I got to check out a PistenBully on Saturday and go up to the top of Crater Hill. PistenBullys are tracked vehicles normally used to groom ski trails. They are not really designed to drive on bumpy, rocky roads, so they beat you to death.
Crater hill overlooks McMurdo, so it's a natural place to put radio repeaters-- the kind of stuff I work on. It's a killer hike to walk up there, especially carrying tools. The PB works pretty well for that. A coworker had to go up and look at some network equipment, ASAP. He hadn't been to PB training yet, so I agreed to drive. It's actually a LOT more fun to drive a PB than ride in one. The driver's seat is on shocks, and the passenger's are solidly mounted. A PB will rattle your fillings out if you're not in the driver's seat. One good thing about them, though-- they'll climb up a wall. In the picture here where I'm outside the PB, there is a hill right behind me. If it were a ski slope, it would be a double black diamond. The PB drove up it like it was nothing.
It was fun!
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