Constructed from fiberglass and wood, Sosbees are light enough to travel on top of deep snow rather than through it. The Colorado National Guard has vehicles like this on standby around the state for snow emergencies. They are currently dispatched in Weld, Larimer and Douglas counties. Here’s a cool nice description of the teams capabilites from dvidshub.net:
“The Snow Response Teams were developed in 1998 in response to Colorado blizzards, as a quick response capability to get much-needed help to local communities. Equipped with the M973A1 Small Unit Support Vehicles, similar to a snow cat, it is fully tracked and designed to haul both cargo and passengers, the SRTs are able to traverse nearly any terrain, including water. The SUSV has a front and rear cab that can comfortably seat 11 passengers, in addition to three crew members. Its all-rubber tracks enable the SRT to support civil authorities during emergency relief efforts during floods, fires, blizzards, tornadoes and a variety of other disasters, both natural and manmade. The SUSV is diesel engine-driven, so it has normal emissions.”
[images from The Colorado National Guard & Colorado National Guard FB]
