way down towards Anchorage too,.... but I've had a few calls from friends there in town telling me about it. You better drive your least-liked beater around town the first couple days after the snow sticks to the roads around town there,.... it's always so funny to see how it looks like people are just trying to out-do each other seeing who can end-o their rigs the farthest off the highways,... :waving:


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## deicepro

Damn that gives me a stiff one


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## justinizzi

Cant wait to see that here in RI. how much snow do you get every year.


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## Moonlighter

That rocks Alaska Boss I really can't wait now. Be safe and please keep the pictures coming :bluebouncpurplebou:redbounce


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## the new boss 92

all i know its tonight i was cold with a sweatshirt. its getting colder everweek in illinois so hopefully we get a nice white night soon!


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## 91AK250

Alaska Boss;1078227 said:


> You better drive your least-liked beater around town the first couple days after the snow sticks to the roads around town there,.... it's always so funny to see how it looks like people are just trying to out-do each other seeing who can end-o their rigs the farthest off the highways,... :waving:


haha naw i will drive my excursion and expedition...no reason to worry. i'll have the best snow tires and full coverage insurance thats all you need  well that and great driving skills.

looks as though its going to warm up alittle this week...not by much but then cool down next weekend. we'll see what happends. i hope its a early,heavy snowfall winter!!

i supposed i should hook the plow up and check everything! lol might be a good idea


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## ram_tough2001

send some of the stuff over to newengland. preferably to NH. im super excited for some snow this year as it will be my first full season of plowing. picked up my plow in mid winter last year and NH only have a couple plowable events i only got to plow 1 good storm.


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## Pushin 2 Please

Can't wait to see how much fell over night! Keep the pics coming AB!:waving:


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## SnoBull

Good to see the season is off to a great start for ya AB. What's the temps like with the current snow storm you guys are having?


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## Mick

91AK250;1078313 said:


> haha naw i will drive my excursion and expedition...no reason to worry. i'll have the best snow tires and full coverage insurance thats all you need  well that and great driving skills.
> 
> looks as though its going to warm up alittle this week...not by much but then cool down next weekend. we'll see what happends. i hope its a early,heavy snowfall winter!!
> 
> i supposed i should hook the plow up and check everything! lol might be a good idea


It's not my driving and tires I worry about, but the nut behind or to the side of me. Although, years ago, there was a guy coming toward me who spun out on a curve and just missed me. Be safe and keep the pictures coming. And you can keep the snow this winter.


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## 91AK250

Mick;1078475 said:


> It's not my driving and tires I worry about, but the nut behind or to the side of me. Although, years ago, there was a guy coming toward me who spun out on a curve and just missed me. Be safe and keep the pictures coming. And you can keep the snow this winter.


thats where the insurance comes in :laughing: both trucks are big enough i'm not worried about being injured.

winter of '09/10 i was rearended twice in 13 days lol course both the ladys that hit mehad bald tires...idiots but they both got hefty tickets and i made out with over $3000 in cash from the insurance companys and never did have to do any work to the truck.

cant wait to see the pics from today AKB!


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## the new boss 92

Mick;1078475 said:


> It's not my driving and tires I worry about, but the nut behind or to the side of me. Although, years ago, there was a guy coming toward me who spun out on a curve and just missed me. Be safe and keep the pictures coming. And you can keep the snow this winter.


thats would be kinda scary if some one spun infrount on me and smash, that would hurt but freakme out at the same time!


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## show-n-go

I cant wait... thanks for the pics


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## Alaska Boss

Ok,... well, even tho there's still a few flurries floating down, I think this first snow storm of the season is over,.... I swept my trucks off last night about 10pm, and this morning now there's about 5" more snow on them. So, I would say our total snowfall is around 7-8", altho it's hard to say, because every spot is different, depending on how warm the ground under it is. I've had a handful of calls this morning about plowing,.. but I've pretty much discouraged people from having me come plow them out, because I know that all I will do is plow up their loose gravel & dirt & just make a big mess,... and chances are pretty good that this will all melt off in a couple days anyway. Temps right now are in the mid-20's F, with lows tonight supposed to drop into the mid-teens, so we'll see. But, I will probably hook a plow up later & maybe scrape out my own drive,... just to make sure everything works in case I need to go,.... :bluebounc


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## Alaska Boss

A couple more,.... I'll snap a few more pics if I throw a plow on a truck a little later,... which I probably will.... :waving:


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## Pushin 2 Please

If my customers lots weren't done with that amount of snow, my a$$ would be out on the curb. Looks like fun!


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## Mick

Pushin 2 Please;1078525 said:


> If my customers lots weren't done with that amount of snow, my a$$ would be out on the curb. Looks like fun!


And if I HAD plowed with warm temps, I'd have lost customers. I once had a guy want a 12" trigger for the winter. I passed on that one.


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## Alaska Boss

Well, I hooked up the 8.2 V onto the 'ole '92, which doesn't even have the snow tires on it yet, and scraped out my driveway,... and officially got my 2010-11 plowing season underway. I guess rather than start another thread, I'll just continue on with this one for the winter, posting my plowing pictures from Alaska in here. Everything worked just like it did when I put things away last spring,... :bluebounc


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## the new boss 92

looks like a mess already lol have fun, hope the ground hardens up soon so you can get the checks rollin your way!


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## Alaska Boss

The snow was still pretty light & fluffy when I started, but just beginning to get sticky. The flurries stopped around 10am, and there's a little blue sky poking out now,...


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## Alaska Boss

the new boss 92;1078598 said:


> looks like a mess already lol have fun, hope the ground hardens up soon so you can get the checks rollin your way!


Yeah, there's a little too much dirt-dozin' yet,.. but if it gets down into the teens tonight, I figured if the ground was exposed, and now being wet,.. it'll help to start locking the frost into the ground a little faster. :waving:


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## ajslands

When does your winter end (when do you stop getting snow)


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## Alaska Boss

But it was still fun to push some snow again,.. even tho I'm not really ready for this yet,...


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## Alaska Boss

ajslands;1078606 said:


> When does your winter end (when do you stop getting snow)


Well.. I usually plow until the end of April, once in a while into early May, which is also about the end of snowfalls. But I always have snow piles left in my yard into June,... so just depends on what defines the "end of winter".

I used the Boss instead of the Blizzard, because I think the Blizzard would have dug up more dirt & gravel than the Boss does,... since it tends to scrape harder,...


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## Alaska Boss

I had a few calls this morning for plowing,... but turned them down, and told the folks to wait til things freeze up a little more,.... if they weren't stuck yet,...


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## Alaska Boss

So,.. unless we get some big-time dump in the next week or so,... this will be all the plowing I do until it gets colder,... but starting the snow plowing season in September is always a bonus! :salute::waving:


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## mercer_me

You are defimatly the luckiest man alive.


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## SharpBlades

looks like fun.


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## FordFisherman

Nice way to start the season. Does an early snow usually mean a snowier winter there, or does it matter? Any recent seasons start out this way? How did it play into the overall snowfall for that particular year if so?


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## Alaska Boss

FordFisherman;1078644 said:


> Nice way to start the season. Does an early snow usually mean a snowier winter there, or does it matter? Any recent seasons start out this way? How did it play into the overall snowfall for that particular year if so?


Well, 2 years ago we got a dump like this, or maybe a bit more on Sept 30, (http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=65276) and the over-all year was nothing out of the ordinary, so I don't think this is a sign that proves anything. Once in a while I don't have anything to plow until almost November, but most years, things tend to average out by the end of the winter, no matter how soon or late things start. I remember once, maybe in the early 90's, we had such cold weather in mid-Sept, that the water puddles had thick enough ice built up on them that it supported my 4-wheeler without breaking thru. So, the main thing is, we have to have frozen ground that stays frozen before winter/snow is here to stay,... :waving:


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## albhb3

ya know I asked for some more pics but now your just rubbing it in


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## L.I.Mike

This is great. I look forward to your posts every year.


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## Pinky Demon

91AK250;1078313 said:


> haha naw i will drive my excursion and expedition...no reason to worry. i'll have the best snow tires and full coverage insurance thats all you need  well that and great driving skills.
> 
> looks as though its going to warm up alittle this week...not by much but then cool down next weekend. we'll see what happends. i hope its a early,heavy snowfall winter!!
> 
> i supposed i should hook the plow up and check everything! lol might be a good idea


What kind of snow tires are you running?


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## Stik208

You said you put the trucks all away in the spring, do you run them once in a while during the spring/summer months or do they just sit?


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## F350plowing

after seeing this i want it to snow hear right now!


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## AEI

Plowing snow with a back drop like is priceless!!!! I get sick of pushing shopping cart stalls and dumpsters out of the way.Or sitting on a push waiting for grandma to figure out where to park while she **** blocks you for 2 minutes.Or better yet.. the desk jockeys taking their sweet old time to shuffle around a few cars for you to clear some snow for them.

Whats the worse that you run into.. A Moose holding down his side of the road or what lol.

Eitherway.. Awesome pictures and Awesome place to live for some!


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## joshg

The rear bumper on the 92 is sweet, remember seeing that before. I bet you enjoy getting to plow when there is daylight...that doesn't always show up in the pics as the winter gets going.


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## Pushin 2 Please

F350plowing;1078993 said:


> after seeing this i want it to snow hear right now!


x2.......I'm so jealous!


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## the new boss 92

i really want your red 3500, i remember you post a bunch of pictures when you went to get it and i still love that truck. are you glade you got a stick in it or would you buy an auto?


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## FisherVMan

*Is that enough??*

Doesnt look like you got enough to track a deer yet! I lived in Willow for years and remember in 1998 I think it was the lake froze rock solid on the 20th of Sept . I was out in McGrath flying and the Kuskokim River was freezing up and an old Indian told me he was 84 years old and he had never seen it start to freeze up so early in his lifetime!
Good Luck with your plowing season


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## DScapes

Glad to see you had a safe summer on the waters AB, I'm just glad I started in this year 4 pages into the season rather than spending hours and hours catching up to page 40+. 

Snow looks great, still have a couple months yet to even sniff the white stuff as it was 90+ degrees for 2-3 days last week... may have to get the plow out to push some of these leaves around that are starting to fall early

Good Luck this winter, we'll all be watching!


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## Jguck25

well looks like im moving to Alaska. That settles it lol i just got home from going out with just shorts and a t shirt on, and sweating at the same time here in NH. but then we have a frost advisory coming in a few days. Gotta love new englands weather. In one day you can go from heat, to ac and then back to heat again. 90 degrees last week and a frost advisory this week


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## THEGOLDPRO

awesome, your black chevy is a clone of mine.


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## bryanR

Jguck25;1079383 said:


> well looks like im moving to Alaska. That settles it lol i just got home from going out with just shorts and a t shirt on, and sweating at the same time here in NH. but then we have a frost advisory coming in a few days. Gotta love new englands weather. In one day you can go from heat, to ac and then back to heat again. 90 degrees last week and a frost advisory this week


just did a 10 day forecast for mass. looks like i might be getting into the low 30s a couple of nights next week... gotta alot of catching up to do tho.... i caint wait to read all of these pages coming up... god i love your photography AB


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## Alaska Boss

Stik208;1078763 said:


> You said you put the trucks all away in the spring, do you run them once in a while during the spring/summer months or do they just sit?


Naw,.. they pretty much just sit all summer,... I'll run each of them a time or two, just to make sure everything is ok,.. but since I'm fishing all summer, I just run around in my car,.. down to Valdez & back is about all the driving I do in the summer.



AEI;1079037 said:


> Whats the worse that you run into.. A Moose holding down his side of the road or what lol.
> 
> Eitherway.. Awesome pictures and Awesome place to live for some!


Yeah, I've had a couple close-up encounters with moose in people's yards & on roads, but they generally don't like the flashing lights & noise associated with plowing snow, so they just run off. My biggest issues are probably the conditions I have to plow in at times,.... being careful that I don't get stuck in some off-road area that has no cellphone coverage at 1am when it's -48°,... 



joshg;1079130 said:


> The rear bumper on the 92 is sweet, remember seeing that before. I bet you enjoy getting to plow when there is daylight...that doesn't always show up in the pics as the winter gets going.


Yep,... for sure I get to plow alot more at this time of year in daylight (it's still very close to the equinox, which means you & I have about the same amount of daylight right now yet), than I will around Christmas,... but then around the end of March, it's the same as it is now again,...



the new boss 92;1079167 said:


> i really want your red 3500, i remember you post a bunch of pictures when you went to get it and i still love that truck. are you glade you got a stick in it or would you buy an auto?


The reason I went all the way down to Missouri to get that truck, was in big part, because it had a stick, since they are so hard to find. I don't want a plow truck with an auto tranny,.. shifting a clutch is a non-issue for me, and I know that with these heavy-duty manuals, I'll never have transmission problems. I was down there right now, picking it up last year at this time,... and I have been watching AutoTrader and other sites all year since,.. just seeing if anything like what I got is available anywhere in the country,... & I have never found 1 single other truck that was set up like mine is,... and especially as clean & nice as this one is, with not a hint of rust,... I really know now what a rare find that was,.. and south enough to have not lived where they spray salt on the roads,.. wesport



FisherVMan;1079259 said:


> Doesnt look like you got enough to track a deer yet! I lived in Willow for years and remember in 1998 I think it was the lake froze rock solid on the 20th of Sept . I was out in McGrath flying and the Kuskokim River was freezing up and an old Indian told me he was 84 years old and he had never seen it start to freeze up so early in his lifetime!
> Good Luck with your plowing season


Well, 6-8" is enough to track anything, but early snows like this will for sure have the black bears high-balling it for their dens. The deer are only on the islands, and there won't be any snow down there for some time yet,... but you can now see what & where every critter goes around here. I don't think Willow got anything,... I know Wasilla didn't get a flake,... McGrath might have a little, or not,.. I don't know,.. it's too far away from me to know. All the lakes around here are froze over too,.. altho just barely,... still too thin for anything to go out on it,... and I'm sure the bigger rivers farther up north like the Kusko have slush in them too,... thanks, and good luck to you to,.. :waving:



THEGOLDPRO;1079391 said:


> awesome, your black chevy is a clone of mine.


Well, I don't have a black Chevy, but both of mine are SRW 3500's like yours,... if you have anything close to the same kind of dependable endurance that I've had with mine,.. it'll be a money-making rig for ya,... good luck with it!

Well, since it got down to +2° (-15° C) last night, everyone thinks that winter has set in now for good, so I had a mostly full day of plowing today. I know that since it is still only September 28th, we still have the potential for this to all go away,... but who am I to argue if people want to get plowed out anyway. But 6-8" of snow still has a lot of insulating value in it, so the ground was still pretty soft in places that haven't been disturbed,... so I had to be careful to not let the plow dig in too much,...


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## Alaska Boss

The new truck worked like a dream,... except that my light on top wouldn't come on,.. I later found a ground wire that got cut in half somehow,...


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## Alaska Boss

This is my biggest snow pile so far,... not bad for Sept. 28th,... wesport


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## Alaska Boss

Some folks that have a steeper drive just didn't want to struggle with slippin' & slidin' around,...


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## Alaska Boss

Others with little cars, really were having trouble getting out of their places,...


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## 91AK250

yeah it may just be winter there! we're supposed to hit almost 50* tomorrow and rain. i'm sure the moutains will be covered by the end of it though.


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## Alaska Boss

I have a few more jobs lined up for tomorrow,... and the forecast says another inch or two overnight,... so, it is looking like winter around here now,... all the lakes are iced over,... with the only open water being where the few ducks that haven't left yet, and are huddled together,... paddling around to keep their little spot open. :waving:


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## xll_VIPER_llx

_*I'd kill for winter to start here in sept!!! Truly awesome and beautifull pictures, I look forward to more of them! Just looking at your pictures i can almost smell and feel and hear the sounds of winter!*_


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## mercer_me

Alaska Boss;1079773 said:


> But 6-8" of snow still has a lot of insulating value in it, so the ground was still pretty soft in places that haven't been disturbed,... so I had to be careful to not let the plow dig in too much,...


Is there much logging in your area? If there is that must realy suck for the loggers.



Alaska Boss;1079787 said:


> all the lakes are iced over,... with the only open water being where the few ducks that haven't left yet, and are huddled together,... paddling around to keep their little spot open. :waving:


I would kill to go ice fishing rite now.


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## the new boss 92

man alaska thats the truck im trying to find, 3500 srw with a 5.7 and stick shift. what gears do you have in that truck? i have the same motor and trans with 342 geas and my truck pushes nice and smooth. also what clutches have you had experience with in that truck. i cant find a good clutch to save my life!


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## Alaska Boss

mercer_me;1079868 said:


> Is there much logging in your area? If there is that must realy suck for the loggers.


Nope, no logging around here,... the trees don't grow big enough to make it worthwhile. For the most part, the logging up here is done along the coast.



the new boss 92;1079931 said:


> man alaska thats the truck im trying to find, 3500 srw with a 5.7 and stick shift. what gears do you have in that truck? i have the same motor and trans with 342 geas and my truck pushes nice and smooth. also what clutches have you had experience with in that truck. i cant find a good clutch to save my life!


Axle gears are 4.10 (GT5), but you do not have the same transmission. I too, have had a 1500 with 5-speed (mine was a '91), and it's a whole different animal, nothing is the same except the engine. You HAVE to plow in low-range with a 1500, or you will burn out your clutch in no time,... half-tons are geared too tall to plow in hi-range. I only have used the stock clutches in my 3500's, and have never burned up a clutch,.. only thing I wore out was the shifting fork in the '92 (the pivot ball-socket). 1st gear in the heavy-duty manual trannys is enough of a "granny gear", that 1st gear/hi-range in a 3500 is about the same as 2nd gear/lo-range in a 1500, but I still retain hi-range reverse. A "heavy-duty" clutch for a half-ton (which I doubt even exists) will not compensate for the "abuse" that plowing in hi-range will subject it to,.. good luck! :waving:


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## mercer_me

Alaska Boss;1079976 said:


> Nope, no logging around here,... the trees don't grow big enough to make it worthwhile. For the most part, the logging up here is done along the coast.


Them Fir in one of your pictures looked like they was big enough for logs or atleast pulp.


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## snorider075

so lucky! but enjoying the upper 70's around here it might get into the mid 30's overnight this weekend!![


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## deere615

Nice AB! Do you know if you got that school again?


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## gene gls

AB, how far do you live from Valdez? Great pic's, thanks for taking the time to take them and post them.


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## Lux Lawn

Man it seems way to early for that much snow. 
Good luck this season.


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## Alaska Boss

deere615;1080210 said:


> Nice AB! Do you know if you got that school again?


Yep, I did, but didn't sign the contract until yesterday. They have a new principle this year, who wasn't ready for this snow yet,... so they just said, we want to renew our contract with you again,... and if you need a reasonable increase, np. Normally, these have to go out for public bid, but when the snow comes this early, and they are caught with their pants down, they just do what they have to do. But, since it's all packed down now, and it's also thawing hard today, they said they'll have me do it next time. But I did swing by & scraped out the front of the school this afternoon,... just so it doesn't all turn into ice right away,...



gene gls;1080213 said:


> AB, how far do you live from Valdez? Great pic's, thanks for taking the time to take them and post them.


I'm about 80 miles north of Valdez,.. but it's all mountains, so it's a whole different environment. :waving:

Well, got in the better part of Day 2 plowing again,.. but things are thawing a lot now,.. so I think this is probably it for this first snowfall of the season. The snow today was heavy & sticky,... it's all melting off the trees,... and this warmer weather is supposed to stay around now thru the weekend,... and if it does, we'll be back to bare ground again by then,...


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## Alaska Boss

Lux Lawn;1080302 said:


> Man it seems way to early for that much snow.
> Good luck this season.


It is,... it's a little too early yet, even for here. And after just looking at the weather maps thru the weekend,... I'd say it's probably all going to melt,... by mid-Oct we'll be in winter mode tho,... :waving:


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## Alaska Boss

It's too hard to not dig up dirt & gravel out of people's yards when things aren't froze up,... I wanna plow snow,.. not dirt.


