buttons. Troy pressed one and the
two rear skis rose on outrigger arms like a small catamaran to allow
the Sno car to sink a couple of inches back onto the gripper track.

As the weight of the vehicle shifted to the track assembly it
automatically diverted the tiny nuclear engine output from jet thrust
to gear box drive. Troy settled himself in the seat and increased the
power. The track started to turn and the Sno car glided slowly out
from under the protecting branches and churned up the slight ramp to
the top of the snow pack. He turned the front skis and plowed to a
halt beside the tunnel into the domes.

Alec emerged with one of the camp kits and handed it up to his
partner, then went to the shelter for his own Sno car. Troy stowed the
kit in the carrier and dismounted and began digging snow away from the
domes. Alec's Sno car pulled up alongside and the chunky engineer
vanished once more into the domes to emerge with his own kit. Then he
joined Troy in the digging operation. Fifteen minutes later, both
domes were collapsed and stowed in the carriers. The men boarded their
vehicles.

Inside the warm bubble canopies, air circulators kept the plastic free
of condensation. Outside, the snow glanced off the treated surface,
keeping it clear.

"Lead off, Dr. Patterson," Troy called out over the car radio.

Alec increased power and the track of his Sno car dug into the soft
surface, then caught and the vehicle moved forward and into the trees.
Troy fell into line behind the other vehicle as they drove down the
gentle slope towards the snow-covered access trail another mile below
them on the side of the mountain.

Out of the trees and onto the trail, both drivers shifted gears,
dropping rear skis to the more solid pack of the trail and sending
jets of steam shooting out from the thrust tubes of the Sno cars. Troy
dropped back to stay out of Alec's vapor cloud as they now glided
smoothly and easily along the trail. A bright red metal pole, topped
by a small housing and antenna came into view on the side of the road.
The tube went down through the snow and deep into the soil of the
mountain side. Inside, electrostats read soil moisture at depths up to
thirty feet and transmitted the information on automatic or demand
signal.

Ahead, the vapor cloud from Alec's Sno car vanished as the trail
dipped down the side of the mountain and the driver cut his thrust to
let the momentum carry him on the twin set of skis. Troy