EXPLORING LIFE, LAND AND CULTURE FROM THE HEART OF THE YELLOWSTONE REGION
MOUNTAIN
FREE
WINTER 2015
LUKAS NELSON
BIOMIMICRY
LINKING BIOLOGY & BUSINESS
GEAR: MAVERICK MAKEOVER
AND PROMISE OF THE REAL
walk on
First Descents in Antarctica WINTERKEEPER: 40 YEARSexplorebigsky.com IN YELLOWSTONE MOUNTAIN
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Š Craig W. Hergert
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CONTENTS
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Angelika Rainer hangs mid-move with an ice tool in her mouth during the 2013 North American Ice Climbing Championships at the Bozeman Ice Festival in downtown Bozeman, Montana. The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) sanctioned the event as its only North American competition in 2013 and it returns to the Emerson Cultural Center as one of six international World Cup events Dec. 12-13, 2014. PHOTO BY MAX LOWE
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WINTER 2015 On the cover: Lukas Nelson pays homage to Pete Townshend’s legendary “windmill leaps” during the 2014 Front Porch Music Festival last August. Nelson and his band Promise of the Real headlined the show, held at Wente Vineyards Estate Winery in Livermore, California. PHOTO BY STUART LEVINE
FEATURES 24 OUTLOOK Lukas Nelson and his band Promise of the Real walk on, taking notes from the songbooks of legendary musicians and turning heads across the country. Managing Editor Joseph T. O’Connor explores how they’re inspiring a generation to once again believe in heroes. 44 HISTORY Steven Fuller lives full time in Yellowstone National Park, which he’s done for 40 years working the darkest of months as a winterkeeper. He’s spent his time shoveling off roofs, while fighting off grizzly bears, the deep snowpack and the encroaching modern society. 49 NOW It’s been called “institutionalization,” and a “revolving door.” Its name is recidivism. Sean Forbes investigates Montana’s effort to keep offenders from returning to the prison yard. 73 SCIENCE How a Montana company is bridging the gap between biology and business. Biomimicry, Andrew Graham explains, uses nature’s solutions to solve human problems. Consider a beaver dam… 90 GEAR Outlaw outfits one Montana ranching family with the hottest new ski gear 104 ADVENTURE Veteran ski guide and expedition leader Doug Workman brought pen, paper and a camera with him on his Antarctica ski adventure. Neither penguins nor icebergs could deter him from earning his turns. 112 ARTISAN James Niehues hand paints ski resort maps, but he may be the last of a dying breed. Associate Editor Maria Wyllie takes a closer look at this unique art form and why no one’s waiting to pick up the paintbrush.
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CONTENTS
Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, located near Whitehall, Montana, features one of the largest known limestone caverns in the Northwest. Pictured here is the cave’s second largest room, the Cathedral room. The Caverns will offer candlelight tours on select dates December 13-28. PHOTO BY TYLER BUSBY
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DEPARTMENTS 14 LETTERS, CONTRIBUTORS An intro to the book, the Outlaws and the players 18 TRAILHEAD Banked slalom snowboarding, Washington’s biggest wine event, and the raddest ski film of the year Plus: The evolution of snowshoes, Three Forks’ Sacajawea Hotel and southwest Montana’s horse whisperer 32 OUTBOUND GALLERY Images from the Greater Yellowstone region and beyond 40 TALES Rick Bass on Whitefish Ski Resort and The Bierstube Ride along as an 18 year old takes on Montana’s 350-mile sled dog race. Call her ma’am. 56 PHOTO ESSAY Inside the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas 63 REGION Question: Big mountain backcountry or the kid’s soccer game? Answer: Both 66 PROFILE Q&A: One woman’s account of the Rwandan Genocide, and her path to forgiveness 79 ESCAPE Redefining the ski vacation: backcountry by day, luxury by night 82 LAND Property with elbow room on the doorstep of America’s biggest ski resort 86 GEAR A backcountry splitboard trip to Bell Lake Yurt 96 EXPLORE Wagner’s tailor-made skis 98 CULTURE How to brew a better beer 100 GUIDE Five delectable recipes and a guide to regional restaurants 109 HEALTH Ski-town dating and the power of technology How new snowfall affects serious ski injuries 119 FEATURED OUTLAW “Bo” Tim Pattison: Modern-day mountain man on hunting, wall tents and how to survive without a driver’s license
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INNOVATION haas builders www.haasbuilders.com 406.995.4552
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Owned and published in Big Sky, Montana PUBLISHER Eric Ladd EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR Joseph T. O’Connor
CREATIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kelsey Dzintars
SENIOR EDITOR / DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR Tyler Allen
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Taylor-Ann Smith VIDEO DIRECTOR Brian Niles
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Maria Wyllie
SALES AND OPERATIONS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Megan Paulson DIRECTOR OF SALES E.J. Daws ACCOUNT MANAGER Katie Morrison ACCOUNT COORDINATOR Maria Wyllie MEDIA AND EVENTS DIRECTOR Ersin Ozer ACCOUNTANT Alexis Deaton
Simon Gudgeon, “Falcon,” Bronze, 32 x 20 x 11
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rachel Anderson, Rick Bass, Jesse Coil, Jackie Rainford Corcoran, Sean Forbes, Steven Fuller, Andrew Graham, Jenny Greger, Sarah Harrison, Tyson Krinke, Luke Lynch, S. Jason Moore, Emily Stifler Wolfe, Doug Workman CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS Ron Armstrong, Danny Béasse, David Brazier, Daniel Bullock, Tyler Busby, Nat Caillaud, Colin Corcoran, Nick Diamond, Dave Ericson, Steven Fuller, Ricky Harney, Sarah Harrison, Chris Havener, Alan Karchmer, Kevin Kass, Tyson Krinke, Stuart Levine, Max Lowe, Faith Malpeli, Kristen Marie, Phil Marino, Dan Marley, Matty McCain, KT Miller, Reid Morth, James Niehues, Hayes Novich, Brad Orsted, Wesley Overvold, Kene Sperry, Klaudia Turner, Jeff Vanuga, Emily Stifler Wolfe, Doug Workman SUBSCRIBE NOW: explorebigsky.com/subscriptions
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DISTRIBUTION: Mountain Outlaw magazine is distributed in Big Sky, Bozeman and throughout western Montana, as well as in Jackson, Wyoming and the four corners of Yellowstone National Park. It is also the in-train publication for Amtrak’s Empire Builder Line running between Chicago, Illinois and Seattle, Washington, and has an annual readership of 1.1 million. TO ADVERTISE: contact E.J. Daws at ej@theoutlawpartners.com or Ersin Ozer at ersin@theoutlawpartners.com. OUTLAW PARTNERS & MOUNTAIN OUTLAW P.O. Box 160250, Big Sky, MT 59716 (406) 995-2055 • media@theoutlawpartners.com © 2014 Mountain Outlaw Unauthorized reproduction prohibited
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FROM THE PUBLISHER
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FROM THE PUBLISHER
THE POWER IN A TALE
IMMACULÉE ILIBAGIZA EDDIE VEDDER
Storytelling is an essential art form. A story can transport a human to another place and time and inspire emotion. Captivating an audience with a story has been a method of communication dating back to days of civilizations huddled in caves. Many historians and psychologists say that storytelling is one of the key attributes that define and bind our humanity. The craft has evolved from prehistoric petroglyphs to American Indians painting tales on buckskin canvas, to poets constructing verse that captures moments in time. More recently, social media is used to share messages with millions. I am blessed to come from a Midwest family where holiday gatherings are filled with tales of days past. My grandfather had an incredible ability to recount stories and weave advice into them, an artful way of mentoring. And while my family stories – known by people close to us as “Laddisms” – have the ability to morph and change over time, the core of these anecdotes is a cornerstone of our lineage. Two of my favorite storytellers I have witnessed over the years include Warren Miller and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. Miller used film to tell stories and infect millions of snow enthusiasts with the ski bum lifestyle, while Vedder uses music to inspire worldwide audiences with powerful verse. What’s most impressive about people like
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WARREN MILLER Legendary storytellers NEIL YOUNG
Miller and Vedder, is that they often use the power of their tales to help others, support charities and perpetuate goodwill. Storytelling should be used to further humanity, memorialize the past and inform the future. Storytellers surround us and range from authors, painters, dancers, teachers, preachers and actors adding a critical and binding layer to our society. In this edition of Mountain Outlaw, Managing Editor Joseph T. O’Connor and his team have done an amazing job featuring storytellers in the forms of musicians and photographers, as adventurers and philanthropists. The stories in the following pages took us from Yellowstone National Park, where winterkeeper Steven Fuller has lived in a cabin for the past 40 years; to a Nebraska cornfield to cover Lukas
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Nelson, his band, his father Willie, and his “Uncle” Neil Young; to ski guiding in Antarctica; to our own backyard in southwest Montana, where we discovered a legend. And be sure to note the powerful story captured by Associate Editor Maria Wyllie, conveyed by Rwandan Genocide survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza. As a media company, we feel privileged to gather these stories and share them with our readers via this publication. Please enjoy these stories and share them with others. If you have a story to tell, make sure you find a moment to share it. And if you need an audience, give us a call. The Outlaws always enjoy a good tale.
Eric Ladd, Publisher eric@theoutlawpartners.com
PHOTO CREDITS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: MATTY MCCAIN, PHIL MARINO, DANIEL BULLOCK, KENE SPERRY
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Celebrating
Y E A R S
Serving Big Sky, Montana
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WORKMAN
LEVINE
RAINFORD CORCORAN
FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS Doug Workman, an ambassador for Mammut mountain sports gear, has been guiding with Ice Axe Expeditions since 2009 and has made five trips to the Antarctic Peninsula. He also guides ski mountaineering trips to Iceland and Spitsbergen, Norway, and has been a heli-ski guide in Alaska and Jackson, Wyoming for more than a decade. (“Across the Drake,” p.104) Jackie Rainford Corcoran moved to Big Sky, Montana 20 years ago and now her two careers – health coaching and oil painting – led her to become a writer, public speaker and art teacher. In their spare time, she and her husband Colin play outside with their golden retriever, Westin. (“Love (and Technology) Will Keep Us Together,” p. 109) Stuart Levine is a San Francisco-based photographer specializing in portrait and concert imagery. “If my photos inspire you to see live music, then I’ve done my job,” Levine says. (Cover photo) Steven Fuller has passed much of his adult life off-road in Yellowstone and in roadless bush Africa, a combination he finds routinely complimentary. Despite his dilettante ways and lack of interest in success, his writings, photographs, television works, and presentations have been well received on three continents. Earlier in life he worked as a plumber – the perfect vocation, he says, for a failed Taoist. (“Of Pride and Progress: Forty Years in Yellowstone,” p. 44)
FULLER GREGER
Sean Forbes is a freelance writer living in Bozeman, Montana, where playing in the sun, snow and mountains is only occasionally interrupted by real work. (“Escaping the Revolving Door,” p. 49) Jenny Greger is a born and raised Montanan, a competitive sled-dog musher for seven years, and has been involved with animals her whole life. She is a freshman at Montana State University studying animal science and pre-veterinarian work. (“Race to the Sky,” p. 42)
FORBES
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PHOTO CREDITS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: DOUG WORKMAN, JACKIE RAINFORD CORCORAN, DAN MARLEY, NAT CAILLAUD, JENNY GREGER, SEAN FORBES
CONTENTS
CONTENT by location ARLEE P. 56 SEELEY LAKE P. 34
WHITEFISH P. 40
MISSOULA P. 74
LINCOLN P. 42 HELENA P. 103
TOBACCO ROOT RANGE P. 86 MAVERICK MOUNTAIN P. 90
BOZEMAN P. 98, 101, 103
BIG SKY P. 18, 82, 100, 109,112,119 WEST YELLOWSTONE P. 102, 103
RED LODGE P. 102, 103 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK P. 35, 36, 44 GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK P. 32, 62 JACKSON HOLE P. 79
THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE REGION & BEYOND
SVALBARD, NORWAY P. 38
NELSON, BC P. 35
SEATTLE, WA P. 18
TELLURIDE, CO P. 96
NELIGH, NE P. 26 VAIL, CO P. 79, 111
SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS, ANTARCTICA P. 104
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TRAILHEAD
A-ROB’S SMASH LIFE! BANKED SLALOM
January 10-11 / Big Sky, Montana January 17-18 / Alpental, Washington
More than a series of banked slalom snowboard competitions, Smash Life! is a tribute to Montana native and late snowboarder Aaron Robinson. A-Rob was a dear friend and purveyor of stoke to those who knew him, according to event organizer Shane Stalling.
EVENTS
“It’s a celebration of living life and having fun, and snowboarding with your friends,” Stalling said.
Kevin Fischer of Bozeman tears down the course during the Smash Life! banked slalom competition at Big Sky Resort on Jan. 5, 2013. PHOTO BY REID MORTH
This gathering is the largest fundraiser for the A-Rob Plant a Seed Project, a Whitefish, Montana-based nonprofit that introduces at-risk and underprivileged youth to the sport of snowboarding. Since its inception in 2012, Smash Life! has contributed more than $20,000 to this cause.
Top riders receive a prequalified “Golden Ticket” to compete in the 2015 Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom, the coveted snowboard race now in its 30th year. – Ersin Ozer
TASTE WASHINGTON
March 26-29 / Seattle, Washington
If you’ve paid attention to the wine industry in the last decade, you know Washington’s grapes are world-renowned. Regions including the Yakima, Red Mountain and Walla Walla valleys have not only helped the state become the nation’s second largest wine producer, they’ve earned accolades along the way. The 18th annual Taste Washington, held at venues throughout Seattle and culminating March 28 and 29 at CenturyLink Field, celebrates the state’s passion for fine wine and food.
More than 5,000 people descend on the “nation’s largest single-region wine and food event,” March 26-29 in Seattle, Washington. PHOTO BY KRISTEN MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY
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More than 5,000 people descend on the “nation’s largest single-region wine and food event,” featuring over 200
Washington wineries and more than 70 restaurants from around the Northwest. Tamarack Cellars, Syncline and Betz Family wineries, and Treveri Cellars are some of the notable vineyards confirmed for the 2015 event, which includes wine tastings, food pairings and seminars from some of the industry’s most trusted professionals. “We bring in sommeliers and wine writers from around the country,” said Michaela Baltasar, communications director for the Washington State Wine Commission. “It’s a great educational experience to learn from the most knowledgeable people in the wine industry.” If you have an affinity for fermented fruit, Taste Washington is not to be missed. – Tyler Allen
“LAND OF NO USE” What began as a desire to explore remote mountains changed on Super Bowl Sunday, 2012, after Henry Worobec suffered a knee injury skiing outside of Cooke City, Montana. The result, “Land of No Use,” is now on the big screen.
Interior/ Exterior
REEL
“I had a lot of time sitting around after surgery,” said Worobec, the nonprofit film’s creator who has been skiing in southwest Montana for the past decade. “I liked the adventure aspect of skiing and was studying maps and reading about Wilderness areas.” This is not your average ski movie. Shot on location in many of Montana’s 77 named mountain ranges, “Land of No Use” traces the Wilderness debate through the eyes of local skiers. Using backcountry footage and interviewing people on both sides of the discussion, this film rides the spine between soulful ski film and poignant documentary. lonu.org – Joseph T. O’Connor
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TRAILHEAD
As the sun sets on his leased ranch in Belgrade, Montana, Rocky Mountain Horseman Joe Turner begins his training process with a 3-year-old red roan colt named Socks. PHOTO BY KLAUDIA TURNER
SADDLING THE SPIRIT ROCKY MOUNTAIN HORSEMAN
CAUSE
Breaking down the barriers between horse and man, Rocky Mountain Horseman Joe Turner blends gentle techniques of horse psychology and herd behaviorism to pioneer partnerships with these animals.