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## Alaska Boss

But,.. this first storm gave me around 15 plow jobs,... so it was better than just rain, which would have been zero. Both trucks are performing good,... if things are froze up better on the next storm,... I'll knock the cobwebs off the Blizzard,.... :bluebounc:waving:


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## thesnowman269

how come your using the old truck?


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## ForestEdgeSnow

Last year it snowed about 10" by this time. Today we are in the lower 80's. So I am painting plows and replacing edges this week. I am loving your photos and your posts keep them coming.

Thanks


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## Banger

AB,

Its really got to be tricky at times plowing on some of them roads. Little wrong move and your stuck. Guessing you know your accounts very well ahead of time huh.Ever think about mounting a winch to save you one day? Sure you could fab up a custom mount in conjuction with the Boss.Doubt you will have a hard time looking for a tree to hook to lol.

Eitherway.. awesome pictures you post. Makes plowing all that much better for the rest of us who push boring, uneventfull and mindless parking lots all night long lol. I would love to plow in Alaska :redbounce

If this site had some sort of "Plow of the month" Contest.. you sir would get my vote each month. ussmileyflag


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## vegaman04

I believe AB usually runs his trucks with a snow mobile in the back for a "just in case" scenario.


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## Raymond S.

Really enjoy your posts and the "narration" you add to them. I won't say I'm jealous because I'm not, but I enjoy the pics. If it were snowing here I'd be getting up in about an hour and taking to about a 10hr grind. I'm not ready for that...but I do enjoy looking at pics of other people having to do it.


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## MatthewG

Gotta get my subscription in, this is better than any magazine you can pay for....


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## Scottscape

your pics are always great.


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## fordboy

well I am subscribing to this since I did last years and enjoyed the incredible pics and stories, thanks for the pics ab and good luck.


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## skimastr105

subscribing. and jealous


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## TKLAWN

Thanks so much for the pics it really gets the juices flowing!!


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## big_belly4ever

Thanks for taking the time to take pictures. Loved your snowmobile trip last year.


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## JD Dave

Great pics as usual. You've had more snow in Sept then we had all last year. LOL I like snow but the 5 months of it we get is plenty. Hope you have a great year.


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## gkm

Great pics......as usual! wife wants to know what type camera you use


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## Salty dog

this just shows that you gotta be ready for anything , anytime !

Have been painting , working on ,ordering parts and testing plows and sanders this week. 

Nice pix. enjoyed thoroughly !

Don't really wanna see that kind of stuff til leaves are all done though.

Thanks , Have a great season.


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## Lux Lawn

Alaska Boss;1080322 said:


> It's too hard to not dig up dirt & gravel out of people's yards when things aren't froze up,... I wanna plow snow,.. not dirt.


Yeah, that just looks like it sucks.


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## snowman6

I just got done painting my salter and the am working on fabbing up a deflector for it. Also the plow goes on tomm just to make sure it works as good as it did when it came off.:waving:


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## the new boss 92

Alaska Boss;1079976 said:



> Nope, no logging around here,... the trees don't grow big enough to make it worthwhile. For the most part, the logging up here is done along the coast.
> 
> Axle gears are 4.10 (GT5), but you do not have the same transmission. I too, have had a 1500 with 5-speed (mine was a '91), and it's a whole different animal, nothing is the same except the engine. You HAVE to plow in low-range with a 1500, or you will burn out your clutch in no time,... half-tons are geared too tall to plow in hi-range. I only have used the stock clutches in my 3500's, and have never burned up a clutch,.. only thing I wore out was the shifting fork in the '92 (the pivot ball-socket). 1st gear in the heavy-duty manual trannys is enough of a "granny gear", that 1st gear/hi-range in a 3500 is about the same as 2nd gear/lo-range in a 1500, but I still retain hi-range reverse. A "heavy-duty" clutch for a half-ton (which I doubt even exists) will not compensate for the "abuse" that plowing in hi-range will subject it to,.. good luck! :waving:


i havent had a probel with my clutch in 3 seasons, i also dont shift out of 1st. i just keep the r's up arounf 2-2500 and it pushes like a dream i think but then again i drove a 2500 with a million miles and it pushed wrose than my truck!!!!!!


----------



## Alaska Boss

Thanks for all the comments & posts,... but winter has left here as fast as it came. This huge storm system in the Gulf of Alaska (Hurricane Force Wind Warning last Friday) right out where I fish in the summer, has swept thru at least the southern half of Alaska with very high winds, and very warm temps,... and almost all our snow is gone now, except the tops of the mountains,.. which I kinda figured was going to happen. So, rather than sit at home & pout about it,... I went and picked up the new "ballast" for my plow truck, that has been on order since last spring,... a 2011 Ski-doo Tundra LT w/600 4-stroke engine. It's not a power-house, since it is a utility machine, (154 x 16" track), but they claim 29mpg, which is 3 times better than anything I have now,... so in a couple more weeks, we'll see,... :bluebouncwesport


----------



## Alaska Boss

On my way to Fairbanks to pick the machine up, I snapped a few shots that clearly shows the line along the mountains where the warm air has melted all the snow,... as it blew up the valleys,...


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## Alaska Boss

The Alaska Range got nailed too,.. even tho it looked from a distance like there was still a lot of snow left. Many of the lakes have mostly thawed out again too,... which is good news for the few swans & ducks that have lingered around,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

So,... I would say that the clock has been turned back a couple weeks,.. which gives us some more "fall time" ,... 'cause it never seems like I'm fully ready for winter when it hits for good,... :waving:


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## DareDog

600 ace? you will have to give report on it at end of yr they say 29 mpg and 310 miles to a tank! 

i got its big brother the 600 etec and its been good, got around 20+ with it and idk what dose with little oil ran 2 gallons in 1700 miles last yr. 

you will love that sled, have you heard of doo talk.com?


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## mercer_me

Great picture as always. I realy like your new Tundra. I would love to get on just like that for ice fishing.


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## sven_502

Subscribing, that's a nice new sled you've got there AB, and your truck is awesome as usual.


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## mansf123

Alska boss...... How many hours do you usually plow per week during the winter?


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## viper881

You are lucky!


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## SnoBull

AB: nice sled!! Is it suitable for the deep snow like your other sled or is this just for getting around/hunting etc?


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## ForestEdgeSnow

If you get your plow truck stuck you can use the sled


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## fireboy5722

looks good, i cant wait till it hits here in central pa. always love ur posts, keep up the good work.


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## Alaska Boss

DareDog;1082647 said:


> 600 ace? you will have to give report on it at end of yr they say 29 mpg and 310 miles to a tank!
> 
> i got its big brother the 600 etec and its been good, got around 20+ with it and idk what dose with little oil ran 2 gallons in 1700 miles last yr.
> 
> you will love that sled, have you heard of doo talk.com?


Yeah, I've signed up with dootalk,... but with the snow depth/conditions that I ride in, I doubt I will ever see 29mpg,... but even if it's low to mid 20's, it will still be 3 times better than what I get with my older sleds,... so, if that happens, this thing will pay for itself in 2 years, if i can cut my gas bill by two thirds over the course of a winter. Another thing I really like about it, is how quiet it is (73 or 71 db, can't remember). The tests of this new engine in Finland over the last 1½ years has shown that the track spinning around made more noise than the engine (or so they say).



mansf123;1082913 said:


> Alska boss...... How many hours do you usually plow per week during the winter?


That's hard to say,... sometimes over 100, sometimes less than half that. But once we are in full winter mode, I could literally plow something every day from October into April (in normal years).



SnoBull;1083306 said:


> AB: nice sled!! Is it suitable for the deep snow like your other sled or is this just for getting around/hunting etc?


This sled is designed for the deepest snow,... for utility purposes. It won't go where the mountain sleds could (Summits, etc), because it only has 60hp, vs 160. I know it will out-do my other older sleds hands down, and while burning less than ½ the gas.



ForestEdgeSnow;1083332 said:


> If you get your plow truck stuck you can use the sled


And that is what has happened a time or two over the years. Carrying a sled in your plow truck isn't the best ballast, but many days I run one of my traplines during the day, then plow a few jobs in the evening on my way home, so it works out ok.

Well we got our second snowfall today,.. it wasn't much,.. just enough to turn the ground white again,... and it's melting already,.. which is fine. I heard that a couple miles south of me there was 2-3" on the ground, but it'll be gone by tomorrow too. We need a couple more weeks yet before the ground freezes up & the snow will be here to stay,.... :waving:


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## mercer_me

Alaska Boss, is there any Fisher dealers in Alaska?


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## mansf123

Thats alot of hours. We are lucky to get that all season. How does you equipment hold up with all that plowing?


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## 91AK250

i think i've only seen a handfull of fishers in my life...few myers also..i learned on a myers actualy.

you mostly see boss,western,blizzard in that order...atleast right around me.


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## Alaska Boss

mercer_me;1083668 said:


> Alaska Boss, is there any Fisher dealers in Alaska?


Oh yeah,... we have every brand of plow up here,... but virtually all the biggest snow plow dealers are in Anchorage or Fairbanks,... there is no snow plow dealer of any flavor closer to me than about 250 miles,... so dealer support isn't really a factor to me,... it's a 500 mile drive for me to get anything, so I have to plan ahead & be prepared as best I can on my own.



mansf123;1083672 said:


> Thats alot of hours. We are lucky to get that all season. How does you equipment hold up with all that plowing?


I think it holds up very well overall,... (I have more plow issues than truck problems I think), considering that my season can start in September (like this year), and go into May. And most of my plowing is done in the darkness, which increases the risk of hitting unseen things, and many times I have to plow at temps that are -40° to -50° or colder,... so, I probably put my stuff to a longer & more extreme season than most others,... and things do occ happen,.. but in all the years I've been doing this, I've never once had a major component failure with my Chevy trucks,... (engine, tranny, T-case or dif), so that's why I'm sticking with what I have. (knock on wood,... ).

We got another dusting of snow again last night,.. just enough to make the ground white,.... and the spruce grouse better enjoy the last seeds & frozen berries than can find right now,.. cause they will soon be forced to change their diet when everything gets buried,.... :waving:


----------



## Andy's Beast

*type of camera*

I enjoy the pictures and descriptions in your various posts. You take some really nice shots .What type of camera do you use to take shots with?


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## Dave T

Alaska Boss,

By chance, I happened in here to look at some storm pictures. I'm sure glad I did. I spent an hour or so looking/reading through this thread, and the one from last year... unbelievable! Beautiful country, and awesome pictures! 

Thanks for taking the time to do all of this. I'm "almost" looking forward to winter now... just to see your pictorial of your plowing adventures, and of Alaska. 

You should consider doing a book (with lots of pics of course).


----------



## grnstripes

looks great AB the forcaster here says mountain top snow next week so we should be right with you soon


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## PrimoSR

Great pics as usual. This thread always makes me want to move! Do you have any pics of your house? I saw something in the background a couple of times that looks like a log cabin. I would like to see it!


----------



## Banksy

Thanks AB. You make my work day easier by allowing me to escape to AK.


----------



## TheBossMan2000

now those pictures make me anxious!! Cant wait till i get to see that white stuff around this area!!


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## Dave T

I sure hope it snows up there in Valdez soon... I'm dying to seem more pics from AB.


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## Alaska Boss

Dave T;1085175 said:


> Alaska Boss,
> 
> You should consider doing a book (with lots of pics of course).


People have been telling me that for years, and altho most of what I do is "off-topic" to this forum, I just might do that some day,... I've had many articles & photos published in a variety of magazines, brochures, books & other things in past years,... it just takes sooooo much time to do that, at least for me,... and I don't want to slow down quite yet,... prsport



PrimoSR;1085870 said:


> Great pics as usual. This thread always makes me want to move! Do you have any pics of your house? I saw something in the background a couple of times that looks like a log cabin. I would like to see it!


I think I've posted a couple pics of my place in previous posts somewhere,... but here's one that's handy,... it's not too big, but it works good for me,.... very warm & very functional,.. plus all the logs for the whole place, house & shop, cost a grand total of $20 (subsistance house-log permit from BLM),... so when you do everything yourself,... from finding-felling-hauling-peeling-fitting a standing tree into a finished house,... it definitely gives a person a sense of satisfaction knowing you created a nice home from scratch, with your own blood, sweat & hands,... wesport



Dave T;1091105 said:


> I sure hope it snows up there in Valdez soon... I'm dying to seem more pics from AB.


Well, we've had snow flurries off & on for several weeks now,.. but no real accumulation. All our ponds & lakes are froze over now for good,... so we are just now entering permanent freeze-up,... altho we still usually get above freezing yet during the middle of the day. But any day now, we could get dumped on & not see dry ground again until next May,...


----------



## Dave T

Great looking place you have there AB! 

Can't wait for the next good storm... up your way that is.


----------



## Alaska Boss

Thanks again for the comments,.... I've been gone on a week-long deer hunt with a couple buddies this past week,... and even tho I have access to moose & caribou,... as far as eating goes,.. these little Sitka blacktail deer are just the finest eating critters there are (IMHO). We have to go out into Prince William Sound and hunt the islands (the only place deer are found in Alaska is in the SE panhandle, and the transplants on the islands of PWS & Kodiak). Weather conditions out on the coast/ocean are warmer than inland, but the snow has came down close to the beach already, so now is the time to get this done,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Some of the more interesting things one might run across while sneaking around on these islands are,... trees in the higher country that struggle to grow straight in an environment that makes it impossible,.... trees that are hosts to "parasite berry plants",... and bear trails in which the bears have walked in the same footprints for decades,.. and have cause deep "foot-pits" that get worn into the ground permanently,.... (I'm using my buddy for bait,... )


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## Alaska Boss

But the snows are coming to the islands,... and on my way home,... in the pass between Valdez & my place, I found at least a foot of new snow, with the DOT plows out keeping it off the road,.... :bluebounc:waving:


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## ajslands

Alaska Boss;1091177 said:


> But the snows are coming to the islands,... and on my way home,... in the pass between Valdez & my place, I found at least a foot of new snow, with the DOT plows out keeping it off the road,.... :bluebounc:waving:


Hey! You need to knock it down a notch! 



Those are some nice picures!

How warm does your summer get?


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## Dave T

Awesome pics AB! 

I'm telling you... you have a "knack" with that camera. Great stuff... and keep em coming for us "dreamers".


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## TheBossMan2000

wow...gorgeous picks AB....You have a beautiful place up there and an amazing wilderness!! Let us know when u get your first big snow!!


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## MatthewG

Sasquatch footprints arn't they.......?


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## BoyneCityGuy

Just subscribing for the season...jealous that you have snow already, looks great though! best of luck hunting and plowing!


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## Lux Lawn

Nice looking place you got.


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## The Cow Man

Lucky.., it's just cold here at the moment, hopefully by november we get some.


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## ajslands

AB do you have a guest room? I wanna move in! Is it cold up there? If so I'll probably need a coat, and some gloves, maybe a hat too! Oh and an extension cord so I can plug my truck in


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## PrimoSR

Alaska Boss;1091154 said:


> I think I've posted a couple pics of my place in previous posts somewhere,... but here's one that's handy,... it's not too big, but it works good for me,.... very warm & very functional,.. plus all the logs for the whole place, house & shop, cost a grand total of $20 (subsistance house-log permit from BLM),... so when you do everything yourself,... from finding-felling-hauling-peeling-fitting a standing tree into a finished house,... it definitely gives a person a sense of satisfaction knowing you created a nice home from scratch, with your own blood, sweat & hands,... wesport


Very cool! Something I would like to do sometime too. Turned out very well. How much land do you have?


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## 91AK250

hey dave looks like we may be seeing some snow tomorrow so says the NWS hows things out your way?


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## Alaska Boss

MatthewG;1091793 said:


> Sasquatch footprints arn't they.......?


You know, it kinda looked like it when I first found this,... I'm right at 6', and altho I could stretch out & step in these, there's no way I could just walk along & keep up with that spread, both in length & width,...


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## Alaska Boss

ajslands;1094798 said:


> AB do you have a guest room? I wanna move in! Is it cold up there? If so I'll probably need a coat, and some gloves, maybe a hat too! Oh and an extension cord so I can plug my truck in


Well, you better bring more than that. This morning it was -2°F, (-18°C), and that's just a tease for what's coming soon.



PrimoSR;1095576 said:


> Very cool! Something I would like to do sometime too. Turned out very well. How much land do you have?


I have about 14 acres,.. which is enough to keep any & all neighbors out of sight,... and all the other land around here is federal or state,... so nothing will ever change :bluebounc



91AK250;1096128 said:


> hey dave looks like we may be seeing some snow tomorrow so says the NWS hows things out your way?


Everything here is froze up and doesn't thaw out in the daytime anymore. The lakes & ponds are frozen thick enough to ice skate on, so when it does finally snow again, it's here to stay. But we don't really have any snow other than "occ. flurries" in the forecast for the whole week,... but then again that's coming from the NWS,.. and what do they know?? 

Well, it's been a whole month now since I started plowing in September, and we've had a couple of light dustings, and that's it. And with a brand new sled sitting under the shop overhang for 3½ weeks now, I finally decided I can't wait anymore,... so I loaded the thing up, and headed a little south of me to the mountain pass area that is just north of Valdez,.. since I knew that they have had 1-2 feet of snow so far,... and I wanted to try out this new sled,... just to see if it even runs,...


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## Alaska Boss

Up at the top, the wind was blowing pretty hard,... and was causing some drifting in certain parts of the road. Also, there were several places where people were already skiing & snowboarding,... as far up the hillsides as they felt like hiking,...


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## Alaska Boss

So, I found a calm place to drive off the highway & unloaded the new sled,...


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## wolfmobile8

wish I could rip my sled around that early in the season


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## Alaska Boss

.......... and took off,... the snow was set up very firm,.... due mostly to the almost non-stop winds that blow thru the upper mountain regions,....


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## Alaska Boss

Some places the snow was blown bare,... other places the snow was knee-deep,... and I found some snow drifts 3-4 feet thick,...


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## wolfmobile8

nice rev that looks like a sick place to ride when there is alot of snow


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## Alaska Boss

It was fun tho riding around again,... even tho I had to be careful where I went, cause there were still plenty of exposed rocks around,...


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## Alaska Boss

wolfmobile8;1096568 said:


> nice rev that looks like a sick place to ride when there is alot of snow


yep, this area gets so much snow, that you could literally ride around here 12 months of the year,... altho in July-Sept you might not be able to travel too far,... :redbounce


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## Alaska Boss

Even tho I was dressed for around 0° weather, I only rode around for about an hour or so,... because with the wind, the wind chill must have been at least -20° or -30°,...

So, since there's nothing to plow yet, it was fun to at least get out and ride around a little,... I guess I'm in one of those rare places where you can just jump in your truck, and in 45 min, drive into a different season,.... :waving:


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## DareDog

how did the new sled go?


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## Dave T

Great pics AB... and a nice sled. Same question as above... how's the new sled?


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## DareDog

ok ok now im jealous!! I got to wait another 2 months to ride


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## Alaska Boss

DareDog;1096585 said:


> how did the new sled go?





Dave T;1096592 said:


> Great pics AB... and a nice sled. Same question as above... how's the new sled?


This is the Tundra LT w/600 ACE 4-stroke engine,... with a 16"x154"x1½" track. It's a utility sled,... designed to get the best fuel economy of any sled ever offered by anyone (29mpg), and I think they said the quietest @ 73db (or maybe 71db, I can't remember). It's only 60hp, so it's no ball of fire, but I mainly run my traplines with these machines, and my older 2-strokes only got about 8-9mpg in the real world,... so if I can cut my gas bills by ½ or maybe two thirds, I'll pay for this thing in 2 or 3 years, plus 100% of injector oil expense is gone. It runs right up to 60mph no problem, and I don't need to go faster than that. For those that want to high-mark, and need 150hp to scream around on, this is not the sled you'd want. But the track spinning in the tub makes more noise than the engine does,... :bluebounc:waving:


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## Banksy

It's going to be over 80 here this week. Your pictures are such a tease, but I can't get enough of them. Nice sled and I like the ramp you have in your truck. A buddy has the same type/concept.


