Explore Big Sky - October 19 to November 1, 2023

October 19 - November 1, 2023 Volume 14 // Issue #21

VEHICLE-WILDLIFE IMPROVEMENTS POSSIBLE FOR 191 CORIDOR COUNTIES DISCUSS BIG SKY INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS BIG SKY SCHOOL DISTRICT ADVANCES ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY LONE PEAK SOCCER REACHES STATE SEMIFINALS OPHIR STUDENT WINS NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PLUS: HANNAH JOHANSEN REFLECTS ON 50 YEARS IN BIG SKY

October 19 - November 1, 2023 Volume 14, Issue No. 21 Owned and published in Big Sky, Montana

PUBLISHER Eric Ladd | eric@theoutlawpartners.com

EDITORIAL VP MEDIA Mira Brody | mira@theoutlawpartners.com

OPENING SHOT On a pack trip heading toward hunting camp, Kaley Burns snagged a shot of snowy Lone Mountain with Porcupine Creek in the foreground. A popular hunting and hiking area across the street from the Big Sky School District, the Porcupine Creek trailhead begins about 5,000 feet below the summit of Lone Mountain. When snow covered Lone Mountain on Oct. 12, Big Sky’s lower elevations received rain. PHOTO BY KALEY BURNS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jack Reaney | jack@theoutlawpartners.com EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Leslie Kilgore | leslie@theoutlawpartners.com DIGITAL PRODUCER Jen Clancey | jen@theoutlawpartners.com

CREATIVE LEAD GRAPHIC DESIGNER ME BROWN | maryelizabeth@theoutlawpartners.com

SALES AND OPERATIONS CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER Megan Paulson | megan@theoutlawpartners.com CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Treston Wold | treston@theoutlawpartners.com VP DESIGN & PRODUCTION Hiller Higman | hiller@theoutlawpartners.com DIRECTOR OF RELATIONSHIPS Ersin Ozer | ersin@theoutlawpartners.com MARKETING MANAGER Tucker Harris | tucker@theoutlawpartners.com SENIOR ACCOUNTANT Sara Sipe | sara@theoutlawpartners.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LEAD Patrick Mahoney | patrick@theoutlawpartners.com

CONTRIBUTORS Kaley Burns, Mario Carr, Ashley Dodd, Chris Fiacco, Rachel Hergett, Stephanie Kissell, Joseph T. O’Connor, Jess Olson, Wes Overvold, Jim Peaco, Dave Pecunies, Holly Pippel, Benjamin Alva Polley, Paul Swenson,

4 OBITUARY 12 6 LOCAL 13 SPORTS 14 25 BUSINESS 28 OPINION 30 ENVIRONMENT 16 33 DINING 34 HEALTH 17 36 A&E 41 FUN

BIG SKY SCHOOL DISTRICT ADVANCES ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY In September, the Big Sky School District finished construction of a $23.5 million facility to improve programs in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. At a recent open house at Lone Peak High School, EBS spoke with the directors of technology, art and music about the improved workshop and classroom spaces and the new facility’s impact on Big Sky’s top-ranked high school.

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LONE PEAK SOCCER REACHES STATE SEMIFINAL The Lone Peak High School soccer program continues to grow and strengthen in its first four years. For the boys, a dramatic quarterfinal victory over Stevensville High School meant another all-time first: on Oct. 21, the Big Horns will travel to Whitefish to play for their spot in the Montana Class A state championship. This marks the program’s first-ever semifinal berth.

ON THE COVER: Gallatin Gateway is a crucial corridor for elk and deer. Local photographer Holly Pippel captured this buck among a grove of Aspen trees during one of her many outings photographing local animal residents.

See more of Pippel’s work in this issue's environment section. PHOTO BY HOLLY PIPPEL

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COUNTIES DISCUSS BIG SKY INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS At the Oct. 4 Madison-Gallatin Joint County Commission meeting, various leaders brought expensive projects to the table. Among the $777 million in infrastructure investments recommended for the next decade by a recent capital improvement plan, some of Big Sky’s largest needs surround housing, transportation infrastructure, fire safety, and investments in school, library and hospital services. Among various agenda items, Montana Department of Transportation is working to improve U.S. Highway 191 and the Big Sky Fire Department is considering a third station.

OPHIR STUDENT WINS NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP Gabi Tinoco, an eighth-grade student at Ophir Middle School, became one of 43 students across the country selected for the prestigious Cooke Young Scholars program. The program will provide students with yearly summer learning experiences and advising for the next four years. It will also fund experiences and learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

VEHICLE-WILDLIFE IMPROVEMENTS POSSIBLE FOR 191 CORIDOR The Center for Large Lanscape Conservation will host a public meeting in Big Sky on Oct. 23, kicking off a series of public meetings in the three communities affected most by vehicle-wildlife collisions in the U.S. Highway 191 corridor. Meetings will also be held in Gallatin Gateway on Nov. 9 and West Yellowstone on Nov. 14. The CLLC and its partners recently completed a multi-year study outlining possible solutions to driver safety and wildlife movement across the busy Highway 191.

HANNAH JOHANSEN REFLECTS ON 50 YEARS IN BIG SKY She began her tenure in Big Sky in 1973, living in a teepee beside the Gallatin River. Hannah Johansen, a local business owner for more than four decades, sat down with Explore Big Sky to discuss her fifty years living in Big Sky. She explained why living here is special, despite its challenges and growing pains.

EDITORIAL POLICIES

SCAN FOR TOWN CRIER NEWSLETTER. DAILY NEWS, STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

EDITORIAL POLICY

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Outlaw Partners, LLC is the sole owner of Explore Big Sky. EBS reserves the right to edit all submitted material. Printed material reflects the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the opinion of Outlaw Partners or its editors.

EBS will not publish anything discriminatory or in bad taste.

Letters to the editor allow EBS readers to express views and share how they would like to effect change. These are not Thank You notes.

Letters should be 250 words or less, respectful, ethical, accurate, and proofread for grammar and content. We reserve the right to edit letters and will not publish individual grievances about specific businesses or letters that are abusive, malicious or potentially libelous. Include: full name, address, phone number and title. Submit to media@outlaw.partners.

EBS welcomes obituaries written by family members or from funeral homes. To place an obituary, please submit 500 words or less to media@theoutlawpartners.com.

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ADVERTISING DEADLINE For the November 2nd issue October 25th, 2023 CORRECTIONS Please report errors to media@outlaw.partners.

OUTLAW PARTNERS & EXPLORE BIG SKY P.O. Box 160250, Big Sky, MT 59716 (406) 995-2055 • media@theoutlawpartners.com © 2023 Explore Big Sky unauthorized reproduction prohibited

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Please contact us for a summer recap analysis and to discuss listing your property.

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ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED IS DEEMED RELIABLE BUT IS NOT GUARANTEED AND SHOULD BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED. INFORMATION AND DEPICTIONS ARE SUBJECT TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, PRIOR SALES, PRICE CHANGES OR WITHDRAWAL WITHOUT NOTICE. NO GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY HAS JUDGED THE MERITS OR VALUE, IF ANY, OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ADVERTISEMENT OR ANY REAL ESTATE DESCRIBED OR DEPICTED HEREIN. THIS MATERIAL SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL IN ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE PRIOR REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED OR WHERE SUCH AN OFFER WOULD BE PROHIBITED, AND THIS SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH ANOTHER REAL ESTATE AGENT. NOTHING HEREIN SHALL BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL, TAX, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.

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4 Oct. 19 - Nov. 1, 2023

EASY WAYS YOU CAN CONSERVE WATER

Explore Big Sky

OBITUARY

DIANE MAURINE MILLER, AGE 80

Loving mother of Joseph Arndorfer and Happy the dog. Beloved daughter of the late Joseph and Ada Miller. Dear sister of Ira Miller.

CONSERVATION

#FORTHERIVER

Conserving water is vital to the health of the Gallatin. Big sky receives less than 20 in. of precipitation each year, leaving us drought-prone. Learn 7 easy ways you can establish new habits in conservation, saving water #FortheRiver

Diane was a lively and fun loving spirit.

Wherever she found herself – Diane had a tendency to live life to the fullest. After finding her place in Chicago, she came to Big Sky, Montana in 1977. This place captured her heart; feeding her passion for skiing and adventure. She carried a love for Montana. It was the deep love she had for Big Sky, that stayed with her through all stages of her life. She will always be remembered for her kind, and energetic nature. This energy helps to explain her fierce work ethic; never afraid to fight for what she believed in. A caring soul that always tried to do the right thing – Diane wouldn’t hesitate to give of herself to better the lives of those she loved.

Graveside service Friday, Oct. 20, 10:30 a.m. at Waldheim Jewish Cemetery 1400 Des Plaines Ave, Forest Park, IL 60130. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Temple Emanu-El 8500 Hillcrest Ave, Dallas, TX 75225 or visit tedallas.org.

To attend the funeral live stream, please visit our website.

Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, cjfinfo.com.

WORK WHERE YOU PLAY. B2 UrgentCare at Big Sky is ramping up for the 2023/2024 ski season.

We are currently looking for patient care techs and a radiology tech.

Work on the mountain with a flexible schedule and ask us about our Big Sky differential.

Explore more at BozemanHealth.org/Careers

6 October 19 - November 1, 2023

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LOCAL

NEWS IN BRIEF

BIG SKY FIRE DEPARTMENT IN SEARCH OF A LOCAL FIRE INSPECTOR EBS STAFF

The Big Sky Fire Department announced this month that they are looking to hire a full time Fire Inspector to join the team. Under the supervision of the Deputy Fire Chief of Risk Reduction and Wildfire, the Fire Inspector’s duty is to carry out identified fire inspection and code enforcement within the district to make the Big Sky community a safer place for the residents and visitors. They will also participate in public outreach and investigations.

“Our department prides itself on maintaining a robust internal rapport among our firefighter collective bargaining unit, administration, and the BSFD Board of Trustees,” said the job description. “Our mission is unwavering: to safeguard the lives and property of our community, our cherished visitors, and our neighboring areas. We achieve this by delivering exceptional customer service characterized by compassion, courtesy, honor, and integrity.”

To learn more visit bigskyfire.org.

GALLATIN AND MADISON COUNTIES’ ELECTION ROADMAP, RESOURCES EBS STAFF

Both Gallatin and Madison county’s election days are on Nov. 7.

Important Information for Madison County In-person voting times for election day run from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. at polling locations. Find polling places for each precinct, assigned precinct and can check their voter registration at madisoncountymt.gov/160/Polling-Places Important Dates for Gallatin County On Sept. 15, Gallatin County residents received confirmation of their updated precincts as of July 2023. This information will guide voters on their polling location and can be found at: gallatincomt.virtualtownhall.net/ elections-department Oct. 20 Absentee ballots are mailed.

Oct. 27 Registered voters should have received their absentee ballots. Did you not receive a ballot? Contact the County Elections Office at (406) 582-3060.

Oct. 31 Deadline to mail in ballots. After Halloween, voters will need to drop their ballots off at the County Elections Office at 311 W Main St, #210, Bozeman, MT 59715 Nov. 7 Election Day. All ballots should be turned into the County Elections office by 8 p.m.

RUSH HOUR: LITTLE COYOTE TRAFFIC SIGNAL DELAYED TWO WEEKS, WORK NEARLY COMPLETE EBS STAFF

Recent communications from TIGER grant project representatives stated that the new stoplight on Montana Highway 64 (Lone Mountain Trail) at Little Coyote Road would be activated on Thursday, Oct. 12. However, electrical service delays involving NorthWestern Energy have postponed that activation by about two weeks, now anticipated for Oct. 25.

Danielle Scharf, project engineer with Sanderson Stewart, is confident the traffic light will be done this fall.

“We’re just delayed a little bit by getting the service connection in,” she told EBS. The lights will begin flashing—blinking red toward Little Coyote and yellow on Lone Mountain Trail—a few days before the light is fully activated, she explained, per MDT protocol.

“That will be kind of their best indication that it’s coming. It will flash for a few days before we go to the full operation of the signal,” Scharf added.

The final touches of this year’s construction season include planting trees and shrubs around the pedestrian tunnel and installing signs and shiny delineators along Highway 64.

Work will resume as originally scheduled in May 2024. Only one project was not started or completed this summer: upgrades near the intersection with U.S. Highway 191, including extended curb and gutter, installation of paved bus pull-outs and pullouts for wildlife viewing.

VOLLEYBALL: SENIORS HONORED AT FINAL HOME MATCH EBS STAFF

On Saturday, Oct. 7, the Lone Peak High School Big Horns played their final home match of the season against Manhattan High School. Before the match, the home crowd celebrated five seniors: Vera Grabow, Dylan Klein, Greta McClain, Ella Meredith and Emerson Tatom.

Head coach Bailey Dowd read a statement to personally thank her seniors for their dedication to the team, which she called “the hardest working group of girls that I have ever coached.” She said it’s been a joy coaching each of them through all of their careers, and highlighted the team’s playoff push in 2022— the winningest season in program history, Dowd said.

Assistant coach Brian Dowd, Bailey’s father, added that while the season did not go as well as anybody hoped in terms of wins and losses, “every single day they showed up, they worked hard, no complaining… these girls are true leaders.”

The Big Horns did not win their senior night match. As they have during numerous matches this season, they lost the first two games, but showed resilience and won the next two. Saturday’s best-of-five match advanced to five games, but the Big Horns fell in the shortened, winner-take-all fifth game.