Founded in 2007, RMH offers horsemanship clinics across the U.S. and internationally. With a home base overlooking the Bridger Range in Belgrade, Montana, Turner is seeing a growing demand for his services that bring advanced equestrian skills back to basics, from first touch to first ride. He uses an innovative training practice called Natural horsemanship, paying close attention to each horse by understanding its nonverbal language and earning its trust and respect. With this self-taught method, he is able to confidently mount a wild horse within an hour of initial introduction. Turner says he has an unspoken agreement with each horse: “I will lead you. I will not bring you harm. I will not put you in danger’s way.” – Rachel Anderson 20 MOUNTAIN
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REFINEMENT IN THE WEST SACAJAWEA HOTEL
VISIT
Three Forks, Montana sits at the Missouri River headwaters and is home to the historic Sacajawea Hotel. Built in 1910 as a rest stop for travelers and train crews settling the West, the hotel is named for Lewis and Clark’s Shoshone guide who provided protection for the expedition to pass through hostile, native territories. Comprised of two buildings, legend claims that a contractor was ordered to drag the main structure closer to town with a team of horses. Hotel construction was delayed when he gambled away his horse team in a poker game, but the building eventually made the journey. The hotel closed in 2001 until the Folkvords, a threegeneration farming family, purchased and renovated it in 2010. Boasting 29 luxury rooms, two bars, and one of Montana’s premium steakhouses, Pompey’s Grill, the Sacajawea Hotel is now one of the West’s finest historic inns. – Taylor-Ann Smith
STATE-OF-THE-ART AUTOMATION. HUMAN EXPERTISE. ASTOUNDING FINISHES. See how our 9,000 square foot facility, coupled with our knowledge and experience, can enhance your next project.
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INFOGRAPHIC
N O T A L L H O M E S A R E C R E AT E D E QUA L . BIG SKY | JACKSON tetonheritagebuilders.com
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INFOGRAPHIC Snowshoes were modeled after animals like the snowshoe hare, who evolved with oversized feet enabling them to move quickly through deep snow.
Plains Ojib we perform ing a snowshoe dance by G eorge Catlin, 1835
Snowshoes were invented around
4,000 to 6,000 years ago by tribes from Central Asia who migrated across the Bering Sea land bridge to North America
“In the winte r when the sn ow will bear feet their sn them, they fa ow shoes whi ch are made sten to their Tennis with, like lacing them with Deers-g a large Racket we play at uts and the like� -John Jossely
Traditional snowshoes have a hardwood frame with rawhide lacings
n, Two Voya
Modern snowshoes are made of lightweight metal, plastic, and synthetic fabric.
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HISTORIC SNOWSHOE SHAPES
EL INFOGRAPHIC BY K
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In 1972, experimenting with new designs in Washing ton's Cascade Mountains, Gene and B i l l P r a t e r c r e a t e d t h e s n o w s h o e k n o w n t o d a y.
designed for use in forested conditions
ALASKAN ( Yukon), for traversing deep powder-covered open areas, common in the Northwest
S
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Between 1998 and 2004, American snowshoeing participation ages from 16-22 grew by Traditional snowshoe m a k e r, c a . 1 9 0 0 - 1 9 3 0
HURON
snowshoers in the U.S. 2012/2013 winter season
(Beaver tail) most popular, utilized in all types of snow conditions
AVERAGE RETAIL PRICE FOR SNOWSHOES:
(SIA/Physical Activity Council 2013
Canadian couple snowshoeing, 1907
Par ticipation S tudy)
(2012/13)
OUTLOOK
WALK ON Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real are lifting off, inspiring a generation in the process | BY JOSEPH T. O’CONNOR
Lukas Nelson tells it how it is in Bellingham, Washington on August 22, 2014. PHOTO BY DANIEL BULLOCK
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N 2002, JIMMY CARTER RECEIVED THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE in Oslo, Norway. Headlining his
reception were Country Outlaw Willie Nelson and guitar legend Carlos Santana, among others.
The Nobel Committee recognized Carter, the 39th U.S. president and a Georgia native, for his “untiring efforts” to promote peace, equality and human rights around the world. At Carter’s request, Nelson performed a soulful rendition of “Georgia on my Mind” before the entire cast of artists sang John Lennon’s “Imagine.” During pre-show sound check, a 13-year-old Lukas Nelson was introduced to Santana, who leaned down from the stage. “Maybe one day I’ll be opening for you,” Santana told Willie’s son. “I was just starting to play guitar,” Lukas recalls. “That blew my mind, you know? And I just kept playing.” Lukas Nelson turns 26 on Christmas Day, 2014, a rising star in a world of prodigious rock ‘n’ rollers that influence him and his band, Promise of the Real. The band spun a web of more than 100 concerts around the country in 2014, RollingStone.com recently featured POTR’s new song called “Find Yourself,” and their third studio album is expected in 2015. But behind this four-man rock show, glows light from a torch seeking new hands: POTR represents the next generation of musicians using their talent to inspire social change.
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UKAS AUTRY NELSON TALKS OF HEROES
like some folks rattle off their record collection: Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Eddie Vedder. His middle name comes from his Godfather, the singing cowboy Gene Autry. These artists influenced him musically, but also left their mark as leaders and activists, philanthropists and teachers. Each found ways to inspire awareness in their fans: Dylan’s lyrics, Charles’ donations to the deaf, Bridge School, Farm Aid, the list goes on. Lukas is adding to that list and, like his idols, making a stance in a world that’s seeking heroes.
“Ask me later! I’m marching,” Lukas Nelson texted from last October’s March for Elephants and Rhinos in San Francisco. He was filed among a throng of activists protesting ivory poaching before Promise of the Real took the stage in Golden Gate Park the next day for the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. In the past five years, Lukas Nelson and POTR have played shows benefiting Free the Slaves, the nonprofit aiming to abolish slavery around the world; the AIDS Service Center; and the Animal Welfare Institute. Believing isn’t enough, Lukas says. “I don’t necessarily stand up for what I believe in,” he said. “I think that’s how wars get started. I stand up for what I see; what I see is wrong…I act according to how I was raised and what my heart tells me.” Last October, Lukas and POTR also performed in Mountain View, California at the annual Bridge School Benefit concert, which has raised money and awareness since 1986 for physically impaired children who need advanced communication assistance. Organized by Neil Young, the 2014 concert featured Young, POTR, Pearl Jam and Florence and the Machine, among others. Lukas sat in with Eddie Vedder for an acoustic version of Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe.”
“I stand up for what I see; what I see is wrong…I act according to how I was raised and what my heart tells me.” That same month the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation, a suicide-awareness nonprofit, recognized Lukas as a 2014 Matt’s Hero Award recipient. During the benefit show in Santa Monica, he performed four acoustic songs and dedicated the last one to his late brother Billy, a victim of a 1991 suicide. “His performance was extraordinary. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” said Ron Silverman, who founded the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation two years ago in memory of his son who committed suicide in 2006. “[Lukas] has a big heart and a passion for giving back.”>>
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OUTLOOK
O
N STAGE LUKAS NELSON IS AN ACE FRONTMAN,
wielding “Georgia,” his 1956 Les Paul Junior with machinist precision during guitar solos in POTR’s “Love Yourself”; he flashes the crowd a telling smile covering Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”; he takes up an entire stage seemingly all at once, bouncing from percussionist Tato Melgar to drummer Anthony LoGerfo, to trading licks with bassist Corey McCormick. “He keeps you on your toes,” said McCormick, 37, who joined POTR in April 2010 after an international touring stint with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. Lukas met LoGerfo at a Neil Young concert in 2008. Over the next year, Nelson and LoGerfo played music up and down the California coast. Then, after a year studying at Loyola Marymount University in L.A., Nelson picked up the phone. “He basically called me out of the blue and said, ‘I’m quitting school and want to form this band, Promise of the Real, and I want you to play drums,’” said LoGerfo, 31. Lines from the opening track, “Walk On” from Neil Young’s 1974 album, “On the Beach,” inspired the name Promise of the Real. “Some get stoned, some get strange, but sooner or later, it all gets real,” wrote Young. “That’s the promise,” muses Lukas. “That’s our band.” Lukas and POTR performed on a cool night at Wild West Pizzeria and Saloon in West Yellowstone, Montana last August. Wild West owner Aaron Hecht spent a few days with Lukas on either side of the show.
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(Above) Like father… Lukas Nelson backs up his dad, Willie, during the Harvest the Hope concert in Neligh, Nebraska last September. PHOTO BY DANIEL BULLOCK
(Right) Nearly 8,000 fans descended on Art Tanderup’s farm to protest the Keystone XL Pipeline extension that would run through his property. Headlining the concert were Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real. PHOTO BY JOSEPH T. O’CONNOR
“He was raised with a guitar in his hand,” Hecht said. “He’s a great performer with great stage presence. The rest of those guys are super-talented musicians too. They’re a tight, polished band.” After two days of playing golf at the Yellowstone Club and the Spanish Peaks Mountain Club near Big Sky, Hecht drew a bead on Lukas, off stage. “We talked a lot about social issues,” Hecht said. “He just wants to learn and hear other people’s points of view, but he can have a meaningful conversation rather than a pissing match about issues. That’s the kind of guy he is; no pretension at all.”
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AST SEPTEMBER, A WARM, STEADY BREEZE BLEW DUST
into the northwest Nebraska air, the ground covered in trampled cornhusks. Nearly 8,000 people flocked to Harvest the Hope, a concert protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline expansion. Headlining the show were Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Lukas Nelson and POTR, featuring Lukas’ younger brother Micah. As the red sun slumped lower in the sky, Willie’s famous twang echoed in the heartland air, strumming “Whiskey River” before playing “Good Hearted Woman.” Even at 81, Willie was Willie, despite the New Balance sneakers that
POTR headlined the Front Porch Music Festival last August at the Wente Vineyards Estate Winery in Livermore, California. Here, Lukas Nelson and bassist Corey McCormick take a birds-eye view as drummer Anthony LoGerfo brings it home. PHOTO BY STUART LEVINE
“He just wants to learn and hear other peoples’ points of view, but he can have a meaningful conversation rather than a pissing match about issues.”
replaced his cowboy boots. He wore a cap reading, “Pipeline Fighter.” After Neil Young’s solo set, which included “Heart of Gold” and a stirring “Mother Earth” performed on the pump organ, he invited Lukas, Micah, and POTR back on stage. A red-tailed hawk feather protruded from the headstock of Lukas’ guitar, catching the fading sunlight and standing out against Young’s black T-shirt reading, “Idle No More.”
The standoff. Lukas and “Uncle” Neil Young’s solo battle on stage at Harvest the Hope. Lukas affixed onto his guitar’s headstock a red-tailed hawk feather that a fan gave him. “It’s my totem animal,” he says. PHOTO BY DANIEL BULLOCK
Young broke into his new song calling on humanity to preserve the earth’s natural resources, called “Who’s gonna stand up?” Lukas and POTR are answering that call.
“We’re here representing our generation for this cause,” Lukas said before the show. “There are so many alternative fuel opportunities now. You have to fight against the ‘big snake’ no matter what,” he said, referring to the name Native Americans gave the pipeline. “There needs to be a shift in the way people think.” Young led the band in a raucous rock ‘n’ roll set, as “Uncle Neil” and Lukas faced each other, swaying, trading guitar solos. Young peered at his apprentice from beneath the brim of his black cowboy hat. “Keep going,” he mouthed.
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PHOTO BY NICK DIAMOND
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MOUNTAIN BALDFACE.COM 29
lifestyle properties in the heart of big sky
Yellowstone Club • Private ski and golf community with access to 5,800 acres skiing at Big Sky Resort and 2,200 acres private skiing on Pioneer Mountain
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KEVIN CASS
Rider: Mike Leake Location: Grand Targhee backcountry, Wyoming. The Grand Teton looms in the background. powderdayphotography.com
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O U T B O U N D G A L L E R Y
HAYES NOVICH
Model and photographer Hannah Moree waxes exotic during a shoot near her home at Seeley Lake, Montana. facebook.com/justffphoto
NICK DIAMOND
Skier: Brad McBeath Location: Baldface Lodge, Nelson, British Columbia nickdiamondphotography.com
RICKY HARNEY
More than 200 guest cabins in Yellowstone National Park’s Canyon Village were removed in October 2014 to make room for three new lodge buildings. Firefighters burned the 60-plus-year-old cabins to reduce waste before taking remains to a landfill. facebook.com/healingsoulphotography
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BRAD ORSTED
L: Breaking Light in Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park. R: A type of thrush, the mountain bluebird makes its home in middle to high elevations across much of the western U.S. and displays a vibrant blue head, back and wings. horsefeathersphotography.com
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KT MILLER
KT MILLER A mother polar bear and cub bask in the midnight sun on melting summer sea ice in Northern Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. The Bozeman-based organization, Polar Bears International, is dedicated to this endangered species by saving their sea ice habitat. polarbearsinternational.org kt-miller.com
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O U T B O U N D G A L L E R Y
TALES
Not every day sees blue sky with new powder, however. There are the cold-ass days where you give yourself over to the misery of frozen feet, frozen fingers, snot-cicles. And the gnarly, foggy days of combat skiing, narrowly missing snowghosts, those eerie, wind-sculpted trees inanimate in their frozen agony. On these days, you just want to get down unharmed. So often time disappears over the course of a day, until – has a week passed? A month? You glance at your watch. It’s 3:50 p.m., and time for one more run. You inhabit it fully – the most engaged run of the day – but there is also, at Whitefish Mountain, far in the back of your mind, the knowledge that you’re headed to the Bierstube. Even from outside, you can hear the rumble of happiness bouncing around inside the bar. Neon lights from within spill onto the snow like an electrolysis of happiness, energy, fullness: vitality in a time when the frozen world sleeps. Jukebox music jiggles the roof’s icicles. You push open the heavy wooden door and see 100 people, 200 – the very folks you did not want to see on the slopes, and now you do.
FIRST CHAIR to LAST CALL BY RICK BASS
We all know and seek, again and again, moments that form foundations for the things we love. From first chair to last call, I discover these moments at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Powder spray over the knees and the sky so blue it approaches and then enters the spectrum of indigo. The subconscious body-and-mountain rhythm of cutting curves into a groomed slope on a perfectly cold day when for whatever reason – maybe simply the freak vagaries of mathematics – there’s nobody else out, and the mountain is all yours. 40 MOUNTAIN
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Barkeeps sling Montana beer, while cold bodies warm up, conversing, visiting, catching up, and not just about the day’s skiing, but about life – a great network at an intensely local hill that’s still kind to strangers. You feel the spirits and ghosts of goodwill housed in the old timbers. TVs bathe patrons in football games, their big screens so large that a single player’s shoe seems to fill a quarter of the bar, capable of coming down on our heads from any direction. But it’s no place to watch a game, it’s too loud, and everyone’s talking instead about things that really matter. Or they’re ringing the bell behind the bar for newcomers, first-time attendees to the Bierstube. Or they’re skiing off of the roof, or giving out goofy individual weekly awards to their topnotch ski patrol, always keeping the morale up, always keeping the joy up. This is where you find the very cool backcountry, backwoods, small and local ski hill vibe that has always been Whitefish. Rick Bass is the author of thirty books of fiction and nonfiction and is a board member of the Yaak Valley Forest Council in Troy, Montana.
TOP: PHOTO BY DAVE ERICSON/WHITEFISH MOUNTAIN RESORT BELOW: PHOTO COURTESY OF WHITEFISH MOUNTAIN RESORT
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IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL With stunning mountain views and an abundance of wildlife, Gallatin Preserve is a rare opportunity to own a ranch in one of the fastest growing ski towns in America. Private, gated 160-acre tracts starting at $3.5 million
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TALES
Greger races with a team of 12 Alaskan Huskies under the name Anduril Kennels Sled Dog Team. Here, with tongues flapping, main leader Bella and young up and coming McGee guide the rest of the team down the trail. PHOTO BY RON ARMSTRONG
I HAD SPENT THE LAST 50 HOURS STANDING ON MY SLED, STEERING IT FOR 330 MILES, AND SQUEEZING IN FOUR HOURS OF SLEEP BETWEEN CHECKPOINTS.