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## G&T LAWN

Im not ready for that yet. Still mowing grass in iowa.


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## mercer_me

So how do you like the new Tundra, Alaska Boss?


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## dieseld

Subscribing. Sorry so late. Looking forward to another season of pictures.


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## Mackman

you Alaska guys should not be alowed to post snow pics intill the dec. of every year. Always got to rub it in. lol


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## spencer087

subscribing. Gonna be my first year of truck plowing. Ill be one of few in my area. Snow is so unpredictible here and we usually get more ice storms than anything. Im still mowing grass right now. probably wont see snow until late december. It'll take me a few years to pay for my plow and truck


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## m.$terner

bighornjd;1078199 said:


> WHAT! No plows on the trucks yet and already snow covering the windshields? LOL.
> 
> Around here people would act like that is a blizzard. You wouldn't be able to get within 500' of a grocery store...


lol. thats 100% correct. sometimes i think the weather channels own the grocery stores and predict snow for no reason just so the store can sell mass amounts of food. people act like they wont be able to leave there house for a week.LMAO


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## deere615

stores around here sell outta milk and bread fast and gas stations always have a line!


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## ajman21

all the snow shovel seem to start flying off the shelf as well!


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## RamPainting LLC

Looks like we got you beat by a hair, 22.5" from this monster storm that just moved through the Colorado mountains @ 9,000 feet. didn't take much plowing pics  I was more worried about being the 1st guy out on my sled in the western states :laughing: Here a pic from Rollins Pass, CO around 10,000 feet 10-25-2010.


----------



## dfd9

Alaska Boss;1082444 said:


> Thanks for all the comments & posts,... but winter has left here as fast as it came. This huge storm system in the Gulf of Alaska (Hurricane Force Wind Warning last Friday) right out where I fish in the summer, has swept thru at least the southern half of Alaska with very high winds, and very warm temps,... and almost all our snow is gone now, except the tops of the mountains,.. which I kinda figured was going to happen. So, rather than sit at home & pout about it,... I went and picked up the new \"ballast\" for my plow truck, that has been on order since last spring,... a 2011 Ski-doo Tundra LT w/600 4-stroke engine. It\'s not a power-house, since it is a utility machine, (154 x 16\" track), but they claim 29mpg, which is 3 times better than anything I have now,... so in a couple more weeks, we\'ll see,... :bluebouncwesport


Very nice, good luck with it.

Better you than me for this early of snow, though.


----------



## Alaska Boss

RamPainting said:


> Looks like we got you beat by a hair, 22.5" from this monster storm that just moved through the Colorado mountains @ 9,000 feet. didn't take much plowing pics  I was more worried about being the 1st guy out on my sled in the western states :laughing: Here a pic from Rollins Pass, CO around 10,000 feet 10-25-2010.


Wow,.. that's really cool,... but it's sure is weird how different the elevations are,... you're riding around @ 10,000 ft, and I'm just a little above 2,000 ft. 10,000' around here would result in a permanent ice field that would never thaw out,... and I've been on a couple. I think they've said that there has been between 40"-50" of snow in the pass area just to the south of me so far this winter, but you can't tell, because the wind always blows so much of it away. But again,... that's a cool picture,... can't wait (and might not have to for too much longer) until there's that much here. :bluebounc:salute:


----------



## Alaska Boss

Thanks again for the comments,... been gone & busy, gone & busy, gone & busy for the last week or so, but we got a little more snow again,.... from 4-8" in this general area, which isn't much at all yet for the end of October, but at least we are froze up,... I've seen sleds ripping across lakes,.. kids ice skating on them, roads are snow-packed, etc. , so winter is here. Just a couple pics for now,... then tomorrow I'll post a couple new plowing pics,... payup:waving:


----------



## GMCHD plower

Alaska Boss;1101363 said:


> Thanks again for the comments,... been gone & busy, gone & busy, gone & busy for the last week or so, but we got a little more snow again,.... from 4-8" in this general area, which isn't much at all yet for the end of October, but at least we are froze up,... I've seen sleds ripping across lakes,.. kids ice skating on them, roads are snow-packed, etc. , so winter is here. Just a couple pics for now,... then tomorrow I'll post a couple new plowing pics,... payup:waving:


LUCKY! haha The most I've seen this year is about a 1/4"-1/2" haha


----------



## vt properties

Sucribed...read your thread last year in one day over the summer....very addicting and unbelievable pics..truly breathtaking...We have been getting some flurries and the top of Stowe mtn 2 miles from my house has skiable snow. My bro took a run already. I'm just getting my gear ready this week hopefully we have a plowable event in Nov. Have a good season


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## Alaska Boss

Well, most of my plow-calls ended up calling back & saying,.. "let's wait",... which was fine by me, since most of the areas only had 3"-4",... but at least the ground & everything is froze up hard now. But I did take a couple snaps of some of what I did today,... but most wanted to leave it and have a snow-pack base, so I don't scrape up all their gravel, etc.


----------



## Alaska Boss

But one of the things I did this past week, was to get my truck doors lettered,... it was pretty easy to do,... and might not be the most fancy thing out there,... but at least it's an identification,...


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## 91AK250

looks great!!! glad your getting some good snow...well compared to us! we just have a trace amount.

but out in wasilla they have about 1/2" heres a pic of the Glenn today. i was glad to be driving my new excursion so i had to rack up the miles


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## Alaska Boss

But it didn't really seem like "plowing" with such small amounts,... more like I was just scratching around on the ground,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

91AK250;1102190 said:


> looks great!!! glad your getting some good snow...well compared to us! we just have a trace amount.
> 
> but out in wasilla they have about 1/2" heres a pic of the Glenn today. i was glad to be driving my new excursion so i had to rack up the miles


Glad you're getting things close to back to normal Russ,... I stopped in @ Truckwell on Friday & got what I needed to get my 9.2 rebuilt (I think), and it seemed like it was still summer-time there,... one bank said 51° out on their sign,... it was about +10° here today,... :waving:

Well,... at least it was a few jobs to do,... there's more snow in the forecast for later this week,... so maybe we can finally get this place into full-blown winter-mode !! :bluebounc:waving:


----------



## Dave T

AB,

That lettering looks sharp... especially on that truck.


----------



## chevyman51

Lettering looks good. It don't have to be fancy to get the job done.


----------



## mercer_me

I like the lettering. Small storms are nice some time. You usualy don't get stuck, wich is nice.


----------



## plowguy43

I hope I don't drunk dial you sometime....nice pics I'm jealous.


----------



## nicksplowing

plowguy43;1102433 said:


> I hope I don't drunk dial you sometime....nice pics I'm jealous.


now thats funny

great pics dave keep em comin


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## mercer_me

plowguy43;1102433 said:


> I hope I don't drunk dial you sometime....nice pics I'm jealous.


:laughing:LMAO:laughing:


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## deere615

I agree that lettering looks amazing! looks so much better than the magnets and looks real nice on that color truck


----------



## Lux Lawn

Truck looks nice.


----------



## Alaska Boss

plowguy43;1102433 said:


> I hope I don't drunk dial you sometime....nice pics I'm jealous.


It's ok,... I'll just return the call,... :waving:



deere615;1102778 said:


> I agree that lettering looks amazing! looks so much better than the magnets and looks real nice on that color truck


I agree,... I never did like magnets, but's that all I had access to at the time. Just recently I found a site or two where you can design your own logos & letterings,... so I played around with things for a while,... came up with this design,.. and took it to a local sign place in Anchorage, and they copied it as best they could,.... I think my mountains were a little better than these,.. but it still turned out ok,....

Well, last night I got about ½" of new snow, but just south of me a few miles they got upwards of 15",... so I got a call this morning,... and have added another subdivision road to my list,... but this area gets around 250" of snow a winter,... so a pickup will soon be put out of commission,... but that might give me some extra work with the skidsteer later on then,... in any case, I headed down the road,.... payup


----------



## Alaska Boss

Snow got deeper the farther I went down the road,.. til I got to the place that called,... so I started in,... this is more like it,... !! wesport


----------



## Alaska Boss

Once I got back into the area where the people live, some of them came out to watch me,.. so I didn't stop & take too many pictures,... didn't want them to wonder what the heck this guy is doing taking all these photos of his truck & snow,...


----------



## spencer087

That truck is the bomb. Good ol' Missouri!


----------



## 91AK250

looking good! its snowing here currently, nothing worth mentionioing except it will make the roads a mess tomorrow haha


----------



## Alaska Boss

They use part of an access road to the pipeline, which many people do,... so I made it as wide as I could,.. knowing full well that later on, things are going to get narrowed down fast,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

spencer087;1103233 said:


> That truck is the bomb. Good ol' Missouri!


It's the best thing I've ever seen that came out of MO,... :salute:



91AK250;1103242 said:


> looking good! its snowing here currently, nothing worth mentionioing except it will make the roads a mess tomorrow haha


Yeah, we're gonna get more too,... just try and not let little ol' ladies plow into your rigs anymore this winter,.. ok ?? :realmad:

So, anyways,... this was the first snowfall of the year that truely had people snowed in,... with many more to come,... :waving:


----------



## DIRISHMAN

HELLO ALASKA Haven't talked to you since this past summer.How was you summer seen most of your fishin pic's or were those the one from a year or to ago. Good to see ya got the white gold goin on already.Well hey just wanted to say hello and hope your year is good. 
P.S MAYBE LEAVIN THIS GOOD FORSAKEN STATE I LIVE IN FOR A JOB IN WYOMING......more snow and real people .....


----------



## Stik208

deere615;1102778 said:


> I agree that lettering looks amazing! looks so much better than the magnets and looks real nice on that color truck


Im going to disagree, I would prefer magnets for easy removal when not working.


----------



## chevyman51

That last pic it awesome


----------



## dfd9

Alaska Boss;1102189 said:


> But one of the things I did this past week, was to get my truck doors lettered,... it was pretty easy to do,... and might not be the most fancy thing out there,... but at least it\'s an identification,...


Lettering looks great.


----------



## mercer_me

chevyman51;1103586 said:


> That last pic it awesome


Ya it is. That is a realy good picture Alaska Boss.


----------



## fordzilla

awesome! this is all we got


----------



## GMCHD plower

Alaska Boss;1103214 said:


> It's ok,... I'll just return the call,... :waving:
> 
> I agree,... I never did like magnets, but's that all I had access to at the time. Just recently I found a site or two where you can design your own logos & letterings,... so I played around with things for a while,... came up with this design,.. and took it to a local sign place in Anchorage, and they copied it as best they could,.... I think my mountains were a little better than these,.. but it still turned out ok,....
> 
> Well, last night I got about ½" of new snow, but just south of me a few miles they got upwards of 15",... so I got a call this morning,... and have added another subdivision road to my list,... but this area gets around 250" of snow a winter,... *so a pickup will soon be put out of commission,... *but that might give me some extra work with the skidsteer later on then,... in any case, I headed down the road,.... payup


So your going to give up the subdivison once winter gets rolling? Or?


----------



## xtreem3d

I can't even imagine 250" ( 21 feet) of snow per year !!!!


----------



## Elwer Lawn Care

Does everyone have the areas they want plowed marked good up there? From the one picture, i wouldn't even know where the drive begins..


----------



## GMCHD plower

xtreem3d;1103852 said:


> I can't even imagine 250" ( 21 feet) of snow per year !!!!


Same here! I think it'd be fun getting that much snow for a little while, then we'd all probably get sick of it. haha


----------



## Alaska Boss

Well,.. we've had a major snow storm dump on us here 2 days ago,... with most areas getting anywhere from 10" to 3 feet or more. I had about 15" or so right at my house,... but needless to say, I've got my work cut out for me now for a few days. Haven't taken too many pictures tho yet, but will try & snap a few more today. Some of these areas went from almost bare ground to buried overnight. This is my car (I think,.. )


----------



## Dave T

Yep, that's plenty of snow right there. 

Looks like you'll be busy for a while.


----------



## Alaska Boss

The other 2 trucks are buried too,... and these were taken before it was all over,...


----------



## loggerman

SWEET! We may get some sunday nite into monday.


----------



## Alaska Boss

So,... I better get back out there & hit it again... but here it is just the beginning of November,... and I'm already stacking piles as high as I can,... this was the biggest single snow storm to hit us right here in probably 5 - 10 years,.... but the folks in Valdez would look at this and just yawn,... :waving:


----------



## MatthewG

I see your Ski Doo just mutated into a 4 wheeler


----------



## toby4492

Love the pics, keep them coming.


----------



## grnstripes

NICE


----------



## chevyman51

cant wait to see more pictures


----------



## mercer_me

Great pictures. That Boss V plow sure does stack good.


----------



## spencer087

MatthewG;1106594 said:
 

> I see your Ski Doo just mutated into a 4 wheeler


LOL i don't know why that made me laugh so hard :laughing:


----------



## deere615

ahh the memories from our storm in feburary! have fun AB!


----------



## Alaska Boss

MatthewG;1106594 said:


> I see your Ski Doo just mutated into a 4 wheeler


haha,... yep it did. The 4-wheeler was in the way for me to plow out my own yard, and since I had to move it anyway, and the truck was empty, I just drove it into the back for ballast,... which actually works a little better than a sled,... since more weight is more towards the back. I've got at least a couple more long full days of plowing left,... but now there's up to another 8" of snow for tonight in the forecast,... so maybe I'll have to start all over again,... payup


----------



## Alaska Boss

Even tho it's a little harder to do,.. I like plowing a lot of snow,... just makes it feel like you're really helping your customers out,... when it's so deep that they can't get out of their own yards,... wesport


----------



## Alaska Boss

The majority of my plow jobs the last couple days have been in areas of the least snowfall,.... but after plowing 20" for awhile,... plowing only about 10" seems like a dusting,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

This snow storm will provide a good boundry & guide for road edges & pile locations now for the rest of the winter,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

This dry snow on frozen dry ground doesn't make much of a base,... so it scrapes right down to the gravel,... no need to sand these roads,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

Only the folks that had some type of 4WD could even get out of their yards for the last couple days.


----------



## Alaska Boss

Full-size piles have to be pushed back as far as possible to leave as much room as I can,... since it's a long time before April gets here,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

The last couple days have started around 5am, and plow til midnight,... and other than having the right blade return spring break, and the left blade marker fall off,... truck & plow have performed flawlessly,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

But I haven't gone into the area yet of the deepest snow from this storm,... (35"-40"),... the same new access road I just acquired last week,... this is about ½ mile long road to open up that has at least 3 feet of new snow on it, along with 3 private yards to clear out,... that's going to be a tough job for a pickup to do,.. but these folks are used to being snowed in for days at a time,... so they said come do us whenever you can,... so,... that's going to be the most extreme job this Chevy has ever seen,... pictures of that to follow in a day or two,... :waving::waving:


----------



## 91AK250

thats where the V blade really shines, breaking in drives/roads that are packed.

i got a pretty good workout the other night with about 8" of heavy wet stuff up on the hillside. poor truck was giving all she had but got the job done. looks like we finally have winter also!

be safe!


----------



## tls22

Great pics AB......you do great work.


----------



## BigLou80

AB,
Is everybody you plow for wealthy lol ? How many thousands of dollars do they pay you in a single winter ?
Im not sure how many times you plow and what you charge but I wouldn't have to work all summer with that amount of snow (21 feet)
I usually plow around 10-15 times ( depending on the size of the storm) and people would freak out if there was 36" of snow in their driveways. 36" would probably be 4 plowings


----------



## justinizzi

Do you still use the other 2 truck for plowing.


----------



## 91AK250

he likes to switch off lol


----------



## jlouki01

Alaska

Did you convert the headlights on that truck to something other than factory? They look really clear.. none of mine look like that. They are all hazy and yellow.


----------



## BOSS TOY

:yow!:Thanks for the pictures. Amazing. Amazing.:bluebounc


----------



## joey7599

wich truck is your daily driver


----------



## Newfie Ranger

Don't mean to sound like a wingnut AB, but you guys have some beautiful country up there. Thanks for sharing the pics.


----------



## Alaska Boss

BigLou80;1107758 said:


> AB,
> Is everybody you plow for wealthy lol ? How many thousands of dollars do they pay you in a single winter ?
> Im not sure how many times you plow and what you charge but I wouldn't have to work all summer with that amount of snow (21 feet)
> I usually plow around 10-15 times ( depending on the size of the storm) and people would freak out if there was 36" of snow in their driveways. 36" would probably be 4 plowings


Well, I don't think any of the folks around here are wealthy,... but life & times are just a lot different around here than what most people would be used to in other areas of the country. This is the first year that I'm attempting any snow removal down in the heavy snow areas. I'm about 80 miles north of Valdez,... and I could literally count on one hand the number of households that live in that 80 miles. This new group of families that I'm doing south of me have only been there about 5 or 6 years,... they're young & adventurous,... and know that they live in extreme snow conditons that will involve many days of being snowed in & extra expense in dealing with it,... ultimately, they should invest in the means to deal with it themselves if they want the freedom to have access all the time, all winter long.



justinizzi;1107934 said:


> Do you still use the other 2 truck for plowing.


I do, but I'm going to stop using the '92 for plowing unless I absolutely have to. It's going to die if I use it for plowing too much more,... and I'd rather just use it for regular pickup stuff,... to help it live a little longer,....



jlouki01;1108365 said:


> Alaska
> 
> Did you convert the headlights on that truck to something other than factory? They look really clear.. none of mine look like that. They are all hazy and yellow.


I bought a set of those clear "Euro-style" housings on the '92, which I really like, but on the newer truck, I just treated the headlight housing with that "clear-light" treatment that "washes" away the haziness & yellowing, etc. It helped.



joey7599;1108573 said:


> wich truck is your daily driver


I don't really have a "daliy driver". I just use which ever truck is the best suited to do whatever I have to do. My "daily driver", is my little car, that I use if I just have to go somewhere.

We had a major funeral around here this past weekend,... the guy that was like my father to me passed away last week, so my snow plowing got a little behind. Today I'm going down to open up the road that was been snowed in since last Thursday (they now have had more than 5 feet of new snow since Thursday). I know I can't do that with a truck, so I have my skid steer loaded up & will see what I can do with that. Pictures to follow,... :waving:


----------



## chevyman51

Good luck and sorry for your loss


----------



## mercer_me

Alaska Boss;1109212 said:


> We had a major funeral around here this past weekend,... the guy that was like my father to me passed away last week, so my snow plowing got a little behind.


I'm very sorry for your loss. I know what you are going through, I lost a close frind of mine abount a month ago. The church was packed, alot of people coudn't evan get a seat.


----------



## 1PapaDock4

So sorry to hear of your loss AB.


----------



## GMCHD plower

We had a major funeral around here this past weekend,... the guy that was like my father to me passed away last week, so my snow plowing got a little behind. Today I'm going down to open up the road that was been snowed in since last Thursday (they now have had more than 5 feet of new snow since Thursday). I know I can't do that with a truck, so I have my skid steer loaded up & will see what I can do with that. Pictures to follow,... :waving:[/QUOTE]

Sorry to hear about your loss AB.


----------



## sven_502

Sorry to hear about your loss AB.


----------



## Young Pup

Sorry to hear about your loss. Hope you have better days ahead.


----------



## Pinky Demon

How old is your 8' 2" V Alaska? Which one do you usually use when opening drives, the 8 or 9?


----------



## BigLou80

Sorry for your loss AB.


----------



## 91AK250

i'm very sorry to hear if your loss Dave! time heals all wounds they say..but damnit time takes awhile. 

on a better note i'm glad your getting snow! we finally got a decent amount 6+" in town and more up where i live. i've made plenty of extra cash with picking up a few extra houses this winter and they dont really take me much longer.


----------



## Alaska Boss

chevyman51;1109219 said:


> Good luck and sorry for your loss





mercer_me;1109230 said:


> I'm very sorry for your loss. I know what you are going through, I lost a close frind of mine abount a month ago. The church was packed, alot of people coudn't evan get a seat.





1PapaDock4;1109434 said:


> So sorry to hear of your loss AB.





