Main point is that the D&RGW kept the tracks clear most of the time so the snow did not pack down and turn into ice.
The D&RG had a problem with the Floresta branch west of Crested Butte. The line was shut down in the winter and when they attempted to open it up in the spring, the rotary encountered the same problem the C&TS has on Cumbres...ice. The branch was only 11 miles long, but sometimes it would take them a week to open it and often the rotary would break a blade or a shaft and they would have to stop and go back to Crested Butte or all the way to Gunnison for repairs. Once they did not open the branch until the end of June. D&RG finally solved the problem by using either Ditcher OX or OW to open the line.
These things are called "snow" plow not "ice" plows for a reason.
Jerry Day
Longmont, CO