“I’m incredibly proud of the way our team played,” coach Bailey Dowd wrote to EBS. “ We did everything we needed to do and showed great improvement from the last time we played them.”

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SINCE ‘73: HANNAH JOHANSEN

AN AIDE TO CHET HUNTLEY, MOTHER OF TWO, BACKCOUNTRY ADVENTURER AND LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER, JOHANSEN REFLECTS ON 50 YEARS IN THE PLACE SHE COULD NEVER LEAVE.

BY MARIO CARR EBS CONTRIBUTOR

BIG SKY—When Hannah Johansen and her family came to Big Sky in 1973 they were living in a teepee and drinking water from the Gallatin River.

In a 1987 letter to her family, Johansen wrote, “I just returned from a sweat down at the river. I let the fire build up to the point of near intolerability, and then I whisked myself down into the river before my feet got too cold in the snow… We all have ceremonies of sorts. I guess the Gallatin River is mine. When [our family] used to live down there so many years ago, I would often sit by the Gallatin River, and marvel at the fact that no matter what happened in our lives, the river kept on flowing, the seasons kept on coming. Somehow this sense of continuity has always given me comfort.”

Johansen’s children were two and four years old when the family moved here, and from the moment she saw Lone Mountain, she never let the challenges of early Big Sky living take her away from this place that she loved. After two years in the teepee, her family moved to a oneroom cabin on the same property. She and her husband continued to use the teepee as their bedroom in order to have their own space as their children grew.

Johansen and her grandchildren. COURTESY OF HANNAH JOHANSEN

Throughout the last 40 years, Johansen has also taught yoga. She continues to teach; she’s been leading 6:30 a.m. classes at Lone Mountain Ranch this fall. Now 84, Johansen is currently in search of another part-time job to help with the cost of living in Big Sky.

She’s moved from place to place as often as needed, but Johansen has always done everything she could to keep her roots planted in Big Sky. One of the moves along the way included renting a room from a woman who had a hot tub in the entryway of her home; a woman who also believed that hot tubs were meant to be used in the nude.

Johansen opened Alpenglow Spa next door to the Sky Spirits liquor store in 1974, and soon after, she opened a location at the ski resort. For nearly two decades, she had these locations before her business became Alpenglow Traveling Spa. Then for more than two decades, she and her fellow massage therapists traveled to people’s homes, and even out into the backcountry to provide massages for groups camping in the wilderness. Less than two years ago, Johansen handed the business off to one of her therapists.

Johansen spent meaningful time with Chet Huntley in the final year of his life. He sought her out to be his secretary when he heard that she was the sign girl working construction on the highway that knew shorthand. Huntley and Johansen shared an attitude toward Big Sky and the area’s healing power.

Early residents like Johansen are first-hand witnesses to Chet Huntley’s vision for Big Sky and she still gets teary-eyed today when talking about that dream.

COURTESY OF HANNAH JOHANSEN

About a decade after meeting Chet Huntley, Johansen wrote a “new year” letter to her family at the beginning of 1985. She had this to say about her life in Big Sky: “I feel that living/running businesses in a ski resort puts us in a world a bit unique from most of your worlds out there. It’s a life that I think we all love, but it does take its toll at times. Most especially at Christmas time. Once November rolls around, the activity of preparing for the ‘winter season’ begins to take precedence, and by mid-December the snowball has already begun its careening course down the mountain side, its pace ever quickening, its size ever enlarging, until BANG, it comes to a jolting stop around the 2nd of January. I think the sudden CEASE of activity is as difficult an adjustment as the dizzying activity that precedes it.”

Johansen held onto her license plates over the years. PHOTO BY MARIO CARR

‘You can’t stop change, nothing stays the same.’

Johansen’s two children went through Ophir Middle School, and took the bus to Bozeman for high school. She said that her son had at one point calculated the many thousands of miles that he had ridden that bus throughout his high school days.

Johansen is very grateful to have raised her children

9 October 19 - November 1, 2023

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in Big Sky, and she cherishes the memories of the unique experiences they had growing up, including tracking their mother for miles by her tracks in the snow while she was guiding a visitor through town, cross-country skiing under the full moon with pancakes for dinner at midnight and skipping school the next day, witnessing the solar eclipse of 1979 and even bouncing on a dead, bloated elk like a trampoline.

Johansen looks back at the beginning days of Big Sky with fondness. One of her favorite memories of the young community was the community potluck dinners at Lone Mountain Ranch. She laughs, remembering visits with friends to Buck’s T-4 to cash their checks when there was no bank in the town. Johansen explained that at that time, Buck’s T-4 was more than a bar and a bank, it was also the town’s “living room.” They earned their paycheck, and proceeded to collect their cash and spend it at the same bar, she said.

Johansen appreciates today’s community events, like Music in the Mountains and the Big Sky Farmers Market, that are free to the public and help promote a culture of connection. However, she is concerned by how expensive she believes local activities and events have become, and the rising overall cost of living. Johansen finds herself in the middle of a division she sees forming in the community.

“There’s still this separation between the workers and the wealthy… I’m retired and we’re building for our workforce but I’m not really a [member of the] workforce, I am somebody who has had my own businesses,” Johansen explained.

Johansen has concerns for the environment and the community that inhabits it, and these concerns are connected to how she believes we ought to be measuring our wealth. While there’s nothing wrong with having wealth, she said, she’s troubled by how it is being expressed in Big Sky. Johansen compared the construction of new mansions in the area to kindergarteners competing with each other in a sandbox on the playground; however, these mansions are not just sand castles, they are large projects that consume large amounts of energy and water, she explained. She feels blessed to be a part of this community in this beautiful place, but desires that rather than simply feeling blessed by the natural beauty, individuals would seek to be a blessing to the people and nature around them.

“To me, wealth is: are you friendly? Are you honest?

Do you pay your dues?” she explained.

Johansen skiing in the 1980s. COURTESY OF HANNAH JOHANSEN

When asked about what some people may call the “good old days” of Big Sky, Johansen was sure to point out, “These are good days too… and you can’t stop change, nothing stays the same.”

When Johansen owned a spa at the ski resort, she and her massage therapists could ski for free. With walkie talkies they would ski as long as they could before their next appointment. She skied that way for 18 years while she was still able to lease a space at the resort.

“So I skied a long time and then I had a major accident skiing like all of us who have had knee problems,” Johansen recalled. “I belong to the group that hurts their knees when they’re skiing… ACL! It’s part of the business.”

Over the years, Johansen continued to get out on the snow, going out into Yellowstone National Park to backcountry ski, always making sure to have three people in the days before cell phones and the internet.

“If somebody got hurt, somebody could stay with them, and somebody else can get help,” she explained.

Johansen’s favorite part about the backcountry was breaking trail—as a Big Sky community member, the tracks she was setting in her life would be set for the next generation. She and her kids would climb Lone Mountain each summer, and year after year, she even noticed how the shale of the mountain was getting more and more broken up along the trail. It was one of the smaller but more thought-provoking changes among the countless more that have occurred in the last half century.

Hannah Johansen, a Big Sky resident since 1973, enjoys a trip to the Battle Ridge Forest Service cabin in April 2021. COURTESY OF HANNAH JOHANSEN

Commitment to a place From teepee life, to cabin life, to condo life, Johansen found herself at Allgood’s Bar in the

early 1990s, reading about a house that she was convinced she would buy. Johansen had made up her mind—she was dedicated to living in Big Sky. “So I made an appointment to see it and when I walked in, I knew it was my house,” she said.

Around the year 2000, Johansen slipped on a mound of ice created by heated sidewalks outside the studio where she was teaching yoga. She suffered a traumatic head and neck injury that still sends shocking pains down the left side of her body.

This difficult time didn’t stop Johansen from seeing beauty. One of her yoga students recommended a specialist at the University of Washington hospital.

After discovering the benefits of Ayurvedic medicine for her injury, she began regularly traveling to India. There she would buy handmade artisan work to bring back home and sell at the farmers market in Big Sky. After talking about how Big Sky has changed and how many people have come and gone, Johansen explained why she feels she’s never been able to leave.

“Why don’t I move away? It’d be really easy to move away,” she said. “But there’s something—I don’t know what it is. I think it goes back to before I even knew about Big Sky.” She remembers declaring that she’d move to Big Sky one day, and tried her best to explain why: Johansen described her love for Mother Nature, and how this inexplicably powerful source of attraction was the force that brought her to Big Sky, and since kept her here. The vision of Big Sky living that she shared with Chet Huntley has become reality through the past 50 years of her life, and she’s not planning on leaving any time soon.

FUTURE OF TOURISM — COMMUNITY SUMMIT — Join your fellow community members and industry professionals to envision the future of tourism in Big Sky.

NETWORKING EVENT Tues., Oct. 24, 4-6 p.m.

COMMUNITY SUMMIT

Wed., Oct. 25, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Visit Big Sky is creating a destination strategy to improve the tourism experience for visitors and residents alike. Join us for a dynamic networking event and full day summit to imagine our shared future.

TOGETHER WE WILL • Create a shared vision of success • Explore future tourism scenarios • Learn from proven practices in other destinations

• Identify strategies to improve the visitor experience while protecting a sense of place • Develop strong connections with others in the tourism economy

REGISTER TODAY www.visitbigsky.com/tourism-industry/destination-strategy For questions, contact: Brad Niva, CEO, Visit Big Sky and Big Sky Chamber Email: info@visitbigskymt.com

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INSIDE LOOK AT SCHOOL DISTRICT’S NEW STEAM BUILDING LONE PEAK HIGH SCHOOL HOLDS OPEN HOUSE AT NEW FACILITY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ARTS AND MATHEMATICS

BY JACK REANEY BIG SKY—Even teachers are learning some of the new equipment inside the science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics—or “STEAM”—building that opened in September at the Big Sky School District.

Approved by voters in 2020, the $23.5 million facility includes the new front door to Lone Peak High School and expands the school district’s career-oriented offerings. Tied into Lone Peak’s International Baccalaureate program, sixth-to-tenth grade students can sample design technology, art and theater before specializing in one of those elective programs as high school juniors and seniors.

On Sept. 29, the school district opened the new STEAM building to the public. School District Superintendent Dustin Shipman gave a brief speech to those in attendance. In Lone Peak High School’s 14 years, he said, there has been no comparable facility to allow this type of hands-on education for students.

The STEAM building’s main hallway connects to Lone Peak High School. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

whatever shape we want,” Blessing said, showing off a computer numerical control (CNC) milling machine. He held up a small aluminum block milled into a lego shape, designed in CAD by a seventh-grade student.

“We want them to be able to work with tools, seek out their passions and discover the many ways they can live their lives outside of the classroom and outside of Big Sky,” Shipman said.

“You go from design to machining, all in the same software. Right now the kids are in the design phase, but they’ll learn how to use the machine, too,” he said. Right next to the milling machine, Blessing pointed to a metal lathe for carving aluminum into cylindrical shapes.

Dr. Shipman recognized leadership by school district trustees, Principal Marlo Mitchem and a few teachers for pushing to make the new facility possible.

“At the end of the day, I’d love to take credit for this facility, but I can’t… Something like this is a testament to a community that has the courage to dream big for our students… This is the fulfillment of a big dream, not just for us but for our students.

And I can’t be more excited about the time they’re going to spend in this facility,” Shipman said.

Andrew Blessing, technology director, played a key role in making the project possible. At the open house, he showed off the new design technology

Dr. Shipman shares a few words at the open house inside Lone Peak High School’s newest facility. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

lab—four connected rooms host video production and broadcasting, podcasting, computer-aided design (CAD), welding and pipe-cutting, metalworking and woodworking.

“So we can take up to 18 inch-by-18 inch blocks of aluminum, and basically carve them into

Both milling and lathe machines “are, like, the industry standards. Kids who come in here and learn these skills—it’s a truly marketable skill [for an] internship [or] a technical school to learn further. But honestly, they could be walking into jobs,” Blessing said. Of course, those skills extend beyond just metal work.

In his years with BSSD, Blessing has been passionate about building a program for career and technology education. He said this was a seven-year project, and he’s thrilled to see it in action. Before the STEAM building’s construction, the design technology program lacked resources.

“We had an old classroom that we had a few hand tools in. And we were trying to do our best. But this is really the first true shop that’s ever been part of this school,” he said.

And Blessing, a computer specialist and homegrown woodworker, now has access to sophisticated tools—some of which are new to him.

“The welding stuff—that’s not in anybody’s wheelhouse yet, so we’re gonna learn. ‘Cause I love learning, and these kids love learning. And if we learn together, that’s even better—as long as we’re safe, we can learn together,” Blessing said.

Blessing showed off a CNC router, which follows a CAD design to engrave wood. Students learn to ‘measure twice, cut once’ as they improve their computer design skills.

Sullivan and his silent rock band setup, all connected through a soundboard. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

“To be quite honest, it’s part of what we teach these kids,” Blessing said. “There’s a design process

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“Having the music room away from other classrooms is actually a huge upgrade to the program as well… I was limited in what I could teach. It was hard to have a band program in there, because it was loud,” Sullivan said.

He showed off the “sound isolation” practice rooms.

As he shut the door, he muffled the outside world.

“It’s like an airpod, you know?” he said. “On top of that, students can record directly what they’re playing—they can hook up their computer and record in the room.”

On the wall, a small AV panel allows for plug-ins.

Sullivan also demonstrated the settings available.

