On March 20th, the TNSAR snowcat was called to assist Nevada County with a rescue attempt of six snowshoers who were caught in the deep snow at a cabin north of Basin Peak. The plan was to follow a grooming cat from Cisco Road starting up the Fordyce Road trail for just over sixteen miles to the cabin located near North Creek, northwest of Basin Peak.

The team cat has an easy time following the grooming cat that was creating quite the road plowing through four feet of snow, with many spots well in excess of that. Approximately forty-five minutes after leaving the trialhead, it was obvious from the dash gauage that the alternator was not charging and the decision was made to return to the trailhead. Once at the trailhead, it was determined a trailhead fix could not be managed and the snowcat was returned to the garage for repairs.

In the meantime, the grooming cat continued in its attemp to reach the cabin, but had to return to the trailhead at the midway point after running low on fuel.

The next day the weather improved enough for a helicopter to be deployed. The six snowshoers were picked up by CHP H24 and taken back to the trailhead at Boreal Ridge.