RACE TO THE SKY
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t was still and quiet and dark during those last hours of night before the sun began its climb into the sky. The only sounds on the trail were the jingle of harnesses and panting breaths of 12 Alaskan Huskies as they flew across the snow. Venus and the moon hung over the mountains ahead of us, reflecting just enough light off the snow so I could turn off my headlamp. We had already traveled 300 miles from Helena and through the rugged Bob Marshall Wilderness, as the team sped 42 MOUNTAIN
BY JENNY GREGER
toward the Race to the Sky finish line in Lincoln, Montana. One team separated us from a victory in the 350-mile sled dog race. My dogs bounded down the trail, and when they picked up the pace, I could tell they smelled the lead team. The first place team was an hour ahead – a daunting amount of time to make up in the final 75-mile stretch between Seeley Lake and Lincoln. But as we rounded a corner, they came into view. I whistled when my
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leaders Alice and her sister Bella reached the other sled team. They streaked past and never looked back. The only thing left to navigate was the notorious Huckleberry pass – seven miles of steep climbing in a foot of unbroken, fresh powder. The team behind me was still in striking distance and fully capable of snatching the lead, if given the opportunity. At the base of Huckleberry, the trail led through an open field where the wind and new snow had eliminated any sign of a path. I could read the trail markers, but Alice and Bella were lost without a packed trail to follow. Confused, my leaders circled back and headed in the opposite direction. Turning them around, we slogged forward as I led the team in my heavy snow boots and exhausted body. I had spent the last 50 hours standing on my sled, steering it for 330 miles, and squeezing in four hours of sleep between checkpoints. By the time I led my dogs across the field and climbed back on the sled, the team behind us was less than 20 feet back. This was make or break – the moment that would decide first place or second. The team charged along the trail once again with ears pricked toward the summit as we ascended Huckleberry, plowing through the deep snow and tearing away from the competition. Descending into Lincoln, we sped toward the finish where spectators, race officials, and my family were awaiting our arrival. The sun shone bright in the afternoon sky and fresh snow glistened before us in the last mile before we crossed under the burled wood archway marking the finish line. We were the first ones to lay a path of paw prints across it. An 18-year-old and her 12 dogs had just conquered Montana’s Race to the Sky.
Greger ducks behind her sled to reduce wind resistance as her team sprints the last 2 miles in a race in Pinedale, Wyoming. Although she says she’s not in it for the win, Greger’s athletic team likes to make a habit of crossing the finish line first. PHOTO BY CHRIS HAVENER
HISTORY
OF PRIDE AND PROGRESS FORTY YEARS IN YELLOWSTONE BY STEVEN FULLER
An old crosscut saw mounted on a Dshovel handle enables a winterkeeper to cut snow into upright, freezer-sized blocks that can be skidded off building roofs. In this work, a snowblower is a useless toy. PHOTO BY JEFF VANUGA
“ALL LIVING WINTERKEEPERS HAVE TESTIFIED THEIR TIME HERE WAS THE BEST IN THEIR LIVES.” 44
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If you came to Yellowstone National Park when it opened in 1872, you would have built a house here: On the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone overlooking the Yellowstone River, its famous waterfalls tumbling hundreds of feet over the cliffs. I have lived here, in the isolated Canyon winterkeeper’s house, since 1973. The house appears in old tinted postcards behind the Canyon Hotel, an architectural spectacle when it was built in 1910, its perimeter measuring one mile. After World War II the National Park Service determined it obsolete, and the hotel was condemned. In August 1960 it caught fire and burned for two weeks.
L: The 309-foot lower falls located at the head of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. At 8,000 feet in elevation, snow can come any day of the year. PHOTO BY STEVEN FULLER R: Steven Fuller getting it done, circa 1999. Fuller winterkeeps approximately 100 buildings in Yellowstone’s Canyon Village area, where average winter snow depth ranges from 3-6 feet. PHOTO BY JEFF VANUGA
the 1,200-foot canyon rim. Later, while I was riding it, the bicycle-style handlebars broke off in my hands.
The Canyon winterkeeper’s house in 1930. For generations of Canyon winterkeepers, it has been a sanctuary in this isolated and often hostile environment. PHOTO COURTESY OF NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
The fire was declared accidental, but in 1975 an old timer knocked on the door of my cabin, the only landmark left from his time in Yellowstone. We had coffee. When I asked if he was here when the hotel burned he said, “Here? Hell, I poured the kerosene!” This house has been the Canyon winterkeeper’s for more than a hundred years. Since the 1880s, winterkeepers have been employed as caretakers to shovel snow off roofs of hotels closed for the long winters. I was the only applicant when I was hired in 1973. My wage was $13.25 a day. The park looked after us. That first winter, they gave me a worn-out Johnson snowmobile. But when my wife Angela was hauling garbage, the throttle on the machine stuck and she fell off near
A winterkeeper is “the toughest job in Wyoming,” Jerry Bateson, a retired winterkeeper, told me. I never thought about that until one winter when I had no snowmobile at all. I skied a mile to and from work carrying two shovels, a six-foot snow saw, and a 10-foot ladder on my shoulders from one building to the next. The nearest neighbors lived on Yellowstone Lake, 17 snowmobile miles south: a ranger, his wife, and two winterkeepers, one known as Silent Joe. Otherwise, we had to snowmobile 34 miles to Mammoth or 40 miles to West Yellowstone to visit anyone. And it was questionable if the snowmobile would make it there, let alone back home. Every fall we cached the supplies needed for the next five months by the case or the 50-pound bag. We baked bread, brewed beer, sprouted beans, and used powdered milk. Our mail arrived in a big canvas bag once every month or so. I listened by short wave radio to the BBC. Power outages were frequent and could last as long as two weeks. Those nights were lit by candles and Coleman lanterns. >>
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ll living winterkeepers have testified their time here was the best in their lives. One winterkeeper, circa late 1940s, visited me shortly before he died. He said he killed a grizzly bear off the front steps and poached deer to supplement the meager wages winterkeepers have always been paid.
I radioed the ranger at Yellowstone Lake. The bear was trapped and released 40 miles northeast of Canyon, but two nights later it was back trying to claw its way through the walls. Trapped again, she proved to be an elderly, underweight female unlikely to survive the winter. Ultimately she was euthanized.
Grizzlies are still common here. When Angela and I moved in, hundreds of nails had been driven through the back door so the protruding points would tear a bear’s paws if it attempted to claw its way inside. I witnessed this defense firsthand on October 5 during our second winter.
Things have changed in the 41 years I’ve lived here and I’m now one of two winterkeepers left in the park. In summer 2014, Canyon was open 111 days. In the 1970s, the season was 70 days long and otherwise quiet, rarely visited. The surrounding region had far fewer people than now and highways to the park were slow. Cars were less capable. Salt Lake City International Airport is now only six hours away by rental car and regional towns have become cities. Big Sky is a world-class destination and the tiny Bozeman airport of the early 70s has grown exponentially.
“[WE] WERE ENJOYING A DINNER OF ELK STEW WHEN WE HEARD A COMMOTION AT THE SMALL KITCHEN WINDOW. A HUGE, PIGEYED GRIZZLY HEAD INTRUDED INTO THE ROOM.”
By mid-March many bears are out of winter dens. Winter-killed animals, like this young buffalo, are a major source of food. PHOTO BY STEVEN FULLER
Angela, eight months pregnant, our young daughter Emma, and I were enjoying a dinner of elk stew when we heard a commotion at the small kitchen window. A huge, pig-eyed grizzly head intruded into the room. My family fled the kitchen while I advanced to shoo the bear away, a difficult task since this occurred years before pepper spray was available. I first tried an ancient .22 pistol (would not fire); considered shooting a 12-gauge shotgun over the bear’s head (damage to kitchen wall too significant). I made a long pole with two prongs wired to an electrical outlet, the idea: shock the bear while it was stuck in the window (not sure this was a good idea). Later, I tried ammonia-filled balloons (no noticeable effect on the bear). I joined the family and we bailed out a window.
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Bozeman was a provincial town where local cowboys would give you a haircut if you needed one and Budweiser and Velveeta were the closest to wine and cheese options, even within the cloistered university. My winter life, while still challenging, is easier. Long ago, I wanted to live at the top of a mountain but have access to the Library of Congress. Now, with my Internet satellite dish, I have that connection. Progress comes at a cost. Civilization has come to my doorstep and I now live in a box that grows ever smaller. Sometimes I wish the world was going in reverse, that “civilization” was in retreat rather than busy incorporating the last fragments of the wild and of the independent, self-reliant life I enjoyed for such a long time. But I tasted the old wilder Yellowstone. And still I cherish the good fortune of living here.
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WITH OFFENDERS RETURNING TO PRISON AT STAGGERING RATES NATIONWIDE, MOMENTUM IS BUILDING IN MONTANA TO REDUCE RECIDIVISM
We’ve all heard some version of this story before. In a population-small state like Montana, maybe it happened to a friend, or the friend of a friend, or perhaps a neighbor. The story goes like this: A person is sentenced to prison; they serve time and get released; and then, it happens all over again. It’s usually summed up with a metaphor comparing prison gates to turnstiles at the ballpark. Around the United States, up to 60 percent of inmates released from prison make a return trip. Known as recidivism, it is specifically the reincarceration of an offender within three years of their release.
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In Montana, that costs taxpayers between $97 (men) and $104 (women) per day for incarceration at a state facility, as opposed to around $5 per day required to supervise someone on probation or parole. It’s not a recent trend. But as state-run facilities operate at capacity and administrations look to save every dollar, a question has crept into the discussion. What if the return trip to prison is not entirely the offender’s fault? “Until now in a lot of places, including Montana … the idea was, once they’re done we don’t owe them any favors,” said Montana Rep. Margie MacDonald, D-Billings, chair of the
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legislature’s Law and Justice Interim Committee. “We were pretty much [saying] ‘sink or swim,’ and a lot of them sink real fast.” Those sentiments are echoed around the country, and across the aisle. “Without education, job skills, and other basic services, offenders are likely to repeat the same steps that brought them to jail in the first place,” said Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, in a state-by-state look at recidivism rates – the first of its kind – released by the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Center on the States in 2011 under the title, “State of Recidivism: The Revolving Door of America’s Prisons.” >>
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24.8% 53.7% 57.8%
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from failed urine analysis to missed meetings with parole or probation officers.
More than 95 percent of the U.S. prison population will eventually be released.
“You can imagine when someone leaves prison, they get paroled, they’re on a little bit of shaky ground when they first get out,” said Mike Batista, Director of the Montana Department of Corrections. “There are a lot of things they need to do to be successful.”
For the Treasure State, according to the Department of Corrections 2013 Biennial Report, that means about 1,200 inmates return to their communities each year. Of those, nearly 40 percent – around 460 offenders – will likely be imprisoned again within three years. In terms of a return on taxpayers’ investment, that statistic is discouraging. However, recidivism isn’t all that clear-cut. There are two ways to trigger a return to prison. The first is a new conviction, and the second is a technical violation of the terms of release. Those can range 50 MOUNTAIN
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RECIDIVISM AROUND THE U.S. Overall recidivism rates vary drastically from state to state. Here is a look at the overall highs and lows for prisoners released in 2004, from the most recent statistics available. In 2004, Montana had an overall recidivism rate of 42.1 percent.
But on the other hand, Montana is average. Its overall recidivism numbers, including new crimes and technical violations, are on par with other states at about 40 percent. “Quite literally, you are walking out of the gate with no money,” said Sam Yates, a former Montana State Prison inmate now living in Missoula. “So if you don’t have a support system outside of that, guess what? You aren’t going to make it.”
On one hand, many are successful. Montana ranks among the best in the nation for the fewest offenders committing new crimes. As detailed in the Pew report – the most recent and comprehensive data available – Montana led the U.S. from 20042007 at 4.7 percent, a stark contrast to Alaska’s 44.7 percent.
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Yates, 55, served 20 years for a deliberate homicide conviction resulting from a midnight altercation with a man who broke into his car. Yates was released in 2012 from the correctional facility located in Deer Lodge. “They got guys in there that [made] mistakes and if it weren’t for one particular instance, or maybe two in-
“QUITE LITERALLY, YOU ARE WALKING OUT OF THE GATE WITH NO MONEY, SO IF YOU DON’T HAVE A SUPPORT SYSTEM OUTSIDE OF THAT, GUESS WHAT? YOU AREN’T GOING TO MAKE IT.” stances, they were regular law-abiding citizens just like everybody else,” Yates said. “Then they end up in prison, and it’s such a hard cycle to break once you get out. You have to have a plan on what you’re going to do or you’ll end up right back in there.” While Yates has been able to keep to his plan, not everyone is so fortunate. Complicating elements are often substance abuse and mental illness, which underlie many of the most common prison-worthy crimes in Montana, including felony drunk driving, drug possession and sale, and theft. “The deck is definitely stacked against them,” said Rick Winking, a licensed addiction counselor with a private practice in Bozeman, describing the paradox of conditions like drug addiction. “You have to understand, with substance abuse everybody is a victim.”
A SHIFT IN THINKING “Nobody goes to Alcoholics Anonymous because they are having a run of good luck,” Winking said. Likewise, no one enters the department of corrections for doing everything right. But these days the philosophy concerning prison is changing, moving from a focus on punishment toward what Rep. MacDonald calls “restorative justice.”
MAKING THE ESCAPE Keeping former inmates out of prison isn’t just a dollars-and-cents issue. There are broader benefits to reducing recidivism, like the corresponding reduction in overall crime rates.
“[It’s] rethinking what the purpose of the criminal justice system is, and re-purposing it to be essentially more successful and effective in repairing the harm that was done in the community,” MacDonald said, adding that it’s an approach that addresses both victims and offenders.
“A number of states have started figuring out that recidivism is very costly, and that once someone has completed their sentence and paid their debt to society that there is an enormous … community value in making sure they don’t bounce right back into the system,” MacDonald said.
That concept is part of a growing awareness that the justice system can be hard to escape, according to Bozeman defense attorney Brigitte Carneal.
Batista agrees. “If we had the framework in place … we [could] make a difference and sort of stop that revolving door.”
“Maybe we are setting them up for failure,” Carneal said. “We have very few resources statewide to really assist people in making change.” Yates acknowledges the need for that assistance, and how nonexistent it has been. “I actually think it would make a world of difference,” Yates said. “Right now, from the point of view that the parolee has, that’s all pie in the sky. It just isn’t happening. “When I got out, I was handed a piece of paper with about three or four phone numbers on it … That was the extent of their help.”
That means, as Batista described, dealing with issues like drug and alcohol treatment, housing, and mental illness. There is current legislation pending to address some of those problems, largely as a result of the passage of House Bill 68 – the Montana Reentry Initiative - during the legislature’s 2013 session. >>
MONTANA RANKS AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION FOR THE FEWEST OFFENDERS COMMITTING NEW CRIMES AT 4.7%
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The Montana Reentry Initiative aims to unite and expand the efforts around the state to help offenders return to their communities – and stay there. In terms of boots on the ground, MacDonald pointed to Missoula and the work of Jana Staton and Partners for Reintegration, which has already brought together nearly 200 interested community members to examine issues like housing, employment, mentoring, and public awareness. “I think they’re going to have to do something, unless they just want to keep on building prisons,” Yates said. “It’s a set-up-to-fail system … and once you’re in the system, it is really hard to make that break from [it].”
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While reentry transition efforts in Montana are still in infancy, the state is – as Director Batista describes it – in a “unique” position. Montana already manages 80 percent of offenders outside of prison, in community corrections programs across the state. It’s a statistic Batista hasn’t seen the likes of anywhere in the country.
MONTANA ALREADY MANAGES % OF OFFENDERS OUTSIDE OF PRISON, IN COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS PROGRAMS ACROSS THE STATE.
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While it doesn’t guarantee more successful reform, the Montana DOC has more discretion than almost any other state when it comes to tailoring the management – or punishment – of offenders and focusing on the individual’s needs. Neither MacDonald nor Batista made any suggestion that reentry work is a softening of the attitude or policy toward crime. Establishing transitional help is specifically geared toward those most likely to benefit and move on productively – the offenders who have paid their debt. “If we do reduce that [recidivism] rate, we have the potential to save literally tens of millions of dollars,” MacDonald said. “Incarceration is one of the most expensive things the state of Montana does.”
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PHOTO ESSAY
The last light of day illuminates the Mission Mountains behind the statue of Yum Chenmo.
