Not Exactly a Weasel

[GRAHAM_RANCH]

-Meet the weasel, the early transport vehicle of the local ski hills-

Since 1924 the ol' Big Pines Park was in full swing with summer and winter activity. The winter sports, of course, brought the Winter Carnival and its large crowds for snow play and the amazing professional ski jumpers. Many of them were Norwegian, and they arched through the ski at amazing height and distance. When World War 2 reared its ugly head, attendance in the Park dropped. Amateur college ski jumpers used the massive ski jump as most of the Norwegians left. The nation's able-bodied men went to war and the ski patrolmen were apart of that group. Shortly thereafter, little vehicles called "the weasel" arrived at both Blue Ridge and Table Mountain Ski areas and the funny little things became a way to transport skiers up the hill and the injured down it. For awhile not much was known about the "weasel," its slow speed gave skiers time to take a snort or visit with other passengers as it carted them around. At best, and in ideal conditions, it traveled at 20-30 miles per hour. At least it was more "cool" to ride in than a Desoto. The "weasel" had an interesting history, and if one would see the valuable service it provided to our military serve men and women over seas during the war you would see that it wasn't exactly your normal non-impressive weasel.


It was 1942 and World War 2 was affecting the whole world. Then Hitler upped the anted. Hitler's scientists were finally successful in achieving a positive neutron production in a uranium rod. That basically meant that the uranium was developed in a substance that slowed down escaping neutrons so it can sustain a reaction at a rate high enough to cause an explosion by itself. Hitler wanted the "big boom," and he also wanted to use the new power for atomic powered submarines. The only thing that Hitler needed was water...the right type of water. Only a deuterated solution and heavy water would work.  These scientists concluded that a self-sustaining chain reaction would be achieved if 5 tonnes of heavy water and 10 tonnes of uranium metal were used. Unfortunately, they needed a bigger heavy water supply. There was only one place where somebody could get heavy water though; an electrolysis plant in Norway called Norsk Hydro. So, naturally, in April of 1940, the Nazis invaded Norway. The allies were very concerned. Not to mention the Norwegians. Hitler was forcing Norsk Hydro to supply them with enough heavy water for a nuclear reactor!

Taking Hitler's devious plan seriously, the Allies wisely took action. Operation Freshman was conducted On the 20th of November 1942. Four Glider Pilot Regiment soldiers and 34 Paratroopers attempted to land two gliders on the Norwegian Hardangervidda plateau, with a mission objective to destroy the Vemork Hydro Electric factory. Unfortunately, both gliders crashed after suffering severe icing and disorientation. Many of the paratroopers were killed and the survivors were captured and murdered by the Nazi soldiers. The heroic attempt failed....and they never once came within sight of their target.

 Next came a ground assault, and to accomplish that goal the U.S. and Canada military went to a United States company named Studebaker in South Bend, Indiana. They needed a specific vehicle to get it done. A vehicle was needed to move troops and supplies quickly and easily through the winter snows of Norway. The vehicle needed to be air transportable and be able to withstand the effects of being dropped by parachute. The mission to take out Hitler's plant was a time sensitive mission to the war and the entirely new and innovative vehicle muy pronto. Putting their heads together, the folks at Studebaker built the M29 Weasel...specifically used for quick assaults, carrying arms, explosives and re-supplying lines. Make no mistake, it was a military vehicle. Once a mission was completed, the little weasel was left behind for the enemy to find as a nifty parting gift. The compartment above the engine and transmission was designed to hold TNT and a detonator for self-destruction purposes.


