KRISTI snowcat

KRISTI snowcats were 1950s/1960s tracked vehicles suitable for snow and other terrain and produced originally in Colorado and then later in Washington.

According to the introduction, contained in the operators manual: The development of the KRISTI snow vehicles began in early 1947 in the form of a very unusual snow plane. This propeller driven vehicle utilized a control by which the operator could tilt the machine from side to side, in effect raising one ski and lowering the other to negotiate up to 45-degree side slopes and permit high-speed turns without skidding. This tilting and edging of skis after the manner of a skier was called "Ski-Action". Since it could do a "Christie" up or down hill, the trade name "KRISTI" was adopted.

The Kristi snowplane featured a revolutionary change in ski handling concepts. As stated in the manual, the design was inspired by snow skiers who angled their skis to effect a turn (this angling of skis is called a Christie) and it allows for both higher speed turns and greater control. The theoretical advantage of the Kristi system in a snowplane would make for safer and faster turns on frozen lakes. The photos of snowplanes clearly show stationary mounted rear skis and a turning front ski, the Kristi design improved on this design by allowing the skis to carve their edges into the snow as traditional snowplanes's rear skis will skid laterally during a turn. The major advancement of the Kristi tilt ski system apparently made no impact on the commercial or amateur snowplane industry as it did not appear to be used in practical application. Perhaps because of the mechanical complexity of the original design, no snowplanes are known to exist that employ the "Christi Ski Action" concept.

KRISTI was technically interesting, but the company failed to produce quantities of snowcats to compete with other North American or European snowcat manufacturers. According to the July 1964 issue of VOLKSWAGEN FOREIGN CAR GUIDE magazine, author Alan Arnold indicated the KRISTI had a unique ability to raise or lower its tracks individually which had the effect of raising one side of the vehicle to keep the vehicle level while crossing side slopes. Further, the front or rear of both tracks could be raised or lowered so the snowcat's cabin could remain level while climbing or descending slopes.

KRISTI was commercially built in Colorado. The original KRISTI company offered 3 basic models. The models were the KT2, KT3 and KT4. Total production of all the units combined, over the entire 12 year life of the original company's lifespan was lower than 1 year of production of commercially viable snowcats from Tucker Sno-Cat, Bombardier or Thiokol all of which were produced in North America during the same time period. The company changed ownership and moved to Washington and continued production. Production was always on a small scale, and the products were innovative. The most refined of the Kristi snowcats was the KT7, which was last produced and the least successful commercially with only 4 units built and 3 of them were prototypes that failed. The KT7 was designed and produced after the sale of the company and after it moved to Washington. It is possible that additional KT2, KT3 and KT4 units were manufactured by the new owners in Washington state but it is unlikely since the designs had not been substantially upgraded by the time the new owners purchased the company. A slightly smaller version of the KT3 was called the KT2. Both the KT2 and KT3 were powered by Volkswagen air-cooled 4-cylinder engines, it is reported that a small percentage may have been powered by Porsche engines. The KT2 and KT3 shared mechanicals and even shared the same operators manual. The VW engine developed 32 horsepower.

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