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A DREAM REALIZED
Montana’s Garden of One Thousand Buddhas STORY AND PHOTOS BY TYSON KRINKE
As a young Tibetan boy in the 1950s, Buddhist teacher Tulku Sang-ngag had a prophetic vision. In a dream, he saw a garden of peace in the middle of a lotus-shaped mountain valley. Thirty years later, while traveling through western Montana, Sangngag happened upon the Jocko Valley and recognized it as the one from his dream. Deciding this area would be the location of his peaceful garden, Sang-ngag worked with locals to purchase 60 acres in the heart of the valley in 1999. With the help of donors and volunteers from around Montana and the world, Sang-ngag’s childhood dream has become a reality. The Garden of One Thousand Buddhas lies three miles north of Arlee, Montana. Melding Eastern spirituality with Western landscapes, the Garden is a refuge for those seeking solace and serves as a center for Buddhist studies as part of the Ewam Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. As in the Tibetan Himalaya, Buddhism has found a natural home in the beauty and ruggedness of the Mission Mountains. >>
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PHOTO ESSAY
The Garden, built in the shape of the eight-spoked Dharma Wheel, represents the Buddha’s teachings and the pathway to enlightenment. One thousand concrete Buddhas, all hand-cast on site, line the spokes of the wheel and 1,000 stupas, or Buddhist commemorative monuments, cap the outer rim. At the center of the Garden stands a 24-foot-tall statue of the Great Mother of all Buddhas, Yum Chenmo. Around her and throughout the Garden, native Montana flora adds color, fragrance and life to the display. Walking along the Garden’s paths in meditation or gazing at the gentle expressions on the Buddhas’ faces, one’s mind gravitates to a state of calm. In this way, all who visit the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas are invited to spend a peaceful moment in Tulku Sang-ngag’s childhood dream.
Viewed from afar, the Garden’s eightspoked Dharma Wheel can be seen encircling the center statue of Yum Chenmo.
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An early morning visitor walks the Garden’s paths with a bundle of burning incense in hand.
Each spoke of the Garden’s Dharma Wheel is lined with 125 hand-cast statues of the Buddha. Many of these statues are adorned with flowers and other personal items left by visitors.
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ILLUSTRATION BY KELSEY DZINTARS
REGION
FAMILY BALANCE IN A MOUNTAIN TOWN BY LUKE LYNCH
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alancing fatherhood and adventure wasn’t coming easy. One Saturday last spring brought ideal conditions for a ski tour in the high peaks of Wyoming’s Teton Range, but also my oldest son’s weekly soccer match.
Like any successful mountaineer, I was learning to adapt to conditions as they presented themselves, and this particular challenge was no exception. Long gone were the lazy Saturday mornings discussing plans over breakfast burritos and a few cups of coffee. Early starts and precise strategies are now my way of balancing family life with alpine adventure. These days, my ski partners are nearly all fathers – guys with serious careers, demanding families and a similar risk tolerance as me. We’ve toned it down a few notches since having kids, delving deeper into avalanche science and risk management.
We still egg each other on, but it’s over that nerdy stuff instead of big ski lines. You get grief for arriving “on time,” and not early – a 4 a.m. departure means skins are on skis and everyone is ready to roll a few minutes before. There’s little tolerance for late arrivals or forgotten gear. We focus on snow stability and knowledge, as well as speed and efficiency on the uphill with light Dynafit setups and CarboRocket in our CamelBaks. The first challenge of the day was to escape the house by 3:30 a.m. without waking my wife or three sleeping boys. The next part was easier – climb one of Grand Teton National Park’s moderate ski objectives, 11,303-foot Static Peak, and get down before the orange slices were handed out at Max’s soccer game.
WE STILL HAD THREE HOURS BEFORE MAX’S SOCCER GAME – PLENTY OF TIME TO CLIMB 11,938-FOOT BUCK MOUNTAIN We pondered the north face descent – chalky, untouched powder smeared on a 50-degree face that dumped into a massive alpine bowl connecting to Buck Mountain. In 1998, getting here had taken all day by snowshoe. This time, the sun was just rising. I dropped in, savored a few turns, and tucked into a safe zone to the skier’s left and sheltered under an overhanging rock face. Stephen followed and dropped the 2,000 feet into Stewart Draw, gaining speed as the couloir widened and mellowed.
Luke Lynch traversing the knife edge on Buck Mountain’s northeast ridge. PHOTO BY DANNY BÉASSE
The sky brightened and we turned off our headlamps as Stephen Adamson and I passed the last gnarled whitebark pine and entered the alpine. Closed to protect bighorn sheep most of the winter, Static’s east aspect offers a stunningly beautiful but moderate climb to the summit. A big and open alpine bowl allows easy travel but big exposure – a fall in icy, early morning spring conditions would have serious consequences. We made quick work skinning up Static, the crusty east face forcing a few changeovers between skinning and bootpacking. The sun had just crested the Gros Ventre Range when we summited, and it would be at least four hours before the early light softened its flanks. Some tentative turns led us to the north face, a line I first descended by snowboard 16 years ago when all my possessions fit in the back of the “Green Nug,” my dented 1996 Subaru hatchback. In those days, responsibility was putting the whiskey down by midnight before work the next morning. Wow, had my life changed. I thought of my wife and three little boys back in the warm house. Hopefully little Sam hadn’t woken everyone up yet, and Will was still snuggled in with his little blanket, Giraffey.
We regrouped and gazed at our tracks on the menacing face. We still had three hours before Max’s soccer game – plenty of time to climb 11,938-foot Buck Mountain, so the skins went back on. Once we reached the northeast ridge, we switched to crampons and kicked our way to the summit, basking in the warming sun. I reveled in having so much sky beneath me as we traversed the knife-edge ridge. We soakedin the morning splendor on the summit, then plunged more than 5,000 vertical feet to the valley floor, quads burning as the snow transitioned from chalk to crust to creamy corn. “The light up there was incredible – that glow on the snow,” said Stephen as he dropped me off. I carried that glow with me as I ran from the truck to the soccer field, the match only 10 minutes into the first half. Luke M. Lynch is based in Jackson Hole and is the Wyoming State Director of The Conservation Fund. He admits that this is just one side of the story – and doesn’t account for the efforts of his wife Kathy to get three little ones up, dressed, fed, and to soccer in his absence. Max (5), Will (3), and Sam (1), love hearing about their father’s mountain adventures, but prefer having their own.
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PROFILE
Q+A
with Rwandan Genocide survivor
IMMACULÉE ILIBAGIZA BY MARIA WYLLIE
n April of 1994, Rwanda’s rolling hills and lush, green landscape turned red. Located in central Africa a few degrees south of the Equator, the country’s majority Hutu tribe had issued radio alerts ordering their members to murder all Tutsis, spreading hate propaganda and instigating the Rwandan Genocide. Conflict between the two tribes grew from the Hutus’ longstanding resentment of the Tutsis, who formed the nation’s aristocracy. Wielding knives, spears, clubs and machetes, the Hutus slaughtered every Tutsi and moderate Hutu in sight for the next 100 days. By the time it was over, 3 out of every 4 Tutsis in Rwanda had been killed and nearly 1 million people were dead. Few Tutsis are left to tell their stories. One of them is Immaculée Ilibagiza. At the time of the genocide, Ilibagiza was 22, an engineering student at the National University of Rwanda. She was home visiting her family for Easter when Hutu President Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down the night of April 6. His assassination escalated tensions between the two tribes, and Tutsis feared for their lives as Hutu extremists made plans for extermination.
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Ilibagiza’s father, a devout Catholic, gave her a set of rosary beads and sent her to seek refuge at the local pastor’s house until the massacre was over. The Hutu pastor hid her in a 4-by-3-foot bathroom with seven other Tutsi women, and blocked the doorway with a wardrobe to conceal the space. For 91 days, Ilibagiza and the other women crammed together, sitting in the same positions day and night. Despite their close quarters, the women remained strangers, unable to speak a word for fear of being heard by the killers who closely monitored the house. God was her only companion, she says. After three months, the women escaped to a refugee camp. Ilibagiza’s weight had dropped from 115 to 65 pounds. But her heart was strong. Ilibagiza sought out the man who had killed her entire family, save her brother who was studying abroad. When she found the culprit, she held his hands and said, “I forgive you.” Today, Ilibagiza is an American citizen living in New York City, her home for the past 17 years. She worked as a member of the United Nations for eight years then began a career as a full-time writer and speaker, boldly sharing her story with others to prevent such horrors from happening again.
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Ilibagiza is bringing her powerful story of survival and forgiveness to Big Sky, Montana on March 3, 2015, at the Big Sky Chapel. Mountain Outlaw interviewed her last fall to learn how she found peace in the midst of the Rwandan Genocide. Mountain Outlaw: Immaculée Ilibagiza is a beautiful name. Does it have any special meaning? Immaculée Ilibagiza: It does actually. They named me Immaculée after the Immaculate Conception. Ilibagiza means “shining and beautiful in body and soul.” M.O.: It’s been 20 years since the Rwandan Genocide. How has the country changed? I.I.: Many people call it the most beautiful country in Africa. Everyone is going to school. We used to have only two [universities] and now we have 27, so that shows you how much the country is progressing. M.O.: What lessons can be learned from such a horrific event? I.I.: When there is a war or tragedy, no one wins. Everyone suffers. I think people really learned they have to love each other. One killer I spoke to said, “I miss people I killed.” Anger is not the way. Discrimination is what happened [in] Rwanda.
“WHEN FORGIVENESS CAME TO ME, IT CHANGED EVERYTHING...”
M.O.: Living in silence for three months with seven people and little food is unimaginable. What did you struggle with most? I.I.: Fear, anger, and … not knowing what was going to happen in the next hour. It was so bad. The only remedy of listening to fear was to trust in God. When you trust, you have protection. >>
Above, Ilibagiza attends Lenten services at St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church in Elmont, New York. Easter remains close to her heart, as the last explorebigsky.com MOUNTAIN time she saw most of her family members was during a trip home for the holiday in 1994. PHOTO BY PHIL MARINO
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Four generations
OUTLOOK
O F T RU E FA M I LY FA R M I N G .
W I N E M A K I N G B Y C E L E B R I T Y C U LT W I N E M A K E R H e i d i B a r r e t t O F S C R E A M I N G E A G L E FA M E 1 0 0 % E S TAT E G R O W N C A B E R N E T A N D Z I N FA N D E L 1 0 0 % E S TAT E G R O W N C A B E R N E T A N D Z I N FA N D E L W I N E M E M B E R S H I P S AVA I L A B L E A C C E P T I N G N E W M E M B E R S N O W AT L A M B O R N . C O M
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PROFILE
M.O.: How did you find the strength to carry on? I.I.: Forgiveness was a part of that. [At first] I couldn’t understand how you could forgive someone who tried to kill you. My heart was aching and burning out of that anger…I was so sure that when I came out, I was going to avenge my family. I was going to be a soldier and do bad things, but when forgiveness came to me, it changed everything. M.O.: Were you more at peace once you were able to forgive? I.I.: It was almost like I was lifting up from the ground. Like there were flowers in the bathroom, smells that were beautiful, my skin was smooth. It was a completely different life in the same place after that. M.O.: Today, as a professional speaker, how does your message translate to people of varying beliefs? I.I.: I only describe my journey. It is a human experience. I have spo-
ken to every group of people you can imagine – Jewish, Protestant, no faith. We have all been created in love, so even if you grow up in different families, you learn the same values. So you don’t need to be Christian in order to forgive. M.O.: When you aren’t busy working, how do you spend your free time? I.I.: I have a foundation called the Left to Tell Charitable Fund. I am helping orphans and poor kids go to school and eat … in Rwanda, Liberia, and South Africa. I take groups to Rwanda twice a year, and we visit orphanages [and] the memorial of the genocide. M.O.: Speaking about such a tragedy must be a challenge. How is your job rewarding? I.I.: People who write to me and tell me that my story touched them. That feels like God is telling me the work is useful. And as long as I can be useful, gosh, what are we here for?
Immaculée Ilibagiza travels the world, sharing her message of forgiveness in hopes of preventing genocide from happening again. On March 3, 2015, Ilibagiza brings her story to Big Sky. PHOTO COURTESY OF IMMACULÉE ILIBAGIZA
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NOW
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SCIENCE
BIOMIMICRY When the global architecture firm HOK turned to nature for design inspiration, Biomimicry 3.8’s team of world-class architects and engineers went to work. This Missoula-based company combines for-profit consulting with not-forprofit advocacy to advance the field of biomimicry; solving human problems by replicating the adaptive mechanisms found in nature. The “3.8” in the company’s name refers to the 3.8 billion years life is believed to have existed on Earth, forming myriad solutions at evolution’s design table. “Companies are trying to mimic what nature does because it’s efficient, saves them energy, it’s good for PR, and because it’s cheaper,” says Robyn Klein, a biologist and research analyst for 3.8. >>
T B B B How natural organisms inform building design: Because of biomimicry, the Eastgate building in Harare, Zimbabwe utilizes a ventilation system inspired by the mounds of a desert termite, Odontotermes transvaalensis. PHOTO BY DAVID BRAZIER
H E L I N K E T W E E N I O L O G Y & U S I N E S S
BY ANDREW GRAHAM
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SCIENCE
Examples of biomimicry abound, and were present in industry before the term itself. Klein points out that one of the earliest industrial applications of biomimicry is Velcro, which was invented by a Swiss engineer who noticed the way plant burrs stuck to his dog.
Termite towers like the one above led Eastgate’s architect, Mick Pearce, to a building design that pushes heat up and out, through the large chimneys shown in the photo below. The Eastgate building maintains a constant temperature, saving on energy costs. PHOTOS BY DAVID BRAZIER
A more modern example is found in an office complex in tropical Zimbabwe. The building’s self-cooling system is inspired by termites that design their mounds to maintain a constant temperature, even as outside air temps swing from hot desert days to cold nights. The result is a building that uses 90 percent less energy than those of similar size, according to 3.8’s website. When a new client comes to Biomimicry 3.8 – and past business includes Coca-Cola, Boeing, Dupont, Nike and Shell, to name a few – the first step is to establish a challenge for a researcher like Klein to focus on. With HOK, the challenge was to look at a biome, or particular ecosystem type, for lessons that could be applied to architecture. The Biomimicry 3.8 team chose to study temperate broadleaf forests, found all over the world. Studying the designs and systems a forest uses to manage itself comes naturally to biologists; translating that knowledge for engineers and architects isn’t so easy. “Part of the difficulty is that the language of biology is all around the organism and how the organism functions
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in its environment … The language of business doesn’t talk like that at all,” says Jakki Mohr, a University of Montana Regents professor of marketing who has researched biomimicry’s success in business culture. “We have to walk over to the middle of that bridge,” Klein says. “We’re handing them our translation of science so that they don’t have to do it.”
Klein gets a little breathless when she describes biomimicry’s possibilities, and a question such as what companies she most admires for sustainability (Patagonia) can end in a discussion of how to rework our agricultural system. For the last seven years, Klein has helped 3.8 use biomimicry to solve problems, like one of HOK’s challenges – how building designers deal with rainwater. “We take that challenge and we biologize it. For example, with water we looked at the temperate broadleaf forest and we [examined] how water works in that forest,” Klein says, adding that this led them to beaver dams. “But they’re leaky dams, they don’t hold everything back. Nature’s been around 3.8 billion years, and figured out that a leaky dam is best.” Leaky dams slow water flow without building up pressure. The biologists
An early diagram at right illustrates Biomimicry 3.8’s concept of dealing with rainwater by mimicking how beaver dams slow water’s flow. Below is NOAA’s National Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park, Maryland, an example of how HOK used the beaverdam solution by constructing a slanted roof to slow rainwater using barriers. ILLUSTRATION BY THOMAS KNITTEL/
60MM SOIL
ROOFTOPS: SYSTEM OF LEAKY BARRIERS RE: MACHU PICCHU
HOK; PHOTO BY ALAN KARCHMER
“ N AT U R E D O E S N ’ T K PAR
REACH JUST ONE SOLUTION. WE NEED
LEAKY BARRIERS
LOTS OF SOLUTIONS. WE NEED TO
Economic Institute reported that by 2030, bio-inspired developments could account for $425 billion of the U.S. gross domestic product. And $65 billion could be saved through the pollution mitigation found in most biomimetic technologies.