GMCHD plower;1109478 said:


> Sorry to hear about your loss AB.





sven_502;1109522 said:


> Sorry to hear about your loss AB.





Young Pup;1109627 said:


> Sorry to hear about your loss. Hope you have better days ahead.





BigLou80;1109826 said:


> Sorry for your loss AB.


Thanks everyone. There's a big hole here now in our community, and even all across the State of Alaska. I don't think I've ever seen a group of people gathered together in this area here as big as what we had on Saturday. Being a pall bearer to one of your best friends in life is not the best way to spend a weekend,... but there is also great comfort in knowing that he is now safely in the presence of the One in whom he put his faith & trust,.... 

Well, at least all this snow we've gotten lately is a good distraction to sadness & grief,... and so the battle for bare ground continues. I went down today to the area that has had so much snow and altho there wasn't as much as I had been told, there was still alot. I hauled my skid steer down there, thinking that a truck wouldn't be much good trying to push 4-5 feet of snow, but with the rain they had earlier, along with settling, the on-ground depth was at around 3 feet. It was a toss-up as to whether the truck or skid was faster, so I used both. I had to park the truck & trailer on the edge of the road until I made a spot to get them off the road,....


----------



## 91AK250

was that a volvo xc90 stuck in the driveway you were clearing out? lol i just noticed that.


----------



## SnoBull

Little late on catching up with this thread but I'm sorry to hear of your loss AB.


----------



## Alaska Boss

Pinky Demon;1109728 said:


> How old is your 8' 2" V Alaska? Which one do you usually use when opening drives, the 8 or 9?


The 8.2 was new to me last year. It's a 2003 model, just like the 9.2, but my friend whom I bought it from had never used it, never even registered it, so it sat for 6 years in his shed. The 9.2 is not useable right now,... it needs a complete rebuild & overhaul if/when I get the time, so the 8.2 is doing all the work right now.



91AK250;1109943 said:


> i'm very sorry to hear if your loss Dave! time heals all wounds they say..but damnit time takes awhile.
> 
> on a better note i'm glad your getting snow! we finally got a decent amount 6+" in town and more up where i live. i've made plenty of extra cash with picking up a few extra houses this winter and they dont really take me much longer.


Ya, I know, thanks Russ,... another thing I know about time is that we all have one less day of it than we did yesterday, so don't waste any. But speaking of time, how are your bumps & bruises doing? I can always tell when Anchorage gets snow by the news reports of how many hundreds of accidents there were in town that day,... 



91AK250;1109948 said:


> was that a volvo xc90 stuck in the driveway you were clearing out? lol i just noticed that.


I don't know,.. (see pic below)

I made one post last night, then my internet went off & stayed off til this morning,... so I'll post a couple more.

These folks that live right here usually keep a couple of their cars parked right by the highway all winter, so in case they have to get out, then only have to shovel 100 feet rather than a half mile or so,...

prsport


----------



## Alaska Boss

SnoBull;1110053 said:


> Little late on catching up with this thread but I'm sorry to hear of your loss AB.


Thanks

I started out using the skid, but it was just so slow, so I tried the truck, and found that I could do it faster with the truck,... rather than trying any kind of straight push, I just made sideways sweeps,.. taking about a 1-foot bite with each one.


----------



## Alaska Boss

It got dark fast,... and so I did most of this at night,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

It was tough to open up their yards tho,... just so much snow to pile somewhere,... and this is just the start,... there's tons more coming....


----------



## Alaska Boss

I got the road as wide as I could,.. but sooner or later, they're going to have to get some bigger equipment in here to ramp things back,... cause after the next big dump or two, I'm done.


----------



## MatthewG

-900 degrees and you plow with an open cab on the skid, your the man!


----------



## Alaska Boss

A couple shots after I got it all done,.... they were sure happy to be able to drive in again,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

I don't have the proper equipment that is needed to deal with the amount of snow these folks are going to get this winter,... and no one else does around here either,... so I'm not sure what else they can do,... unless they can get the Alyeska Pipeline Co. to come in once in a while with something big,...

And so, after I got loaded up & was ready to head for home,... it started snowing again,... so this might have been all for nothing,....

:waving::waving:


----------



## Alaska Boss

MatthewG;1110208 said:


> -900 degrees and you plow with an open cab on the skid, your the man!


Haha,... well, I don't have a door, so there's nothing I can do about it,... temps were only about +18°, so it wasn't too bad, but you have to dress properly,... altho I do have hand warmers on the controls,... :yow!:

But now I'm off to plow some more of my regular customers with these easy 6"-8" dustings,... wesport

:waving::waving:


----------



## Pushin 2 Please

6"- 8" dustings. I love that. Thats a good storm down here!


----------



## SnoBull

Definately a good storm here too. That last pic the snow looks to be at least 3-4' deep. That is something else. What a site!!


----------



## chevyman51

6in shuts the town down here


----------



## erkoehler

Pushin 2 Please;1110228 said:


> 6"- 8" dustings. I love that. Thats a good storm down here!


That is a awesome storm!


----------



## erkoehler

Alaska Boss;1110209 said:


> A couple shots after I got it all done,.... they were sure happy to be able to drive in again,....


What do you charge for a cleanup like that?


----------



## dfd9

Sorry to hear that AB, I\'ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. 

Looks like you need a bigger skidsteer with a snowblower for that road.


----------



## snow problem

AB, love you ptcures and post, how long did it take you to do that job?


----------



## plowguy43

I can't believe you didn't get stuck stacking that snow! Man that is crazy how much snow you already have.


----------



## DareDog

Chevy Trucks wesport

how did the truck do? towing with plow on.


----------



## Dave T

Unbelievable pics AB... absolutely unbelievable! We probably won't set that much snow all season (I hope).


----------



## mercer_me

DareDog;1110378 said:


> Chevy Trucks wesport


Older Chevy Trucks wesport IMO. I'm not so sure about the new ones.


----------



## GMCHD plower

Nice pics AB!! What are the lights you have on the back of the truck? They look bright!!


----------



## Young Pup

Wow AB, that is moving some snow right there. So how much more did you get today?? That sure does look good for us looking to get in on some of that action.


----------



## BigLou80

Alaska Boss;1110219 said:


> I don't have the proper equipment that is needed to deal with the amount of snow these folks are going to get this winter,... and no one else does around here either,... so I'm not sure what else they can do,... unless they can get the Alyeska Pipeline Co. to come in once in a while with something big,...
> 
> And so, after I got loaded up & was ready to head for home,... it started snowing again,... so this might have been all for nothing,....
> 
> :waving::waving:


I don't know what your budget or time frame are but used highway equipment can be had fairly inexpensively at auctions around here. V plows like the one at the bottom of this page are so cheap they are used as signs in front of shops. It would probably cost you more to ship one then to buy it.


----------



## sven_502

AB, how does that 1840 do starting in the cold? Do you have to plug it in? We have one at work and it has no cold starting aids except a block heater, and its useless below -10 C without it.


----------



## nicksplowing

great pics as usual and awesome to see that much snow already

could you put a blower on the front of the case to blow that snow further into the woods dave?


----------



## snowman6

I am a little late as well. But I am very sorry for your loss AB. Great job on the battle to bare pavement.:salute:


----------



## plowguy43

DareDog;1110378 said:


> Chevy Trucks wesport
> 
> how did the truck do? towing with plow on.


That was kinda my point as how surprised I am he didn't get stuck. In most of his stacking pictures so much snow falls behind the blade and the front of the truck sits so low that I'm surprised it got out. Nice pics nonetheless.


----------



## TheBossMan2000

Once again...those are some more awesome pics!! You look like you have gotten a ton of snow already!


----------



## BOSS TOY

I hope it doesnt snow like that here.:bluebounc


----------



## Alaska Boss

dfd9;1110259 said:


> Sorry to hear that AB, I\'ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
> 
> Looks like you need a bigger skidsteer with a snowblower for that road.


Yeah, that would be better, but I'm not about to buy something else just for this one job,... especially when it could go away tomorrow if these folks decide to get something & do this themselves,...



snow problem;1110316 said:


> AB, love you ptcures and post, how long did it take you to do that job?


I think it took between 4-5 hours.



plowguy43;1110322 said:


> I can't believe you didn't get stuck stacking that snow! Man that is crazy how much snow you already have.


I almost never get stuck,.. as a matter of fact, this new '00 truck has never been stuck since I've had it. Other than dropping it off into a ditch or something, about the only way I ever do get stuck is to push too hard into a snow pile & run the truck & plow up onto it & get it high-centered. I know how hard I can push into a pile without doing that, so I don't do it. But having top-of-the-line studded snow tires helps a lot too.



DareDog;1110378 said:


> Chevy Trucks
> how did the truck do? towing with plow on.


It does great,... plow, 4-wheeler, and pulling a 6,000 lb trailer,.. no problem on power, and the temp gauge never moves off of the normal mark,... and no auto tranny to worry about burning up,...



GMCHD plower;1110475 said:


> Nice pics AB!! What are the lights you have on the back of the truck? They look bright!!


Just a set of 'el-cheapo $20 small driving lights,... so I can see something behind me. I plan at some point to have some built-in reverse lighting on this truck, like the '92 has,... but finding the time is always the problem for me,...



Young Pup;1110628 said:


> Wow AB, that is moving some snow right there. So how much more did you get today?? That sure does look good for us looking to get in on some of that action.


After I got that road done that night, the folks called again the next morning & said they got another 8-9" over-night,... but said they'd like to wait, as there was more in the forecast,... I said that's fine,.. but don't let it build up again to 2-3 feet, or I'm not going to do it,.. so we'll see,...



BigLou80;1110646 said:


> I don't know what your budget or time frame are but used highway equipment can be had fairly inexpensively at auctions around here. V plows like the one at the bottom of this page are so cheap they are used as signs in front of shops. It would probably cost you more to ship one then to buy it.


Yeah, well again,... there's no plow on any truck, no matter how big, that can keep a road like this open all winter, when they get over 20 feet of snow. It takes a blower, a dozer, or a big loader,... and I'm not about to saddle myself with another piece of equipment for this one job, that could go away tomorrow if they were to invest in something themselves,...



sven_502;1110656 said:


> AB, how does that 1840 do starting in the cold? Do you have to plug it in? We have one at work and it has no cold starting aids except a block heater, and its useless below -10 C without it.


That's all mine has too, is a block heater,... and if the temps go much below freezing, mine doesn't want to start either, but if you plug it in for an hour or two, she fires right up. I like the 1840, but it's not the ideal machine for doing primarily snow removal,.. and is not the main reason why I bought it. So using it now, early in the season like this for a plow job, is kinda unusual for me,...



nicksplowing;1110687 said:


> great pics as usual and awesome to see that much snow already
> could you put a blower on the front of the case to blow that snow further into the woods dave?


Thanks Nick,... yeah, I could, but I'm just not really that interested in investing in anything for this one job. I have seen a few blowers for skids for sale in Valdez,... and when I talked to the owners, they almost always are selling them because they are just too slow. And I can't spend all day blowing this one road out either. So, once it gets to the point that I can't do anymore,.. either they get Alyeska or DOT to come in with something big,... or they're gonna have to walk in & out until next June.



TheBossMan2000;1111482 said:


> Once again...those are some more awesome pics!! You look like you have gotten a ton of snow already!


Thanks, and yeah, we've had some snow lately,... but this is no record or anything like that by any means. In Sept we got 8-10", then almost nothing in October,... now Nov has dumped on us pretty good so far,... so these "drought-dump" cycles are pretty common around here. But, this is just the start, as we have 6 more months of snow season left to go,... payup

There's more snow in the forecast for Friday thru Sunday,... so until then, I'm going to try & get all the little 6" plow jobs done around here,... after that big job down south of me,.. plowing 6" seems like it's not worth doing,.... 

:waving::waving:


----------



## SnoBull

Have you seen any deer or moose lately AB when you were out plowing?


----------



## Alaska Boss

SnoBull;1113270 said:


> Have you seen any deer or moose lately AB when you were out plowing?


No deer, since all the deer in Alaska are on the islands, except in the very southern end of the panhandle,... but I see moose all the time, but usually don't stop & take pictures,... and with the noise & flashing lights, they usually don't hang around while I'm plowing.


----------



## Alaska Boss

I got a call yesterday from a friend who wanted me to plow access to some property he has along an old airstrip a little south of where I live, so I went down there & punched a trail in. There's maybe 1½-2 feet of snow on the ground, but with a V, it's no problem charging right in & opening things up,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

At least it was nice smooth plowing too,.... no stumps or boulders to worry about hitting,... and now,.. more snow in the forecast,...

:waving:


----------



## FordFisherman

Looks good, how's the new rig holding up?


----------



## mercer_me

It's 60 degrees in Maine today. Alaska Boss do need any help plowing? I'll plow for room and board.


----------



## Alaska Boss

mercer_me;1114281 said:


> It's 60 degrees in Maine today. Alaska Boss do need any help plowing? I'll plow for room and board.


Well, at times I sure could,.. but about the time you'd make it up here, your own customers would probably be calling you for your first snowfall. But being from Maine, at least you'd know a moose when you hit one,... :waving:



FordFisherman;1114015 said:


> Looks good, how's the new rig holding up?


The new truck is doing just great,... not the slightest issue yet, (knock on wood or,... something else). I've got close to 50 plow jobs in the bank now so far, and most of these have been pushing a little more snow than the first jobs in some years. The plow needs to get thawed out & have a little maintanence done to it,.. maybe this coming week,.. which looks like our first stretch of below zero weather may finally be coming,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Well, I think I finally got caught up today with all the rest of my plow jobs,... these last ones were mostly from folks who are gone for the time being,... which is nice,.. then I can do them at my leisure,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

This year we have dry snow on dry frozen ground,... so it will take a while for a snow base to get built up.... but at least there's no slippery or icy conditions when I can scrape it down to mostly bare gravel... wesport


----------



## Dave T

Man, that's still a lot of snow that you are plowing there AB. That rig of yours does an impressive job... that's for sure.


----------



## Alaska Boss

Exposing sand & gravel around homes & on driveways actually attacks birds that need some sand & little stones for their crops, so they can grind up the seeds they eat,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

But, it's good to be caught up too,... now I might have time to get out in the woods,.... and try out the new sleds,... :bluebounc:redbounce

:waving::waving:


----------



## fireboy5722

Looks grat ab hopefully i get my truck fixed this week and we get some snow down here (keeping my fingers crossed).payup


----------



## DareDog

looks like your really busy still got the atv in back


----------



## Moonlighter

Great pics as always AB, glad to hear your having a good season so far. I love to see the views you have there, I can not wait to be able to visit.


----------



## BOSS TOY

I just cant believe how much snow your pushing with that truck. Great pictures, Thanks.


----------



## dieseld

BOSS TOY;1114944 said:


> I just cant believe how much snow your pushing with that truck. Great pictures, Thanks.


How about it? What amazes me is that he stops to take a picture with 4' of snow in front of him busting into a fresh driveway and then continues on his way.


----------



## Banksy

The pic with the log cabin is my idea of heaven. Your pics kick ass AB! Thanks for taking the time to post them.


----------



## ddb maine

AB: Not sure if anyone has ever asked before, you've got a long list of posts. Are most of these homes lp generators? I don't see any wires. The ones deep in the woods here are Lp gen and Sat-internet.


----------



## D Mack

I know it's been said a million times but thank you for taking the time to post these incredible pictures. Alaska has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the world!! One thing though, there aren't many women there are there???


----------



## Banksy

D Mack;1115339 said:


> One thing though, there aren't many women there are there???


I hear it's quite a sausage fest. I think I'd have to go with a mail order bride. Heck, Russian is right around the corner.


----------



## Dlongerman

I would Die for even a flurry down here in chicago


----------



## Alaska Boss

dieseld;1114957 said:


> How about it? What amazes me is that he stops to take a picture with 4' of snow in front of him busting into a fresh driveway and then continues on his way.


Stopping & re-starting for pictures is not a problem at all,... I would like to try taking some videos sometime,.. but to do it like I would like,.. will take another person, and another rig,... maybe later this winter I'll try and do that,...



ddb maine;1115060 said:


> AB: Not sure if anyone has ever asked before, you've got a long list of posts. Are most of these homes lp generators? I don't see any wires. The ones deep in the woods here are Lp gen and Sat-internet.


There are a lot of folks around here that do not have electricity,... mainly because we have some of the highest power rates in the country (almost 30¢/kwh). But they almost all have some type of generator, which is usually diesel,... I've never seen an lp generator. Some have gone to solar power too,... but that's not too good in the north during the winter,... with 18-20 hours of darkness around here,... and even less the farther north you go,...



D Mack;1115339 said:


> I know it's been said a million times but thank you for taking the time to post these incredible pictures. Alaska has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the world!! One thing though, there aren't many women there are there???


 When I was a kid, the boys outnumbered the girls maybe 3 to 1,.. not sure why that was,.... But things got worse when we graduated from high school, because if you wanted to continue on to college, most of the time you moved down to the states to do that, so most of the few girls we had even left. and then, they'd find a boyfriend/husband down there, and many never even came back. So, by far and large,... the guys had to find a girlfriend/wife from somewhere else,.. because single, young, available women virtually did not exist in rural Alaska after they became adults. Studies have also shown that women suffer worse "cabin fever" symptoms, depression, etc in the dark, cold climates up here than men, as a whole, so it always seemed to me that most girls do not dream of living in rural Alaska, which is dark & cold,.. or swarming with mosquitoes & bears behind every tree, just waiting to eat you. I think things are more balanced in the larger cities, like Anchorage & Fairbanks, and even out here things are not quite as out-of-whack as they were when I was a kid. But, from a woman's point of view,.. the saying here is,... "the odds are good, but the goods are odd,...." 



Banksy;1115398 said:


> I hear it's quite a sausage fest. I think I'd have to go with a mail order bride. Heck, Russian is right around the corner.


I can think of at least a half-dozen guys right off the top of my head that have mail-order brides, including 1 Russian girl, and a few Canadians. But of course now in this day & age of internet, many people meet that way,... so the "mail-order" might have to be modified to "email-ordered",.... ussmileyflagtymusic

And, on another side note,... post #287 should read,... that sand & gravel "attract birds",.. not "attack birds",....


----------



## BigLou80

Alaska Boss;1116015 said:


> When I was a kid, the boys outnumbered the girls maybe 3 to 1,.. not sure why that was,.... But things got worse when we graduated from high school, because if you wanted to continue on to college, most of the time you moved down to the states to do that, so most of the few girls we had even left. and then, they'd find a boyfriend/husband down there, and many never even came back. So, by far and large,... the guys had to find a girlfriend/wife from somewhere else,.. because single, young, available women virtually did not exist in rural Alaska after they became adults. Studies have also shown that women suffer worse "cabin fever" symptoms, depression, etc in the dark, cold climates up here than men, as a whole, so it always seemed to me that most girls do not dream of living in rural Alaska, which is dark & cold,.. or swarming with mosquitoes & bears behind every tree, just waiting to eat you. I think things are more balanced in the larger cities, like Anchorage & Fairbanks, and even out here things are not quite as out-of-whack as they were when I was a kid. But, from a woman's point of view,.. the saying here is,... "the odds are good, but the goods are odd,...."


I was talking with a much older friend of mine about my wanting to move to Alaska something he wanted to do when he was younger. He said he would have done it in a hart beat and been divorced in less then a year. I don't know if he read those studies or not but it was his opinion that most women couldn't handle the 8 months of winter


----------



## Alaska Boss

Well, we got another 4-5" or so again last night & this morning,... so everything might be starting all over again,... payup


----------



## Alaska Boss

Just checked the forecast tonight, and it looks like we are fianlly going to get our first stint of sub-zero weather of the winter,... temps tomorrow night dipping to -20°F, with windchills to -40°,.... so I'll get the couple more plow jobs I got called for done before then,... :whistling:


----------



## snorider075

Stay warm AB! How many events have you plowed so far?


----------



## dieseld

I am surprised you do not have a detached garage to put your truck in or at least a cheapo carport to keep snow off your truck. What a PITA cleaning that truck off everyday to go plow.


----------



## SnoBull

Good point d. 

How do you clean the truck quickly AB when there's a frozen layer covered in 6'' + in snow. Most around here use brooms, blowers etc, but anything 2 cycle might be tough to start in those sub zero temps.


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## CJsSnowplowing

Can not wait for those 2010 / 2011 season pics. You alway put some awesome pictures on here. Make me feel like I am in Alaska


----------



## mike6256

dieseld;1117176 said:


> I am surprised you do not have a detached garage to put your truck in or at least a cheapo carport to keep snow off your truck. What a PITA cleaning that truck off everyday to go plow.


I'm surprised the truck is shut off long enough for the snow to stick to it!!


----------



## Alaska Boss

snorider075;1117137 said:


> Stay warm AB! How many events have you plowed so far?


Not sure,.. between 50 & 60 I would say,.. plus some free-bees. If I wanted to, I could just about plow something every day from the time the season starts in earnest (mid-Oct on ave), thru April,... but there are actually other things I want to do during the winter too,... 



dieseld;1117176 said:


> I am surprised you do not have a detached garage to put your truck in or at least a cheapo carport to keep snow off your truck. What a PITA cleaning that truck off everyday to go plow.


I have a nice heated shop that is attached to my house,... but it's not big enough to park everything in it. Usually, whatever is in it, are the things that I'm working on, or needing maintanence, etc. Sweeping the fresh snow off of it in the mornings before I leave is nothing,... takes all of a min or so,... and I just get it off the windshield & hood so it doesn't melt,... everything else blows off perfect as soon as I take off,... totally not an issue to me.


SnoBull;1117305 said:


> Good point d.
> 
> How do you clean the truck quickly AB when there's a frozen layer covered in 6'' + in snow. Most around here use brooms, blowers etc, but anything 2 cycle might be tough to start in those sub zero temps.


Not sure what you're asking here,... I have a very soft push broom that I sweep the fresh snow off the trucks with when they get snow on them, which is always dry & fluffy. All my rigs will start right up @ -30° no problem at all, with Amsoil in everything. If it's -50° or colder & I know that I have to go somewhere the following day, I'll put whatever rig I'm going to use in the shop overnight, so it's nice & toasty warm in the morning.



mike6256;1117476 said:


> I'm surprised the truck is shut off long enough for the snow to stick to it!!


Sometimes it's not! If the snow is dumping big-time & I'm not going out til it stops, I may put it in the shop if the truck is warm,.. just so it doesn't get covered in ice when the snow melts on it. If the truck is cold,... let it get covered,... it'll all be blown off before I get out to the highway on it's own,....

But speaking of cold,... it's -8°F (-23°C) outside right now, which is the coldest I've had so far this winter, and still dropping. Suppose to hit around -20° by morning. Got all plow jobs done today again,... so let it get cold! At least we should have a couple of beautiful days coming now,...

:waving:


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## w4hyi

More pics please


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## mercer_me

How many months out of the year do you have to plow?


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## fordpsd

Your so lucky, wish i was pushing snow right now. Awesome pictures as always.


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## Alaska Boss

mercer_me;1118445 said:


> How many months out of the year do you have to plow?


My plowing season runs at least 7 months,.. from October thru April, altho I occ start in September (like this year), and occ I have a job or two in early May. I have seen it snow in every month of the year right here at my place tho, at some time in the past,... :waving:

Well, it was about -15° (-27°C) and clear skies here this morning,... so I jumped on my new machine and broke out one of my trails. The snow was about knee-deep, more or less,... and it was sure great to be out in the woods again,... I never get tired of this,... :bluebounc


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## Alaska Boss

This new sled is so quiet, I could ride right up to things that would normally hear me coming & run off before I ever saw them...


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## Alaska Boss

I sure like winter-time,... no bugs, no mud, no tourists,... just me & nature....


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## Alaska Boss

More shots from my trip today,....


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## Alaska Boss

This nice weather is supposed to hold for another day or two,... a great break from plowing,... :waving::waving:


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## dieseld

Great pic of the eagle.


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## DeVries

Great pics especially the one with the moon over the mountain.


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## mercer_me

Alaska Boss;1119314 said:


> My plowing season runs at least 7 months,.. from October thru April, altho I occ start in September (like this year), and occ I have a job or two in early May. I have seen it snow in every month of the year right here at my place tho, at some time in the past,... :waving:


I figured it snowed till May were you are. We sometimes get alot of snow in April in Maine.


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## mercer_me

Alaska Boss;1119323 said:


> More shots from my trip today,....


Who owns all that land up there?


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## bplow

Very impressive pictures and scenery!!!!


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## Young Pup

Awesome picture of that American Bald Eagle. Such a great back drop for it too.


----------



## mercer_me

Young Pup;1119913 said:


> Awesome picture of that American Bald Eagle. Such a great back drop for it too.


That is a great picture. I love waching Bald Eagles when I'm fishing. I will put fish on the ice for them to eat. It's quite a site when you se them come down and grab the fish and fly up in a tree and eat it.


----------



## Young Pup

mercer_me;1119926 said:


> That is a great picture. I love waching Bald Eagles when I'm fishing. I will put fish on the ice for them to eat. It's quite a site when you se them come down and grab the fish and fly up in a tree and eat it.


Oh that would be a site to see. I am trying to form a picture in my head. :waving:


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## KJ Cramer

So very beautiful. Wish I had a nice route like that with all that snow, I'd be in heaven!


----------



## jasonosu

Awesome stuff, love to vacation there


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## erkoehler

Do you wear a helmet when you ride the sled? Just curious as we always do down here, but I have seen people in Alaska riding without them.


----------



## KJ Cramer

erkoehler;1120621 said:


> Do you wear a helmet when you ride the sled? Just curious as we always do down here, but I have seen people in Alaska riding without them.


How could you not? That would be freezing IMO - I wear the helmet mostly just for the wind chill factor, I think its also the law


----------



## erkoehler

KJ Cramer;1120665 said:


> How could you not? That would be freezing IMO - I wear the helmet mostly just for the wind chill factor, I think its also the law


I wear them for warmth and safety as well, but I was just curious.


----------



## KJ Cramer

erkoehler;1120670 said:


> I wear them for warmth and safety as well, but I was just curious.


Now that you brought it up I am too.


----------



## 91AK250

i know i never have when i was snowmachining, ofcourse we had hats and face masks on. also as far as i know the only helmet laws is for motorcycles(for the passengers) and pedal bikes(if your under 14)...far as i know anyhow.


----------



## Alaska Boss

erkoehler;1120621 said:


> Do you wear a helmet when you ride the sled? Just curious as we always do down here, but I have seen people in Alaska riding without them.





KJ Cramer;1120665 said:


> How could you not? That would be freezing IMO - I wear the helmet mostly just for the wind chill factor, I think its also the law





KJ Cramer;1120674 said:


> Now that you brought it up I am too.


No, I don't, but then again, I'm not ripping around doing 120mph either. My biggest issue with helmets is fogging my glasses up. The only way I can keep it from happening is to be taking it off every time I stop,... and on the traplines, that would be all the time, all day long. Wearing an insulated thermal face mask with a parka hood that extends forward of your face with a heavy fur ruff, is as warm as it gets,... I can be outside all day long at -40° & keep my face toasty warm,... and there is no law up here that mandates wearing a helmet while riding a snow machine,... yet,... :yow!:


----------



## Alaska Boss

Now that it's been below zero for a few days, the river ice is forming fast & thick,... soon everything will be locked up for the next 5 months or so,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

The colder weather makes for some very nice days tho,... but more snow is coming,... :salute::waving:


----------



## BMB Plowing

AB the pictures you post are amazing, and that new truck and sled look really nice too.
My sister and brother in law live in Anchorage on the Air Force Base, they've been there for only a few months now and they say so far they love it up there. I'm hopefully going up there sometime over next summer to visit, I've always been fascinated with Alaska.


----------



## DAFFMOBILEWASH

3-4 cups of coffee, smiles from ear to ear and jealous of your backyard.... Thanks for putting your northern collaboration together for all of us. 

I have an idea for you...

You should let your love of the camera and scenery work for you. Go out and contact as many snow related companies you can think of. Tell them you can create a True North photo shoot with thier product, video and a day to day compulation of the product. This can be linked to company "x" main wed site. Nothing better than getting paid for something you love and playing with some new toys !!! Heck BOSS plows should be begging you to do it, what better advertisement than your threads.

We all know that if a product works flawless for you in the north then here in the lower latitudes it would be a cake walk.


----------



## nalegtx

AB as always amazing stories and scenery from the Great North......have some in-laws that live in the Alaskan north, not sure where though...i'm sure they are enjoying the snow. They went there from New Hampshire to get away from the normal huslte,buslte of New england. They love it there,hopefully i am making a trip out there soon..LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW!!!!!!!..................need some snow here in southern NH...itching to get some pushes in:bluebouncussmileyflag


----------



## 04f350powerv-xt

Hey AB, always love your threads. 
Just a quick question. I want to convert my boss plow to HID lights and was wondering how yours are holding up. Are you still using the ones you put on in this thread? 
http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=77591&highlight=hid+lights
Is that the plow you use most? Any problems with the "cheapies"?? Would you suggest getting better ones? Thanks, and keep up the great work!


----------



## xtreem3d

DAFFMOBILEWASH;1121412 said:


> 3-4 cups of coffee, smiles from ear to ear and jealous of your backyard.... Thanks for putting your northern collaboration together for all of us.
> 
> I have an idea for you...
> 
> You should let your love of the camera and scenery work for you. Go out and contact as many snow related companies you can think of. Tell them you can create a True North photo shoot with thier product, video and a day to day compulation of the product. This can be linked to company "x" main wed site. Nothing better than getting paid for something you love and playing with some new toys !!! Heck BOSS plows should be begging you to do it, what better advertisement than your threads.
> 
> We all know that if a product works flawless for you in the north then here in the lower latitudes it would be a cake walk.


The Alaska board of tourism should be begging him too


----------



## international73

got 5-6"s here in vancouver 
"plow all night, tow all day" haha


----------



## nalegtx

AK what town you live in? is it far from anchorage?...man i hope i get to see some snow likw that...haven't seen snow storms like that since the winter of 93 here in new england...still doesn't compare but its the closest i've seen


----------



## 91AK250

whats this crazy weather doing for you Dave? we had a damn ice storm!


----------



## Alaska Boss

DAFFMOBILEWASH;1121412 said:


> 3-4 cups of coffee, smiles from ear to ear and jealous of your backyard.... Thanks for putting your northern collaboration together for all of us.
> 
> I have an idea for you...
> 
> You should let your love of the camera and scenery work for you. Go out and contact as many snow related companies you can think of. Tell them you can create a True North photo shoot with thier product, video and a day to day compulation of the product. This can be linked to company "x" main wed site. Nothing better than getting paid for something you love and playing with some new toys !!! Heck BOSS plows should be begging you to do it, what better advertisement than your threads.
> 
> We all know that if a product works flawless for you in the north then here in the lower latitudes it would be a cake walk.


I think a few years ago, something like that could have been a possibility,... but in this day & age now with all the computer-generated special effects and other new technologies, most companies have their own crews to compile exactly what they want,... but I almost wound up in one of the new Chevy Truck commercials filmed this summer in Valdez. As it turned out, they used a charter boat that is docked 2 slips down from me,... but I was told later that they used him only because he was available, but they liked my boat better, but I was always booked for fishing every day. They had the new 2011, or maybe it was the 2012 model Chevy 3500 Duramax duelly, and swung a 32' charterboat onto a trailer & had the Chevy take off with it & pull it up thru Thompson Pass,.. which is almost 9 miles of steady climbing uphill, on a 7-8% grade. They had DOT pull all the snow poles out,.. just so they wouldn't interfere with the view in the commercial. Most of the footage was filmed with 3 chase helicopters,... I saw the finished commercial,.. it was pretty cool to see something like that from your own backyard, but don't know if it has aired nationwide yet or not.



04f350powerv-xt;1123416 said:


> Hey AB, always love your threads.
> Just a quick question. I want to convert my boss plow to HID lights and was wondering how yours are holding up. Are you still using the ones you put on in this thread?
> http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=77591&highlight=hid+lights
> Is that the plow you use most? Any problems with the "cheapies"?? Would you suggest getting better ones? Thanks, and keep up the great work!


Well, I did that conversion in my 9.2 plow, which has been out of commission since last year,... the plow was just getting worn out, but the HID lights never gave me any trouble, and nothing has quit or burned out, as of yet. The only trouble I have had with any of my HID lights has been in my car,... and those were the most expensive German-made kits. (have burned out 2 bulbs now, but they have a life-time warranty).



nalegtx;1124917 said:


> AK what town you live in? is it far from anchorage?...man i hope i get to see some snow likw that...haven't seen snow storms like that since the winter of 93 here in new england...still doesn't compare but its the closest i've seen


Well, I don't live in any town, but the closest one, where my mail comes to, is called Copper Center,... and I'm approx 250 miles northeast from Anchorage,... and the Boss dealer (where 91AK250 works)



91AK250;1125312 said:


> whats this crazy weather doing for you Dave? we had a damn ice storm!


Well, crazy weather is an understatement,... but from what I can tell,... I must be in about the only place in Alaska that hasn't thawed or been rained on yet. It's even raining up in Barrow,... that's almost like it's raining on the North Pole in the winter!! The high here today was +28°,.... so it's close to thawing, but so far no wind, no rain, no thawing, no ice on the roads. Yeah, I don't remember ever hearing of anything like this either in my whole life,... not where a storm system is thawing out the whole state like it is. I think if we can hold out here for one more day without it raining on us, we'll be ok & it will get colder by Thursday. I've still plowed a few more jobs in the last couple days,... but no new snow to speak of,... :waving:


----------



## Banksy

The picture above this post is just incredible. It looks like a painting! Do you do any professional photography as in for profit or is this just a hobby of sorts? I think you could make and sell post cards.

On another note....let's keep this thread for AB's pictures only.....


----------



## bryanR

Alaska Boss;1125352 said:


> I think a few years ago, something like that could have been a possibility,... but in this day & age now with all the computer-generated special effects and other new technologies, most companies have their own crews to compile exactly what they want,... but I almost wound up in one of the new Chevy Truck commercials filmed this summer in Valdez. As it turned out, they used a charter boat that is docked 2 slips down from me,... but I was told later that they used him only because he was available, but they liked my boat better, but I was always booked for fishing every day. They had the new 2011, or maybe it was the 2012 model Chevy 3500 Duramax duelly, and swung a 32' charterboat onto a trailer & had the Chevy take off with it & pull it up thru Thompson Pass,.. which is almost 9 miles of steady climbing uphill, on a 7-8% grade. They had DOT pull all the snow poles out,.. just so they wouldn't interfere with the view in the commercial. Most of the footage was filmed with 3 chase helicopters,... I saw the finished commercial,.. it was pretty cool to see something like that from your own backyard, but don't know if it has aired nationwide yet or not.


yep ive seen that commercial over here in MA, thats pretty that you got to watch part of it get filmed. to bad it wasn't a dodge pulling the boat though


----------



## justinizzi

Hey AB i am there is a tv episode of Dangerous Driving on speed tv that is all about the Thompson Pass and the DOT crew that plows it. I was wondering how close this is to where you live. It looks like a scary road to drive.


----------



## willyswagon

bryanR;1126889 said:


> yep ive seen that commercial over here in MA, thats pretty that you got to watch part of it get filmed. to bad it wasn't a dodge pulling the boat though


It wasn't, cause it (Dodge) couldn't:laughing:

Oh well some day they might build a work truck! 

Until then they are great for getting groceries


----------



## spencer087

Ive seen that commercial as well, I thought that boat was pretty tall to be able to get under stop lights and such


----------



## erkoehler

I've seen the commercial here in the Chicago market as well........


----------



## bryanR

willyswagon;1127146 said:


> It wasn't, cause it (Dodge) couldn't:laughing:
> 
> Oh well some day they might build a work truck!
> 
> Until then they are great for getting groceries


a dodge with a cummins is a hell of a work truck. i dont want to get to off topic in this thread but i must say when it comes down to choosing a chevy with a duracrap or a dodge with a cummins in it ill take the dodge anyday


----------



## nalegtx

any snow in the forcast in Ak lstely****were going from upper 30's and rain to 50's an nothing below 40 for 3 days next week here in MA...........sux=(


----------



## Grumpydave

Plowing here for almost 40 yrs and the 1st real plowing keeps getting later and later. Maybe a little sanding before the middle of Dec. but that's about all lately. Have the Best Day You Can


----------



## nalegtx

yea....15 day Accuweather looks ok. some colder temps coming in about 1.5 weeks potential 3 storms....keepin an eye on it


----------



## willyswagon

Hey AB all this talk of Duramax trucks hauling fishing boats got me thinking.

Since I'm driving 5300 miles to go to the Arctic Circle next June, maybe I should be heading West from Dawson City and going for a fishing trip. 
What's another 450 miles??
I'll pm ya


----------



## deere615

Anyone have a link to that d-max commercial that was filmed near AB?? I want to see it and couldnt find it on youtube


----------



## dieseld

deere615;1130229 said:


> anyone have a link to that d-max commercial that was filmed near ab?? I want to see it and couldnt find it on youtube


x2..........


----------



## sven_502

dieseld;1130393 said:


> x2..........


x3, I just want to point out that maybe we should filter out some of the dodge/chev nonsense, its clogging up this awesome thread.


----------



## Alaska Boss

Banksy;1126746 said:


> The picture above this post is just incredible. It looks like a painting! Do you do any professional photography as in for profit or is this just a hobby of sorts? I think you could make and sell post cards.
> 
> On another note....let's keep this thread for AB's pictures only.....


I have sold quite a few pictures in the past, but too much anymore. That picture I took right thru the windshield of my car as I was driving,... I just always have a camera with me everywhere at all times,... :waving:



justinizzi;1127104 said:


> Hey AB i am there is a tv episode of Dangerous Driving on speed tv that is all about the Thompson Pass and the DOT crew that plows it. I was wondering how close this is to where you live. It looks like a scary road to drive.


I'm about a 30 min drive north of the top of Thompson Pass,... and yes, it can be very dangerous & un-driveable during bad storms.



willyswagon;1130221 said:


> Hey AB all this talk of Duramax trucks hauling fishing boats got me thinking.
> 
> Since I'm driving 5300 miles to go to the Arctic Circle next June, maybe I should be heading West from Dawson City and going for a fishing trip.
> What's another 450 miles??
> I'll pm ya


PM sent back



deere615;1130229 said:


> Anyone have a link to that d-max commercial that was filmed near AB?? I want to see it and couldnt find it on youtube


Actually, I need to re-state my earlier statement, because the clip I saw was apparently NOT the actual finished ad as seen now on TV. I've been told that they cut all the footage off of climbing up the Pass,... and only show the truck pulling the boat thru Keystone Canyon, which is between Valdez & the Pass,... so I think I have seen more than what they ended up with,... but if anyone finds a link, I'd like to see it again too,.... :salute:

Most of this past week was very little plowing, since we had a rather warm stretch for a few days,... so I was mostly riding around on my new snow machine,... following rivers & trails as much as I could,.... but one wrong move around here & your new sled won't look so new,... if you ever see it again,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

We haven't had enough cold yet to freeze up the bigger rivers,... so for the time being, I'm restricted to trails,... and even tho this machine floats on the snow very well,.. I don't think it will float on water,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Sometimes your trail will come to an end,... and there's just not a whole lot you can do about it,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

But,.. we got around 5" of new snow today,.... so I have a bunch of new plow jobs now again,... with probably more on the way,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Current temps are about 0°F (-18°C), which is about perfect,... nice dry snow, and not so cold that you need the heater blazin' away,.... :waving::waving:


----------



## fordboy

how come you dont run your boss wings? I see the brackets on the plow so I know you have installed them.


----------



## BOSS TOY

Still lovin all the pictures. Thanks.


