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Smooth new ambulance Photo by Jim Craven A driver takes the Medicat Sno-Ambulance for a spin at Mount Ashland Wednesday as snowboarders try out preseason snow. The unique rescue vehicle was developed by a Colorado designer and Tucker Sno-Cat of Medford. Snow vehicle built at Medford plant By ALBERTO ENRIQUEZ ASHLAND -- A Sno-Cat ambulance -- the first of its kind in the world -- made its Mount Ashland debut Wednesday en route to Vail, Colo., where it will be marketed to national parks and ski areas. Designer Eric Jacobson of Telluride, Colo., developed the ambulance in a partnership with Tucker Sno-Cat of Medford. Jacobson said the vehicle would set a new standard for emergency care on the nation's premier ski slopes. "The way they rescue people today with toboggans is really pretty silly," Jacobson said. "Especially with the measurable percentage of runaways that you get using toboggans, and it's a rough ride. This is very smooth." Even on a debut run, the Medicat Sno-Ambulance drew admiring glances from weekday snowboarders and at least one unsolicited testimonial. "I broke my arm here up high on the mountain about three years ago," said Jessica Arden, 18, of Ashland. "They had to like carry me out in a sled. I'd much rather ride in one of these. There was a lot of moving around, my arm wasn't in a splint, and I was in shock by the time I got down." Tucker and Jacobson, president and chief financial officer of Coleman Truck near Telluride, have yet to find a buyer for the first Medicat but hope to sell 20 a year at $230,000 to $265,000 each. That could mean new jobs at Tucker, which builds 60 to 70 Sno-Cats a year. "There's nothing else like this on the market," Jacobson said. "It's like Chrysler building the `Prowler.' In a competitive economy, you just have to put it out there and see how it goes -- and frankly, putting together a Sno-Cat pays better than flipping burgers." At first blush, the four-tracked crawler seems a top-heavy marriage between a boxy ambulance van and a snow-grooming tractor. As test driver Ron Kern put the ambulance through its paces at Mount Ashland, a new image emerged. Its 103-inch wide footprint -- 10 inches wider than a conventional Sno-Cat -- remained stable even as it plunged over the lip of a slope. The four articulated tracks cut a 24-foot circle midslope, rear tracks following neatly in the path of the front. Then, a 174-horse Allison diesel engine sent it surging back upslope at better than 20 mph. Nimble as the Medicat is, the company already has plans to improve it, said Jim Tucker, Tucker Sno-Cat general manager. Air bag suspension will automatically level the ambulance compartment as the ambulance traverses steep slopes. Stable, level rides are crucial for spinal injuries, and virtually impossible aboard a toboggan. "We're demoing at Vail, but the actual first customer is likely to be Yellowstone, where snowmobilers get hurt 75 or 100 miles in, the weather is often too bad for helicopters, and taking them out by snowmobile can lead to hypothermia," Jacobson said. "A ski area's best protection against lawsuits is to have the best care. We're hoping that if one gets it, all the major ski areas will want one." A $230,000 price tag puts Medicat in the premier range, but that didn't stop Mount Ashland ski patrolman Bruce Meek from dreaming. "It sure would be an upgrade from our current capabilities," Meek said. Snow patrol toboggans cannot exceed 20 mph without risking a runaway, and they bring at best 50 to 60 pounds of gear to the scene. The ability to bring immediate care -- not to mention a warm, dry shelter -- to victims left Meek and others thinking neither of sales nor jobs but of lives saved and skiers back on the slopes. "This seemed to be something the world really needed," Jacobson said. Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA