Saving a Contract
By Sid Beamis

When: December 1977
Where: Wyoming Range between Afton and Big Piney
Who:  Mile Hi Explr. Party 7
Client: Exxon...client Rep Lawson Beatty

Our backs where to the wall.  We had too many weather days.  Either we get some data or loose our contract.  The crew flew out in questionable weather.  .SMITTY flew out with us.  We get some shots off and then the weather drops on us like a baby grand piano.  Cut off from Afton the crew flew to la Barge (or Big Piney).  David Newsome sends every truck he can find up around through Alpine and Hoback to pick the crew up (gee lets go to the bar and wait for the trucks) I catch a ride w/ Roy Boy in the A 3 back to STEVE & LUWANAS bar/motel in Alpine (bad idea). Randall was pissed (slightly) that all three birds fueled up and flew back to Alpine...in the dark...through hoback and snake river canyons...no problem...just follow the LLama....he's long lined power poles through here before...he knows where to fly.  Roy Boy was proud and happy to point out the fuel light (red) on the A 3 to me as it flickered and then stayed red...we did make it Alpine.

It...gets...better.

It keeps snowing, snowing, and snowing.  The program is temporarily shelved. We begin the rescue and recovery of all our cables, phones etc.  We split in to two groups.  One in Afton flying to the line.  Another group in Big Piney coming in on snow machines.  Somewhere someone has pictures of the five, eight, and ten foot deep trenches we dug finding All our cables and phones.  We were lucky, we had two caches of bags near the last dog house site.  We worked Xmas day and New Years Day.  Mike Bright was in the 206 on NY day.  He found the Cotton Bowl game and we listened to it on our radios.

P-7 then moved to Lima Montana (site of the now famous/infamous Richard Randall poker game...still another story) We kept working for Exxon