“So if I want to practice what it’s like to play the national anthem in the gym, I’ll go to the ‘Arena’ setting,” Sullivan said, and with the touch of a button, his voice took on a virtual echo in the closet-sized room. “So you can kind of get used to what different spaces will feel like before a performance.”

Riley (left) discusses her new art classroom. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

iterating the design. We have a lot of failures, and then we learn from our mistakes, and we change settings, and we try again, right? Nothing goes the first time.”

He demonstrates school projects on his instructional YouTube channel, and students can review his step-by-step instruction videos on the TV in the woodshop. In one video, Blessing demonstrated the CNC router, a final decorative step in a recent student project involving various woodworking skills to construct a wooden box.

As part of the design technology program, students can learn how to create instructional videos of their own.

“We’re just having fun, we’re trying to teach them to take a risk and not take yourself too seriously when you’re doing stuff like [making] those videos,” he said.

Once things are running smoothly, Blessing also envisions programs open to adults to take advantage of the school’s new shop toys.

“We want to open this to the community,” he said.

An art teacher’s dream Art Director Kate Riley said the new STEAM facility will help level-up Lone Peak’s art programs.

He said music students have never had private space for self-directive learning, partner work and extra practice outside of class time. The students can also learn and practice computer software for digital music production.

The new facility is attached to Lone Peak High School. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

Riley said Lone Peak’s International Baccalaureate program is special because it allows any willing students to build an art portfolio.

“That’s pretty huge for a lot of kids, especially if you’re not an athlete—it opens a lot of doors,” she said.

Space for the sound of music For music teacher Tim Sullivan, the biggest upgrade is space. He now has equipment storage, sound-proof practice rooms and a small production

With more storage, more classroom space and better sound control, Sullivan is excited to expand the marching band program.

“Now that we have this space, we’re going to be able to get kids on [wind] instruments and really playing more confidently,” he said.

Sullivan showed a rock band practice setup, where a drummer, guitarists and keyboard player could plug into a central soundboard and jam quietly, hearing each other through headphones.

“It just feels more like a music room,” he said. “I just want to express my gratitude for being in a district that supports the arts program as much as they do.

A community that values music and the arts, and it shows with the care and effort that was put into this place.”

“This is really a college-level art space, just a beautiful studio for our students to be creating in…

It’s kind of a dream. You know, everything in this space is what an art teacher could dream of,” Riley said.

She pointed out new resources for the program: an “incredible” darkroom, a ceramics room, “highend” paper storage, adjustable-height desks for drawing and painting. The new design technology computer lab doubles as a studio for editing digital photography.

“We’ve had photography before, but we have not been able to launch in a full digital lab before, so that’s gonna be pretty amazing,” Riley said.

She added that the old art room was really dark, but pointed outside at “incredible light” shining through windows on two sides of the new classroom.

“I just think we’re very fortunate,” she said. “I think our students are getting to understand what a privilege it is to work in such a beautiful space.

And I think that ability to create bigger pieces of artwork is gonna be pretty profound for our kids.”

Blessing displays some early work done on the new CNC router. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

14 October 19 - November 1, 2023

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INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS HIGHLIGHT JOINT COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MDT ENGAGES ON HIGHWAY 191, BSFD CONSIDERS SPANISH PEAKS FIRE STATION, PARTIES APPROVE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND BSRAD DISCUSSES BIG SKY ROADMAP

BY JACK REANEY BIG SKY—Some large public costs and their longerterm benefits were discussed during the MadisonGallatin Joint County Commission meeting on Oct. 4, with topics that included road improvements, fire safety, parks and trails and housing—and the possible funding strategies to chip away at the associated $777 million in recommended investments by 2033.

That $777 million was outlined in the Big Sky Community Capital Improvement Plan, a document approved at the joint county commission meeting by the Big Sky Resort Area District and Madison and Gallatin county commissioners.

Colin McAweeney, the fiscal/economic analyst who presented the CIP to the BSRAD board on Sept. 13, repeated his presentation to the county commissioners.

One significant change: the draft from September outlined $741 million in needs, but by October, that number had grown to $777 million—the recreation and conservation category increased by $35.6 million.

This CIP is the first compiled for Big Sky since 2011, and was expanded to include Big Sky’s entire service area. McAweeney summarized the types of ten-year needs outlined in the CIP as one-time costs associated with currents needs and expected growth, such as parks, fire stations and utilities, but not ongoing operational costs.

He later added, “This doesn’t represent BSRAD, or the county, or really the community’s commitment to these dollars… But rather it is a guiding document.”

BSRAD ‘broadcasting moves’ on Big Sky Roadmap BSRAD Executive Director Daniel Bierschwale spoke about the Big Sky Roadmap, a plan published in May to improve infrastructure investment, funding and voter representation in Big Sky. Because that plan includes realignment of school, library and hospital district boundaries—Big Sky’s Madison County residents pay taxes supporting those respective districts in Ennis—Bierschwale emphasized that BSRAD wants to align with the needs of both counties, while also looking out for Big Sky’s recommended $777 million infrastructure investment.

As more resort tax revenue is used to fund infrastructure investments, Bierschwale added that it will be critical for BSRAD to continue funding its local nonprofit partners.

“I just want to fully broadcast what our moves are, here as a community, and how we’re looking at attempting some pretty challenging investment hurdles,” he told the commissioners.

He explained that there’s a long history of Madison County’s special purpose districts taxing Big Sky residents for inaccessible services.

“The [Big Sky] community is taking action, we are broadcasting our moves, taking action to begin to realign those taxing districts. Hospital district being one, school district being another, library district being a third.”

Bierschwale reiterated that the topics outlined in the Big Sky Roadmap are “extremely complicated,” and that BSRAD wishes to collaborate with both counties to find mutually beneficial solutions.

If easier measures don’t work, Bierschwale said county boundary realignment would be considered—a topic described in the Roadmap. Gallatin County commissioner Zach Brown expressed surprise, but

Bierschwale said county realignment is only a possibility, not a current focus.

further development between the canyon and Gallatin Gateway… Anybody could have seen this coming.”

Context-sensitive approach to 191: ‘something different than what MDT has ever done’

She added, “12 to 18 months is just too far away for many of the problems that we already have. What is your plan for action?”

Dave Gates, district preconstruction engineer with Montana Department of Transportation, explained an unprecedented “optimization plan” for U.S. Highway 191 between Four Corners and Big Sky. “I think the big focus that I want you to know is MDT completed a corridor study in 2020, on 191,” Gates told the joint county commission. “And the needs in the corridor study far outpaced what funding we have available to address those needs in a reasonable planning horizon.

“So we’ve embarked on this optimization plan as something different than what MDT has ever done, to help us identify project priorities and establish relationships between local agencies and other stakeholders that we can collaborate together with,” Gates said.

Tim Erickson, a transportation engineer with HDR— the engineering firm contracted by MDT—said the optimization plan is intended to clarify which projects, in which order, will make the most impact on U.S. Highway 191 and Montana Highway 64.

“We’re really jumping into [the first phase] of the project,” Erickson said. “That’s all about the focus on collaboration and identifying what those needs are, from various stakeholders.”

Current priorities include Gallatin Gateway, the curved bridge beside the Lava Lake trailhead, and the intersection of 191 and 64 in Big Sky. Gates added, “MDT leadership has visited with stakeholders up here in Big Sky over the summer on numerous occasions. I just want to emphasize that we have support from leadership at Montana Department of Transportation to help partner and come up with solutions, and we certainly appreciate that partnership.”

HDR representative Spencer Dodge explained that the optimization plan will employ a “context-sensitive solution process” to collect feedback and address community interests.

“Really making sure that the folks that do know this corridor best are kind of putting their heads together and saying, this is a priority for us, so we want to go about it that way,” Dodge said.

Gates responded by reiterating that MDT’s statewide needs outpace this project several times to one and the key challenge is to leverage funding opportunities.

He added, “I want to be clear that our goals for improvements on 191 are not specifically to add additional [traffic] capacity, as much as it is to find opportunities to improve safety or mobility. And I know a lot of folks hate to hear this, but I have to say it: building a good road takes time. And there’s a lot of collaboration and challenges associated with… [developing] the right project at the right time.”

To execute the right project, Gates said the optimization study intends to unify stakeholders, one being the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, which recently released a report on wildlife habitat connectivity and the same section of highway 191.

MDT and HDR will provide further public engagement opportunities in the coming months.

BSFD considers third fire station in Spanish Peaks area With Big Sky’s wildfire risk, long response times and high homeowners’ insurance rates pose a growing challenge.

Dustin Tetrault, deputy fire chief for the Big Sky Fire Department, presented on a potential fire station in the general area of the Spanish Peaks Mountain Club.

Tetrault explained that based on current standards, a third station would improve access to homeowners’ insurance for homes in that area. The station would be public and run by the Big Sky Fire Department.

Tetrault said a Spanish Peaks fire station has been in discussion since 2017. In 2020, BSFD agreed on a public-private funding partnership with Lone Mountain Land Company, he said.

The current cost estimate is about $14 million. Tetrault said it could be funded by a rural improvement district, which would localize the tax burden to property owners in a specified area near the potential station.

“This is the very first [RID] that’s ever been done in the state of Montana for a fire station,” Tetrault said.

Gates said awareness of local needs will be important.

“It seems like any time we do anything on 191, whether that’s fix a piece of guardrail, or there’s an accident that needs to be cleared, it translates into significant delay issues up and down. That is one of the primary focuses of what this effort is—develop the stakeholder relationships and partnerships so we can communicate with each other about schedules and anticipated impacts, with the hope of being able to work around them,” Gates said.

“But it is very clear that it is allowable,” he added.

One local business owner asked about the possibility of construction being done at night, and Gates said that’s a consideration.

Commissioner Brown voiced a concern: what if insurance companies eventually decide the new fire station isn’t enough?

One Gallatin Gateway community member’s public comment criticized MDT for being reactive rather than proactive with regards to the state’s 191 corridor study, as she interpreted the findings: “there’s too much traffic on this stretch of highway, it’s too dangerous, speeds are too fast, and that the local residents strongly oppose any

Brown suggested that the fire department “make sure that there’s an understanding that in that scenario, property owners would still be on the hook to repay bonds and wouldn’t necessarily be utilizing any cost saving scenario we’re talking about. I think the writing’s on the wall for the direction this is going nationally…

Despite the millions of dollars in infrastructure cost, Tetrault said the insurance savings could outweigh the increase in taxes resulting in average savings of 76%.

“So this is one that we feel really strongly about,” Tetrault said. “We’re making the right decision, we’ve done our research. And the numbers really don’t lie on this.”

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It’s not guaranteed to provide the windfall insurance premium savings that are anticipated in your assumption.”

Tetrault said the fire station is having similar conversations every day with developers and community members.

We have it all.

“This is an issue, and it’s not—we don’t have a 100% answer for it,” Tetrault said.

Big Sky adds 4.6% of state GDP BSRAD and the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce commissioned a study on Big Sky’s economic impact. Jackie Haines, executive director of the Northern Rocky Mountain Economic Development District, presented an overview of the study, which should be completed before local chairlifts spin.

One key finding: Big Sky is responsible for about 4.6% of economic activity in Montana.

The analysis shows that Big Sky has 810 registered businesses employing 15,748 workers, with 7,408 working within BSRAD and 4,322 on a seasonal basis. Census data estimates that 74% of Big Sky’s workforce does not live in the resort area district and showed that Big Sky’s population grew 176% between 2010 and 2020—current census data does not include growth during COVID.

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Haines urged Big Sky residents to continue filling out community surveys, as “data specific to your community is challenging due to your unincorporated status,” she said.

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Based on economic data available through resort tax collections and chamber of commerce metrics, Haines reported the total impact of two largest categories: private construction and visitor spending.

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The impact of private construction totals roughly $1.2 billion. “So it’s really large the economic impact that construction has on this community,” Haines said. She suggested that investing in infrastructure will help the community sustain itself when private construction eventually tapers off.

Visitor spending within BSRAD accounts for about $705 million.

Big Sky’s total GDP is estimated at $2.2 billion, with about $1.2 billion of that staying locally and impacting 26,000 jobs, Haines said.

Montana’s statewide GDP is about $49 billion, meaning that Big Sky accounts for

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16 October 19 - November 1, 2023

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OPHIR EIGHTH-GRADER RECOGNIZED AS NATIONAL YOUNG SCHOLAR IN COHORT OF 43 Scholars program. I know he will capitalize on this opportunity,” Dr. Mitchem wrote in an email to EBS.

BY JEN CLANCEY BIG SKY—After workshopping, editing essays, interviewing during the summer months and awaiting a decision, Gabi Tinoco received an email from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation in September, learning he was one of the 43 students selected out of 800 applicants for the Cooke Young Scholars program.

Tinoco is an eighth grade student at Ophir Middle School and has attended Big Sky schools his entire life. The Cooke Young Scholars program is described on the foundation’s website as “a selective five-year, pre-college scholarship for highperforming 7th grade students.”

The program will connect Tinoco with “comprehensive academic and college advising, as well as financial support for school, Cookesponsored summer programs, internships, and other learning enrichment opportunities.”

Big Sky teachers helped workshop Tinoco’s essays to support his application process. “I’d just like to thank Ms. Rowley, Ms. Martinez and my teachers at school and the school in general for helping me with the application and everything else,” Tinoco told EBS in an interview.

In an essay for his application, Tinoco highlighted his hobby of origami—folding structures that resemble elk and scorpions.

In the classroom, Dr. Mitchem noted his skills in “academic and analytical” thinking.

When he spoke with EBS, Tinoco had just come from an online meeting with the entire cohort of young scholars and a second meeting where all current Hispanic young scholars offered advice on navigating and taking advantage of the program.

Gabi is an eighth grade student at Ophir Middle School. PHOTO BY JEN CLANCEY

“A couple years back, I was trying to fold this really complicated tarantula, and I tried to have it by the end of the summer, because I was really, really into origami,” Tinoco said about the lesson learned from the practice. “And I was just trying and I wasn’t able to. I was kind of rushing to do it but the point was that I had to slowly reach my goals. I can’t rush that.”

Outside of origami, Tinoco likes to ski, paint and draw.

Principal Marlo Mitchem was excited when she heard the news about Tinoco’s achievement. “I am thrilled Gabi was chosen for the Cooke Young

With the award, Tinoco can explore academic and extracurricular experiences like music and art lessons or supplemental academic classes.

Samantha Suazo, from Lone Peak High School’s class of 2022, was the first young student from Big Sky to be chosen by the organization; she won a four-year college scholarship. She is in her second year at Yale University.

Goals for the near future Tinoco described his interest in writing and painting more. He also has some big plans for his next collection of origami: large mammals.

“I’ve been making my own paper and coloring it,” Tinoco said. “I want to focus on mammals. I saw a really cool elephant, and I want to [construct] big mammals.”

Tinoco finished the interview by thanking teachers and the school for supporting him as he applied.

The tarantula posed challenges for Tinoco, but he eventually completed it. PHOTO COURTESY OF GABI TINOCO

Tinoco’s origami collection includes colorful insects and mammals. PHOTO COURTESY OF GABI TINOCO

Photo of an origami elk. PHOTO COURTESY OF GABI TINOCO

17 October 19 - November 1, 2023

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FOR CARS AND CRITTERS: CLLC TO TALK WITH BIG SKY ABOUT IMPROVING 191 ON OCT. 23 AT WMPAC, CLLC WILL PRESENT PLANS TO IMPROVE WILDLIFE MOVEMENT AND REDUCE VEHICLE COLLISIONS

“So doing a smaller project like [a] retrofit of an existing structure, maybe adding a little fencing to those, that’s something that could happen in the near term. Whereas something like building a new overpass for wildlife, that’s a many-year proposition,” Fairbank explained.

BY JACK REANEY BIG SKY—Next week, Big Sky will be the first of three communities visited by regional leaders working to improve U.S. Highway 191 for wildlife and vehicles between Four Corners and West Yellowstone.

She said a few bridges need to replaced anyway, such as Spanish Creek, although that replacement has no defined timeline yet. CLLC is working with MDT to find out what the additional cost would be to build a new bridge in a way that facilitates wildlife movement by increasing vertical clearance below.

Last month, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation and Montana State University’s Western Transportation Institute released a study with recommendations to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve wildlife habitat connectivity on 191, and Montana Highway 64 (Lone Mountain Trail) in Big Sky.

The series of one-time community information sessions are intended to provide information, set expectations and inform communities about how they can stay involved.

On Monday, Oct. 23 from 5:45 to 7 p.m., CLLC and WTI will host a “Community Information Session” at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center in Big Sky. Similar events are scheduled in Gallatin Gateway on Nov. 9 and West Yellowstone on Nov. 15.

“Together with elected officials and public agencies, area communities will determine how to act on the assessment’s findings. If they choose to pursue wildlife accommodation measures, they could apply for federal funding through various programs, including the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, a competitive grant program continuing through fiscal year 2026,” a Sept. 28 press release stated.

“This is our first chance to get all the findings from the assessment out to the people... Letting people know what our next steps are, and what our process is going to look like over the next few months, and likely, really, over the next few years,” Fairbank said.

COURTESY OF CENTER FOR LARGE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION

Fairbank said that when a specific project is formally proposed, the public can help by writing letters of support or committing other types of support.

The US-191/MT-64 Wildlife & Transportation Assessment is summarized in two pages and also available online in 164-page detail. The report outlines 11 “priority sites” for projects to improve driver and wildlife safety, such as wildlife overpasses and underpasses, culverts, animal detection systems, traffic-calming measures and fencing.

One key finding—using data from a study conducted

by Montana Department of Transportation—shows that between Big Sky and Four Corners, wild animals are involved in 24% of all reported crashes. That’s about five times the national average. At this time of year, the carnage is clear on the side of the highway and it’s costly to both vehicle owners and sensitive wildlife populations.

EBS spoke with Liz Fairbank, road ecologist with CLLC, about the upcoming meetings. Fairbank said this process has been ongoing since 2021, and she described this stage as the kickoff as CLLC finally brings this report to Big Sky, Gallatin Gateway and West Yellowstone.

‘Many-year’ projects versus ‘low-hanging fruit’ The objective driving every stage of the process is to reduce vehicle-wildlife collisions and improve or maintain habitat connectivity for wildlife. Since releasing the report on Sept. 28, CLLC has been getting “really awesome feedback” from excited community members, Fairbank said.

“We know there’s a lot of people that have been concerned, especially in places like Gateway, about all of the wildlife-vehicle collisions and issues,” Fairbank said.

She added, however, that a big challenge will be managing expectations—infrastructure work moves at a “pretty glacial pace,” she said. It’s a frustrating reality for the CLLC and other agency partners.

“The hardest thing right now is gonna be that, you know, none of this stuff is gonna happen tomorrow,”

She added, “Ultimately, these projects aren’t going to move forward if there’s not support for them.”

“A lot of the federal funding programs require a 20% match. And right now, MDT—to my knowledge— doesn’t have a pot of money set aside to come up with a match. So I think there will ultimately be a big need for public-private partnerships to implement these projects, from a funding perspective,” she said.

CLLC and its agency partners measure a culvert underneath U.S. Highway 191. COURTESY OF CENTER FOR LARGE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION

Fairbank said. Fundraising and engineering feasibility studies still lie ahead.

To keep the community motivated, however, Fairbank pointed out two ways to make an impact now.

First, for community members wishing to share feedback on U.S. Highway 191, Fairbank suggested formal public comment to Montana Department of Transportation on the website for its recently announced 191 Optimization Plan. Wildliferelated improvements will be included in MDT’s optimization plan, she said.

Second, community members can also sign up for a 191-focused CLLC email newsletter to stay engaged.

“People can also feel free to just email us directly with any questions or comments on concerns,” Fairbank added, mentioning a “contact us” page on CLLC’s website.

It won’t all happen overnight, but Fairbank pointed out some “low-hanging fruit” on the horizon.

For example, a couple bridges could be reconfigured to provide pathways for wildlife to move underneath.

Fairbank said CLLC has been making initial outreach to some organizations. She added that this study was already funded by Big Sky Resort Area District, Yellowstone Club Community Foundation, Moonlight Basin Community Foundation, and others. She hopes that support will continue down the road.

Fairbank reiterated the need for patience.

“I know it’s hard, but I think the main message that I hope people can get right now is that it’s going to take time and there’s a lot of behind the scenes work that needs to happen to get to the point where we’re really ready to implement projects,” she said.

Although too late to meet this November’s application deadline for Montana Wildlife and Transportation Partnership funding, another chance will arise in the spring, Fairbank explained.

With funding, the next step will be an engineering feasibility study. If a project makes it through those phases, the earliest time frame to apply for federal funding would be 2025—that might be only one or two projects, Fairbank said.

Most of the top priority sites identified by CLLC are between Gallatin Gateway and just south of Big Sky. Those are areas with highest traffic volumes and most conflict between wildlife movement and traffic, Fairbank explained.

Possible solutions for those areas will be detailed at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center on Oct. 23 at the free public engagement event.

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RUDY MAKING ‘FULL RECOVERY’ AFTER GRIZZLY ATTACK

FIVE WEEKS AFTER A DEVASTATING GRIZZLY ATTACK, RUDY NOORLANDER WILL SOON RETURN TO THE COMMUNITY him at the hospital. Rudy made a frustrated gesture. He wants to go home.

BY JACK REANEY SALT LAKE CITY—After a grizzly attack threatened Rudy Noorlander’s life on Sept. 8 on a trail south of Big Sky, he underwent emergency surgery in Bozeman and was flown to the University of Utah Hospital where he has continued his care since.

“He’s gonna go back and do whatever he wants in the backcountry of Montana… He’s going to make a full recovery and be back to himself,” McCrary said.

‘Keep on fighting’ KateLynn said Rudy might try to attend Cat-Griz on Nov. 18 in Missoula. The 122-year-old annual football tradition, also called “Brawl of the Wild,” is no small deal for Rudy, an avid fan of the Montana State University Bobcats football program.

Through five tribulating weeks, he kept his spirits high with hopes of a full recovery. Finally, Rudy’s time in the hospital is coming to an end.

On Friday, Oct. 13, Rudy and his daughters Ashley Noorlander and KateLynn Davis held a press conference at the hospital in Utah. Joining Rudy and his daughters was Dr. Hilary McCrary, the surgeon and head and neck specialist who helped reconstruct Rudy’s dismembered jaw. The press conference was held in-person and via Zoom.

“He’s developed a whole new hatred toward the University of Montana Grizzlies,” KateLynn said.

COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH

“Hello,” Rudy said after sitting down in the press conference. His voice is muffled through a surgically reconstructed jaw, now including bone from of his fibula.

“His biggest fear is that he’s going to choke on his own blood and spit, so that scares him a little bit,” KateLynn said, relaying her father’s dry-erase message.

Rudy wiped tears as he and his daughters faced the cameras in front of a red banner covered with University of Utah Health logos.

After being asked what gives him motivation and hope, he wrote, “family + life.”

Rudy was rushed to the Salt Lake City hospital exactly five weeks earlier. On Oct. 13, his grandchildren saw him for the first time since the accident. Rudy’s Yorkshire terrier, Sully, has been at home, waiting anxiously at the fence ever since last seeing his best friend on Sept. 8.

“My job proves that most people are good and I can’t wait to get back to it,” Rudy wrote.

“I will win round #2,” he added. Yes, he’s joking about a second bear encounter.

“We’re just super happy that he’s here. He’s the strongest person I know,” Ashley said, highlighting her supportive, loving and good-humored dad.

“It’s gonna be fun to get him back out snowmobiling soon,” she added. Rudy has been saying his goal is to "brap" by December.

Rudy snowmobiling in the Buck Ridge area. COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH

Rudy also saw four older hikers on the same trail that day, and he says he’s glad it was him and not somebody else.

KateLynn added that he’s been walking since the third day of recovery, and as Rudy then showed by imitating a running motion, he’s been racing people in the hallways.

Dr. McCrary said this is the first grizzly attack she’s worked on. She specializes in head and neck surgeries, often treating cancer patients.

Rudy and his daughters Ashley (not pictured) and KateLynn spoke during a press conference at the University of Utah Hospital on Oct. 13. SCREENSHOT FROM LIVE STREAM

“Truthfully, this specific injury was new to me. But his injury pattern… was something we’d commonly see for our head/neck cancer patients,” she said. “But yes, this is a first.”

“As you can imagine, recovering from one of these surgeries is a long and arduous process,” McCrary said.

“We are working on getting him eating, and maybe if we’re really lucky we’ll have a root beer float waiting in the room. We’ll see.”

The primary surgery lasted 10 hours, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

“The fact that we’ve healed enough to get to today, is pretty remarkable,” KateLynn said.

“He just didn’t have time,” KateLynn said. “Yeah. He’s seen bears four out of the last five years when he’s gone up [that trail]. So it’s pretty frequent now. But I do think having people with him is part of what saved him.”

“That first root beer float is going to be amazing,” Rudy wrote. “Soon I’m going to be a free-range chicken and won’t be hooked up to anything.”

She showed a model of his lower jaw after the attack: a few teeth on each side with a gap in the middle near the chin from the attack. As is common for trauma victims and cancer patients, McCrary explained, they used a portion of his fibula bone to reconstruct his jaw.

KateLynn, on the contrary, hopes there won’t be another round.

She said Rudy was prepared—he was carrying bear spray and a gun.

After Ashley gave her opening remarks, KateLynn read a letter written by Rudy. He thanked everyone, including many strangers, for the outpouring of support in recent weeks.

“The first thing that was incredible to watch was how positive Rudy was. Even after being attacked by a grizzly bear, he was very adamant that he was going to get through it… That was very heartwarming as a physician,” Rudy’s surgeon said to a room of reporters and many more watching on Facebook and Zoom.

During the press conference—and his five weeks of recovery—Rudy kept a small whiteboard in front of him to communicate. As KateLynn and Ashley described moments of fear in the hours following the grizzly bear encounter, Rudy scribbled:

When asked why it’s important to share this story, Rudy wrote a longer message, including, “believe it or not, I believe this attack was an answer to my prayers and it could help someone else going through something similar.”

Rudy answered a question about future backcountry trips: Yes, he plans to go back into the backcountry and no, he is not afraid to go back out there, KateLynn communicated.

She said he’ll need a few “small optimization surgeries” in the future, but the bulk of his surgeries are done.

His first bear encounter was when he was 10 years old, he wrote.

As for his ability to speak, she said it’s a difficult question. His vocal cords work fine, and he’s able to vocalize when he really wants to say something. But it’s painful, for now.

Rudy wants to write a book. The Noorlanders are looking for authors, KateLynn said.

