INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. and#8212; I own and operate a Sno-Cat service, and transport personnel and equipment into remote sites. On Nov. 20, 2010, I transported some equipment installation personnel into a site at the top of Slide Mountain at the far south end. The weather was very nasty that night. The following day, Nov. 21, the weather was even worse. I was called back to extract the two guys we had left on site. Because of the storm, we did not reach the site until approximately 9 p.m. As we pulled up to the front of the site and started to move some snow with the cat blade, my passenger yelled out and#8220;hey, there’s an animal … it looks like a bear.and#8221; I stopped and looked to see this little tiny cub. It took us a few seconds, but we agreed it had to be a bear.

Not knowing where the mother may be, I called the guys that were inside and warned them to be on the lookout for the mom when they came out. They informed me that the little cub had been around there most of the day with no signs of the mother. We tried calling the Nevada Department of Wildlife, and had to leave a message since it was late Sunday night. We talked about what we should do about the bear, and we all agreed that we should leave it and notify the Department of Wildlife.

The next morning I called the department of wildlife and talked to them about the bear. They said there was nothing that could be done, and the cub must be a yearling. I tried to explain that this little cub was very small, and that we believed it may be younger than that. Nothing could be done. I guess I should have demanded to talk with someone higher up the ladder.

I texted my daughter a copy of a picture from that night. She was very sad, and wanted to mount a search and rescue crew. I should have listened to her! We are so glad to hear that the cub is safe.

Bill Blas is a Truckee resident and owner of Summit Communications.