-The Norwegians target was the Nazi-held hydrogen plant at Rjukan in Telemark, Southern Norway. It was the only facility in Europe that produced heavy water in large-scale volumes-

While Studebaker worked, another type of mission was underway. American born Knut Haukelid was the leader of a sabotage team of Norwegians who came up with the idea to sneak into the German Heavy Water Plant at Rjukan and blow it up... thus setting back German endeavors to produce a product vital to the development of an atomic bomb. Fighting back against Hitler was said to be "Norwegian National Sport"...this time they were after the heavy water plant. Equipped with old-fashioned tools like climbing ropes and cross country skis and eighteen explosive charges, the Norwegian National Sport pastime began. After staying under cover high on the Hardanger plateau for four months, living on moss and reindeer, the Norwegian team descended and then climbed the "un-scaleable" gorge below Norsk Hydro; snuck into the facility, set and detonated their charges and escaped back onto the plateau without a single shot being fired! Known for record breaking ski jumping, the Norwegian skill with skis came through here, too. The team survived a 15-day, 250-mile escape on skis into neutral Sweden after the attack.

[GRAHAM_RANCH]

The Norwegian raid on the Heavy Water Plant gave the United States the time to complete its own atomic bomb. But, the Nazi plant was not yet totally destroyed. The allies decided bombing runs were necessary. One hundred and sixty-one B17 and B24 bombers set out armed with 711 five-hundred kilo and 250 two-hundred fifty kilo high-explosive bombs were assigned that task. Twenty of these were part of the 390th Bombardment Group. These planes were loaded with 1000 pound, general purpose bombs. They made 3 runs which were all unsuccessful. Luckily two bombs from other groups destroyed the plant.  The 390th group was disappointed because they wanted so much to prove that their aim was deadly. Even though the bombing did not do major damage, it caused the Nazis to high tail it for a safer place.

Shortly thereafter, when the Germans decided to ship the heavy water back to Germany in barrels, the coup de' grace was delivered. Nnut and his Norwegian team snuck aboard the ferry which had to haul it across a lake, set a time-bomb on board the ferry timed to blow up at the exact time when the ferry was in the middle of the lake. The plot worked perfectly with the entire German cache of heavy water sinking to the bottom of the lake. As for the United State's Norwegian mission, it was cancelled and the Weasel was never used for its original intention.


-Over the years of the war, the weasel proved to be invaluable. This vehicle was created for Arctic reconnaissance and commando raids, but was later widely used for other purposes. It was able to literally go everywhere and even float, although there was a specially designed amphibious version M29C. The amphibious version added watertight cells for buoyancy and twin rudders at the stern. The floating devices were bolted to the front and rear. The M29 Cargo Carrier "Weasel" was also used as a command center, radio, ambulance, signal line laying and light cargo vehicle.  It proved most useful on difficult terrain, such as snow, swamps, sand, deep mud and lakes.-  

 The M29 Cargo Carrier proved very useful in the winter terrain in the 1950s, when they were used in polar expeditions for exploration and discovery.  It was used in vital Arctic and Antarctic Operations, supporting explorers and scientists.  The vehicle had two "boxes"; the front carried the driver and engine, while the back had room to cart around supplies and four troopers. The Weasel was often used to pull ski troops through the snow. Ski troops would ride behind the vehicle where tow ropes would be tied as if on a rope tow.


-The weasel at Blue Ridge, its passengers were no longer outfitted with pack and M1 Carbine. They showed up with skis and ski poles. Bottles of wine or beer were optional-

 The weasels were used at Blue Ridge and Table Mountain Ski areas during the 1940-60's. Proven to be very useful, the weasel was also used on many ski areas in Canada and the United States. The military weasels used at the big Pines area were the amphibious version M29C. A long ways from anything amphibian, it became a valuable asset to ski operations. Once the floating devices were removed, you had an instant ski transport vehicle. Skiing became a blast...even though they (thankfully) took out the TNT self destruct charge in the engine compartment.

 Blue Ridge had one weasel that's seen a lot of action, while Table Mountain had a few of them. Used in all seasons, the little vehicles were a common sight from around 1943-1963. In ski months a rope tow line was attached to the weasel that pulled skiers up the hill; a trick obviously learned from the military. Back when snowfall was great and it took time to get roads plowed, the weasel was off to the rescue. On occasion, they would labor over hill and dell to present day Mountain Top. With the rope tow line, they returned to the ski hills dragging skiers behind it! No doubt the eight mile trip as an experience to write home about. It was common to use the vehicles to pull skier from Big Pines Arch to the ski hill when snow depth prevented cars from reaching ski area parking lots.  