C O L L A B O R AT E . ”
Mohr called the assessment a bestcase scenario of the field’s future, but one that “really lays the landscape for what the ecosystem of biomimicry could look like if it really does gain traction.” When Klein was asked if she sees biomimicry as the solution to industry’s environmental problems, she answers with a question of her own: “What would nature do?” were not suggesting that the architects put dams on the roofs of their buildings, but instead recommending the “design principle” of a series of upstream barriers to slow water’s flow. In this case, according to Klein, the architects and biologists discussed how to site buildings in order of height, so that rainwater could run from the tallest, down. If the concept worked, a system could be put in place to temper water to a trickle by the time it reached street level, mimicking a series of leaky beaver dams.
HOK put this concept into practice in 2012 when designing a new building in Maryland for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The slanted roof moves rainwater along its length, slowing its flow with a series of barriers.
In the quest for a more sustainable world, biomimicry gets a lot of hype for its widespread potential. In January 2014, the Fermanian Business and
“Nature doesn’t reach just one solution,” she says. “We need lots of solutions. We need to collaborate.” And then she is off, breathlessly describing the ecosystem role played by the apple tree. Andrew Graham is pursuing a master’s degree in Environmental Science Journalism from the University of Montana. He enjoys the campus full of topnotch researchers, not to mention its backyard full of mountains.
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Ski, Sleep, Repeat C
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After a day of hard charging turns, you’ll be ready to relax in the historically rich Pollard Hotel, where graceful comfort, modern amenities, and attentive staff are sure to prepare you for another day on the slopes.
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Packages start at $175 per night, and include 1 night lodging in a Petite Queen room, breakfast for 2, and 2 adult lift tickets. Call 1.800.Pollard to book, and reference the Outlaw Package. Valid 11/28/14 – 4/12/15.
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REAL ESTATE
RUSTIC AD V ENTURE
LU XU RY AC C O MO DA T IO N S
Surrounded by the breathtaking vistas of the famed Tetons and teeming with an inspiring array of wildlife, our AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star, alpine mountain resort offers the perfect mix of rustic adventure and luxury accommodations. Ski, hike, bike by day and dine in any of our three dining outlets, including celebrity chef Michael Mina’s The Handle Bar, by night. Make your next vacation truly unforgettable. For Reservations or more information call ( 307) 732 5600
7680 Granite Loop Road PO Box 544 • Teton Village, WY 83025 Tel (307)-732-5600 www.fourseasons.com/jacksonhole
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ADVENTURE
THE ULTIMATE FANTASY SKI CAMP Experience the backcountry like never before, alongside Exum Mountain Guides and Teton Gravity Research’s top athletes. With Wyoming’s Teton Mountains as their private playground, guests will spend six bottomless days in expert company, skiing radical terrain that backcountry skiers and ski mountaineers drool over.
Dates: January 6–12, 2015 Cost: Space is limited. Please contact our reservations team for more information. (307) 732-5600 Jac@fourseasons.com
Ski 7,000 vertical feet of accessible Teton terrain
Backcountry tours through Jackson Hole Mountain Resort gates and in Grand Teton National Park
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Evenings of exclusive TGR film viewings in private media room catered by Four Seasons.
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The NEW Fairways, ONLY 8 units available, placing you steps from the tee box and minutes from Big Sky Resort’s world-class skiing. To learn more, contact us at 406.209.3069 or info@thefairwaysatbigsky.com
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LAND
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G A L L A T I N
P R E S E RV E ’ S
D I S T I N C T I V E
P R O P E R T I E S
STORY AND PHOTOS BY TYLER ALLEN
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Bozeman 45 minutes north
To Big Sky Resort & Moonlight Basin Big Sky Meadow Village
BIG SKY, MONTANA Spanish Peaks
Yellowstone Club
Big Sky Town Center
Ousel Falls
G A L L AT I N P R E S E RV E
Yellowstone Park 15 minutes south
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160-acre tracts
A G I A N T B U G L I N G E L K H E L P E D C L O S E T H E D E A L O N T H E F I R S T 1 6 0 - A C R E PA R C E L S O L D I N T H E G A L L AT I N P R E S E RV E I N B I G S K Y, M O N TA N A . Martha Johnson, owner of the real estate brokerage Montana Living, Big Sky Real Estate was with a client touring the 1,632 acres when they stopped for a view of prominent Lone Mountain, its peak dominating the western skyline. A bull elk ambled out of the brush and let loose its plaintive mating call. The nine remaining properties for sale on the private, gated Gallatin Preserve offer a mix of Douglas fir, lodgepole, and whitebark pine forests dividing open meadows. The craggy Spanish Peaks loom to the north, with views of the Gallatin Range to the east and the mountains of Yellowstone National Park to the south. When Bill Schwab purchased the land in 2005 he sought to reorganize the property – which at the time was zoned for 80 home sites – into 10 parcels, each with five acres of development capability. “Each five-acre building site was painstakingly selected for ease of access, panoramic views and remoteness from other building sites,” Schwab said. The land also sits in prime elk country and will allow private hunting and fishing to its owners, one reason the Montana Land Reliance was interested in helping protect the open space when Schwab approached the organization in 2006.
The expansive views from the Gallatin Preserve’s 160-acre lots include Big Sky Resort’s Lone Mountain (left) and the Spanish Peaks (right).
“The thing that Bill wanted to do is give people a nice building envelope and leave the rest as open space for owners to hike, enjoy the outdoors, and [have] views that were not obscured by someone else’s structure,” said Jay Erickson, managing director of MLR. “It’s a lot of open space for an area that close to a destination ski resort in Montana.” >>
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REAL ESTATE
Owners and prospective buyers at the Gallatin Preserve can take advantage of the luxurious accommodations at the Homeowners Association cabin, which sits above the South Fork of the West Fork of the Gallatin River.
“ S H OW I N G R E A L E S TAT E L I K E T H I S I S A N A D V E N T U R E . . . ”
B U I L D I N G O N P RO P E RT I E S W I T H T H I S M U C H O P E N S P A C E , according to Johnson, is alluring to clients that are “Rocky Mountain savvy” and people who have visited Big Sky, but want their second home to be a large-acreage ranch close to amenities. While these parcels offer solitude, expansive views and the prospect for buyers to see bugling elk in their backyard, the proximity to Big Sky’s Town Center ensures easy access to all the amenities a ski town offers. “It fits the Montana dream that we deliver,” Johnson said. A mere 2-mile drive from Gallatin Preserve’s entrance brings you to the community’s shops, restaurants and the movie theater. Another 10 minutes and you’re at the doorstep of Big Sky Resort’s 5,800 skiable acres.
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“Showing real estate like this is an adventure,” Johnson said. “We take snowmobiles and snowshoes to tour [the property] in the winter, and horses, fly rods and four-wheelers in the summer. You really get to know a piece of property from the ground up.” Johnson says Montana Living is known for selling “distinctive properties,” and Gallatin Preserve parcels fit perfectly into the area’s elite real estate offerings. The properties have a private, members-only access road into the Yellowstone Club, yet the density of development at the Gallatin Preserve is vastly different. “People are buying 1-2-acre lots at neighboring private clubs for a similar price you could have a 160-acre ranch,” Johnson said. “It’s a nice option for the neighborhood, and those properties will forever be surrounded by open space for [owners’] exclusive use. These are legacy properties.”
No Compromises Required.
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BELL LAKE YURT
BELL LAKE
Bell Lake Yurt owner and guide Drew Pogge carves out turns above Bell Lake.
BELL LAKE YURT Beginning in the Backcountry Not long after moving to Montana, I became interested in backcountry splitboarding. But I was well aware of the risks involved and determined to venture out with the right equipment and education. A guided trip to the Bell Lake Yurt, set at 8,500 feet in southwest Montana’s Tobacco Root Range, was the perfect introduction. In the last stretch of the 3-mile approach to the yurt, the beautiful face of Branham Peak appeared. Our guide and Bell Lake Yurt owner Drew Pogge pointed out endless lines peppered with varying terrain – from low-angle trees to steep, 2,000-vertical-foot couloirs. Our group of four arrived at the snow-buried yurt around noon and after dumping our packs and gobbling up ham sandwiches, we began a tour around Bell Lake. Just a minor skin above the yurt, the lake offers stunning views as the terrain opens up to bigger faces and a whitebark pine forest with 10,000-foot peaks beyond.
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BY KELSEY DZINTARS PHOTOS BY TYLER BUSBY
In two days we were schooled in backcountry safety, skinning and split-skiing techniques. We rode incredible terrain and were enlightened by Pogge’s infectious zeal for the backcountry over mountain margaritas crafted with fresh snow and Crystal Light powder, and satiating cuisine including eggs and bacon, spicy curry and spaghetti Bolognese. The 2014/15 Avalanche Level 1 yurt provided a comfortable Course Schedule home base, including six Session 1: Dec. 12-14 custom bunks with memorySession 2: Jan. 2-4 foam mattresses, a library, Session 3: Jan. 16-18 Session 4: Jan. 30-Feb. 1 and solar LED light system. The Bell Lake Yurt – the only one in the Tobacco Roots – is available for all-inclusive catered trips or self-guided rentals, and backcountry skiers and splitboarders of any level should add it to their bucket list of Montana adventures. I look forward to exploring more of this wild range by taking one of the immersive Avalanche 1 courses Bell Lake will offer again this season.
YURT GEAR Tequila and Crystal Light - check. Here are some additional essentials to ride and lounge in style. G3 Blacksheep Carbon Splitboard Leave it to the backcountry experts. A full-rocker profile and CarbonLight construction allowed G3’s debut splitboard to shred all the varied terrain Bell Lake has to offer. Even with the some of the challenging sunbaked spring snow we encountered in the Tobacco Roots, the board felt light on my feet trekking up, and incredibly solid ripping down. $749.95 Spark R&D Magneto Splitboard Bindings The Magnetos are everything you’d want in a splitboard binding. Transitioning is a breeze with Spark R&D’s revolutionary “pinless” Tesla system, which utilizes a snap ramp and Voile pucks to easily switch from touring to riding. The Bozeman-based company shaved weight on the Magneto model with maximum baseplate cutouts. and the dual-height climbing wires are easy to manage with a pole basket. [3.26 lbs.] $385.00 G3 Alpinist Splitboard Climbing Skins Aside from being lightweight, high-traction, and fast-gliding, the G3’s splitboard skins’ innovative tip and tail clips allow for a perfect fit on any board. $169.95 Ambler Mountain Works Celtic Beanie The Ambler Celtic features cute cable detail and wooden buttons, but the best thing is the fleece headband that helps this 100 percent wool hat stay warm and snug. $34.00
The author enjoys some downtime at the yurt.
Suncloud Causeway Sunglasses The one undeniable fact about Suncloud is the company’s ability to produce top-quality, polarized sunglasses for nearly half the price of many industry shades. The Causeway’s classy, vintagestyle frame is made of metal alloy; I wear them everywhere with everything. $59.99 Outdoor Research Aria Vest This hooded vest has become a staple layer for me. With an ultralight,15D ripstop shell and 650-fill goose down, it works great for hiking, underneath a shell, or for just hanging out and drinking mountain margs. It stuffs small into a daypack if you need to shed a layer on the mountain. $175.00 Patagonia Activist Puff High Waterproof boots The Activist Puff boot combines two pairs of shoes in one 12.2-ounce package. Simply slip the insulated fleece booties out of the ballistic nylon, waterproof softshell upon entering the yurt, and avoid being the wet floor culprit. These boots are a versatile alternative to your clunky rubber snowboots. $175.00
Endless lines and stunning views abound in the Tobacco Root Range.
Smartwool Minturn Drape Neck Sweater This 100 percent Merino wool, semi-fitted sweater is soft on the skin, and works in the office or in the backcountry. The longer length is flattering, while the cowl neck provides a touch of sophistication. This line’s deep heather colors are beautiful with any skin tone. $154.95
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MAKEOVER Mountain Outlaw flipped the gear review on its ear, outfitting one Montana ranching family in the hottest new ski gear on the planet, head to toe.
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The Harrisons show off their new duds and skis on the family ranch outside of Polaris, Montana.
BY EMILY STIFLER WOLFE | PHOTOS BY KELSEY DZINTARS
From the top of Maverick Mountain, Russell Harrison can see the ranch his great-greatgrandfather homesteaded in 1884. Set in the shadow of the 11,000-foot Pioneer Mountains, the J Dwight Harrison Ranch marks the entrance to the Grasshopper Valley, 30 minutes from Dillon, Montana. Alongside his father and uncle, Russell runs the family’s working ranch here, grazing their cattle on the nearby Beaverhead National Forest in summer and rounding them up by horseback in the fall. On winter days, Russell, 34, often heads up to the mountain after feeding. “It’s the best way to clear my mind, to come up here and just ski for a day,” he says.
Sarah + Russel
R PHOTO BY EMILY STIFLE
WOLFE
Although skiing is a part of life for the Harrisons, Russell hadn’t bought new ski boots since he was 17. The kids often skied in boots many sizes too big, stuffing the space in front of their toes with tissue, and Russell’s wife Sarah wore a snowmobile suit to stay warm.
With help from our ski industry partners, Mountain Outlaw outfitted the family with all new gear. After cruising long groomers together, they ripped high-speed laps, hit the park, and splashed in mud puddles. What follows are reviews from Sarah, a discerning mother and lifelong skier.>>
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Russell puts his new Volkl Mantra’s on edge, and with style. “I like the early rise with its added maneuverability and float,” he says.
REVIEWS BY SARAH HARRISON
Russell (as told by Sarah)
With ski patroller parents and teenage years racing, Russell knows how to get down the hill. In style. “What else are you going to do in the winter as a family?” he says.
Volkl Mantra ski – 177 cm (Dimensions: 132-100-118) This is the first time I’ve tried a modern, all-mountain freeride ski. I like the early rise, with its added maneuverability and float. The stiff tail gives the Mantra speed and stability on all surfaces, and it chews up the crud. I might prefer a longer ski, but apparently so does everyone else. They tend to sell out quickly. $825
Marker Griffon binding The Griffon’s toe and heel are wider than my old Marker Motion bindings, helping transfer energy to the ski better than the old rig. I also like that the DIN has such a wide range – from 4-13. Even guys as tall as me (6’4”) will know their skis aren’t going anywhere. $295
Arc’teryx Cerium LT jacket I’m a huge fan of this lightweight, down jacket that packs into its own pocket for storage, while packing some incredible warmth, too. I use it working on the ranch when the weather drops to -30 F. $325
K2 Pinnacle 110 boot I like these new lightweight boots from K2, especially the flex and walk mode for touring or carrying kids around the parking lot. They are quite a change from the old Nordica Trends I had for 20 years. Since I’m used to four-buckle boots and don’t ski in the backcountry that often, I would go with the K2 Spynes next time. I recommend having the INTUITION liners heat-molded professionally. $750
Dakine Excursion glove This is the first glove I’ve found that keeps my hands just warm enough without causing them to get so hot they sweat, thanks to 360g of wool lining and a waterproof/breathable GORE-TEX insert. $90
Arc’teryx Sabre jacket, Sabre pant This bombproof jacket /pants setup are designed to snap together with the Arc’teryx “Slide ‘n Loc” system for extra warmth in harsh conditions. I normally don’t like hoods, but the Sabre’s is helmet compatible and keeps water from dripping down my back – OK with me. And finally! A ski pant long enough for my 38-inch inseam; paired with the men’s Phase AR Bottom ($75), I’m good to go. Jacket $525.00, Pants $450
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K2 Diversion helmet I’m not much for helmets, but now that my kids ski with me, I need to set a good example. Built-in audio is just the incentive I need: When I’m skiing solo, I listen to my country music, and mix it up with some classic rock. $159.95 Julbo Meteor Goggle, Zebra Lens The Julbo Meteors prove there’s a better lens for skiing than polarized. These photochromic lenses clarify and define the terrain, adjusting from category 2 (low light) to category 4 (bright light) in changing conditions. $180
Chalet Sports -
Without a ski shop to set up their gear in Dillon or at Maverick, the Harrisons brought it to Chalet Sports in downtown Bozeman. In business for 64 years, Chalet is a fixture on Main Street, across from the Baxter. PHOTO BY EMILY STIFLER WOLFE
Brandon “Everybody knows everybody here,” says the quiet 15-year-old about Maverick. His M.O.: Ski until the lift stops turning. Volkl Kink ski – 171 cm (Dimensions: 12289-112) This all-mountain ski rides freestyle in the park, and rips groomers. With rocker and directional shape, the Kink offers speed and maneuverability and is tough enough to withstand hard landings. $600 Marker Squire binding The Marker Squires feature a Triple Pivot Light toe system and stainless steel AFD gliding plate, making these lightweight bindings versatile with easy entry and release, and a DIN that adjusts from 3-11. $280 Full Tilt Booter boots The fully opening tongue of this threebuckle boot makes putting them on quick and easy. They adjust for a comfortable fit, and the stock INTUITION liners keep Brandon’s feet toasty. $500
Brandon likes to ski fast and go big.
