Even with holes cut in the tracks you can still have popping. A good idea is to carry a little shovel along and clean them out once and awhile. It's also a good idea to clean the snow out before you park the machine or it might be frozen down the next time you want to run it. My only suggestion on using the straight blade is to jink every so often and try to side step the snow when it builds up. Your CAT should push quite a load in front of it. I wish you would share a little of the snow with the less fortunate. Sounds like you will make the machine pay.

Your blade is hanging on the hard nose of the tractor. The front of the tractor is resting on the cross spring. If you let the blade down to the surface, then pull up a little tension, you have the effect of suspending the blade on a spring. This lets it catch the snow but limits it's penetration into the road beneath the snow. It works absolutely great.

With a cable blade you need good corner bits. The cutting edge can be so-so and it will cut fairly good if the corners are pulling it down. Just don't let the edge wear down until you are wearing away the frog under it. That gets expensive to fix.

You've probably seen it here on this site before, but I'll say it one more time: NEVER, EVER WORK ON THE FRONT CONTROLS WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING. THEY WILL WIND YOU UP IN THE WIRE AND KILL YOU!!!

Have fun.

Jack

You've probably seen it here on this site before, but I'll say it one more time: NEVER, EVER WORK ON THE FRONT CONTROLS WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING. THEY WILL WIND YOU UP IN THE WIRE AND KILL YOU!!!

Here's what Jack is talking about in part.
Kelly