----------



## deere615

Alaska Boss;1130640 said:


> Actually, I need to re-state my earlier statement, because the clip I saw was apparently NOT the actual finished ad as seen now on TV. I've been told that they cut all the footage off of climbing up the Pass,... and only show the truck pulling the boat thru Keystone Canyon, which is between Valdez & the Pass,... so I think I have seen more than what they ended up with,... but if anyone finds a link, I'd like to see it again too,.... :salute:


yeah I kinda figured what ever they part in would just be a short clip but I just saw someone else mention they saw it on TV so i was trying to find it


----------



## DareDog

i have seen it few times already i think if i remember right that i saw one where in it was going up hill maybe they have two there airing?


----------



## Alaska Boss

fordboy;1130930 said:


> how come you dont run your boss wings? I see the brackets on the plow so I know you have installed them.


Well, I kinda messed up on the install when I put the brackets on,... I didn't have a template for the hole locations, so I just measured my holes on the 9.2, but somehow they're not quite right. Not sure what I can do now, except maybe just weld the holes back shut & start over,... just haven't had the time to do it yet,... :realmad:

Been plowing for several days straight here,... but we are having our first cold snap,... this morning it was -33°,... and didn't warm up much during the day,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Tonight it's supposed to hit -40°,... but I got most of my jobs done today,... and the rest aren't critical, so I think I'll wait & do them when it warms back up a bit by the weekend,...

:waving:


----------



## B&B Plowing

Nice Pics Alaska, I live on the IL/Wis Border and no snow as of yet... There predicting 2-5 for friday night into Saturday but we will see how much we auctully get... Lots of trucks with plows on around here for the last week... I think there jumping the gun though.

B&B Plowing.


----------



## mercer_me

WOW  You are so luck Alaska Boss.


----------



## EGLC

here's a question for you.

It seems like you are plowing almost every few days there, how do people afford these huge snow bills?? it doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of work up there?? maybe I'm missing something here...sorry for my ignorance...just wondering. :waving:

also what tires are you running on the new truck? are they winters only or year round??


----------



## joshg

EGLC;1135136 said:


> here's a question for you.
> 
> It seems like you are plowing almost every few days there, how do people afford these huge snow bills?? it doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of work up there?? maybe I'm missing something here...sorry for my ignorance...just wondering. :waving:
> 
> also what tires are you running on the new truck? are they winters only or year round??


I think he runs BFG commercial tractions on his trucks.

http://www.plowsite.com/showpost.php?p=914637&postcount=403
http://www.plowsite.com/showpost.php?p=907209&postcount=53


----------



## kolkie05

I love the pics! Thanks for sharing them with us it looks so peaceful up there!


----------



## wj4play

what an awesome place to live and work. every day would seem like a dream up there


----------



## deere615

EGLC;1135136 said:


> here's a question for you.
> 
> It seems like you are plowing almost every few days there, how do people afford these huge snow bills?? it doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of work up there?? maybe I'm missing something here...sorry for my ignorance...just wondering. :waving:
> 
> also what tires are you running on the new truck? are they winters only or year round??


I really dont think peoples snow bills get that much like he has said before he only does people when they call. He knows everyone and has a ton of accounts just doesnt do them everyday. He might service them once a week. I bet most up there pay the same here in the end. Think if he does a drive for $50 once a week for 20 weeks thats only 1k. Not too bad on his and the clients part and that might even be on the high end. 60 accounts=60k for the year just basically what I got from reading AB's threads:waving:


----------



## Alaska Boss

EGLC;1135136 said:


> here's a question for you.
> 
> It seems like you are plowing almost every few days there, how do people afford these huge snow bills?? it doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of work up there?? maybe I'm missing something here...sorry for my ignorance...just wondering. :waving:
> 
> also what tires are you running on the new truck? are they winters only or year round??


They really don't have huge snow-plowing bills,... around here there is no such thing as a "seasonal contract",... no one would go for that,... so I have everyone call me when they want to be plowed out,... that way I don't have to guess at what they want,... no one will ever have a bill they didn't ask for,... and different folks have different ideas on when they want to be plowed, so that helps spread the jobs out, so I don't have 57 drives to do all at the same time. It is true that there aren't all that many people around here, and almost no commercial jobs, outside of the school, a couple churches and a mom & pop store or two,... everything else is private drives or sub-division roads,... and the area that I cover is at least 50-60 miles from end to end,... so, that is a much bigger area to service than most of you would ever attempt. But since I'm the only show in town, and it's been that way for some time now, I can do ok. If someone else came in & we split it all, then no one would make anything,.. which has been tried a time or two. I know my situation is unique, and I personally know virtually all my customers and their property lay-outs, etc, and most of them would not be swayed to try & save $10 by some "low-baller" that moves in, so even in a bad economy, my plowing business here is pretty stable, and pretty secure, and doesn't change much at all from year to year. I only have an ad in our local phone book, and other than that, I do no advertising,... since if anyone new moves into this area, and asks anyone about snow removal, they are given my name/number,... I try to keep my rates as low as possible, yet still make something,... so I always have happy campers, almost never had any "non-payer issues", and pretty much have job security around here,... at least until Al Gore's global warming wrecks everything,... 



joshg;1135205 said:


> I think he runs BFG commercial tractions on his trucks.
> 
> http://www.plowsite.com/showpost.php?p=914637&postcount=403
> http://www.plowsite.com/showpost.php?p=907209&postcount=53


Wow, good job Josh,... I couldn't have found those quotes myself! But that is what I run,.. and I like them,... they're studded, so I switch them out to summer/all-season tires after the plowing season is over.



deere615;1135922 said:


> I really dont think peoples snow bills get that much like he has said before he only does people when they call. He knows everyone and has a ton of accounts just doesnt do them everyday. He might service them once a week. I bet most up there pay the same here in the end. Think if he does a drive for $50 once a week for 20 weeks thats only 1k. Not too bad on his and the clients part and that might even be on the high end. 60 accounts=60k for the year just basically what I got from reading AB's threads:waving:


Yep, that's pretty much true,.. but it doesn't average out at once a week tho,.. at least not for the whole winter. I think I could literally plow something every day from Oct thru April, but I don't. Most of the snow falls around here are less than 5-6" at a time, so most folks just pack it down, as long as they can get in & out ok. Then it seems like there's always a stretch or two every winter where we might go for a month or so with no snow at all,.... so I would say on an average, I probably plow out most folks 8-12 times a season.


----------



## DeVries

You must be plowing a lot of snow, you cutting edge is all shiny.

Keep the pics coming, I still enjoy them a lot especially the one with the mountains in between the two trees and the sun on them, awesome.


----------



## PrimoSR

Sound like you've got a good gig up there! I know I have said it before but looking at your pics makes me want to move.


----------



## wellnermp

Looks like you're really enjoying your new rig. How do you like those moose lights?


----------



## mulcahy mowing

I like the principals you base your business on, not many guys are honest like you are.

Those veiws are amazing you are very lucky!


----------



## Young Pup

DeVries;1136239 said:


> You must be plowing a lot of snow, you cutting edge is all shiny.
> 
> Keep the pics coming, I still enjoy them a lot especially the one with the mountains in between the two trees and the sun on them, awesome.


That one is probably the next best picture The first in my books is of the American Bald Eagle. That one just is awesome.

Great pictures as always.


----------



## Kale Lawn

this thread needs re-named to Pictures of Alaska...


----------



## Alaska Boss

DeVries;1136239 said:


> You must be plowing a lot of snow, you cutting edge is all shiny.
> 
> Keep the pics coming, I still enjoy them a lot especially the one with the mountains in between the two trees and the sun on them, awesome.


Yep, the cutting edges stay shiny all the time,... and since there is no salt used on the roads around here, there isn't even any real rust issues during the off-season either,...



wellnermp;1137701 said:


> Looks like you're really enjoying your new rig. How do you like those moose lights?


Moose lights work great,... only problem is, I can't use them when the plow is on,... but after converting them to HID, they light up the road real nice,... Thumbs Up



mulcahy mowing;1139425 said:


> I like the principals you base your business on, not many guys are honest like you are.
> 
> Those veiws are amazing you are very lucky!


Thanks,... I live & operate under the Golden Rule,... and doing the right thing is always the right thing to do,... 

Well,... another 5" is in the forecast for tonight,... and it's snowing pretty hard right now, with about an inch down so far,... and temps right at 0° F,... just right!

:waving:


----------



## 91AK250

looking good dave! perfect weather eh  we got a nice little dusting then its been kinda cool. still waiting for a big storm though...theres alot of winter left!


----------



## Alaska Boss

91AK250;1140492 said:


> looking good dave! perfect weather eh  we got a nice little dusting then its been kinda cool. still waiting for a big storm though...theres alot of winter left!


Thanks Russ,... yeah IMHO, zero is way better than +40°, or -40°,... our snowfall here has been about average to this point,.. no monster dumps right at my place either,... but pretty steady work for the last 1½ months or so. I just checked again outside,... and Chicken Little was right,... the sky is falling! . I just wish I had the time to get my 9.2 rebuilt,... so I can get some of that more than $1k back, that I left at Truckwell the last time I was in town,... but just watch out for them crazy women drivers that see that blue oval on your grill as a bull's-eye,...


----------



## 91AK250

oh god dont even talk about a wreck! i'm being so defensive now in my driving!

a heads up when you do come in, Eric is nolonger with us so its just mike and a new guy at the front counter. thought i'd give you fair warning before hand haha i just got back to work today since nov 11th i'd been out on medical leave. it felt good to be up and active again allthough i'm sore as hell haha.

glad your season is going well! i'd say we're doing ok on the snowfall count. nothing crazy but steady. looks like clear skys and cool weather for the week anyhow. hope its not too chilly up there.


----------



## Alaska Boss

Well, it sounds like a lot of the rest of the country is finally getting some snow now too,... and it's not stopping around here either,... been plowing for the last 3 days straight,... my areas have got another 6" to a foot or so in the last couple days,... so the truck hasn't been getting much of a rest lately,.... payup


----------



## Alaska Boss

I even had a pretty good push just trying to get out of my own yard,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Whenever possible, I like to shove snow piles right into the woods, so I don't "waste" any more cleared property than I have to, for snow storage,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

windrowing in the dark @-15°F,... it doesn't spill around the front of the plow until I come to a stop....


----------



## Alaska Boss

Once it gets light,... then I can see who else is out & about,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Some people's places are already starting to get boxed in from all the snow,... and it's just the beginning of December,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

More driveways,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

Then,... I discovered I have some new competition,.... this is the "lowballer's deluxe" if I ever saw one,... this guy just bought this truck & was attempting to plow out one of my customers, when he got it stuck,... it's an old Sno-Way,... but not only does it have no lights,... it has no hydraulics,.. or even plow controls !!! This guy has the plow chained up with a chunk of chain around his frame, so the plow is 2-3" off the ground at all times,... he can't raise it or lower it,... or angle it to the left or right,... it's just pointed straight ahead, and he can't change it in any way! I pulled him out right after I took this picture,.... altho I probably should have left it sit there,... so he doesn't hurt himself by trying to use this thing,.... :laughing:


----------



## Alaska Boss

Making piles,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

The sun actually poked out for a min or two today,....


----------



## EIB

What was he doing trying to due one of your customers? Did they give him permission to do it? 

On a side note looks like you could use a side wing for your truck. Then you could bench the banks back. Great photos!


----------



## Alaska Boss

So this morning,... I decided I better dig the '90 dumpbed out & hook up the Speedwing,... before the truck gets so buried that I can't find it anymore,...


----------



## justinizzi

Have you used the other trucks at all this year yet for plowing.


----------



## Alaska Boss

EIB;1145067 said:


> What was he doing trying to due one of your customers? Did they give him permission to do it?
> 
> On a side note looks like you could use a side wing for your truck. Then you could bench the banks back. Great photos!


I have no idea,... the folks called me & wanted me to come back & "fix" the mess he made,... they said they never called him, but he was a friend,.. so they thought that maybe he was trying to do them a favor or something,.. who knows,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

justinizzi;1145073 said:


> Have you used the other trucks at all this year yet for plowing.


This is the first time I've used the Blizzard this winter,... just decided I should get it out & be sure all is well,.. and it is,... 

(flash vs no flash)


----------



## Alaska Boss

making piles with the Speedwinger,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Doing some road jobs with the Blizzard,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

I really like this plow,... just wish I could put it on my other truck too,... Thumbs Up


----------



## Alaska Boss

So,... that's the state of the state in these parts,.... the banks along the pull-offs along the road where I live are as high as the truck already,... and winter isn't even close to half over yet,.... and they're saying more snow this weekend,....

:waving::waving:


----------



## DareDog

winters finally here in NY, got 15" here and 30 miles west has 3'+, now cold is setting in to almost like AK weather, -10f here toinght thats very rare to see in first week of december.


----------



## c.schulz

subscibed awesome AB


----------



## 6.5 Chevy

good pics....... send some snow up here lol


----------



## mercer_me

Alaska Boss;1145087 said:


> I really like this plow,... just wish I could put it on my other truck too,... Thumbs Up


Awsome pictures as alwys Alaska Boss. Boss should make an expandable plow like the XLS and Wideout. Then you you could use it on all your trucks. Thumbs Up


----------



## deere615

Those first few with your house in the background look great!!


----------



## KJ Cramer

Simply amazing place


----------



## BOSS TOY

Where are all the speedbumps, mailboxes and traffic? The pictures have been great. Thanks.


----------



## 6.5 Chevy

DareDog;1145240 said:


> winters finally here in NY, got 15" here and 30 miles west has 3'+, now cold is setting in to almost like AK weather, -10f here toinght thats very rare to see in first week of december.


-26 ºF up in Fairbanks Alaska to day


----------



## 91AK250

i just got home and its a chilly 3F here in anchorage. supposed to get aittle colder tonight.


----------



## DScapes

Alaska Boss;1145084 said:


> Doing some road jobs with the Blizzard,...


If I tried that around here with the wet snow we get my truck would be sideways before I even got 10feet into the driveway! (If I didn't have the right amount of ballast :crying

Ever have the Blizzard out and wish you had the V-Blade to enter long drives? Or are you careful not to go into those spots with the Blizz mounted? Or is the snow light enough and with enough ballast the truck can angle through anything up there?

Great pics, keep'em coming! Snow is just starting to make an appearance around here... nothing accumulated yet however!


----------



## rollincoalplow

What tires do you use on your trucks?


----------



## joshg

rollincoalplow;1151667 said:


> What tires do you use on your trucks?


This came up a little earlier in the thread...
http://www.plowsite.com/showpost.php?p=1136228&postcount=376


----------



## rollincoalplow

O sorry about that, read through the whole thread but didnt find that post. Was to distracted by the amazing pics.


----------



## Alaska Boss

DScapes;1147429 said:


> If I tried that around here with the wet snow we get my truck would be sideways before I even got 10feet into the driveway! (If I didn't have the right amount of ballast :crying
> 
> Ever have the Blizzard out and wish you had the V-Blade to enter long drives? Or are you careful not to go into those spots with the Blizz mounted? Or is the snow light enough and with enough ballast the truck can angle through anything up there?
> 
> Great pics, keep'em coming! Snow is just starting to make an appearance around here... nothing accumulated yet however!


I usually only use the Blizzard when I'm doing more open areas,... not so much because of the plow,... but the truck. The dually just doesn't turn or get around in tight areas like the regular pickups do. Wings don't really add much to the speed of doing narrow driveways anyway,... it's usually one pass in & one pass out,... plus their yards. But with heavy snowfalls, a V makes getting in & out so much easier and with less strain on things.


----------



## Alaska Boss

Well, we haven't had too much snow lately,... but it sounds like most other areas of the country has. Still have a few jobs here & there,... but we are currently in our first real deep-freeze of the winter,... with temps suppose to go between -40° & -50°,.... and places with a little wind could see wind chills close to -90°...


----------



## Alaska Boss

But, the cold should only last a couple-three days,... then maybe more snow coming by the first of next week,... :bluebounc

:waving::waving:


----------



## mercer_me

I am realy jelius rite now. You are so lucky Alaska Boss. I would love to beable to plow snow 3/4 of the year.


----------



## deere615

-90?? WOW and I thought the cold temps(0degrees or so) here was bad!!


----------



## Alaska Boss

Well, it was -51° yesterday morning,... too cold to plow or run around in the woods,... so I jumped in my truck & headed north & took my new sled in for it's break-in/check service in Fairbanks. Not too much traffic on the roads when it's that cold,... and you have to have enough survival arctic gear with you to keep warm in case your rig quits. But the animals didn't seem to mind those cold temps,... there were caribou & moose in the road all over the place,... (too dark for good pics,... and can't use flash inside the truck)


----------



## Alaska Boss

As it started to get lighter, I could see more of them that weren't on the road,.. but they could still just appear from behind frost-covered brush right along the highway,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Sound is amplified when the bottom falls out of the thermometer,... so the moose tend to run off more than caribou do,... maybe from the tire & engine roar of an approaching vehicle,... which is good, since hitting one of those would for sure ruin your day. Clouds are suppose to move back in, in another day or two,... which will allow me to get back to plowing & riding,... :redbounce

:waving::waving:


----------



## BossPlow2010

When it's that cold and you go out to eat, do you just leave the truck running while you go inside and eat?
And do you ever gave to bring the battery inside.


----------



## EGLC

man i sure am jealous of you! i'd love to plow long streches of road like that


----------



## mercer_me

Awsome pictures as allways. I would love to go on a Caribou hunt.


----------



## dmcarpentry

hows the new ACE 600 working for ya ??


----------



## Alaska Boss

BossPlow2010;1159534 said:


> When it's that cold and you go out to eat, do you just leave the truck running while you go inside and eat?
> And do you ever gave to bring the battery inside.


Yep,... when it's that cold, almost every vehicle in the parking lot of every store or business stays running,... which just adds to the ice fog problem that the bigger towns have to deal with. The air in the city of Fairbanks, Alaska can & does at times fail to meet federal clean air quality standards set by the government when it gets really cold, because the carbon monoxide from vehicles, wood-stove fires, etc will not dissipate, and just hangs over the town like a cloud,... which has forced some use of ethanol in our gasoline in places during the winter. All my trucks have dual batteries with synthetic engine oil, so I never have to take them out.



dmcarpentry;1160572 said:


> hows the new ACE 600 working for ya ??


It's been great so far,... very quiet & clean. The only thing that has been somewhat of a disappointment to this point, is that the gas mileage hasn't come close yet to what Ski-doo claimed it would get (29mpg). In my world, it's only been about 14-15mpg, which is still a lot better than the 8-10 that I was getting with my older sleds,... but it's only half of the advertised claim. No doubt that "29mpg" number was achieved under the most optimum conditions with the smallest, lightest sled they have this engine in,... so I never thought I would see that,... but low 20's seemed reasonable, but so far, that hasn't happened yet,... maybe after things are fully broke-in it will improve a little more. According to the "biggest Ski-doo dealer in North America", I'm the first one to bring this engine back for the 500 mile check, so they really have nothing to compare it to yet. It's very "torque-y",... plus the clean & quiet aspects are really nice!


----------



## SnoBull

AB: I remember you had mentioned before you carry a sidearm when you're out sledding in the event you run into vicious animals. What do you bring if you dont mind me asking?


----------



## deere615

deere615;1131289 said:


> yeah I kinda figured what ever they part in would just be a short clip but I just saw someone else mention they saw it on TV so i was trying to find it


Hey AB I finally saw that chevy ad on tv with the boat and I was able to find it on youtube pretty cool:





Also i found this video not sure if this was filmed in the pass by you or not??


----------



## Alaska Boss

SnoBull;1161357 said:


> AB: I remember you had mentioned before you carry a sidearm when you're out sledding in the event you run into vicious animals. What do you bring if you dont mind me asking?


I carry a .22 magnum with me at all times,...but not really for protection,... since the most "vicious" animals are sound asleep right now,... 



deere615;1166738 said:


> Hey AB I finally saw that chevy ad on tv with the boat and I was able to find it on youtube pretty cool:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also i found this video not sure if this was filmed in the pass by you or not??