PHOTO BY SARAH HARRISON
Mia Mia giggled and squealed last year when she rode in the backpack while Russ skied. This year, at age 2 1/2, she’ll be racing down the hill on her own two skis. K2 Entity helmet K2 has helmets that keep even the littlest skiers warm, dry and protected. With a flower print (even the ear mitts were flowers), Mia is thrilled to have a helmet like her big sister. $69.95 L.L. Bean Infants’ & Toddlers’ Cold Buster Snow Bibs, Toddler Katahdin Parka Do your kids come in wet and cold after being outside for only 20 minutes? Do you find yourself buying a larger size halfway through winter? If you’re anything like me, you’ll be thrilled with L.L. Bean’s children’s outerwear line. Featuring “growth cuffs” in the arms and legs, the Cold Buster Snow Bibs and Katahdin Parka allow kids to finish one season or last another. Both come mud-puddle tested, mother-approved. Bibs $59, Parka $79 Dakine Scrambler Mitt This is the first mitten I’ve found with a cuff that’s actually long enough to go over a toddler’s coat sleeve. Mia loves the cute animal design, and I love that they’re long. I use a rubber band to ensure the gloves stay on, since there’s no drawstring at the top. $25
L.L. Bean Men’s Waterproof Down Ski Jacket, Pathfinder Waterproof Pant This 650-fill down jacket keeps Brandon warm on cold Maverick ski days, and has sealed seams, large pockets and even a special goggle pocket inside. Complete with articulated knees and taped seams, the Pathfinder pants are suited for spring ski days or hiking in wet weather; midwinter, they’ll only keep you warm if combined with heavy long underwear. Their tall cut fits Brandon’s slender frame perfectly. Jacket $279, Pants $149 K2 Rival Pro helmet The Rival Pro is sleek, comfortable and warm. Brandon plugs his headphones into the built-in audio system and rocks out to Nickelback and country. $129.95 Julbo Plasma goggle The Plasma comes with assorted cylindrical lenses of different tints. The standard frames are helmet-compatible, and at less than $70, they’re a steal! $50-$60, depending on lens K2 Power 8 poles These adjustable aluminum poles are great for a growing teenager, or for packing into the backcountry for some exclusive skiing. $69.95
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Sarah After three kids and ACL surgery, Sarah, 35, is just getting back into skiing. She finds great joy being out on the hill with her family, watching the kids laugh as they fly by. Volkl Viola ski – 155 cm (Dimensions: 123-7495), Marker Women’s 4Motion binding I swear, I think the Violas ski for me. I just point them downhill and think about turning, and they turn. And my knee doesn’t hurt at all after two days of skiing and not wearing my brace. I love the integrated ski/binding system and recommend this setup to any intermediate woman. $825, includes bindings K2 Spyre 80 boot The Spyres give me better control of my skis: They’re the first boots I’ve worn that don’t feel like I’m holding on with my toes to keep my feet in place. Initially, I struggled getting in and out of them, but after wearing them a few times and breaking in the liners, it got easier. I like how light they are, and how warm they keep my feet. I’ll definitely be getting the INTUITION liners heat molded this year. $500 Sarah loves her new gear, which is at once functional and fashionable.
The way skiing used to be
Skiing has long been part of Grasshopper Valley culture. The first rope tow was installed in the mid1930s, down the road near Elkhorn Hot Springs, and there was an Olympic-sized ski jump in the 1960s. Today, many of the valley’s 75 or so residents ski, says Russell, who learned to ski – and yodel – at age 4 from a Swiss instructor named Pearly. Maverick is mom-and-pop at its finest. The cafeteria food is homemade; there are loaner gloves
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and helmets under the stairs; and a “buddy board” at the Thunder Bar to buy your friend a drink and leave a message. While the base area is frozen in time, owner Randy Shilling has expanded Maverick’s terrain since buying it in 1988, and there are now 22 trails spread over 255 acres. It doesn’t sound like much until you’re ripping down all 2,020 vertical feet of “Thin Air” on a powder Thursday (the mountain is closed Monday through Wednesday).
Mountain Hardwear Vanskier Jacket, Snowburst Insulated Cargo Pant As a mom, two things are important to me when I ski: staying dry and having lots of pockets to stash snacks for my kids. This adorable jacket accomplishes both. I especially like the cooling vents and the helmet-compatible hood, and how well it works with the Snowburst cargo pants (also super stylish). The Vanskier and Snowburst run a little big – I usually wear a medium but a small was just right. Jacket $400, Pant $200 K2 Virtue helmet Comfy and warm, the Virtue fits under the hood of my jacket. And it has builtin audio, of course! $159.95
Jessica Jessica, age 8, is set to take her skiing to the next level. That’s what happens when you can take off every Friday from school to ski. Volkl RTM Junior ski – 120 cm (100-68-82), Marker Junior 3 Motion 4.5 binding The RTM Junior skis have an integrated ski/binding system that suits a young skier moving from beginner to intermediate. This allmountain ski pushes Jessica to go faster, while still allowing her to turn easily. $275, includes bindings
Monthly events include Polynesian dancing on the back deck, a community downhill, and the Bartender’s Cup, a triathlon with a drinking slalom and a bikini contest. “There’s no way we can compete with the big commercial ski areas in offering amenities,” Shilling says. “But what we can do is keep it the way skiing used to be.”
Full Tilt Growth Spurt boot Tired of trying to squeeze your kid’s foot into a too-small ski boot, or stuffing the toe box of one that’s too big? The Growth Spurt adjusts three sizes, which ought to last several seasons. And don’t worry, their feet will stay warm and dry. $200 L.L. Bean Kids’ Cold Buster Snow Pant, Wildcat 3-in-1 Parka Warm and cute with extra room to grow, the Cold Buster Snow Pant and Wildcat Parka keep Jessica snug even on frigid days. Zip in the fleece liner for extra warmth, wear just the water-resistant shell when it’s windy and wet, or just the fleece on warm afternoons. Pant $49.95, Parka $99 K2 Illusion helmet Jessica is comfortable all day in the Illusion helmet. Since she doesn’t complain about wearing it, I rest easy knowing her head is protected. $89.95 Julbo Eris goggles The small, comfortable frame of the Eris fits Jessica’s smaller face (and her helmet), offering her a broad field of vision. $50-$60, depending on lens Dakine Tracker gloves The Tracker kids gloves feature high-loft insulation and a cuff that fits over jacket sleeves. They seem to run small, so try them on before you leave the store. $30.00
Ready to rip: Jessica all in pink and all smiles in front of the lodge at Maverick Mountain.
K2 Charm poles Jessica was just learning to use poles last year, and with the aluminum shaft, the Charms are light enough for her to plant with confidence. She loves the bright flower pattern, and the hand straps are easy on and off. $29.95
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The Harrisons ski makeover
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I have fond memories of getting a new pair of skis as a child: the excitement of choosing boards at the local ski swap and the immediate pride of ownership I felt knowing these skis were mine. One year my skis had a previous owner’s name engraved on them and my father keenly filled in the existing letters with melted crayon wax and then wrote my name on the skis. Today, the world of custom gear is upon us. The ability to order custom sporting equipment is quickly evolving, ranging from orthotics in running shoes to fitted golf clubs. Why not custom skis? Based in Telluride, Colorado, Wagner Skis produces full-custom, made-to-order boards. The skis are all manufactured independently in the company’s nearby Placerville manufacturing facility, headquartered in a repurposed gas station that is wholly powered by solar and wind energy. “It’s similar to having a ski boot fitted properly where it completely changes the experience,” says company founder Pete Wagner. “Wholly custom skis tailored to each skier can vastly improve onsnow performance.” Wagner Skis has turned the industry’s product development cycle upside down with its Skier DNA design software engineered by Wagner, who produces more than 1,000 custom skis per season that start at $1,750 and top out at more than $2,500 per pair. And no two pairs of Wagner Skis are the same. Individuals can complete the Skier DNA profile online in 10 minutes, choosing performance attributes including base and core materials, flex, torsional rigidity, edge materials, length and shape.
WAGNER’S CUSTOMIZED SKIS BY ERIC LADD
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF WAGNER SKIS
A WAGNER SKIS OWNER DESCRIBES THE CUSTOMIZING PROCESS
“IT’S SIMILAR TO HAVING A SKI BOOT FITTED PROPERLY WHERE IT COMPLETELY CHANGES THE EXPERIENCE.”
Name: Jon Hemingway Hometown Ski Areas: Crystal Mountain, Washington, and Big Sky, Montana Years skiing: Almost 50. I ski 50-60 days per year. Ski Dimensions: Length (cm): 185; Tip-Waist-Tail (mm): 144-107-129 Details: Off-piste rockered tip for easy turn initiation and float; all-mountain tail design with traditional camber underfoot and a sugar maple/aspen core with titanal layers for a stable ride and great edge hold Stiffness: Medium. Calibrated for height, weight and skier preferences Describe the Wagner ski interview and design process: It was a cross between a job interview and buying a sports car, taking most of an hour. Pete wanted to know where I skied, how I skied, the purpose of the skis he was designing, what skis I enjoyed in the past and why. We narrowed the focus to a ski that would perform well on the chalky steeps at Big Sky, with a bomber base and edges, and the ability to still perform well on corduroy, powder and crud. It had to handle my weight and allow me to really direct it while still being quick from edge to edge. First reaction and review of the skis: At our home, we have an arsenal of great modern skis that we choose based on conditions. I didn’t think skis could get any better, until I got my pair of Wagners. They arrived during a dry pattern, but were quick edge to edge and had held great on firm snow. When we finally got on chalky steeps they were rock solid and quick, and floated nicely during spring powder dumps. We still have the arsenal of skis, but they get used by our guests. The Wagners are my everyday ski in all conditions, except early season. And when I hit my first big rock, I was relieved to find only edge scratches I could buff out with a stone. How would you describe the ski you had built: Mine. I don’t even let my sons use them.
Through his rapid-response manufacturing method, Wagner creates a ski dialed into each customer’s ability level, terrain preferences and on-mountain aspirations in less than eight weeks. “There are two types of skiers who are super fans of our skis,” Wagner said. “Those that want something premium and unique to set them apart; and core skiers, guides and on-mountain professionals who want a tool that will help them perform at their best in big mountain conditions.” My Wagner skis arrived last season and upon opening them I was happy to see that, yes, my name was engraved on the topsheet. No need for crayon wax.
Jon Hemingway testing his Wagner skis at Baldface Lodge, British Columbia. PHOTO BY NICK DAMOND
CULTURE
Pictured at right are the essentials for brewing a great batch of beer. We’ve isolated critical elements in the Brewer’s Best American Pale Ale kit, and other necessary gear available at Bozeman, Montana’s UBrew.
SANITIZER
The Brewer’s Best kits include a powdered sanitizer, but throw down a little extra cash for the easy-to-use, acid-based Star San, which requires no rinsing. Keep your gear clean so bacteria doesn’t kill the yeast, and all your hard work in the process.
GRAIN
The backbone of your brew, extracted malt provides the fermentable sugars for your final product. Stir it well when adding to the wort so it doesn’t settle and burn at the bottom of the pot.
HOPS
You want a pot big enough to boil at least 2.5 gallons of water. Once your water has reached the appropriate temperature (150-165 F), add your grain bag and start steeping – this creates your “wort,” adding flavor, complexity and color to your beer.
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Hops are your seasoning and provide complexity and bitterness to your beer. Breweries in the Western U.S. often use Cascade and Citra hops for their popular pale and India pale ales.
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Check your temperature early and often. After you terminate your boil, cool the wort to approximately 70 F by placing the pot in a sink filled with ice water.
SIPHON
Transfer the wort into a sanitized fermenter, either a 5-gallon bucket or glass carboy, being sure not to suck the “trub,” or heavy sediment, off the bottom. Add clean water to bring the volume up to approximately 5 gallons – with the provided hydrometer, keep a close eye on the density and don’t overfill it. Density will ultimately determine your brew’s alcohol content.
Brew made by you Homebrewing is hot right now in the United States. A 2013 survey conducted by the American Homebrewers Association estimates 1.2 million homebrewers in the country and two-thirds of them began making beer since 2005. Humans have been brewing beer since at least 9500 B.C., and some believe modern agriculture was developed for the purpose of growing grain for beer. Ancient Egyptians consumed more beer than water because fermented beverages are essentially sterile, and early Romans believed growing barley was so important they honored the grain on their coins. While the gear used for brewing has evolved since ancient times, the process has changed little. Adding yeast to grains and water creates fermentation, the yeast eats the sugars of the grains, and the by-products are alcohol and carbonation.
store opened UBrew, Bozeman’s first one-stop homebrewing supply shop. “Either you love beer, or you love spending time in a hot kitchen over a hot stove.”
Brewing begins: The gra in bag
about to drop in
UBrew styled out Mountain Outlaw with all the necessary gear to make our own suds. Our first batch was made with a Brewer’s Best American Pale Ale kit, which includes the grain, malt, hops, yeast and step-by-step directions to make five gallons of beer. The end result: a medium-bodied, deep golden, moderately hopped, quaffable ale. Start saving your beer bottles now, buy the gear, and get brewing! – Tyler Allen
The addition of hops as a flavoring agent and preservative came much later, probably beginning in ninth century Europe, according to British beer historian Martyn Cornell. Today, most beers are flavored with hops, especially the big American pale ales popular in this country. “It’s a labor of love,” says Claire Olsen, manager at Bozeman’s Planet Natural. In 2011, the garden PHOTOS BY KELSEY DZINTARS
YEAST
Pitch the yeast into your wort and stir well with a sanitized spoon. Secure your lid and airlock, which you fill halfway with water. The CO2 bubbles released during fermentation let you know the yeast is doing its job.
BOTTLE
After about a week, your brew is ready to bottle. Your kit comes with caps and a capper, you just need to provide the bottles. Make sure they’re clean and well sanitized – as well as all equipment that comes in contact with the beer on bottling day. Add the priming sugar, cap the bottles and your brew naturally carbonates over the next two weeks. Prost!
• BIG SKY •
GUIDE
Special Advertising Section
OLIVE B’S B I G S K Y B I S T RO Olive B’s Big Sky Bistro offers mountain views and continental cuisine the Montana way, and features ingredients that pique the appetite. Chef/Owner Warren Bibbins’ belief that people want a variety of succulent food is the driving force behind their diverse menu. 151 Center Lane, Big Sky, MT, olivebsbigsky.com, (406) 995-3355
RECIPES fr o m t h e
REGION You may be reading this while enjoying après ski cocktails somewhere in the Northern Rockies. You might have picked up Mountain Outlaw in the Bozeman-Yellowstone International Airport on your way to West Yellowstone. Maybe you’re a passenger aboard Amtrak’s Empire Builder train line, and found this magazine in your seat back. Or perhaps Mountain Outlaw was delivered to your doorstep and you’re planning your next trip to Big Sky Country.
Jamaican Jerk Chicken Chili (yield: 1 pot) 2.5 chicken thighs ¼ cup Jamaican jerk spice ½ cup canola oil 1 quart onion, diced ½ cup garlic, minced ½ cup jalepeños, minced ½ gallon Chicken stock 3 dashes Tabasco ½ cup molasses ½ cup malt vinegar 2 teaspoons black pepper ½ cup brown sugar 1 bayleaf 1 6-ounce can tomato paste ¼ cup chili powder 1 teaspoon cayenne 1 teaspoon white pepper ½ bunch cilantro, chopped 1 bunch scallions, chopped 4 15.5-ounce cans black beans
Jerk Spice recipe 2.5 tablespoons sugar 1.5 tablespoons flour 1.5 tablespoons salt 2 tablespoons Allspice ½ tablespoon nutmeg ½ tablespoon cinnamon ½ tablespoon powdered ginger ½ tablespoon black pepper 1 teaspoon cayenne Mix all together and blend evenly. Can store indefinitely in spice jar.