“I don’t have an exact timeline, but I promise you he’ll be speaking before you know it,” McCrary said.

The priority, she emphasized, is to get him back to hunting, snowmobiling, and everything else he likes. KateLynn explained that delays related to V.A. insurance—Rudy is a U.S. Navy veteran—are keeping

“He would like Cole Hauser from Yellowstone to play him in a movie,” she added.

Rudy had prepared a closing message, saying that some of the most incredible accomplishments in the world have been achieved by “people who kept on trying when there seems to be no hope at all.

“Even when there seems to be no hope, keep on fighting,” Rudy wrote to the world.

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22 October 19 - November 1, 2023

L O CA L

Explore Big Sky

PUBLIC SEES PROGRESS ON BIG SKY WASTEWATER FACILITY

WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT HOSTS COMMUNITY WEEK TOURS GIVING THE INSIDE SCOOP ON THE FUTURE OF WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT IN BIG SKY

PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

That bacteria will consume the remaining organic material in the water. Then, the bacteria is filtered out of the water through tiny membrane filters, where it will be reused again in new organic material-ridden water.

BY JEN CLANCEY BIG SKY—On Wednesday, Oct. 4, the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District hosted a tour of the in-progress Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility. In collaboration with Big Sky Community Week, the district held three walking tours through the $50 million facility, showing new filtration systems, basins and control rooms.

Edwards noted that the membrane filters allow for better treatment through any kind of weather.

Known as Membrane Bioreactors or MBR plants for short, there are hundreds in the country using the filtration technology that relies on biological reactions and filtration systems to further clarify water.

The new WRRF, expected to open fully in October 2024, will increase daily treatment capacity from 600,000 gallons per day to about 910,000 gallons per day. Big Sky’s wastewater will be treated to the quality standards of Montana DEQ Class A-1, allowing it to be used for irrigation, groundwater discharge and snowmaking.

“More capacity can accommodate more flow, more growth,” Ron Edwards, general manager of Big Sky’s water and sewer district, said about what the plant means for Big Sky’s future. He said WRRF construction started in the middle of 2020.

“What it does is it gets us consistently better treatment year-round,” Edwards said.

Frieling shows the area where the first phase occurs through several filtering processes. PHOTO BY JEN CLANCEY

“We’re getting into snowmaking, so the plan is to start making snow in Yellowstone Club this winter with the goal of 25 million gallons of treated water used for snowmaking,” Edwards said. “So it’s kind of a big new chapter for the Big Sky area.”

“Operators are the heart and soul of this plant for sure,” Frieling said.

An advancement for the community, by the community More than half of the facility’s funding came from a community vote in 2020 to add an additional "1% for infrastructure" resort tax.

That man-made snow is not just for fun—it’s intended to deepen the snowpack and prolong the late-summer life of aquifers charged by snowmelt.

The process has been implemented in other parts of the country since becoming legal in 2012.

Process engineer Zach Frieling with contractor AE2S led Wednesday’s 1 p.m. tour through the facility, which began in the preliminary treatment area. In that space, all trash and grit will be removed from the water through filtering, Frieling explained.

In the secondary treatment area, the water will flow to aeration tanks where warm air is added to activate organic, material-hungry bacteria.

Frieling commented on what the new facility and technologies means for operators, explaining that although some processes are automated, operators still make sure everything runs efficiently.

“The community voted to increase the resort tax from 3% to 4%,” Edwards said. “That additional 1% has been earmarked to help pay for the plants so [resort tax] contributions are going to be $27 million towards a $50 million project,” Edwards said. He said without the dedicated infrastructure tax, the water and sewer district may not have been able to increase Big Sky’s water treatment capacity and quality to the same extent.

Frieling points toward the basins where water will flow to after raw material is filtered out in the first phase. PHOTO BY JEN CLANCEY

Edwards hopes to continue connecting with the community through education and tours of the WRRF.

23 October 19 - November 1, 2023

Explore Big Sky

SPORTS

SOCCER: BIG HORNS MAKE HISTORY

BRADY JOHNSON’S HAT TRICK HIGHLIGHTS LONE PEAK’S PUSH TO FIRST STATE SEMIFINAL

BY JACK REANEY STEVENSVILLE—For the first time in the short history of Lone Peak High School soccer, the Big Horns are headed to the Montana Class A state semifinal game.

On Oct. 14, the Big Horn boys traveled to Stevensville High School for a quarterfinal matchup. It was the Big Horns’ fourth consecutive trip to the quarterfinals, but they’d yet to win on that stage. Earning a 3-2 victory over the Yellowjackets, the Big Horns will advance to the semifinal game in Whitefish on Saturday, Oct. 21 against Whitefish High School.

Head coach Tony Coppola described the unprecedented victory in an email to EBS. “The game overall was very physical and quite chippy at times,” Coppola wrote. “We were able to get on the board first and I think that helped build our confidence. Once Stevensville scored, the wind kind of went out of our sails and they were able to exploit that. Their second goal was a beautiful finish from a direct kick outside the penalty area.”

Sophomore Brady Johnson (23) scored all three goals for Lone Peak in the quarterfinal win over Stevensville. PHOTO BY DAVE PECUNIES

11 or even playing time through consistently playing well and working to improve their game.”

Coppola credits that urgency with a noticeable culture shift, which helped lift the Big Horns to the semifinal.

At halftime, the Yellowjackets led, 2-1.

Coppola and assistant coach Jeremy Harder made some strategic adjustments and the Big Horns “looked like a new team” in the second half, Harder wrote. Ten minutes in, junior Arlo Hurlbut assisted junior Brady Johnson for Johnson’s second goal of the match, tying the game, 2-2.

Eight minutes later, Johnson completed his hat trick, and the Big Horns regained the lead, 3-2.

“That is when the wheel fell off for Stevensville.

Their over-physical play ended up with a red card and two yellow cards. Being able to play a man up was another reason for the win. We kept our composure and played possession to run out the clock,” Coppola wrote. The Yellowjackets kept the pressure on, but defense and communication sealed the deal.

A tough matchup Coach Coppola respects the Whitefish Bulldogs soccer program—this season, they’ve scored nearly 60 goals and allowed only five.

PHOTO BY DAVE PECUNIES

“I am not ready to be done and know the boys feel the same way,” he wrote.

The winner will advance to the state championship on Oct. 28, facing the winner of the other semifinal between Corvallis High School and Billings Central Catholic High School.

Coppola added, “To be honest, we wanted it more and our composure, sportsmanship and ability to persevere in the face of adversity is why we won.

And it didn’t hurt that Brady played out of his mind and netted 3 goals. Hats off to you Mr. Johnson!”

A new high-water mark Coach Coppola said it feels “absolutely amazing” to become a state semi-finalist in just a few years.

“I am so proud of my boys,” he wrote. “They have worked so hard and diligently this season. And it is paying off.”

Coppola encouraged community members to make the six-hour drive to Whitefish to see Lone Peak’s historic match.

PHOTO BY DAVE PECUNIES

Coppola gave kudos to Big Sky Futbol Club and its current leadership for developing young players, as well as other area teams. He pointed out that the high school team went from 12 players in its 2020 debut season to 22 players in 2023.

“Having that many players has created a more competitive team within itself. It has become a ‘have to,’ not a ‘get to’ type of culture. Four years ago the players ‘got to’ play because of our numbers. Now the players ‘have to’ earn their spot on the starting

“They are well coached and have a good mix of offensive and defensive play... But they can be beaten and I have all the faith in the boys to do so,” Coppola wrote. “The Bighorns have made history already and I know that they will continue to do so on Saturday. Our leadership from the seniors and the focus and the intensity at practice make me believe we can keep this playoff run going.

“The team heads to Whitefish on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. from the LPHS parking lot, so they can also come send us off that way too,” he added. Regardless, fans can continue the positivity and support they’ve shown all season.

The game will not be available on live stream.

Coppola added a final note:

Freshman keeper Miles Romney and the Big Horn defense kept the Yellowjackets to a pair of goals. PHOTO BY DAVE PECUNIES

“I just want to say thank you to my coaching staff, the parents, the Big Sky community, the school and all those involved this season. You know who you are and I appreciate all of you for dedication, support and love. We are headed up North this weekend in high spirits and with tremendous focus and grit to continue our playoff run. Go Bighorns!”

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25 October 19 - November 1, 2023

Explore Big Sky

BUSINESS MAKING IT IN BIG SKY: BUZZBALLZ

rodeo circuit (of which we own four bulls) and other consumer-facing events, there are lots of opportunities for us to bring our brand to the people of Big Sky. In general, we are a fun brand with a portable alcoholic beverage product that fits any kind of experience or outdoor activity.

We sell at liquor stores and most of the Big Sky grocery stores.

EBS STAFF

In need of a portable, ergonomic and environmentally friendly cocktail on the go? How about poolside, at a concert or post-adventure?

Since their founding, BuzzBallz has been reinventing happy hour by making it delicious and easier for everyone to enjoy. For this issue of Making it in Big Sky, we spoke with BuzzBallz founder, Merrilee Kick about what brought her the inspiration for this nation-wide product, and how she enjoys her cocktails best.

This series is part of a paid partnership with the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce. The following answers have been edited for brevity.

Explore Big Sky: When did BuzzBallz launch? What was behind the inspiration?

Merrilee Kick: In 2009 I was a high school teacher, and BuzzBallz was a result of my master’s degree thesis project. The company officially launched after getting my MBA, but it took a couple years before it really took off. The inspiration was sparked from a Kosta Boda snowball candle that I bought while living in Sweden. After graduation, I took out a loan, enlisted my family to help and got to work!

EBS: What would you say the ethos of BuzzBallz is?

MK: Our mission and vision is to 'Reinvent Happy Hour' with fun, innovative cocktails for the world.

We also put a huge focus on being a family-owned business, and therefore do our best to cultivate a family-like atmosphere for all of our employees.

EBS: With so many to-go cocktail options taking shelves by storm these days, what sets you apart?

MK: When you see BuzzBallz in the stores, there’s no avoiding them. We have an iconic container, with bright colors that represent the flavors in the ball. We have great flavor and a high ABV with all gluten-free and kosher-certified products. We have spirits-based, wine-based and malt-based lines of each of our products and are the only womanowned distillery, winery and brewery in the U.S.

Merrilee Kick got the inspiration for BuzzBallz from a Kosta Boda snowball candle she bought while living in Sweden.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BUZZBALLZ

EBS: Tell me about TerraCycle and your commitment to sustainability.

MK: We are made with 15% recycled plastic as part of our sustainability program, and next year we will migrate to 25%. Most recycling facilities shred and separate the containers, and the aluminum goes to an aluminum foundry, and the plastic gets converted into flooring or building materials.

However there are some states where recycling programs are not set up with the equipment needed to recycle. In that case, we are proud of our partnership with TerraCycle. TerraCycle programs are used if the local recycler has problems recycling for any reason. TerraCycle shreds and separates the material to be recycled into other products.

EBS: What is your connection to Big Sky? Why are we the perfect market for BuzzBallz?

MK: I grew up in Helena, went to college in Missoula (Go Griz!) and my parents founded the environmental science institute at Canyon Ferry near Helena now called the Montana Learning Center. In 2014 I was on a vacation back in Montana and fell in love all over again. I bought a home in Big Sky, and my family spends as much time there as we can. With things like the PBR

EBS: Any new flavors or products we should know about, or that are coming soon?

MK: We are always working on new flavors. We recently launched Pineapple Jalapeño, Cookie Nookie, Espresso Martini and Chili Mango flavors.

We are doing a small limited run of Pumpkin BIGGIES for the Fall season. This year we are also bringing back our popular Eggnog flavor in spiritsbased Cocktails and wine-based Chillers, which will be a huge hit again!

EBS: What’s your favorite BuzzBallz cocktail and when do you most enjoy it?

MK: On a hot day, my favorite is the Tequila Rita. I put some Tajin in it and rim the glass with Tajin and a lime. On a cold day, my favorite is the Espresso Martini! Just the right amount of alcohol and caffeine.

EBS: Is there a piece of business advice you’ve received that sticks with you through the years—what is it?

MK: My dad always said, don’t fish where there’s no fish. I use that in business. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how innovative your product is if the customer base isn’t the right fit. I see a lot of competitive brands trying to get into the RTD (ready-to-drink) space, but they go about it by copying everyone else. Innovation drives growth.

Fishing in the same hole doesn’t mean you catch more fish. The fish will take the best worm.

EBS: Anything else our readers should know?

MK: Our growth has been staggering—and the fact that we are vertically integrated and we make our own packaging, and batch our own products, and help sell it means we have to grow our machinery, facilities and labor to stay in sync. It’s a wild ride, but we’re loving it. Have a Ball!

BUSINESS

26 October 19 - November 1, 2023

Explore Big Sky

ENJOYING THE RIDE

THE HAUNTING OF AN INVESTOR'S PORTFOLIO: BEWARE THE GHOSTLY EMOTIONS

BY CHRIS FIACCO EBS CONTRIBUTOR SPECIAL ADVERTISEMENT Alas, Fall is here! The weather is getting cooler. Vibrant color changes paint the trees.

