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Territorial Dispatch

Adventure to the Peak of South Butte

Nov 13, 2024 10:44AM ● By Shamaya Sutton, photos by Shamaya Sutton

Here is the Sutter Butte’s cinder cone, remnants of a volcanic eruption that occurred 1.6 to 1.4 million years ago. This particular view is only visible from the peak of South Butte which, at 2,122 feet, stands as the highest point in all of Sutter County.

 

SUTTER COUNTY, CA (MPG) - Pictured above is the Sutter Buttes cinder cone, remnants of a volcanic eruption that occurred 1.6 to 1.4 million years ago. This view is only visible from the peak of South Butte which, at 2,122 feet, stands as the highest point in all of Sutter County.

On Nov. 9, 17 lucky visitors summited South Butte with Tor Broadcasting Corporation members to take in the views and learn more about the extensive broadcasting and communication systems housed there. This rare and exciting opportunity was brought to the community as part of the annual California Swan Festival.


A series of staircases, catwalks and overlook decks lead to various access points to communication towers and equipment located on the peak of South Butte in Sutter County.


“When I heard about going up, I was on it,” said a local photographer named Victor. “I never thought I’d get the opportunity.”

Said Liza Whitmore, a former Caltrans public information officer, “I’d heard a lot about this place and saw that it was opening up but to actually have a tour, I knew I had to get tickets.”

The day's tour guides included Ed Hulbert, CEO, and Jake Kley, general manager of Tor Broadcasting, alongside employees Matt Ellis and Hayden Kalfsbeek. Tor Broadcasting is a subsidiary company of Colusa Industrial Properties in Colusa. Its job is to develop and maintain communication buildings and towers on South Butte in the Sutter Buttes Mountain Range. The Nov. 9 participants met about 8 a.m. and followed these men in through a private access gate off Pass Road in Sutter.

From there, guests were divided into specially equipped trucks to make the difficult ascent up South Butte. Tor Broadcasting’s experienced drivers headed out slowly, caravan style up a one lane road full of treacherous switchbacks. The jagged 2.5-mile path was pioneered in the 1960s with just equipment off the ranch and a pickup load of dynamite.


These expansive views are only visible from the decks of Tor Broadcasting at the peak of South Butte in Sutter County.


“Today, we probably couldn't permit to build the road and we probably couldn't afford it; the cost would be staggering today,” Hulbert said. “You don't want people driving up here anyway because bad things are gonna happen.”

As Kley maneuvered through a three-point turn onto the next steep hill, he pointed out a spot where he once had a truck's axle break on him.

“I dumped the material right behind the truck just to keep it from going over the edge. Then we brought the backhoe up to clear it out … that was one of the times it scared me,” he said.

The land surrounding South Butte is privately-owned, many owners being fourth- or fifth-generation farmers and ranchers. Through property easements, Tor Broadcasting maintains access to its towers and future broadcasting developments. Most of the previous South Butte tours have been conducted to educate landowners on Tor Broadcasting’s operations and the surveying of current or potential customers. Trespassing is strictly prohibited.


A group of visitors ride the tram up to the peak of South Butte in Sutter County with members of Tor Broadcasting on Saturday as part of the annual California Swan Festival. Below is a short view of the winding one-lane road.


“It's restrictive; we do a few of these tours but we’re always sensitive to the landowners and the property we cross so that makes it difficult for us to do this,” said Hulbert.

While the ride might not have been pleasant for some, the expansive views more than made up for the bumps. At the top, visitors had the choice of riding a tram or trekking the rest on foot to the peak. Those who dared for the latter were met with a steep incline and loose gravely footholds that left everyone breathless. While adventurous, those who chose the footpath opted for the tram on the way back.

“It’s incredible to see it up close like this,” said Mike Alexander, who works for Frank M. Booth in Marysville and owns about 10 acres of land near the Butte’s base. “We toured Dean’s Place as well yesterday; I think I’d like to become a tour guide for Middle Mountain once I retire.”

With virtually no wind, Hulbert and his team remarked that it was the perfect time to visit the peak. They try to monitor the weather for days like this that make it easier for them to work and check their equipment. The only downside was the haziness which obscured a bit of the view. However, on a clear day, it was said one could see straight out 200 miles or so to the skyscrapers of Sacramento in the south and the top of Mount Shasta to the north.

“The views don't get old, the best time is the spring when it's green, but it's also cool when it's foggy because the peaks look like their floating islands,” said Ellis, who has worked up there dozens of times. 

The communication towers at the peak are bolted to square cement slabs embedded straight into the rock. A somewhat rickety staircase leads to a three-tiered wooden deck that wraps around various tower access points. Six air-controlled units, two at the lower levels and four at the top, house all their clients' computers and circuit boards to protect them from heat damage. Temperature monitoring, control and an operational alarm system can be accessed and controlled remotely via computer or smartphone with internet connection. Two backup generators and a 24-hour surveillance system aids in both security and maintenance.


The interior of a community vault is referred as “spaghetti mess” by Jake Kley, general manager of Tor Broadcasting. This air-conditioned unit, located at the peak of South Butte in Sutter County, protects important circuit boards and computers against heat damage.


“Everything up here is built by hand, you can't take a concrete truck up this road, so all the concrete and all the big footings you see, they’re massive, were all poured with a hand mixer,” said Hulbert.

The first lower communication site on South Butte was constructed in 1967 by L.A. Otterson, founder of Tor Broadcasting, when communication industries were in their early stages and Otterson saw the Buttes as prime location for an antenna. In 1973, a lease on the upper side was negotiated and the first 240-foot tower was built by hand in the mid-1980s.

By the 2000s, the company needed more room and commissioned another 240-foot tower to be built. This one was constructed in 2008 with the aid of a sky crane helicopter at the price of $12,000 per hour. Crews had to wait for the perfect non-windy day to get this done and completed the project in about three-and-a-half hours.

“The helicopters are costly but it's about time and safety for crews,” added Hulbert.

The risk involved with climbing these towers can lead to abandoned equipment that could sit for a number of years before being dismantled. A few years back, Kley negotiated the removal of a dish during the installation of a new customer's equipment.

“We don’t have climbers so that saved us a bit of money,” said Kley. “Sometimes it's about waiting for the right opportunity.”


These expansive views are only visible from the decks of Tor Broadcasting at the peak of South Butte in Sutter County.


Today, Tor Broadcasting’s site serves approximately 50 customers with PG&E being among their largest. Current services include two-way radio, microwave communication, paging, cellular, wireless internet, FM Radio, atmospheric data collection, weather cam, geological monitoring, wireless TV, education programming, law enforcement communication and ham radio.

Currently, T-Mobile is the only broadband cell phone company utilizing the South Butte peak. Kley explained that other cell phone carriers have started investing in multiple towers along freeways that can be easier to reach.

Tor Broadcasting said that its newest project will be to replace the aging 80-foot tower on the Lower Site with a new tower that meets the current building codes and will have expanded capacity.