No matter the case, we have your restaurant picks covered for your next visit to Big Sky, Bozeman, West Yellowstone, and Red Lodge. Here are five tantalizing recipes from some of the region’s top eateries. – Ersin Ozer 100 100 MOUNTAIN MOUNTAIN
Coat chicken with jerk seasoning, let sit overnight. Bake chicken at 250 F for 1 hour. In large pot, combine all ingredients with cooked chicken and drippings. Simmer for 1.5-2 hours. Top with sour cream, cheddar cheese, green onions, tortilla strips.
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• BOZEMAN •
OPEN RANGE When Jay and Mary Bentley launched Open Range, their dream restaurant in downtown Bozeman, they started rebuilding the menu one evocative dish at a time. Not all traditions were left behind, however. This cast iron classic is a holdover from the old Mint days. As Jay likes to say, “If it’s not broken, why fix it?” 241 E. Main St., Bozeman, Montana. openrangemt.com, (406) 404-1940
Cast Iron Roasted Half Chicken (serves two) ½ cup kosher salt 1 (4-5 pound) roasting chicken, split in half 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves 1 cup olive oil Juice from 1 squeezed lemon Salt and ground black pepper 2 teaspoons butter Dissolve salt in gallon of water. Pour over chicken and brine for 8-24 hours. Remove and pat dry. Combine rosemary leaves, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and thoroughly coat chicken. Let rest for two hours at room temperature.
Place two, 10-inch cast iron skillets in oven, preheated to 450 F for 30 minutes. Place chicken halves skin-side down in one skillet, cover them with the other. Return to oven for 30 minutes or until internal thigh temperature reaches 160 F. When chicken halves are done, flip them skin-side up on plates and pour pan juices over them. Place teaspoon of butter on each half and garnish with lemon wedges.
• BOZEMAN •
COPPER WHISKEY BAR & GRILL Nestled between Bridger Bowl and Big Sky, Copper Whiskey Bar & Grill showcases more than 150 whiskies, scratch cocktails, and a Montana-inspired dinner menu. Featuring hand-cut steaks, smoked meats, fresh seafood and nightly
Shrimp and grits Fried grit cake 10 shrimp 4 oz. diced andouille sausage 1 tablespoon garlic, minced ½ cup trinity vegetables (celery, onion, green bell peppers) 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary 1 teaspoon fresh oregano 1 teaspoon fresh parsley 1 pinch dried chili flakes 1/8 cup tomatoes ½ cup chicken stock ½ cup white wine 2 green onions 3 tablespoons cold butter, diced Sautee shrimp, trinity, tomatoes and garlic in 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil until shrimp are cooked halfway through, then add herbs and chili flakes. Add wine and cook for 1-2 minutes then add chicken stock. In a separate pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and fry grit cakes on both sides until golden brown. Once liquid is reduced by half, return cakes to shrimp pan, add cold butter and stir until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.
dinner specials, Copper is a perfect place for special occasions or just a night on the town. Whether you are looking for a dynamic space for your next event or headed down for happy hour, Copper’s friendly staff is here to host your next night out in Bozeman. 101 E. Main St., Bozeman, Montana. coppermontana.com, (406) 404-1700
Special Advertising Section
GUIDE • W E S T Y E L L OW S TO N E •
MADISON C RO S S I N G L O U N G E Travel back in time to West Yellowstone’s original first grade classroom, and let Madison Crossing Lounge help make your time in Greater Yellowstone memorable. Located in the town’s old school building three blocks from the entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Madison Crossing Lounge provides a congenial atmosphere and uses only quality ingredients in their cuisine. Madison Crossing Lounge’s steak salad is topped with Montana grass-fed bison sirloin, and they use 100 percent pure maple syrup in their Maple Bourbon Smash cocktail. Extensive effort goes into every detail. Their helpful staff can provide service with the knowledge to guide you through your dining experience from appetizer to nightly special to house-made dessert. Relax and enjoy a bottle of wine or fine Bourbon from their vast collection in a cozy environment, and reminisce about your travels and adventures to come. 121 Madison Avenue, West Yellowstone, Montana. madisoncrossinglounge.com, (406) 646-7621
Pan-seared scallops topped with vanilla-basil vinaigrette Vanilla basil vinaigrette: 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar 1 cup basil ½ cup salt 2 quarts water 1 vanilla bean 1/3 cup grape seed oil
Combine vinegar, sugar, and vanilla bean in a pot and simmer for five minutes In a separate pot, blanch basil in salted water for 30 seconds In a blender, blend vinegar mix, basil, and grape seed oil Drizzle over pan-seared scallops
• RED LODGE •
CARBON COUNTY STEAKHOUSE Carbon County Steakhouse offers a casual fine dining atmosphere with rustic, Old West flare. We are dedicated to providing our guests with the highest quality service and cuisine, making efforts to utilize conscientiously raised products. We hand cut our signature steaks nightly and every evening our chef features select entrees including elk, buffalo and sustainable beef. A wide selection of seafood is flown in twice weekly and includes signature mussels. Our professional staff will help you select the perfect wine for any occasion from our Wine Spectator-awarded list. Carbon County Steakhouse serves dinner seven nights a week and reservations are highly recommended. 121 S. Broadway Ave., Red Lodge, Montana. redlodgerestaurants.com/carbon-countysteakhouse, (406) 446-4025
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Baby Back Pork Ribs Dry rub (combine): 2 teaspoons paprika 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper chili flakes Apply dry rub evenly on two full pork rib racks and place in roasting pan. Add 2 cups of Red Lodge Beartooth Pale Ale (or other pale ale), then add 2 cups water Place parchment paper over ribs. Cover roasting pan with plastic wrap then aluminum foil and oven bake at 350 F for at least two hours. Enjoy your tender and delicious pork ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce.
• HELENA, MT •
BERT & ERNIE’S Dining saloon & grill 361 N. Last Chance Gulch (406) 443-5680 bertanderniesofhelena.com
RESTAURANT GUIDE
MEDITERRANEAN GRILL International flavors & award-winning wine list 42 S. Park Avenue (406) 495-1212 • BOZEMAN, MT • mediterraneangrillhelena.com
BIANKINI’S Fresh, house-made, healthy sandwiches & salads 2051 W Oak Street (406) 587-2405 biankinis.net • B I G S K Y, M T •
OLIVE B’S Continental bistro 151 Center Lane Big Sky Meadow Village (406) 995-3355 olivebsbigsky.com SCISSORBILL’S Montana beer & handcrafted pub fare 39 Black Eagle Road Big Sky Mountain Village (406) 995-4933 scissorbills.com GALLATIN RIVERHOUSE GRILL BBQ, booze, & views 45130 Gallatin Road Big Sky/Gallatin Canyon (406) 995-RIBS (7427) gallatinriverhousegrill.com
• W E S T Y E L L OW S TO N E , M T •
ERNIE’S BAKERY & DELI Best fresh sandwiches in town 406 U.S. Highway 20 (406) 646-9467 erniesbakery.com MADISON CROSSING Casual fine dining & full bar 121 Madison Avenue (406) 646-7621 madisoncrossinglounge.com
COPPER WHISKEY BAR & GRILL Bozeman’s premier whiskey bar & grill 101 E. Main Street (406) 404-1700 coppermontana.com OPEN RANGE Innovative regional cuisine 241 E. Main Street (406) 404-1940 openrangemt.com
• RED LODGE, MT •
Y E L L OW S TO N E
BOGART’S RESTAURANT World famous margaritas! 11 S. Broadway Avenue (406) 446-1784 redlodgerestaurants.com/bogarts CARBON COUNTY STEAKHOUSE Montana’s award winning steakhouse 121 S. Broadway Avenue (406) 446-4025 redlodgerestaurants.com/ carbon-county-steakhouse
• JACKSON, WY •
SNAKE RIVER BREWING Jackson Hole’s favorite restaurant 265 S. Millward Street (307) 739-2337 snakeriverbrewing.com THAI ME UP Part Thai food, part brewery 75 E. Pearl Avenue (307) 733-0005 thaijh.com
From the bow of the Australis, the Drake Passage reflects a sea-blue sky en route to Antarctica’s South Shetland Islands.
ADVENTURE
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DOUG WORKMAN
ACROSS THE DRAKE
STORY AND PHOTOS BY DOUG WORKMAN
The first time I saw an iceberg I was standing on the bridge of the Sea Adventurer expedition ship, binoculars in hand. We had just successfully crossed the Drake Passage between the southern tip of South America and Antarctica’s South Shetland Islands. Still weary from two days of seasickness, I squinted in an effort to catch a glimpse of land. Just off the horizon sat a little known secret that Doug Stoup, owner of Ice Axe Expeditions, was about to unveil to 100 eager skiers from all walks of life. Weaving past gargantuan icebergs, the Sea Adventurer slowed to a crawl, smaller ‘bergs slamming into the iron clad vessel as land came into sight. What lay before us was an adventure skier’s paradise. Stoup began running guided ski trips to the Antarctic Peninsula in 2008 after visiting the region 13 times with the likes of renowned ski mountaineers Kris Erikson and Andrew McLean. During those earlier expeditions, the crew attempted to ski Bull Ridge on Mount Francis, one of the peninsula’s crowning mountains, but were pinned
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Stian Hagen lays down tracks in Antarctica.
down by inclement weather. The Bull Ridge is a crevasseridden line that skis from summit to sea in nearly 9,000 feet. We are not here to attempt such feats. This mission is much more civilized – instead of tents, sleeping bags, and Ramen noodles, we have suites, turned down sheets, and chicken cordon bleu. Each morning at 6:30 a.m., we awake to the gentle cooing of Laurie Dexter, our Scottish expedition leader. Despite the comforts of the Sea Adventurer, we’re here to ski steep slopes above the ice-choked ocean. So after coffee and croissants, we clamber into rubber Zodiac boats and depart for shore. Penguins and seals abound, creating detours en route to our ski objective. We have seen leopard seals devour chinstrap penguins, and orcas feast on crabeater seals.
ICE AXE EXPEDITIONS What: Ice Axe Expeditions specializes in North and South Pole ski adventures. Contact Doug Workman at workmandouglas@gmail.com for details. When: Trips depart Ushuaia, Argentina in early November to take advantage of spring conditions on the Antarctic Peninsula after the ice breaks up. Ice Axe also offers a late May ski trip to the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Ability: Services all skiing levels from professionals with film crews to first-time alpine touring groups, and has guided skiers with ages ranging from 13-73. Conditions: November is springtime in Antarctica. Past conditions range from light, cold powder skiing to corn skiing. Temperatures range from single digits to mid-30s, and it can be quite warm in the sun. Svalbard’s average high in late May is approximately 33 F.
A chinstrap penguin welcomes writer/photographer Doug Workman to land.
Post-croissants, pre-ski. Loading Zodiacs from the Sea Adventurer.
The peninsula is known for its burly storms, so we beeline for shore knowing our weather window could be short. Making land, we transition from rubber boots and foul-weather gear to Dynafit bindings and Gore-Tex, and begin skinning toward our objective: the north ridge of an unclimbed, unnamed peak – one of many surrounding us. After winding our way through crevasses, our group begins climbing, but as the ridge steepens the skinning becomes more difficult. The wind howls. We stop to sip tea and regroup with our teammates. The ridge offers ski mountaineering at best; frozen, wind-hammered sastrugi at worst. We bail and begin our descent, wrapping around the corner of the peak to a bowl – in plain sight of the Sea Adventurer – and out of the wind. While plumes hammer the peak above, we ski a foot of untouched powder by the sea. We skin, and ski, and do it again. And again.
The approach. Expeditioners skin across Livingston Island and toward another magnificent objective.
APRÉS-APRÉS-SKI
[ah-prey-ah-prey-skee] noun 1. the period of entertainment that follows relaxation after skiing
BIG SKY, MONTANA
DECEMBER 27 / WONDERHEADS PRESENT: LOON JANUARY 9 & 10 / UPRIGHT CITIZENS BRIGADE TOURING COMPANY JANUARY 17 / TAKE SIX FEBRUARY 8 / THE BIG SKY COMMISSION FEBRUARY 14 / NRITYAGRAM FEBRUARY 26-28 / SOJOURN THEATRE PRESENTS: HOW TO END POVERTY IN 90 MINUTES MARCH 7 / AN EVENING WITH JAD ABUMRAD MARCH 20 / TWO TO TANGO: PABLO ZIEGLER AND CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY MARCH 28 / JAMES SEWELL BALLET
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WINTER SCHEDULE - THROUGH APRIL 2015 | Please check website for more details SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY Check the schedule online for workshops and special events 5-6:15pm All Levels Yoga
8-8:45am Sound Bath Meditation 9-10:15am All Levels Yoga 6-7:15pm All Levels Vinyasa Flow/Yin
7-8am Yoga 8:15-9:15am Pilates 9:30-10:45am All Levels Yoga 5:30-6:15pm Sound Bath Meditation 6:30-8pm All Levels Yoga
6-7am All Levels Yoga 9-10:15am All Levels Yoga 5:30-6:30pm All Levels Yoga
7-8pm Awareness Wednesday (2nd Wed. of every month)
7-8am All Levels Yoga 8:15-9:15am Pilates 9:30-10:45am All Levels Yoga 6:30-8pm Yoga Therapeutics/ Yoga Nidra
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
8:30-9:30am Level II Yoga 10-11:30am All Levels Yoga 5:30-7:30pm The Practice (Level II-III) 1st & 3rd Fri. of the month
9:00-10:15am All Levels Yoga
Your own 160 Acre Ranch in Big Sky A very rare opportunity to own a ranch in the middle of one of the fastest growing resorts in the country. Gallatin Preserve, a 1,632 acre property that consists of Ten – 160 acre parcels. These large acreage ranches are only minutes from Big Sky Town Center activities and adjacent to The Yellowstone Spanish Peaks Mountain Clubs. Along Gallatin Preserve’s northern border flows the blue ribbon South Fork of the West Fork of the Gallatin River. from
$3,500,000
MARTHA JOHNSON
OWNER/ BROKER MARTHA@BIGSKYREALESTATE.COM | 406.580.5891 This information is subject to errors, omissions, prior sale, change, withdrawal and approval of purchase by owner. All information from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed by Montana Living - Big Sky Real Estate, independent investigation is recommended. For properties being purchased at The Club at Spanish Peaks approval for membership is required prior to closing. If you are currently working with another real estate agent, this is not intended as a solicitation. Montana Living is a registered trademark of Newwest LLC.