Football is once again on television, and we are amid a very exciting race to the World Series. All the while, the creep towards Halloween can be felt in the air. With that looming specter, I will ask you to step into the eerie realm of investing, where the spirits of emotions lurk in the shadows, ready to wreak havoc on even the most well-thought-out portfolios. In this Halloween-themed essay, we delve into the chilling truth that the most dangerous thing to an investor's portfolio is none other than the haunting presence of their own emotions. Just like ghosts, emotions can be invisible but powerful, leading investors astray and causing ghastly financial consequences.

investors to chase after high-risk investments or engage in speculative trading, disregarding prudent strategies. This insatiable desire for more profit can lead to a dangerous spiral, leaving investors vulnerable to devastating losses.

Beware the alluring apparition of greed, for it can transform a promising portfolio into a haunted cemetery of shattered dreams.

Overconfidence: The Deceptive Illusion of Invincibility – Picture a haunted mansion, where overconfidence resides, whispering false promises to unsuspecting investors. When markets are on an upswing, investors may feel infallible, believing they possess supernatural abilities to predict the future. This deceptive illusion of invincibility can lead to reckless decision-making, such as overconcentration in a single investment or neglecting proper diversification. Just as a haunted mansion holds hidden dangers, overconfidence can turn an investor's portfolio into a treacherous labyrinth, filled with unforeseen traps.

Fear: The Ghostly Shadow that Paralyzes – Imagine a dimly lit graveyard on a moonless night, where fear takes hold of investors' hearts like a ghostly apparition.

When the markets turn volatile or a sudden dip occurs, fear creeps into the minds of investors, paralyzing their decision-making abilities. Fear clouds rational thinking, leading to panic selling or staying on the sidelines, missing out on potential gains. Just as a ghostly figure haunts its surroundings, fear can haunt an investor's portfolio, hiding potential opportunities behind a shroud of uncertainty.

Regret: The Ghostly Remorse of Missed Opportunities – In the eerie light of a full moon, the ghost of regret emerges, haunting investors who dwell on missed opportunities. Regret can stem from selling too early, buying too late, or not having the courage to take calculated risks. This ghostly emotion can consume investors, causing them to make impulsive decisions driven by a desire to rectify past mistakes. However, dwelling on the past can blind investors to the present, preventing them from seizing new opportunities and potentially leading to a stagnant portfolio trapped in the purgatory of regret. Conclusion: In the cryptic world of investing, emotions cast an ominous shadow, threatening the stability of an investor›s portfolio.

Greed: The Tempting Phantom of Overindulgence – In the darkest corners of the financial realm, greed lurks like a seductive phantom, tempting investors to take excessive risks. Like a vampire draining its victims, greed can compel

Fear, greed, overconfidence, and regret are just a few of the ghostly emotions that can possess investors, leading them astray from their financial goals. To ward off these spectral influences, investors must be aware

of the chilling presence emotions can have and strive to make rational decisions based on sound analysis and long-term strategies. Much like navigating a haunted house, investors must remain calm, focused and resilient in the face of these ghostly emotions. By acknowledging their existence and employing disciplined investment practices, investors can exorcise the haunting specters of emotions, safeguarding their portfolios from their chilling grasp. Remember, dear investor, in the spirit of Halloween, be wary of the emotions that lurk in the shadows, for they can transform the path to financial success into a spine-chilling journey through the unknown. Face them with courage, hold steadfast into the headwinds of their toil and persevere, allowing you and your family to, in the end, “Enjoy the Ride.”

Chris Fiacco is a Partner of Shore to Summit Wealth Management.

Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network did not assist in the preparation of this report, and its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network or its affiliates.

The material has been prepared or is distributed solely for information purposes and is not a solicitation or an offer to buy any security or instrument or to participate in any trading strategy Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network and Shore to Summit Wealth Management are not legal or tax advisors. You should consult with your attorney, accountant and/or estate planner before taking any action.

Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), Member SIPC. Shore to Summit Wealth Management is a separate entity from WFAFN. Shore to Summit Wealth Management is located at 105 E. Oak Street, Unit 1A Bozeman, MT 59715 # 406-219-2900

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28 October 19 - November 1, 2023

Explore Big Sky

OPINION

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: ROCK AND ROLL—TALUS AND FANS

wedge the rock apart. The process happens over and over through many freeze-thaw cycles and ends up breaking the cliff face apart, making the talus and scree found on the slope below.

BY PAUL SWENSON EBS COLUMNIST

I always thought that a great name for a rock band would be “TALUS.” It could be so aptly applied since the way you get talus is for a rock to roll.

And when rocks get dislodged from a cliff and rolls to the bottom, or somewhere along the slope, they are called talus.

The accumulation of all the rocks beneath a cliff is known as a talus slope.

The other reason TALUS would be such a great band name is because you would have a lot of scree-ming (misspelled on purpose for pun’s sake) fans. Of course, this will only make you giggle if you know that a scree field is another name for a talus slope when the rocks are smaller, relatively loose, and move easily. If you have ever hiked off trail straight up a scree slope it is like walking up the down escalator since you don’t get very far with each step since the scree will move back down the slope. The “two steps up, one back” routine.

The other fun part of a scree field is scree skiing.

Make sure you have lots of ankle support before giving this sport a go. Just find a loose scree slope, hike up to the top and jump-turn back down the hill. Please DO NOT try talus skiing since the rocks here are big and don’t move much. Kind of like skiing under Challenger early season.

So how do talus and scree form? First, a river, stream or glacier erodes a cliff of resistant rock.

Once the cliff is exposed it is time for ice to do its magic. Perhaps you’ve left a soda or water bottle outside during a cold night, and in the morning, you find the can or bottle split due to the freezing water. This is because water expands as it becomes a crystalline solid. It is the only non-metal material that displays this type of behavior.

Four alluvial fans along the Gallatin River. PHOTO BY PAUL SWENSON

If you could observe a water molecule, you would see a bent molecule with the oxygen at the vertex of the angle and the two hydrogens at the end of the angle. Water is a very polar molecule, meaning that the oxygen vertex has an induced negative charge, and the hydrogen ends have an induced positive charge. This polarity causes the hydrogens of a water molecule to be attracted to the oxygens of surrounding water molecules. The attraction is not a true bond, but it is called hydrogen bonding.

These bonds are responsible for water’s high surface tension and its expansion when it freezes.

As water cools, the vibrational, rotational and translational energy of the molecules decrease allowing hydrogen bonding to become a more dominant force. The bonds start to organize themselves into a crystalline lattice with a hexagonal shape (think snowflakes) that takes up 9% more space than fluid water. That splits the frozen soda can.

It can also split rocks. If liquid water enters a crack in a rock, then freezes, it can apply enough force to

Talus slopes along the Gallatin River and on Crown Butte. PHOTOS BY PAUL SWENSON

If you looked at the photographs for this article or have been scrambling around on scree or talus slopes, you know they are quite steep. And if you look closely, they are all at about the same angle of steepness. This is not a coincidence. When unconsolidated material is piled up, friction between the blocks or particles dictates how steep the side can get. If the bottom of the pile is moved, the slope will slide down to reestablish this slope angle. This is called the angle of repose. For talus and scree the angle of repose is about 45 degrees, unless there is water or ice involved, in which case it will be less.

So what about the material that is eroded of the hillsides that is not talus or scree? Where does it end up? Again, water is involved to move this material downhill. If material is deposited at the base of the hill at the mouth of a ravine or canyon it will form an alluvial fan. The classic example of a fan is the Cedar Creek Alluvial Fan located just over the hill in the Madison Valley. It is in most geology textbooks and has an amazing topographic map expression. The topographic lines are evenly spaced and semicircular. It’s cool for a rockhead. Big Sky has its own fans out in the Porcupine meadow.

Schist is a metamorphic rock found up near Cedar Creek.

So, you see, now you know the answer to the ageold question, “What happens when the schist hits the alluvial fan?”

Paul Swenson has been living in and around the Big Sky area since 1966. He is a retired science teacher, fishing guide, Yellowstone guide and naturalist. Also an artist and photographer, Swenson focuses on the intricacies found in nature.

Talus’ biggest fan, the marmot. PHOTO BY PAUL SWENSON

29 October 19 - November 1, 2023

OPINION

Explore Big Sky

EVERY DROP COUNTS SEASONALITY OF THE GALLATIN RIVER

BY JESS OLSON EBS COLUMNIST

Live in Big Sky long enough and you’ll likely spend some time on the Gallatin. And with time, comes observation. How the weather affects the river from season to season is sometimes easy to see, and sometimes not. Either way, we are always aware when the color changes, or algae shows up, or the river is running at higher or lower flows.

Seasonal patterns have a lot to do with the changing and evolving health and condition of a river, from its mainstem through to its tributaries; from water color to varying flows, to how the fish habitat presents itself, and what kind of algae growth (or how much, and where) we might or might not see.

Varying levels of drought are also always a good factor to focus on. Because Big Sky experienced such a wet summer in 2023, the concerns for drought today are less relevant than other years, but still worth acknowledging. Referencing past years’ rainfall, moisture, snowfall, runoff, and other variable components of a river’s reactive health show us just how unpredictable the river can be.

Backed with over 20 years of data, the Gallatin River still surprises us. This is why rigorous, longterm studies are important to understanding the natural world. Based on science and our own knowledge of the seasonality of the Gallatin River, here are a few thoughts worth sharing on each season: Spring Spring presents snowmelt and consistent potential for rainfall, contributing to the highest water levels of the year. As the weather warms, snow starts melting from the peaks. At lower elevations, snow turns to rain, which creates the perfect storm for the river to reach its highest levels in the spring and early summer.

During these times—and during other rainfall events year-round—the river often appears cloudier as more water moves through the system at a much faster pace. Sediment from river banks and runoff

The Gallatin River in fall. COURTESY OF JESS OLSON

from snowmelt ‘dirty up’ the water, making it look brown or gray. While it may not be the Gallatin’s most attractive time of year, cloudy water is normal for spring, and something we expect year after year.

Ideally, we like to see slower snowmelt throughout the spring and early summer to help replenish the aquifer and keep streamflows consistent.

Summer Summer snowmelt brings about our primary aquifer recharge. In the arid West, we do not typically experience high volume rain during the summer, and rely on the consistent, slower snowmelt to keep our rivers high and cool throughout the season. From what we understand so far, summers that deliver lower flows and higher temperatures can also bring about the perfect environment for algae to bloom and thrive.

This past summer, Big Sky experienced much more rainfall than usual which kept our streamflows relatively high compared to past years in which we experienced typical drought conditions. From several summers of studying these blooms, we believe that higher rainfall, lower temperatures, and other changes to summer conditions likely

prevented the recurrent algal bloom that led the Gallatin River to be designated as impaired for nuisance algae. This supports the scientific-backed information that leads us to know that there are several factors that contribute to these situations in a river’s health.

Large amounts of rainfall can also cause more sediment to flow through the river at higher volumes, like we typically see in the spring. Often, this sediment is loaded with excess nutrients that can contribute to algal blooms. In recent summers, we experienced large, widespread algae blooms even after significant rainfall, and suspect that the influx of nutrients promoted algae growth. Though Big Sky did have several large rainfall events this year, we did not see the same response.

Fall It is a fact that what appears as rain at lower elevations like in the meadow, exists in colder temperatures as snow up on the top of Lone Mountain. Early fall can still feel like summer, but elevation is nine-tenths of what happens to precipitation. Fall brings lower flows to the Gallatin. With sporadic rain and early snow events, and even with warm temps, monitoring the Gallatin for algae in September and early October is a priority for the Gallatin River Task Force.

These tactics help establish and record baselines, and understand any consistencies in river health that are worth noting over time, recording seasonal data.

Winter Snowpack, snowpack, snowpack. With lower winter flows, what we hope for is enough snowpack to help us repeat the healthy cycles of spring, summer, fall in the coming year. While we can never predict what the spring and summer will bring, we always hope for more snow. What’s good for skiing is even better for the river.

Changing climate patterns indicate that we will see longer and more extreme droughts, and snowpack is our number one defense to help us through these periods. For the health of the river, and so many additional reasons, we prioritize broad water conservation practices as important pieces of our water resilience puzzle; not just in times of drought, but year-round.

Each of the four seasons represent an important time for the health of rivers like the Gallatin. COURTESY OF JESS OLSON

Jess Olson is the conservation manager for the Gallatin River Task Force.

30 October 19 - November 1, 2023

Explore Big Sky

ENVIRONMENT

THE QUIET LIVES OF OUR GATEWAY ELK Gallatin Gateway is home to thousands of elk.

As the mountain peaks are graced with snow and the temperatures drop and we creep toward the long, dark winter, these residents make their way down to the fields to graze and rut. Local photographer Holly Pippel has been documenting these elk with her lens on her Instagram page with the hashtag #gatewayelk.

Follow along, and slow down when commuting in this important corridor.

Images by Holly Pippel

The daily grind—timing is everything when the herd is trying to cross. Three weeks ago one elk was hit and killed in this area.

Gateway elk gather to cross a busy spur road to reach water, feed and cover during morning rush hour.

The bulls are catching late season cows in heat as the rut winds down.

Battle weary. A defeated bull mournfully bugles as the challenger gathers his cows.

The Gateway elk at sunset with the Spanish Peaks in the background.