Yep, that's the one I saw too,... but if that's the only one Chevy aired, then they cut out all the footage they had of going up thru Thompson Pass. As a matter of fact, the very last scene in this ad from the helicopter, has the truck towing the boat BACK towards Valdez,... as those 2 waterfalls in the top of the picture are on your right as you head up the highway out of town towards the Pass.

You other video is NOT anything from Alaska at all,... nice scenery, but not "Alaskan scenery",...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Still been having steady -35° to -45° weather for 2 weeks now,... so I've had to plow a few places anyway,... can't wait forever for things to warm up a bit,.. it could be April before that happens,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Snow gets a lot more dense when it's cold and been set for awhile,... so having a V-blade to dive off into new places is very nice,... and they are actually calling for new snow around here in the next couple days,... :yow!:

:waving:


----------



## FordFisherman

That sled pic near the water is wild. Be safe out there. Thanks for the pics.


----------



## mercer_me

Do you run chains often Alaska Boss?


----------



## fordboy

I think he runs studded tires if I am not mistaken, but not chains. Wuld chains even be legal to go down the road?


----------



## mercer_me

fordboy;1173844 said:


> I think he runs studded tires if I am not mistaken, but not chains. Wuld chains even be legal to go down the road?


Some states they require chains. When I went on vacation in Montana they had signs on the side of the road saying chains were required and if you didn't have chains you would be fined.


----------



## 6.5 Chevy

mercer_me;1174505 said:


> Some states they require chains. When I went on vacation in Montana they had signs on the side of the road saying chains were required and if you didn't have chains you would be fined.


I think that it applies to semis for the Mountain pass


----------



## mercer_me

6.5 Chevy;1174671 said:


> I think that it applies to semis for the Mountain pass


These signs were on the prarie roads and they said all vehicles must have chains.


----------



## 91AK250

i know here in town you can run chains if you want...so i'd say out where he is he'd have no prob.


----------



## Alaska Boss

mercer_me;1173543 said:


> Do you run chains often Alaska Boss?


I always have a full set of chains with me at all times, but only use them in the most extreme conditions. It's true too, that I have good studded tires, so chains are usually not needed, but I also remember years ago, that chains were required to be carried by everyone driving thru the passes,... no exceptions. I don't think that is the case anymore, but it's still a good idea. The loaders in Valdez are chained up all winter,... and drive up & down every street in town all winter like that,... it's hard on the pavement, but it's the only way to deal with all the snow they get each year.


----------



## mercer_me

We got 14" hear on Monday and the State DOT trucks were chained up. My uncle who has a plowing contract with a town didn't put chains on any of his trucks though.


----------



## ALC-GregH

That would be the job to have, running one of those rubber tire loaders.  I can't imagine they would ever get stuck.


----------



## Bigfoot Brent

They can get stuck when you misjudge and end up in the ditch I did that once, but the loader didn't have chains.


----------



## Mark13

ALC-GregH;1179484 said:


> I can't imagine they would ever get stuck.


With enough determination, anything can get stuck.


----------



## sven_502

AK boss, do you use some kind of radiator block to warm the trucks up faster? It's only been minus 5C here or so and I find my 350 takes forever to warm up just at that, I can only imagine -50F.


----------



## GMCHD plower

Mark13;1180110 said:


> With enough determination, anything can get stuck.


Well put Mark! How do I quote that into my sig?


----------



## mercer_me

GMCHD plower;1180137 said:


> Well put Mark! How do I quote that into my sig?


Just hit quote and then copy and past what he said to your signature.

For exaple I would copy and paste all this:


GMCHD plower;1180137 said:


> Well put Mark! How do I quote that into my sig?


----------



## DareDog

Dave any new plowing pics?? i need some to get me threw this all snow melted here...!!


----------



## Alaska Boss

sven_502;1180129 said:


> AK boss, do you use some kind of radiator block to warm the trucks up faster? It's only been minus 5C here or so and I find my 350 takes forever to warm up just at that, I can only imagine -50F.


No, I don't, but a lot of people do. There are vinyl grill-cover kits that you can buy for most all trucks,... they snap into place to cover your whole grill area when it's really cold, but I've found that my plow seems to do the same thing just fine,... even at -50°, my heater can cook me out of the truck without the grill blocked off,... :yow!:



DareDog;1182758 said:


> Dave any new plowing pics?? i need some to get me threw this all snow melted here...!!


Not really,... the weather this winter around here has turned into one extreme or the other,... 2 weeks ago we had -52°, then this past week it warmed up to +40° in less than 36 hours, almost a 100° swing. I've plowed a few places here & there every day or two, but we haven't had any snow around here for several weeks now. But once it did warm up,... things started coming back to life,... both DOT & the critters,... prsport


----------



## Alaska Boss

As a matter of fact, it's even been too cold to venture out too far on the snow machines, but now that it's warmed up again, I can at least get out and play around in the woods and run up & down the rivers,... since they are all froze up real good now,... Thumbs Up


----------



## Alaska Boss

From now until May,.. there's no limit to the country that one can explore & ride around in,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

And up in the higher country, the snow is deeper & more drifted, with all the wind that's been blowing lately,... it's good riding tho, and one can go just about anywhere,... :bluebounc

:waving::waving:


----------



## big_belly4ever

Hey Alaska Boss you said once the dealer told you would get 29 mile to gallon with your new sled?
They test their sleds here so i see them gasin up at the BP gas station and ask them what you should be getting. They said any where from 17 to 23 conditions very it and how you are on the throttle. told him my friend(lol) gets 21 he said that is good hes right in the ball park. He laughed when i said 29. just thought i let you know.


----------



## Mister Plow

Lookin' for my "Alaska Boss" fix!!
Is it a quiet winter up there now?


----------



## ken643

Your pics are the most interesting on this site. Awesome pictures, I love looking at them all
Thanks for sharing with us.


----------



## Brian in MO

AK Boss in the pic of the two sleds coming out of a tunnel, is that a old railroad tunnel or something like that? It don't look like it's a natural cave so just wondering.


----------



## joshg

AB....you've not be around for a little bit...things busy up there ?


----------



## Freebird

AB a buddy of mine is being stationed in Alaska from GA. Any advice for someone who has survived New England winters but has never been to Alaska for an extended period? Thanks.


----------



## DIRISHMAN

Hello Alaska 

long time no talk ,last time was last year early i think if my memorie is right which is probably not Early in march. This year has been crazie in Chicago rain for three days in Dec like a summer thunder storm and last week Blizzard 21.3 in a day and a half Thunder snow ,which was awsome to see and 50 to 70 mph winds. By the way Very nice pics but still like the one of you fishing. Any way Quick question do you know of any one by you with a ARCTIC VEE plow . would like to know how these are Being that there made up by you and would like to see how these are. Any info on these would be helpful and much appriciated. 
Thanks Dennis Mac/ Dirishman

Happy plowing and safe


----------



## Squires

Arctic plows are made in canada, London Ontario to be exact


----------



## 6.5 Chevy

hay what happened to AB ?????? have not seen him on in a while


----------



## DScapes

I'm missing my Alaska Fix!! Hope all is well AKBOSS!! 50's in the forecast next week here in Columbus, Ohio...:yow!::yow!::yow!:


----------



## joshg

Yeap this forum isn't the same without a regular dose of AB. Hope he's well and perhaps just his computer crapped out.


----------



## DareDog

he has been busy sledding and forgot about us!!!


----------



## RONK

I'm concerned that AB hasn't posted in some time,I hope he's alright.


----------



## deere615

I am too for all the riding he does alone etc. I know he is always good about telling others where hes going etc. Hopefully hes just busy I know he goes for training stuff for boats/coast gaurd etc


----------



## albhb3

I think they will find his frozen body come spring maybe ms. boss got tired of him it is strange a no show since the 5th of jan. whats going on


----------



## 6.5 Chevy

Alaska Boss his Last Activity was on *02-13-2011 at 06:07 AM* so did he get tired of us?????? or did he loss all his snow pics :crying::crying: ?????


----------



## fordsup04

Where is he at????


----------



## fireboy5722

either to busy counting money, or fixing those chevys, just kidding.


----------



## grnstripes

any word yet from AB


----------



## grandview

He's hanging with his boys from Alaska Gold.


----------



## big_belly4ever

He's wife said he spends to much time on us. Hes was sent to the dog house no internet their? lol


----------



## grandview

big_belly4ever;1248735 said:


> He's wife said he spends to much time on us. Hes was sent to the dog house no internet their? lol


The way some of these people up there treat their sled dogs he may have it better then in the house with his wife.:laughing:


----------



## w4hyi

someone should get his phone number off the side of his truck in one of the pictures and call him to see if he is ko


----------



## grandview

If he's ko'ed?


----------



## grnstripes

called him this afternoon said he has been really buisy and internet was down for a few days 
but he would come on in a few days


----------



## DareDog

good to hear!


----------



## albhb3

days, he means a MONTH ohh well its still pretty much dark up there isnt it this time of year


----------



## mercer_me

grnstripes;1249082 said:


> called him this afternoon said he has been really buisy and internet was down for a few days
> but he would come on in a few days


That's realy good to hear. I was honestly a little worried about him.


----------



## deere615

Good to hear, At least hes keeping busy!


----------



## grnstripes

missin my alaska pics


----------



## 6.5 Chevy

albhb3;1249186 said:


> days, he means a MONTH ohh well its still pretty much dark up there isnt it this time of year


AB's Most Recent Message: 12-12-2010 03:48 PM month it has been 3 MONTHS



grnstripes;1249082 said:


> called him this afternoon said he has been really buisy and internet was down for a few days
> but he would come on in a few days


he mint a month it is light now so some snow pics be for it melts 
hope AB is still ok


----------



## KJ Cramer

ohm...Hello??? AB... Are you there???


----------



## Willman940

I think we're all missing him to some extent, I am also starting to get worried, but with that I turn to humor to lighten the mood. I'll give it a week maybe two before we've formed an all our search party.


----------



## MatthewG

2 weeks are up, whos with me


----------



## big_belly4ever

Where in the world is Alaska boss?


----------



## CAT 245ME

big_belly4ever;1273628 said:


> Where in the world is Alaska boss?


Maybe he found a woman.


----------



## big_belly4ever

That would explain a 6 month leave from here. She should wear him down pretty soon. You've heard said add a quarter every time during the honeymoon faze (everyone's different) 1st year or so and you'll never empty it after that. lol had to start something no pics or stories to read.lol im bored no snow to plow since feb17 here and theirs snow on the ground and ski hills are still open this weekend waiting for it to melt and i start lawn clean up.


----------



## bigc1301

i think everyone is wondering i miss his pics


----------



## 6.5 Chevy

MatthewG;1273585 said:


> 2 weeks are up, whos with me


I am with you 



big_belly4ever;1273628 said:
 

> Where in the world is Alaska boss?


OOOOOOO Alaska Boss what are you doing???????
is it snowing???????? 
where are the pics AB:crying:


----------



## mercer_me

MatthewG;1273585 said:


> 2 weeks are up, whos with me


I'd say it's all done snowing in Maine. So, I'm in.


----------



## grnstripes

lets go!!!!


----------



## bigc1301

i'm in... aint gonna snowanmore this season in md


----------



## D Mack

Seems to me like someone on here must have pissed AB off.


----------



## gene gls

D Mack;1278606 said:


> Seems to me like someone on here must have pissed AB off.


I second that...............


----------



## JoeCool

I hope it is that simple. I hope all is good and wish him well. Cheers AB, been following this thread with some concern for a few months now.


----------



## affekonig

I hope he's out there taking enough pictures to keep us occupied until next winter.


----------



## bigc1301

begining to wonder


----------



## Willman940

Okay, so, if it was me who offended you Boss, I'm sorry. I never meant to offend or anger anyone. In fact I a really enjoy your photos as we all do.

Sincerely,

John "Will" Schowengerdt


----------



## plowmaster07

Yep starting to worry too. I know I haven't been on this page that much but his pictures are awesome! Hope you're doing okay AB!


----------



## buckwheat_la

Has anyone PM'd him?


----------



## affekonig

Nobody can stay away from plowsite this long. Something's up.


----------



## Stik208

Get ahold of Russ 91AK something or other, he knows him personally.


----------



## bigc1301

Reallymissin his pictures


----------



## 91AK250

i dont have a number for him, hes a long ways from me.(350 miles + one way) i dont know whats up i'm just as in the dark as you guys.

i hope hes allright! i am alittle worried also.


----------



## KJ Cramer

91ak250 are you near where he keeps his boat, is that launched or when its time up there is it launched? I'm starting to belive the worst.


----------



## pmorrissette

I just sent an email to the local chamber of commerce to ask if they know anything about him and if they migt try to contact him.

If anybody has Skype, and wants to try calling him directly, the number that I can find on the web is 907-822-3396, which matches up to a number posted on his truck.

I also sent an email to the local radio station, KCAM.


----------



## nicksplowing

well after reading all the post here i myself became a bit worried ..........so i called the number on his truck .......dave answered and is doing great  he has had problems after problems with his computer and has finally got it fixed but, he's goin away for a few days and wont be back on here til he gets back .......he says hello to everyone and also said he has tons of pictures to post up.......he had a great year plowing with about 250 inches of snow and had to use the skid steer for a better part of the season ........anyways great to hear he was doing fine and that he has tons of pictures for us :waving:


Nick


----------



## mercer_me

nicksplowing;1285442 said:


> well after reading all the post here i myself became a bit worried ..........so i called the number on his truck .......dave answered and is doing great  he has had problems after problems with his computer and has finally got it fixed but, he's goin away for a few days and wont be back on here til he gets back .......he says hello to everyone and also said he has tons of pictures to post up.......he had a great year plowing with about 250 inches of snow and had to use the skid steer for a better part of the season ........anyways great to hear he was doing fine and that he has tons of pictures for us :waving:
> 
> Nick


Thanks calling Dave and thanks for the update Nick. I'm glad to hear he is doing good.


----------



## 6.5 Chevy

*ab will be back*

that is good to hear he is doing good


----------



## Stik208

nicksplowing;1285442 said:


> well after reading all the post here i myself became a bit worried ..........so i called the number on his truck .......dave answered and is doing great  he has had problems after problems with his computer and has finally got it fixed but, he's goin away for a few days and wont be back on here til he gets back .......he says hello to everyone and also said he has tons of pictures to post up.......he had a great year plowing with about 250 inches of snow and had to use the skid steer for a better part of the season ........anyways great to hear he was doing fine and that he has tons of pictures for us :waving:
> 
> Nick


----------



## affekonig

Whew. And it sounds like he WILL have enough picture to keep us busy until next summer...


----------



## buckwheat_la

Good to hear, Alaska Boss is a Plow Site asset


----------



## DScapes

Someone ship him a new computer ASAP!

If I cleaned up anywhere near 250 inches of snow, I'd be able to afford to buy him one!!

Sadly, we cleaned up about that much ICE this past season that has melted away, much like my bank accounts on rain suits to landscape in.

Where was all this precipitation 4 months ago?! Can it please stop raining I need to mow without leaving poop trails!


----------



## pmorrissette

Here is the answer I got earlier today from the local radio station. (see post #512 above)

*****************************************************

Hi,

I just saw Dave a couple of weeks ago. I called and left a message that several people that he knew from “Plowsite” were concerned. I suggested he contact you.

I know he was busy with his trap lines this past winter. But everything seems to be fine with him.


Scott
KCAM Radio

******************************************


----------



## DIRISHMAN

pmorrissette;1285857 said:


> Here is the answer I got earlier today from the local radio station. (see post #512 above)
> 
> *****************************************************
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I just saw Dave a couple of weeks ago. I called and left a message that several people that he knew from "Plowsite" were concerned. I suggested he contact you.
> 
> I know he was busy with his trap lines this past winter. But everything seems to be fine with him.
> 
> Scott
> KCAM Radio
> 
> ******************************************


Hey Scott Thanks for the Up date realy appriciate it and thanks to the guy on here whom called Dave AKA / AlaskaBoss
Glad to here all is good and cant wait to see all his Fishin PICSThumbs Up


----------



## PrimoSR

nicksplowing;1285442 said:


> well after reading all the post here i myself became a bit worried ..........so i called the number on his truck .......dave answered and is doing great  he has had problems after problems with his computer and has finally got it fixed but, he's goin away for a few days and wont be back on here til he gets back .......he says hello to everyone and also said he has tons of pictures to post up.......he had a great year plowing with about 250 inches of snow and had to use the skid steer for a better part of the season ........anyways great to hear he was doing fine and that he has tons of pictures for us :waving:
> 
> Nick


Still waiting for those pics!


----------



## Alaska Boss

*I'm Back*

Well, hello again to everyone,... and first of all I want to thank everyone who called, emailed, etc,... checking to see where I was, what was going on, etc,... even my family doesn't do that,... haha. My long-departure from Plowsite this winter was not something I had planned at all,... and I hope doesn't happen again,... there were no problems here with the site, no issues with anyone,.. nothing like that. The biggest single issue to my absence is that I am now on my 3rd computer since February,... and if this one had fried too, I think I was going to give up. That, along with the fact that this past winter turned out to be my busiest season ever, especially towards the end,.... I just didn't find any extra time to come here (or anywhere else) and spend the hours it takes to keep up with everything. It would take me to the beginning of next season now to catch up on all the reading that I have missed,.. so that won't happen, but at least I hope to scan thru the forums & see what's been going on the last few months with the rest of you guys.

So, with that being said,... I'll finish up this thread from this past winter with a few of the pictures I took towards the end of the winter,... altho I also lost my favorite camera this winter too,... :crying: with a bunch of good pictures on it,... that hurts almost as much as losing your wallet,... maybe more.


----------



## Alaska Boss

well,... where to start,... without spending the time to search thru this thread & try to figure out what pictures I have posted, and which ones I didn't, I'll just go by memory,... and I think if I try to post one that already is up, it won't let me,.... so I'll start with some that I have from around the end of February/1st of March,... which normally is the time when plow jobs start winding down,... but this year, seemed to be busier than the beginning of the winter,... and after 5-6 months of snow, people are getting tired of messing with it, so even many that do their own snow removable, called me to keep them open & cleared out,... lots of the later jobs had to be done with the skid steer,... that thing sure paid for itself this winter,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

If I remember right,... it was about -30° that night,... and this was about a 6-hour job getting this lodge opened up,... and with no door & no heat in the skiddy,... I decided I wasn't going to do that again,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

There was 3-4 feet of snow on the ground, which was too much to push around with a pickup, but a couple days later they got another 16", and the fuel delivery truck got stuck in there, so I had to go back & do it again,... and lent my "ballast" out to a friend to break a trail out while I opened up the parking lot again,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

This area actually had several feet of snow less than average this past winter, but it was still plenty, especially when it comes late,... people are less happy to spend the money to deal with snow then, knowing it'll soon all just go away by itself,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Seemed like it was always snowing in March while plowing,... and even tho many areas here had less snow than normal this year,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

But some areas got some decent dumps in March,.. that made it look like November again,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

the DOT guys stayed busy later in the winter too,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

The Blizzard didn't get used too much this year,.... a few times, but the V's did most of the work.


----------



## Alaska Boss

Every time I go in or out of my driveway, I'd just drop the blade and try to angle it in opposite directions each time,.. to help cut down the "washboarding" effect,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

But then, we got a couple horrific wind storms,.... the mountain pass area just south of me recorded winds of more than 130mph,... roofs got torn off homes in Valdez,... trees 100's of years old snapped off,... and every driveway in the country got blown shut,.... people were stuck in their homes for days on end in places,.... I tried at first to dig them out with the truck,.. but it took too long & was too hard on it,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Well,... guess I should get some sleep since it's 3am,... will post more later,.... :salute:


----------



## Mark13

Glad to have ya back and hear that things seem to be going well for ya. Quite a few of us were worried that something had happened.


----------



## toby4492

Welcome back AB. :waving:


----------



## big_belly4ever

yea cool and refreshing pics. WELCOME BACK


----------



## DIRISHMAN

WELCOME BACK AB from me and all us South Side boys in IL .Glad all is well and just remember we are all your zfamily on here to So Kudoos to YA and thanks for the Pics you do have and Sorry to hear about your camera getting lost. Thanks DIRISHMAN :waving:


----------



## 6.5 Chevy

AB glad to have you back on plowsite thanks for the snow pics.Thumbs Up Good to know you are ok.