HEALTH
LOVE
(and technology)
BY JACKIE RAINFORD CORCORAN
There are some funny maxims about dating in ski towns. Women say about men, “The odds are good but the goods are odd.” Men about women, “When you break up, you don’t lose your girlfriend, you lose your turn.” Now, in the age of online dating and smart phones, the jokes remain but technology has altered the way we date and pursue romance, for better or worse. I moved to the small ski town of Big Sky, Montana as a 24 year old in 1994. Back in New York City, a boyfriend waited. Without a cell phone in those days and to avoid a massive long-distance bill, I would call him from a payphone ¼-mile from my house. It was only October, but this became increasingly snowy, cold and inconvenient. Plus, the washing machines were competing for my quarters. After a month, it became apparent the relationship was doomed. I then attempted dating in a ski town. These seasonal areas draw spirited, like-minded outdoor types who then move on to the next great adventure or get back to “real life.” I had several winter boyfriends and when they moved away – usually back home – the
distance suffocated the romantic spark. I was at a loss, but I wasn’t the only one. Enter Victor DeLeo and Tahnee Perry. After starting a long-distance relationship three years ago between DeLeo’s Big Sky and Perry’s Brooklyn, New York, technology was a liaison, at least at first. “Without technology, we couldn’t have made it,” said DeLeo, who would Skype his girlfriend for Saturday breakfast dates. “But it wasn’t enough.” When their cross-country love affair reached a juncture, Perry booked a trip to Big Sky. They needed to hash out the issue face to face. “When you have a conflict, never use email,” says Dr. Dierdre Combs, a Bozeman, Montana-based licensed mediator and expert in conflict resolution, who reports that 80-90 percent of communication is physical. “We desperately need tone and body language to make sense of another’s intentions and emotions.” DeLeo rekindled his long-distance relationship with Perry, by moving to Brooklyn last June and sacrificing his
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love for the mountain he walked to every winter for 15 years. DeLeo claims he’ll always be a skier, but admits it wasn’t worth losing his love. “Living together is way better than FaceTime,” he says. My boyfriend Colin and I dated for seven years in Big Sky and had our share of ups, downs and breakups during that time. I thought he might love skiing more than me. But one day in Central Park, technology saved the day. I was visiting NYC after one such breakup, and had told Colin not to contact me. But when I entered the park via Strawberry Fields, I had a strange feeling that he was supposed to be there. Just then, “ring, ring.” He was calling my cell. I’m glad I had a mobile phone, and glad that I answered – we married in 2007. Used in the right ways, devices and dating apps can enhance our intimate relationships, as long as they don’t dictate the way we connect. A partner’s touch still outweighs a text. MOUNTAIN
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ENJOY THE LUXURY OF OUR SKIES
Luxury transportation directly to and from the Yellowstone Club & Executive charters and touring from Bozeman, Big Sky, Montana and Jackson Hole, Wyoming For reservations: 406.579.9312 | RockyMountainRotors.com
HEALTH
A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE BY S. JASON MOORE, PH.D., P.A.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DR. SAJOSCHA SORRENTINO, DR. M. OSAMA YONSO, AND DR. BENOUDINA SAMIR, RADIOPAEDIA.ORG
Historically, research on ski and snowboard injuries often directed attention to avalanches, skill levels of participants, and the differing injuries between skiers and snowboarders. A recent Colorado study took a different approach. “Let it Snow: How snowfall and injury mechanism affect ski and snowboard injuries in Vail, Colorado, 2011-2012” focused on how new snow amounts affect injuries on the slopes. Recently published in the “Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery,” the study looked specifically at correlations between daily snowfall totals and the patterns and severity of injuries seen at a busy trauma hospital, the Vail Valley Medical Center.
More than 600 patients from multiple regional resorts were analyzed over the 2011 and 2012 ski seasons, and findings showed daily snowfall amounts did in fact influence injury severity. The data indicated that over 65 percent of injuries were sustained when it snowed less than 1 inch over the previous 24 hours. Additionally, a daily snowfall total of 1-2 inches more than tripled the odds of sustaining a severe or critical injury. But as snow accumulated beyond 2 inches, the chances of sustaining a severe injury decreased. Translation: When it dumps, grab your boards. Results also showed that snowboarders tend to sustain injuries to the abdomen and upper extremities, while skiers injure lower extremities as well as the spine, pelvis, chest, and head more frequently than do snowboarders. Data indicated that people colliding on the hill tend to have more severe injuries than individual skier or snowboarder
falls. Specific collision injuries included the chest, ribs, lungs, and kidneys. The odds that an injured snow rider was involved in a collision nearly doubled when recent snowfall totals were 1 inch or less. Translation: When there’s dust on crust, use of injuries were sustained when it snowed increased caution.
65%
less than 1”
It’s unclear exactly why over the previous 24 hours snowfall appears to protect against severe injury. However, it’s reasonable to assume that fresh snowfall would provide a protective layer during a fall, while increased friction could decrease speeds of snow-sport enthusiasts. Findings from this research could alter the diagnostic evaluation of patients and change resort safety initiatives. Either way, be careful out there.
Severe snow-sports injuries you really want to avoid COMPILED BY JESSE COIL, D.O.
These are three of the most traumatic snow-sports injuries associated with high-speed falls or collisions. Ride smart and keep your head up (and make sure there’s a helmet on it).
SPINE: Thoracic vertebrae burst fracture
HEAD: Including skull fracture or intracranial hemorrhage
LEG: Femur fracture
FREQUENCY
0.1 injuries/10,000 skier days
0.3 injuries/10,000 skier days
0.1 injuries/10,000 skier days
CAUSE
Crashing from height or high-speed impact
Direct impact to head
Direct impact/high-speed crash
RECOVERY TIME
Six to eight weeks, longer if surgery required
Six weeks to years depending on severity of brain injury
Eight weeks plus months of rehabilitation
PREVENTION
Keep boards on the ground, avoid big air
Helmet may reduce risk
Avoid high-speed falls and big jumps
If you or someone you’re riding with sustains any of these injuries, immediately seek professional care.
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JAME S N IE HUE S : last man standing
A ski map artist puts the finishing touches on a 30-year career
BY MARIA WYLLIE
James Niehues starts his art projects in a helicopter approximately 3,000 feet above a mountain summit. He takes hundreds of photos so he can rearrange all aspects of the mountain to fit within a single, panoramic view. Niehues, 68, lives in Loveland, Colorado and has been painting resort ski maps since 1988, and is often referred to as the “Monet of the Mountains,” or the “Picasso of Powder.” With a portfolio of more than 350 mountain views and more than 75 percent of the United States’ major resorts, he’s rightfully earned the titles.
Although the maps are first and foremost wayfinding aids for skiers, resorts also rely on them as marketing tools. “From a safety perspective, it’s skier navigation,” said Glenniss Indreland, Big Sky Resort’s brand manager for the past 26 years. “From an aesthetic perspective, it’s to show how expansive our terrain is.” Indreland worked with Niehues last April on a new rendering of Big Sky Resort to incorporate Spanish Peaks Mountain Club and Moonlight Basin. >>
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A hand-painted map of Big Sky Resort’s new trail system, which now encompasses Spanish Peaks and Moonlight Basin. The painting was Niehues’ final project of 2014. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JAMES NIEHUES
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However, as the renowned ski map artist enters retirement, he suspects he might be the last man standing. “I hope this isn’t true but I may very well be the last real map artist that uses a paintbrush,” he said. “I would hate to see that fade away, but I do imagine that will probably be the case. It will just go digital.” Niehues’ lack of an apprentice isn’t unusual for his craft. During the history of mapping ski resorts, a single artist has always dominated the profession. It began with Colorado-based artist Hal Shelton, who was most active in the 1960s and 70s, before he passed the baton to painter Bill Brown. In 1987, Niehues met Brown in Denver and accepted his first project – the backside of Mary Jane at Colorado’s Winter Park Resort. Niehues had a knack for it and his career took off. “I really enjoy the detail of it and the challenge of arranging things on a one-dimensional surface,” he said. “It’s kind of a unique branch of art.” Niehues’ brush lets him do things a computer can’t – like having diversity in trees, rather than <After collecting images of a mountain, Niehues produces a pencil sketch on vellum, which is then blueprinted and sent to the client for review. Next, he adds color, shadows and texture with his paintbrush, and then uses an airbrush to add the sky, clouds and snow on the slopes. Once the illustration is complete, it goes through another round of approval with the client before trail names and symbols are added.
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“In one brush stroke there are variations in shade, color intensity and edge, which cannot be replicated in computergenerated images.” clones. “In one brush stroke there are variations in shade, color intensity and edge, which cannot be replicated in computer-generated images,” Niehues said, adding that such differentiation helps replicate the natural feel of the great outdoors. Primarily working in gouache, an opaque watercolor medium, the process isn’t quick. From start to finish, it typically takes several months to complete any given project. Since the paintings are all for commercial use, Niehues has to keep client interests in mind too. “In the beginning it was a challenge to make sure the clients were happy,” he said. “I would try to think of each illustration as a gemstone, getting a certain sparkle to it to portray the coldness of the winter and the glisten of the snow.” As Niehues makes his way toward retirement, he’ll continue updating his older maps, he says, but only take on select new projects. A remake of Utah’s Alta Ski Area map is in the books for 2015, as is a trip to the Oregon Coast, which Niehues plans to paint with his oils. With no successor in sight, the future of the ski map may be digital, but the paintbrush will be waiting.
FOR ALL YOUR TILE AND STONE NEEDS Next to Montana Expressions | 2504 W. Main Bozeman, MT (406) 582-8989 | ceramicaspecialtytiles@hotmail.com ceramicabozeman.com
From the Collectors Corner If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve enjoyed some snowy winters and powder days. BUT, have you ever felt the metalrunner-over-snow thrill of riding a belly flopper style steerable sled? It’s PURE adrenaline, and likely the pre-training inspiration of the Olympic Skeleton racing. As collectors, we get excited to see an oldie but goodie. In fact, we may never have seen one in as good of condition as this Sherwood #54 Auto Bob sled. Made in Canastoga, NY in the late 1920s-1930s, the sled has advanced spring steering and two metal foot rests. It has great original decoration but the key to this treasure is the Auto Bob decal on the middle board - a 9.9 out of 10! Even the rope is original. This is the best metal runner sled I’ve ever seen, coupled with the decal and steering make it an impossible find. -Jeff Hume, Vintage Winter
Antique Sherwood Childs Sled c. 1870 – 1900
Unique items like this, and more information for collectors and decorators at
VintageWinter.com
R E T R I ETRAINING V E R T R& A IBOARDING NING RETRIEVER
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Made In Big Sky Local Artist Gift Gallery
At the base of Lone Peak, surrounded by the largest ski area in the US and just 50 miles from Yellowstone, The Lodge at Big Sky is the ideal place to stay during your mountain getaway!
The Lodge at Big Sky Big Sky, Montana www.MadeInBigSky.com 406-995-4300 Located Behind The Country Market In the Meadow Village of Big Sky, Montana
406-995-7858 Lodgeatbigsky.com
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C U S T O M M O N TA N A H O M E B U I L D E R
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OUTLAW
of F E AT U R E D O U T L AW : T I M PAT T I S O N | BY JOSEPH T. O’CONNOR TIM PATTISON PULLS OUT AN OLD BROWN HIKING BOOT, its upturned toe and worn, cracked
leather befitting a yesteryear thrift store. He points a gnarled index finger at the heel. “That’s where her front teeth went through,” Pattison says in his easy cadence, pawing the two punctures. “These got a partial steel shank in ‘em. If I’d had tennis shoes on, she would have broke my foot and pulled me out of the tree.” That was in 1979. A grizzly bear had chased a 24-yearold Pattison up a lodgepole pine and snagged his left boot. He kicked it in the snout, and it let go. But it’s a recurring pattern for Pattison. Bears have treed him seven times since. “I can’t live in the city,” Pattison says. “If there ain’t a grizzly bear around, I don’t want to be there.” Tim Pattison is a modern mountain man, an outlaw living in a world of technology –one he regularly avoids. He has a television, but prefers watching the wood burn in his stove: “caveman TV,” he calls it.
Tim Pattison, known as “Bo” Tim, is a modern day mountain man who’s been living in Big Sky, Montana for the last 40 years. “I’m a poor man but I’m rich in life,” Pattison says.
He lives in Big Sky, Montana with no cell phone, no email, no driver’s license. He and his tight-knit crew of hunters and shed-antler seekers are known as the “Bos.” This is Bo Tim. >>
PHOTO BY TYSON KRINKE
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TIM PATTISON HAS A STURDY BUILD AND WALNUT EYES that gleam when
he tells a joke, which he does often. He keeps gray-streaked hair in a ponytail that drapes like a mane from under his wool balaclava. He hasn’t shaved off his beard since 1977, when it was a shade darker than his eyes. His smile says he knows something you don’t. “He’s a gentle giant, and my best friend,” says Terry Thomas, who along with his twin brother Lance, grew up with Pattison and eventually followed him to Montana. Pattison was raised in Sacramento, California, the son of a rocket-engine inspector and a tough stay-at-home mother. When he was a junior at Rio Americano High School, his father took him deer hunting in Idaho for two weeks. On that trip, a 17-year-old Pattison killed the largest mule deer buck of his life with the .30-30 he got for his 12th birthday. Bo Tim was hooked on the mountains. “I was looking for the wilderness experience,” says Pattison, who turns 60 in February. “I wanted to do what I wanted to do and not get caught up in the rat race.”
Pattison and his dog, Dudley, lived in the 250-square-foot Michener cabin, built in 1913, before it was moved south to Ophir School in 1997. PHOTO BY WESLEY OVERVOLD
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(L-R) J.C. Knaub, Riley Davis, Terry Thomas, Suzy Samardich Hassman, and Tim Pattison dragging out a bull elk, circa 1996. “It’s pretty religious shooting an animal, and I depend on elk meat,” Pattison says. Bo Tim shot his latest bull elk on November 13, 2014. Where’d he shoot it? In the neck. PHOTO BY FAITH MALPELI
“YOU HUNTED A LOT, HAD YOUR DOG, LIVED IN YOUR WALL TENT, HAD FRIENDS THAT SHARED THE SAME VALUES.”
On Thanksgiving Day, 1974, Pattison moved to Big Sky, Montana and into the Michener cabin with his black lab, Dudley. Built in 1913 near the intersection of Highway 191 and Lone Mountain Trail, the Michener cabin was a welcome sight for Pattison. He rented it for $33 a month. “It was wine, women and song back then,” recalls Pattison, who once had 30 people in the 250-squarefoot cabin. In 1997, Big Sky’s Ophir School administration refurbished the cabin and moved it south. It now rests in front of the school. “Bo Tim and Dudley” is carved into the center ridge beam. Pattison needed a new place to live, and asked local contractor J.C. Knaub if he could put up a wall tent on his property, a veritable compound dubbed “Knaub’s Hole.”
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“Tim showed up here and said, ‘I need a place to put my wall tent for a couple weeks,’” said Knaub, sitting in his kitchen one afternoon last October. “He lived here for four years.” In 1996, Pattison met Meredith Madden, Knaub’s nanny at the time. “She’s legend,” Pattison says. “She was the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen in my whole life.” They had their first and only child in Knaub’s cabin next to the main house on February 7, 1997. It was -38 F the day their son Winter was born. “Bo Tim is what he is,” said Scott Hammond, who’s known Pattison for 20 years and now rents him a cabin on the banks of the Gallatin River. “He doesn’t want to be bothered by modern day business. We could all aspire to be more like him.”
NO ONE QUITE KNOWS WHAT A “BO” IS, though
some venture to explain the term. It’s a noun; it’s an adjective; it’s often verbed. There might be 10 Bos right now. There could be 20. “If they liked you, they Bo’ed you,” says Wade Stone, known in the Big Sky area as Woody the Wood Lord. “They’re kind of a counterculture to the suit and tie,” Knaub says. “You hunted a lot, had your dog, lived in your wall tent, had friends that shared the same values.” The Bos have lived by their own terms in Big Sky for decades. Some say you had to live in a wall tent for three Montana winters before you became a Bo (Pattison lived in a wall tent for five). Others that you needed to kill a bull elk every year (Pattison has killed one each year save two since 1974). It may be just living off the land, or using the term “legend” to describe virtually anything. “When I first met the Bos, everything was ‘legend,’” Knaub said, adding that Pattison created the moniker. “‘I went on a legend 10-mile hike, and I put a bull elk down with a legend shot in the heart.’ ‘I just had this legend burger.’”
Pattison and his crew hunted elk-shed antlers for 25 years, and have stories that stretch the confines of the imagination; tales of big money and high risk, of a man with three fingers and ungulate heads the size of Volkswagen Beetles.They have satellite hunting camps up places like Tick Ridge and Never Heard ‘Em Scream Creek. For 40 years, Bo Tim Pattison has lived like a mountain man in Big Sky, growing vegetables, hunting, fishing. He still seeks a bull elk every fall, but these days he also forages for character lodgepole pine logs to build his beds. Six days a week, Pattison builds lodgepole beds by hand in the shed adjacent to his cabin. He’s a master at his trade. A single bed can take up to 115 hours to construct, and in mid-November, Bo Tim was on his 123rd. Through his business, Rustic Log Beds, Pattison can sell beds for as much as $3,500 apiece, but living the life he loves trumps all. “Money is no big deal for me,” he says. “If I can wake up every morning and look out my back door and see elk up on the hill and the river flowing and the colors changing and I’m here and healthy, that’s all that matters.”
OUTLAW
“IF I CAN WAKE UP EVERY MORNING AND LOOK OUT MY BACK DOOR AND SEE ELK UP ON THE HILL AND THE RIVER FLOWING AND THE COLORS CHANGING AND I’M HERE AND HEALTHY, THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERS.” -Bo Tim
PHOTO BY TYSON KRINKE
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