The bulls are catching late season cows in heat as the rut winds down.

ity

IT’S T I M E TO H E L P PROTEC T THE E L K AN D DE E R HERDS OF GAL L AT IN GATE WAY AN D B I G SKY

PHOTOS BY HOLLY PIPPEL

PROTECT THE LIVES OF ANIMALS AND YOUR FAMILY

1,322

ANIMAL CARCASSES BETWEEN WEST YELLOWSTONE, BIG SKY AND FOUR CORNERS BETWEEN 2011 AND 2020

24%

OF ALL REPORTED CRASHES INVOLVE WILD ANIMALS ALONG THE 37 MILES BETWEEN BEAVER CREEK IN BIG SKY AND FOUR CORNERS, NEARLY 5X THE NATIONAL AVERAGE Make your voice heard and petition for change, contact: Gallatin County Commissioners Office Zach Brown - Zach.brown@gallatin.mt.gov

Montana Department of Transportation Kyle Demars - kdemars@mt.gov

Animal Carcasses Collected

HOW TO GET INVOLVED 1. Support and donate the groups getting the work done!

Gallatin Valley Land Trust gvlt.org Center For Large Landscapes largelandscapes.org

2. Attend a public meeting about this topic.

Data sourced from MDT corridor study between Four Corners and Beaver Creek south of Big Sky from 2009 to 2018.

Upcoming event in Big Sky Oct. 23 at 5:45 p.m. at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center

32 October 19 - November 1, 2023

ENVIRONMENT

Explore Big Sky

DISPATCHES FROM THE WILD BEING BEAR AWARE

BY BENJAMIN ALVA POLLEY EBS COLUMNIST One late August evening years ago, I worked for the U.S. Forest Service and was stationed at Marias Pass between Glacier National Park and the BadgerTwo Medicine area. I went to do some wildlife photography at Three Bears Lake in Glacier. I sat on the shores behind some willows, swatting flies and mosquitos, watching a deer family across the pond. The lemon-yellow sun was still high above the Continental Divide. After an hour, nothing seemed to be stirring except some mallards, so I put away my camera and began hiking back.

I slowly climbed over a rise in the terrain and surprised a yearling grizzly cub 15 yards away. I yelled, “Hey, bear,” and the bear huffed and ran off into the lodgepole pine forest to my left. I was as surprised as the bear was. I centered my attention back in front of me and didn’t see anything until the sow charged out of the forest toward me from 40 yards away. She was running so fast that she was flat to the ground. I unclipped my bear spray and held it in front of me. Luckily, the sow veered off when she was five yards away. She clacked her teeth, chuffed, and strutted with her yearling off into the alders, lodgepoles and willows.

The experience happened so fast that adrenaline didn’t kick in until she was gone. Some people could say that I made a few mistakes, including hiking alone, not making noise, or unclipping my bear spray’s safety. According to many bear experts who know bear behavior, most bear charges end this way. This wouldn’t even be considered a charge—it was a bluff charge. A charge would be if she plowed over me and attacked. A bluff charge like this warns me to let the bear family pass safely. She could have attacked, but she read my behavior. If I had misunderstood her behavior and had a gun, I could have shot her, injured her, pissed her off even more or possibly ended her life. The cub might die because it couldn’t fend for itself, or end up in a zoo. Bear experts say that most bluff charges end this way. Bluff charges are meant for other bears or other wildlife. Bears become defensive when protecting a food source, protecting cubs, or when they are surprised. Grizzly bear expert and activist Doug Peacock stalked grizzlies with a camera for over 20 years and had more than 200 close encounters where the bears warned him by bluff charging. He and the bears continued co-existing and no one was ever injured.

According to National Park Service data for Yellowstone, the chances of being attacked by a bear is just 1 in 2.7 million visits.

Recent encounters In the autumn of 2023, there have been many encounters that didn’t go well for grizzlies. Several people shot and killed grizzlies in “self-defense.” It is hard to say whether it was warranted without being in that particular situation.

On Aug. 26, two elk hunters were out scouting for elk in the Flathead National Forest in thick brush when they startled a sow and cub. One guy accidentally shot and injured his friend but managed to hit the sow and kill her.

On Aug. 30, two anglers were walking through thick cover along Tom Miner Creek, 35 miles south of Livingston, and surprised a male grizzly and they shot and killed it.

On the first day of September, west of Island Park Reservoir in Idaho, a grizzly charged two hunters, and they shot and killed it.

On Sept. 2, a sow and cub broke into a house near West Yellowstone, stealing some dog food. FWP officials shot the female—the bear had been linked to a fatal mauling of a woman near West Yellowstone in July—and captured the cub.

Bear spray is available for rent in Yellowstone National Park, and destination towns in the GYE including Jackson and Big Sky. PHOTO BY JIM PEACO / NPS

On Sept. 8 , near Big Sky, a group of hunters were tracking a deer when they surprised a grizzly, shot at it, and likely injured it. However, the grizzly severely mauled one hunter—both bear and man acted in self-defense.

On Sept. 26, a hunter killed a grizzly at close range near Gardiner.

On Sept. 29, in Alberta’s Banff National Park, a man, woman and dog were attacked and killed in or near their tent by a grizzly. The bear was older than 25 years old, malnourished, had teeth in bad shape, and she “had less than normal body fat for this time of year,” according to Parks Canada. The humans unloaded their can of bear spray, but it was hard to determine if they were close enough to spray it in the bear’s eyes, mouth, and nasal passages since the attack happened at night. Park authorities euthanized that bear.

On Sept. 30, an elk hunter shot and killed a grizzly near Henry’s Lake, Idaho, 17.5 miles west of West Yellowstone.

But not all close encounters have to end with an injured or dead bear. On Oct. 2, a 73-year-old woman and her husband were walking their dog north of Polebridge, Montana, near Trail Creek west of Glacier National Park and along the Canadian border, when a grizzly emerged from thick brush. The husband unleashed a whole can of bear spray on the bear in self-defense, potentially saving four lives: the woman’s, the man’s, the dog’s and the bear’s.

Hunger and knowledge In the late summer and early autumn, all bears undergo hyperphagia, a period of eating as many calories as possible to fatten up for winter hibernation. Black bears may eat up to 20,000 calories daily, and grizzlies probably eat around the same, depending on food availability and the size of the individual.

According to a fact sheet compiled by Living with Bears, bears are so focused on food at this time of the year that they are willing to take more risks, like entering backyards in search of garbage not appropriately stored (bearproof, locked, or in garages), reaching for birdfeeders that aren’t put away or hung high enough (one pound bag of birdseed offers 2,585 calories, a hummingbird feeder could contain 3,200 calories), or dog food not appropriately stored (a bowl of dog food may contain 1,200 calories).

A cooler left on the porch with today’s picnic could equal 6,536 calories, a chicken coop without an electric fence or guard dog could mean 1,500 calories per chicken for the hungry bear.

Natural food sources available at this time of year include a pound of huckleberries, which equals about 165 calories; a pound of blackberries, estimated at about 195 calories; and a pound of chokecherries, about 250 calories. Bears used to consume a lot of fat from whitebark pinecones, but whitebark pines are disappearing at alarming rates, especially in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

In the backcountry, bears are searching for easy food with a high-calorie content, like gut piles and carcasses.

Some grizzlies have even tuned into the sounds of rifles, knowing an animal might be down or injured. Bears are willing to take more risks at this time of year for an easy meal and people need to be aware.

Sometimes, wildlife agents are called when a bear becomes food-conditioned and is willing to take even more risks than a typical bear in hyperphagia. If bears keep acting on their conditioning after a couple of strikes, agents will euthanize the bear to help stop the behavior. However, many wildlife officials say wildlife management is mostly people management and if all of us can store our food and waste properly, we can save bears the hard lessons.

Grizzly bear habitat is also constantly shrinking due to human development; more trophy homes, expanding ski resorts, inroads being plugged into the forest, and seismic activity on the wildland-urban interface. More and more people are going into the backcountry to hunt, fish, camp, ski, hike, bike, run and recreate, displacing wildlife. More encounters are happening that usually end up bad for bears—all while the grizzly population is also growing and expanding.

It’s important to know that bears are in hyperphagia right now. Knowing when and how to secure and remove food and other attractants can save a bear’s life by preventing state wildlife officials from needing to euthanize a food-conditioned bear.

Also, being bear-aware in the backcountry and knowing that bears often bluff charge can save a bear from being killed at close range and might save a cub from being captured and locked up in a zoo. Bear spray works as well, if not better than a sidearm, and proper use creates a win-win situation for bears and people.

Benjamin Alva Polley is a place-based storyteller with stories published in Outside, Adventure Journal, Popular Science, Field & Stream, Esquire, Sierra, Audubon, Earth Island Journal, Modern Huntsman, and other publications at his website www.benjaminpolley.com/stories. He holds a master’s in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism from the University of Montana.

33 October 19 - November 1, 2023

A LA CATRE

Explore Big Sky

DINING

SUGAR OR SHUGA’ BEETS—FARM-TO-TABLE AT FIELDING’S

BY RACHEL HERGETT EBS COLUMNIST

“What is that face? You look confused,” someone said to me over a multicourse tasting menu at Fielding’s, the main floor restaurant in downtown Bozeman’s Armory Hotel.

I was confused. Down the table, I had heard someone mention a “sugar beet,” and in the context of the meal, I could not wrap my brain around how the sweet bland roots factored into our farm-totable lunch.

Sugar beets are a white variety of beetroot that are the source of about 54% of domestically produced sugar, according to the American Sugarbeet Growers Association. As a crop, sugar beets have long ties to the farms of eastern Montana.

Sugar beets amount to more than $100 million in business every year, according to a Billings Gazette’s article on the closing of the Sidney plant in spring 2023. Billings’ factory, part of the Western Sugar Cooperative, is still going strong.

But I digress. While beets were featured on the midweek tasting menu that was served to introduce new chef Shane Graybeal to area writers and media folks this month, the “sugar beet” that hit my ears was actually a name—Shuga’ Beet Farm Organics out of Livingston.

Shuga’ Beet is only the first of many names thrown out from a list of farms and producers that Graybeal has sought out since moving to Bozeman.

Graybeal came to Montana for his honeymoon in March, and like so many others, wanted to stay.

Once hired as Fielding’s chef, he spent his first month here seeking out local producers, attempting to source as much of his ingredients as possible from within a two-hour radius.

“My goal when I came to Fielding’s was to create a unique and memorable experience that was distinctly Montana in spirit and flavor,” Graybeal wrote in an introductory note to attendees.

Chef Shane Graybeal of Fielding’s in Bozeman serves a menu sourced 90 to 95% farm-to-table from nearby farms and ranches.

PHOTO BY RACHEL HERGETT

While Fielding’s is attached to a hotel, I’m impressed at the Kimpton brand’s commitment to maintaining some form of community connection in the restaurant. Paintings on the walls by Hannah Uhde and LeeAnn Ramey feature recognizable buildings in Bozeman and beyond. Even the name, Fielding’s, is a nod to local history, named after architect Fred Fielding Willson, who designed the building as an armory. The original art deco style concrete building opened in 1941 to house the 163rd Infantry Regiment of the Montana National Guard and remained their home until 2003.

Fielding’s design recalls the era, with tiled floors and leathery green semi-circular booths lending character to the intimate restaurant.

Graybeal calls the style he has brought to Fielding’s food “modern mountain cuisine.” While he changes the menu every couple weeks, it usually features proteins like trout and venison beside Tangen Draw bison and Wickens Ranch beef. There’s cheese from Almatheia, mushrooms from Sporattic and so much

more. Graybeal’s goal is to source 90 to 95% of all ingredients from his neighbors.

In tasting, I enjoyed the supple tenderness of the bison and venison. They were juicy without a hint of gaminess. The former dish featured beets mixed with berries and a nice, tangy blue cheese and topped with microgreens. The latter had a caramelized yogurt with charred cauliflower and a huckleberry sauce. Both proteins had a rub reminiscent of a Chinese five-spice. I happily ate every bite on the plates, however, a little flavor variation would have improved the flow of the tasting menu.

With the farm-to-table commitment, it feels right that Graybeal makes vegetables shine. The tasting menu started with a perfectly spiced kabocha squash and ginger soup, followed by roasted carrots paired with Almathia’s Bozmano aged cheddar and an anchovy ranch that Graybeal calls a “ranchovy” dressing.

Next was a cabbage dish I can’t seem to get out of my mind. Yes, we’re talking about cabbage.

Somehow, Graybeal has made this humblest of vegetables sing, roasting it and placing it on a sourdough puree with a drizzle of salsa verde and pine nuts. And yes, we’re also talking about a bread puree—a smooth, slightly tangy concoction that I would call the orchestra supporting the singing cabbage’s aria.

While the recipes may come from Graybeal’s mind, the carrots and cabbage came from a little farm in Park County known as Shuga’ Beet. And I am no longer confused. I will be back to have them again.

Chef Graybeal’s cabbage creation. PHOTO BY RACHEL HERGETT

Venison served with caramelized yogurt, charred cauliflower and huckleberry sauce. PHOTO BY RACHEL HERGETT

Rachel Hergett is a foodie and cook from Montana. She is arts editor emeritus at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and has written for publications such as Food Network Magazine and Montana Quarterly. Rachel is also the host of the Magic Monday Show on KGLT-FM and teaches at Montana State University.

34 October 19 - November 1, 2023

Explore Big Sky

HEALTH

HEALTH BUZZ

NITRIC OXIDE—SAY YES TO NO

BY KALEY BURNS EBS COLUMNIST

Nitric Oxide (NO) is widely known as a molecule in the cardiovascular system that helps to regulate circulation and blood vessel dilation.

But it provides benefits beyond the cardiovascular system into immune health and even gastrointestinal health.