----------



## mercer_me

Glad you are back Alaska Boss. Looks like you had a fun Winter. Thumbs Up


----------



## GMCHD plower

Nice pics Boss! Glad to hear your ok! Can't wait for more pics!!


----------



## chevyman51

Yeah glad your back got my alaska fix. Glad everything is ok.


----------



## heavychevy01

AB is back and the world is right again..


----------



## L.I.Mike

Life is good again. Glad to see you are well.


----------



## RONK

AB,very glad your OK.


----------



## Alaska Boss

Thanks again everyone,.... even tho my fishing season is in full-swing, I'll try & get a few more shots of my plowing jobs & other snow & ice things posted here shortly that concluded my plowing season for 2010-11. I still had some snow left in my yard on June 12th,... but it's all gone now,... so I've got about 3 months now to get ready for it to start up all over again,... 

This past winter ended for me with a bang,... not from big snow dumps, but BIG winds,... I had snow drifting jobs like nothing I've had since I started doing this quite a few years ago. I tried to bust open as many as I could with trucks,... as hauling/starting/running the SS when it's still well below zero is a pain in more ways than one,... but I also did not want to start busting my trucks up pounding into places with 3'-5' drifts that turn into concrete at -25°,... so I just took it easy if I used a pickup,... but it's slow & time consuming compared to regular plowing,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

I couldn't possibly do most of these jobs with a straight-blade,... and many couldn't be done with a V either,... but once in a while I was able to attack some big drifts from both directions,... and finally able to bust thru,... wesport


----------



## Alaska Boss

I finally decided to just use the skid steer,... and do it during the daytime,... when the temps came back up close to 0°, or maybe even above,... and dig folks out when conditons were a little more comfortable,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

I cannot keep chains on this machine to save my life,... maybe the tires are too worn, I don't know,... all I do is end up losing them,... so I think for next year I'm just going to get these studded up real good,... but as long as I can get to a little dirt, it does fine anyway,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

On most driveways, after I get the drifts dug out & busted up,... I'll use the truck then to clean things up & widen it out some,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

If I had any regular-snow plow jobs, I'd try to do them at night with the truck,... to save the warmest hours for the SS work,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Doing regular soft-snow jobs seemed like nothing after dealing with all the rock-hard drifts for a week or more,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

........ it's so much faster,... cleans up nicer, etc, when you don't have to fight thru drifts,....


----------



## 6.5 Chevy

:salute:thanks for all the pics AB looks like you had a good year payup


----------



## Alaska Boss

Those big winds that drift the snow rock-hard all thru the country can be killers for the animals too,... much harder for things like moose to get around,.. and they for sure can't run from wolves that can walk on top of the snow now,... it's a stacked deck for them,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Some places may just have one big drift in one spot or two,... so then even drifts as high as the hood of the truck can be dug out if one can bump them from both sides,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

............ then you can just chip chunks off and carry the whole drift away,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

A "before" and "after" job,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

The SS can dig out the snow pack right to the dirt,.. which will make break-up faster & drier than a pickup - plowed driveway would,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

We were still getting new snow into April this year, which some years doesn't happen much,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

March & April are usually good weather months,... and that's when some of the best riding is,... I think I rode between 4,000 & 5,000 miles this winter,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

So,... this winter,... if I wasn't out on the trail,... I was driving around scraping the same strips of earth in a never-ending battle to maintain bare ground,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

Springtime always brings folks back that have been gone all winter,... and most years when they want their places opened up, I can do it with a V-plow,.... but a couple of them this year made the SS strain some to punch their driveways out,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Some places the drifts were so deep I could barely see where I was going,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

I think the coldest I had at my place this past winter was about -56°,... so, as always, the waterfalls just stop in mid-air and rest til things warm up enough to flow again,....


----------



## Alaska Boss

Late winter is the most beautiful time of winter,... and when the weather is like this,.... I'll post-pone some plow jobs for a day or two, or do them at night,.. just so I can be out riding around,... who wants to be in a truck when the scenery is like this?? :bluebounc


----------



## Alaska Boss

One of the more unusual "jobs" I got called for this winter, was to move an old cabin out of the mountains before it wasn't worth retrieving anymore,... and because I bought a super-wide track machine last year, my friend figured if it was possible to pull this thing out with snow machines, then mine would be the one to do it. He had already taken the roof off, as it was severely damaged, and even tho I wasn't sure the rest of it was worth much either, it had a lot of sentimental value to him,... and with me being a person who rarely turns down opportunities to go or do unusual things,... I said sure, let's give it a try. He had an older Polaris LT,... I couldn't quite pull it by myself,.. so we hooked both sleds together & drug that thing for a number of miles,.. across 2 rivers,... and finally got it to his house,.... we got it hung up one time that took 3 sleds hooked together to get it to move again,... wesport


----------



## Alaska Boss

Put lot's of miles on the machines in late March-early April,.. both with buddies and by myself,... that's the time of year you can get into back country that's inaccessible at any other time,.. except maybe by helicoptor,...


----------



## Alaska Boss

Ice fishing,.. taking kids out on trips,... this is the time of year to do those things,... :bluebounc


----------



## Alaska Boss

But in April, during the heat of the day when the sun starts to heat things up to above thawing,... and the deep snow gets soft,... even the "big kids" get stuck sometimes,... :realmad:


----------



## Alaska Boss

So,... overall,... this past winter was probably my busiest ever,.... more plow jobs,.. more new customers,.... more "emergencies" to deal with than ever,.... I thought as we get older things are supposed to slow down a little,....

But the 2000 Chevy 1-ton plowed & performed steady & flawlessly for more than 7 months this year,... and for the first time since I bought it, the 'ole 2000 Case 1840 more than earned it's keep this winter as well. Maybe it's a good thing my computers fried this winter,.... 'cause if I would have spent my normal amout of time on Plowsite,... there would have been no eating, no sleeping, no nothing else until about now. But I've already seen new fresh snow in the mountain tops just south of me,.... my stuff doesn't get a chance to rust anymore,.... :waving::waving:


----------



## DIRISHMAN

Truely gods country AB JUSt beautiful .Reminds me of my uncles place in the mountains in MONTANA. He owns a log cabin built in 1837 2 1/2 mils from his home in the mountains on an old logging road it takes about 1 .7/5 hrs to get there. The cabin was built for the fist ATT telagraph and phone lines for the loggers and lineman to cook and sleep. it has an up stairs that holds 22 dbl beds with 4ft between each of them and an old wood fired stove for cookin still in use down in the main floor. Just a little FYI thanx for the pics AB Dirishman / DennisThumbs Up


----------



## mercer_me

Great pictures Alaska Boss. I'm suprised you don't buy a big truck with a plow and wing so you could shelf them banks off. I'm also suprised you don't have cab for your skid steer.


----------



## Herm Witte

Thanks for sharing. I missed your postings. Glad all is well.


----------



## KBTConst

Glad to see you back, nice pics the only thing bad about them is that they make me miss winter. Thumbs Up


----------



## albhb3

glad your back AB you really should submit some pics to boss plows. This winter just wasnt the same on here lol.We were quite busy down here too


----------



## joshg

Glad to have you back.


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## tmf lawn care

good to see you back on ps akboss im still thinkin of move up there soon


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## Alaska Boss

Thanks again all,... but now, with me being well into the middle of my fishing season,... free time is a rare thing, so I will only be able to be on here sporatically at best until next fall or so. And even tho I don't really have any fresh snow pictures right now (altho I could take some), I do run past a lot of ice on most days,... so that will have to do for now,... here's a few examples,... wesport


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## Alaska Boss

Sometimes there's ice bergs on top of ice bergs,...


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## Alaska Boss

And for those of you that watch "Deadliest Catch" on TV,.... this is what's been tied up at the old city dock in Valdez for a few days now,....


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## snorider075

Thanks akboss. Glad all is well been worried no posts for a while from you.


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## Alaska Boss

I went over & parked my car next to it,.... but don't know if Sig runs the boat during the salmon season or not,....


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## Alaska Boss

The "Kodiak" is in Valdez now too, along with it's sistership the "Determined",... it's small enough that they can come inside the harbor right to the canneries,...


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## Alaska Boss

So, for now,... it's plying the waters of the Gulf of Alaska most every day looking for big halibut,... trying to kill off the summertime until the mountains turn white again,... :bluebounc:waving:


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## bigc1301

Awesome pics. Glad you are ok


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## 91AK250

great pics!!!

i'm going to be coming your way some time this summer, planning on going to McCarthy and the mine. on the way back i want to hit Valdez. i should be passing through copper center right? maybe we could meet up.


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## chevyman51

I want to go fishing


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## DareDog

last week they said Kodiak fishes 11 months out of the year.


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## Alaska Boss

91AK250;1290688 said:


> great pics!!!
> 
> i'm going to be coming your way some time this summer, planning on going to McCarthy and the mine. on the way back i want to hit Valdez. i should be passing through copper center right? maybe we could meet up.


Hi Russ,.. yep, going to both McCarthy & Valdez, you'll have to go past Copper Center, but I live about 25 miles from there myself. If you do hit Valdez, I'm pretty much just in the harbor all the time,... J-6 is where the boat is,... so yeah, stop on down,.. :waving:


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## Alaska Boss

DareDog;1290878 said:


> last week they said Kodiak fishes 11 months out of the year.


Almost all the crabbers do other things during the off-season of crabbing,... many of them work as fish tenders buying salmon from the fishing boats,.. that's what both the "Kodiak" and the "Northwestern" do out of Valdez right now,...

.... here's what the Kodiak looks like compared to my ride,...

.... and then I passed the Northwestern on my way out to the fishing grounds,....


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## Alaska Boss

There's still a little snow left right in downtown Valdez yet,... I'll try & get a few pictures of what's left this next week sometime,...:waving::waving:


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## DIRISHMAN

Hello AK
Once again I say glad to se ya back,Just wondering what type of temps you have up there in the so called summer months.I would think you would not get like we have back here in Chicago the mid 80 and 90's ???? That pic of the glacier the bottom sculpting is that all natural or did someone do that looks to perfect??? Hey any of that Halibut you may have left Send it my way I just love Halibut ,mmmmmmmmmm LOL Well Have a great summer and look forward to the pics............

Thanks Dennis Mac / DirishmanThumbs Up

PS Oh ya did you ever find your other camera you lost or No


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## ken643

Thanks very much for the pics, being from NJ I dont get to see stuff like that except on tv. And I watch Deadliest catch all the time. Great pics thanks for sharing!!


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## grnstripes

glad to see your back AB love the pics 
it was nice talking to you this winter also


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## 496 BB

DIRISHMAN;1291685 said:


> Just wondering what type of temps you have up there in the so called summer months.I would think you would not get like we have back here in Chicago the mid 80 and 90's ????


http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?zoneid=AKZ131

In short it looks like low to upper 50's


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## Banksy

I love the personal pics of the crab boats. Thanks for taking the time to post everything that you do.


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## Alaska Boss

DIRISHMAN;1291685 said:


> Hello AK
> Once again I say glad to se ya back,Just wondering what type of temps you have up there in the so called summer months.I would think you would not get like we have back here in Chicago the mid 80 and 90's ???? That pic of the glacier the bottom sculpting is that all natural or did someone do that looks to perfect??? Hey any of that Halibut you may have left Send it my way I just love Halibut ,mmmmmmmmmm LOL Well Have a great summer and look forward to the pics............
> 
> Thanks Dennis Mac / DirishmanThumbs Up
> 
> PS Oh ya did you ever find your other camera you lost or No


Thanks Dennis,... ya, our temps, at least on the water are almost always in the 50's,.... calm sunny days will see 60's,... so nothing too blisteringly hot. The temps on land here can see the 90's on occasion, but mostly 60's & 70's is the norm for mid-summer here. The "sculpturing" on that ice was all done naturally by water,... altho someone sent that pic to me, so I'm not sure exactly where it is. (it wasn't the one I wanted to post there,.. oh well). And no,... I did not find my camera,... and I know I had some good plowing shots on that card too,.... :realmad:

Thanks again for all the comments, calls, emails, etc,... there's some good people that hang out on this website,... Thumbs Up

But as far as any snow left in town in Valdez from this past winter,... I guess I waited too long,... as it seems to all be melted now. I know that in some years in the past, some decent piles were still around in August, but not this year. However, one of the "signs" that this place gets a lot of snow in the winter can be seen sitting on the roof of one of the canneries each evening when I come back into the harbor,.... (you can see this all over the place around here)


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## Alaska Boss

There's been a few new snow dustings on the peaks of the mountains right around town already, but nothing that has stayed more than half a day or so,.... so even tho I don't have any snow to deal with right now,... ice is another matter,... and ice is something I have to watch out for both summer & winter,....


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## Alaska Boss

But one of the "white chunks" this week turned out to not be ice,.... but a bleached out dead beaked whale. There are 21 known speicies of beaked whales in the world, but scientists know almost nothing about them. These are the deepest-diving creatures on the earth,... going down many many thousands of feet per dive, which can last close to 2 hours. These whales live way out in the open oceans, have no known natural enemies,... and at least 3-4 speicies have not yet been named, or even been seen alive to this point,.. their existence is known only by dead ones found floating (like this), or remains that have washed up somewhere....

Carry on men,...(and women),... and keep an eye on those mountain tops,... that "white stuff" will be attacking soon,... :waving:


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## DareDog

you know what i will ask how has the ACE been?


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## Alaska Boss

DareDog;1294775 said:


> you know what i will ask how has the ACE been?


Well,... I will soon update that issue on another place,... a place I haven't been to in a long time either,... but soon will be again,... :redbounce

But, now that my fishing season is over,... hunting season is here,... and fresh snow is showing up all over the place,... it seemed appropriate to bring this thread to a conclusion with one last smile from the remnants from last winter,.... as I was coming back to the harbor in Valdez on one of my final trips,... I noticed something up high in one of the upper faces of this mountain that I drive past every day,.... and it seems like Mother Nature was smiling at us as a new winter is fast approaching,... and that makes me smile too,... 

(of course it's highly possible that in the course of the long days on the water each summer I start to see things,... but it looked like a smile to me at the time,... )


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## Alaska Boss

Our seasons here are right in the middle of change,... maybe just past the peak, as some trees have already lost their leaves,... but still lot's of bright colors across the land,... altho after the next big wind we get,... things will soon be drab and ready to turn white,...


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## Alaska Boss

And the mountains here are getting new snow on the tops all the time now,... so with these pics, I will close out this thread,... and start a new picture journal of this coming winter,... which could start in a matter of a couple weeks,.... man o mannnnn,... am I ever NOT READY for that yet,.... but I am excited thinking about it at the same time,... :bluebounc:waving:


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## grandview

When I clicked on the last post in this thread for sure I thought I'd see you plowing already!


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## 91AK250

holy crap i better get to McCarthy soon!! or it'll be white lol

we just had our leaves turn this week.


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## mercer_me

Your so lucky Alaska Boss. I wish the leaves would start turning hear.


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## ram_tough2001

theyve started turning aound here, here and there. not much but some. will be here soon enough. cant wait to plow again this year!


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## chevyman51

They are just starting to turn here I am ready to plow


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## NickT

A few autumn colors here not much though looking foward to the snow season


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## DIRISHMAN

Heve a little ,little bit here in middle Illinois. About 25 miles out side Chi Town in the Burbs.Still a lot more green than reds and oranges still. I'LL be thinkin about all you boys this season while your plowin.Going in November to have Both hips replaced so aliitle bit to sore to be bouncing in the seat and it will be missed.Exspecialy those 1am Starts  so I ll be on here mostly just monitering the news and popping in here and there. You all have a great season and FUN Thumbs Up...........Oh yeah AK Glad to see ya back once again and keep up the AWSOME PICs


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## SnoBull

Glad to see this thread lives on. Looking forward to the next one AKB. Quick question...Are there county fairs there in your area? We usually have them in the fall here, but I wasn't sure if they had those there or not since the weather and seasons change so suddenly.


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## Alaska Boss

SnoBull;1307260 said:


> Glad to see this thread lives on. Looking forward to the next one AKB. Quick question...Are there county fairs there in your area? We usually have them in the fall here, but I wasn't sure if they had those there or not since the weather and seasons change so suddenly.


Yep, there are,... the big one is the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, which runs from late August thru Labor Day weekend,... and even tho there are no "counties" in Alaska, there are a number of smaller 1-2 day fairs in different towns & communities around the state in the fall, most of which I'm sure have already taken place at this point. :waving:


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## dfd9

Good to see everything is OK with you AB.


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## Alaska Boss

Well, today this thread is one year old,... so from this point on, we could get snow at any time,... altho not a flake has fallen here yet. And with clear blue skies now, it's not going to start today,... but it was +14° this morning (-10°C),... so the only "white stuff" around here was the frost I could scrape off the windshields of the trucks. But there has been a lot of new snow on the mountains around,.. the higher ones are locked down now into winter mode,... so when it does finally make it's way into the valley areas, I'll start a new thread of the next chapter/season of snowplowing in this part of Alaska,... :waving:


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## xtreem3d

Are you going to stay in this thread or start a 2011 thread? 
Steve


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## dfd9

Alaska Boss;1313459 said:


> *I'll start a new thread of the next chapter/season of snowplowing in this part of Alaska,... * :waving:





xtreem3d;1313507 said:


> Are you going to stay in this thread or start a 2011 thread?
> Steve


:waving: :waving:


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## tbone3

Damn! I cant wait for winter! After "spending" money to get my truck winter ready Im sure as hell ready to earn some cash! Great pics alaska boss!


Tom


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## 496 BB

14*! Oh damn thats way to early to be that cold around here. Id sh!t.


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## wideout

Where are you located in Alaska my uncle lives in St, Michael and loves it up there need to take a vacation and see him.


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## 91AK250

same thing down here, we hit the upper 20s last night and i woke up to frost. calling for possible snow on the hillside of anchorage on friday/sat..we'll see!


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## swtiih

looks like winter is about to start


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## KJ Cramer

If you could AB, post the thread for this season in this thread so I can be lazy and not have to search for it, lol. Great pictures as always and I look forward to more soon.


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## fordzilla

flurries here the last couple days. nothin too serious though


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## DIRISHMAN

Hey Fordzilla hope all is good up there. But quick question Is this type of weather right on track for the this time of year for you guys or is it a bit earlier for frost and flurries alreay. Only reason I ask is because of where I live .SUBS OF CHICAGO they are callin for a worse winter than last season with more cold and alot more snow and Blizzards??????


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## SnoBull

^^^Dirishman^^ when do you guys usually start getting winter storms? It varies here. Seems to be different every year.


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## erkoehler

SnoBull;1321014 said:


> ^^^Dirishman^^ when do you guys usually start getting winter storms? It varies here. Seems to be different every year.


Usually december we see snow.


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## fordzilla

DIRISHMAN;1319618 said:


> Hey Fordzilla hope all is good up there. But quick question Is this type of weather right on track for the this time of year for you guys or is it a bit earlier for frost and flurries alreay. Only reason I ask is because of where I live .SUBS OF CHICAGO they are callin for a worse winter than last season with more cold and alot more snow and Blizzards??????


hey. yeah this is deffinetly early to be seeing flurries, actually i havent seen a 1 since i posted that. we should start seeing some snow on the ground by december. maybe late november.


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## billyd

The "weather models" say 10/18 northern michigan could see snow. This week should be a wild weather week. Farmers almanac is saying week of 10/20 the northeast could see snow. Imangine if all this lake effect rain we getting was snow? i'd be screwed, only half ready....


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## wellnermp

wideout;1313696 said:


> Where are you located in Alaska my uncle lives in St, Michael and loves it up there need to take a vacation and see him.


What does your uncle do in St. Michael? I was just up there a couple weeks ago.


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## wideout

I beleive he works for the school and then in the summer he has a fishing boat


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