[GRAHAM_RANCH]

On February 2, 1957 the United Air Force arrived to locate and rescue the Marine pilot that crashed his F9F Panther jet on the icy slopes of Mt. Baldy. The rescue helicopter from Edwards Air Force Base located the down aircraft but was unable to land. The Blue Ridge Ski area's weasel once again came to the rescue. A small group of marines and two local residents named Mac Templeton and Harry Krig, were in on the rescue operation that sadly became a recovery mission.

The pilot of the F9F Panther perished in the crash that occurred when he was making low passes through the Swarthout Valley, and later turning east over Blue Ridge. The craft was broken by trees and rock as it smashed into the earth. Portions of the craft caught fire, but the pilot was killed by the blunt trauma of the aircraft striking an unforgiving landscape. Wrightwood resident Harry Krig, then a captain in the USAF, talked of the harrowing details behind the mission. Even though snow at 6,000 feet was only in inches, the snow on Blue Ridge and Baldy presented the men with very deep drifts of snow practically everywhere. Harry and the Marines took ol' Holiday Hill Ski lift up to the top of the hill to meet Big Pines resident Mac Templeton, who had commandeered a weasel from Blue Ridge Ski area. From Blue Ridge and southeast towards Mt. Baldy, the rescue team went. The problem was that the weasel is hard to steer when it is pulling a load and under power. It wanted to go straight instead of turning. Letting off the gas made it turn easier, and the ride was quite an experience. The men hung onto the strong weasel as it labored over drifts and dodged brush, slid sideways down slopes and came dangerously close to cliffs and sharp boulders. The numbing cold and bumps and twist and turns that made the crew lose track of time. They finally reached the Marine aircraft, and the fallen was finally recovered...he was going home. The trip back and forth across the mountain on the weasel would put the old Disneyland "E" rides to shame. The military weasel came through again...tougher and more reliable than more modern modes of transport.

As the years passed in the Big Pines area, the weasels were used for other functions, like hauling supplies for McCellan Flats residents and cleaning off the JPL reflector signal panel on Table Mountain. The story is told of Joe Plank's turn of cleaning the panel, and his momentous excursion that started when he left Table Mountain Ski Area. It was a perfect day for using the weasel and windswept -shaped moguls made for perfect jump platforms. Beanie boppin' down the slope no doubt made Mr. Plank jazzed...especially that nice high brim ahead, which he took flying! Imagine his surprise as he went over the side, only to crash the weasel right through the soft top of a Buick that some nut had parked and abandoned on the service road on Table Mountain.

Howard More, who bought Table Mountain Ski Resort in 1943, had a run-in of sorts with Table Mountain's weasel around 60 years later. The use of the military weasel was winding down as the snowmobile and snow groomer machines were making life simpler...as was the expansion of bigger and better ski lifts. Mr. More had kept his in the enclosed garage behind the main lodge of Table Mountain. A large garage door kept it away from the prying eyes and hands of visitors using the ski hill. One day Mr. More was in the garage preparing the weasel for a chore on the hill. With a click and a roll of mechanics, the heavy-chained operated garage door began to open. On the way out of the garage, and just as the door was still opening, a part of the old World War 2 weasel snagged the chain of the garage door. The ol' machine was still durable and the weight of it dragged the garage door down. Unfortunately, the disabled garage door fell down on the back of Mr. More's neck as he was in the driver's seat! He received a broken neck! Mr. More proved that it was hard to keep a good man down. With the assistance of a cane, he continued to operate the ski hill and greet visitors for years.  

The year of the weasel had petered out...A few years after Mr. More's accident, the last one sat in the bone yard of Table Mountain Ski area. Employee and ski patrolman Lee Cook was still around and spied the weasel sitting abandoned and collecting dust. He offered to buy it from the owner. But the money was rejected...it was given to him. For awhile he worked on it and used it. But like in all good things...time spent with them comes to an end. The historic military vehicle's time in the Big Pines area came to a stop. To this day there are still fond memories of the tough little transport that proved out to be "not exactly a weasel."