You cannot take nitric oxide pills, but you can take supplements that contain ingredients that boost the body’s production of NO. You’ve likely seen the super green drinks blended with many NO-promoting foods such as arugula, beets, kale, spinach, broccoli, celery, pomegranate and chard. Exercise is another natural way to increase levels in the body.

Nitric oxide decreases with the aging process and insufficient levels have been associated with hypertension, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, glaucoma, Alzheimer’s disease, inflammation and poor wound healing.

Cardiovascular health Supplements supporting NO production may contain substances like the amino acid L-arginine. Your

body can then convert L-arginine into NO, which widens blood vessels and improves blood flow. One systematic review showed that L-arginine significantly increased NO levels and blood flow in people with heart disease. In addition to positive effects on blood pressure, nitric oxide also can improve endothelial function—dysfunction is known to contribute to the development of atherosclerosis, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

Adaptation to altitude People who live at high altitudes require more NO than people at sea level. If you recreate at a high altitude, it would be wise to consider upping your nitric oxide production. Studies have shown that the consumption of dietary nitrates (ie. spinach or red beets) or NO supplementation can improve the body’s adaptation to altitude by keeping NO levels from declining.

Supports brain health NO is also important for brain health. It has been shown to be an important messenger in various systems, but it’s particularly important to the central nervous system, where it aids in cell communication in the brain. Research reveals how nitric oxide can change the “computational ability” of the brain, which points toward its ability to help neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.

Beet supplements When you eat beets, NO levels naturally increase in the body. Beets have been shown to be such an impressive NO booster that they are also available in supplement form as a juice, powder or capsule.

While research is ongoing, studies have shown that dietary nitrate supplementation appears to represent a promising approach for enhancing aspects of health.

Better athletic performance NO contributes directly to blood flow, oxygen delivery, glucose uptake, muscle velocity, power output, and muscle growth, and can therefore enhance an athlete’s overall performance and endurance. A number of studies have shown that boosting NO can improve the function of energy-producing mitochondria, resulting in easier breathing during exercise in addition to reduced muscle soreness and faster recovery.

*Disclaimer: Supplement use should be individualized and vetted by a healthcare professional. No supplement is intended to treat or cure disease.

Dr. Kaley Burns is a licensed Naturopathic Physician providing a wide range of services for her clients, including: Naturopathic Medicine, IV Nutrient Therapy, Regenerative Injections, Rejuvenation Therapies, Vitamin Shots, and Nutrition Counseling. She embraces a natural approach to health and aims to similarly inspire and guide others on their health journey.

W H AT ’ S M O R E I M P O RTA N T T H A N YO U R H E A LT H ?

PRIM ARY CARE N U T R I E N T & R E G E N E R AT I V E I V T H E R A P Y WELLNESS & NUTRITION

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ANNOUNCING

A GIFT FROM THE THRIFT Big Sky Thrift’s FIRST Grant Cycle is OPEN! Photography: Tanner Braun

APPLY TODAY! WHO CAN APPLY? Big Sky Non Profits and Government Entities (Districts) FUNDING FOCUS AREA: Capital Requests benefitting the greater Big Sky Community APPLICATIONS DUE: November 1st GIFT FROM THE THRIFT: Grants will be awarded in December* *Grant allocations determined by dedicated Big Sky Thrift volunteers.

Apply at: https://yccf.submittable.com/submit

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36 October 19 - November 1, 2023

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A&E ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

BIG SKY COMMUNITY THEATER CELEBRATES 10TH PRODUCTION, COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND INVOLVEMENT “I want to be a part of the evolution of BSCT, and I am very excited to see where we can take it as we evolve the quality of theater we produce each year,” she said.

As a group of volunteer community members who value performing arts and desire to expand their experience in theater, many locals join BSCT seeking to encourage, inspire and enlighten audiences while having fun, and they have found the troupe to be just that.

“Community theater is the epitome of grassroots, local fun,” said Mariel Butan, who will be on stage for the first time with BSCT. “It’s mindblowing and hilarious to watch people you always see around in a totally different context, simultaneously being absolutely themselves and portraying a character.”

The largest community cast yet meets for the first read through of the script. PHOTO BY ASHLEY DODD

BY ASHLEY DODD AND STEPHANIE KISSELL GUEST COLUMNISTS

With rehearsals in full swing for its 10th full-length production, Big Sky Community Theater is reliving high school and relishing all the hormones, bravado and awkwardness that accompany those years.

The largest community cast yet meets for the first read through of the script. PHOTO BY ASHLEY DODD

“We’re thrilled to see so many locals on stage with this upcoming production by the Big Sky Community Theatre at WMPAC,” John Zirkle, executive and artistic director of the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center, agreed. “The show is seriously funny and there’s something in there for everyone.”

This fall, over 25 locals will participate in the production, from performing on stage to running technical aspects behind the scenes, demonstrating the significant expanse of community theater participation in Big Sky this year. For Knowles, a classically trained actor, this will be her first involvement in Big Sky Community Theater.

“With each practice and rehearsal I gain more confidence in myself, and in myself as an actress,” Jacobson said. “It’s just really fun to be part of a team making something so amazing for our community.”

BSCT is comprised of local volunteers and funded through the Adult Education Program at Big Sky School District. Each year, BSCT strives to perform one full length production in the fall, with smaller side-projects throughout the year. Past shows include classics such as “Clue: Onstage,” “A Streetcar Named Desire” and an original play, “Howl: A Love Story,” written by Montanan Allyson Adams. With other projects including a murder-mystery radio series podcast (“Inherent Danger”), socially relevant song parodies and humorous sketches, BSCT binds community and performance art while enriching volunteers and audiences alike.

“The Monologue Show (from Hell)” takes its audience to the fictional Herbert Hoover High School where they are immersed in the lives of Mr. Bank’s drama class students who have spent the last three months preparing their final monologue show. The work of a semester takes only minutes to unravel as love triangles surfaces, accusations are made, and students grasp at straws to make a final impression.

“This show is such a fun escape from reality,” Director Elizabeth Baden Knowles said. “You’re going to see a large cast of talented, mature community members acting like archetypal, ornery teenagers—it’s truly a barrel of laughs.”

All are welcome to join and the experience levels of the cast and crew vary from novice to professional.

Tracy Jacobson, who made her acting debut in last year’s production of “Clue,” sees the value of being involved.

“Theater is the most collaborative art,” Knowles said, “[‘The Monologue Show (from Hell)’] is quite an undertaking, with each cast and crew member playing a pivotal role. It’s been a great challenge and melding of minds.”

Having Big Sky’s support to continue expanding BSCT is essential and appreciated, according to Jacobson. “How lucky we are to have this opportunity in Big Sky to meet new, like-minded people and collaborate with them,” she said.

The Monologue Show takes our community’s doctors, teachers, firefighters, hair stylists and more back to those delightfully awkward high school years. PHOTO BY ASHLEY DODD

This year’s production of “The Monologue Show (from Hell)” will be held at the Warren Miller Center for Performing Arts on Nov. 3 and 4, with each production taking place at 7 p.m. and tickets available at wmpac.org. In addition, those interested in becoming involved with future workshops or productions should reach out to any of the members of this year’s production, or contact Ashley Dodd at ashleyhegseth@gmail.com to be put on a mailing list and informed of upcoming events.

A&E

37 October 19 - November 1, 2023

Explore Big Sky

BIG SKY EVENTS CALENDAR Thursday, October 19 - Wednesday, November 1

If your next event falls between Nov. 2 - Nov. 15, please submit it to media@theoutlawpartners.com by Oct. 25.

American Legion Off-Season BINGO! Riverhouse BBQ & Events, 5:30 p.m.

THURSDAY OCT. 19 Qi Gong & Tai Ji with Rosemary BASE, 10:30 a.m.

WEDNESDAY OCT. 25

SUNDAY OCT. 29 St. Joseph Mass Big Sky Chapel, 8 a.m.

Open Pottery Studio Arts Council Studio at BASE, 5:30 p.m.

Trivia The Waypoint, 7 p.m.

All Saint Big Sky Service Big Sky Chapel, 10 a.m.

FRIDAY OCT. 20

THURSDAY OCT. 26

Sunday Service Soldiers Chapel, 11 a.m.

All Levels Pick-up Volleyball BASE, 6 p.m.

Fall Prevention Class for Seniors BASE, 11:30 a.m.

Haunted Mountain Theater Taylor Planetarium (Bozeman), 8:30 p.m.

FRIDAY OCT. 27 7th Annual Big Sky Haunted Peaks Festival Big Sky Town Center, 12 p.m.

SATURDAY OCT. 21 Big Sky Reptile Expo Gallatin County Fairgrounds (Bozeman), 10 a.m.

Skull and Roses Ball The Waypoint, 9 p.m.

Pumpkin Giveaway Fire Pit Park, 12 p.m.

All Levels Pick-up Volleyball BASE, 6 p.m.

Zach’s Cocktail Class The Waypoint, 7 p.m.

GNFAC Powder Blast Emerson Cultural enter, Bozeman, 6:30 p.m.

Ventriloquist Lynn Trefzger WMPAC, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY OCT. 28

Hocus Pocus Movie Night Town Center Plaza, 7 p.m.

SUNDAY OCT. 22

7th Annual Big Sky Haunted Peaks Festival Big Sky Town Center, 12 p.m.

Haunted 5K Run Moving Mountains, 1p.m.

St. Joseph Mass Big Sky Chapel, 8 a.m.

Kids Fun Run and Costume Parade Moving Mountains, 2:30 p.m.

All Saint Big Sky Service Big Sky Chapel, 10 a.m.

Inaugural Halloween Trunk n’ Treat EcoMontana, 4 p.m.

Sunday Service Soldiers Chapel, 11 a.m.

Rocky Mountain Elk Chili & Brewery Tasting The Cortana at Montage, 4 p.m.

All Ages Pick-up Basketball BASE, 4 p.m.

Haunted Mountain Theater Taylor Planetarium (Bozeman), 8:30 p.m.

Big Sky Christian Fellowship Service Big Sky Chapel, 4:30 p.m.

MONDAY OCT. 23 Storytime BASE library, 10:30 a.m.

Pick-up Futsal BASE, 6 p.m.

TUESDAY OCT. 24 Bitteroot’s Bakery Pop-up The Waypoint, 5 p.m.

Wine and Dine Tuesdays Rainbow Ranch Lodge, 5 p.m.

7th Annual Big Sky Haunted Peaks Festival Big Sky Town Center, 12 p.m.

Ice Hockey Registration & Gear Fitting BASE, 3 p.m.

All Ages Pick-up Basketball BASE, 4 p.m.

Big Sky Christian Fellowship Service Big Sky Chapel, 4:30 p.m.

MONDAY OCT. 30 Storytime BASE library, 10:30 a.m.

Pick-up Futsal BASE, 6 p.m.

TUESDAY OCT. 31 Wine and Dine Tuesdays Rainbow Ranch Lodge, 5 p.m.

2nd Annual Big Scare Country Bar Crawl Blue Buddha Sushi Lounge, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY NOV. 1 Trivia The Waypoint, 7 p.m.

FEATURED EVENT:

Get into the Halloween spirit and support the great efforts of the Big Sky Community Food Bank on Saturday, Oct. 21 from 12-4 p.m. at Town Center Plaza. Make a canned food donation (10 cans,10 lbs, or $10 per pumpkin and search the “U-pick Pumpkin patch” to pick out your prize pumpkin (preferred donation items: soup, rice, beans, canned/boxed meals). Pumpkins generously donated by Big Sky Chamber Of Commerce.

Enjoy snacks and drinks from our friends at Sweet Buns Catering.

The Big Sky Community Food Bank provides workforce and community members by providing free emergency food and social services to those in need. This equates to an average of 900 house holds per year and services are in demand more than ever.

Do You or Someone You Know Need Help Getting Sober?

Contact A.A. - We’re alcoholics helping other alcoholics stay sober.

Call 1-833-800-8553 to talk to an A.A. member or Get the Meeting Guide app or Go to aa-montana.org for virtual and face-to-face meeting times and locations

BOZEMAN'S FIRST LOCK AND LEAVE RENTAL SINGLE FAMILY HOME COMMUNITY

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NOW LEASING INTRODUCING TWO AND THREE BEDROOM RENTAL OPTIONS ON BOZEMAN'S GROWING WEST SIDE 12MO & 15 MO LEASES WITH CONCESSIONS AVAILABLE!

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Two and three-bedroom options

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EV chargers in every home

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Spacious floor plans

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Parcel lockers

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Granite countertops and stainless steel appliances

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Flexible lease terms

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Second-level bonus and laundry rooms

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Discounted cable and internet package

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Pet friendly

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24 hour emergency assistance

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Private patio off the dining room

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Connection to Norton Ranch neighborhood

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Covered front porch

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Walking distance to The Market shops, restaurants, breweries, and live music, as well as The Ridge Athletic Club

URBANFARMBOZEMAN.COM | 406.995.2404 All information given is considered reliable, but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete, and it should not be relied upon as such. These offerings are subject to errors, omissions, and changes including price or withdrawal without notice. All rights reserved. Equal Housing Opportunity. If you currently have a listing agreement or buyer broker agreement with another agent, this is not a solicitation to change. ©2023 Outlaw Realty www.outlaw.realty

CONVENIENT MAIN STREET LIVING IN BIG SK Y, MT

18

RESIDENCES TOTAL

9

PENTHOUSES +PRIVATE ROOF TOP

DECKS WITH HOT TUBS

2-4

5

COMMERCIAL BEDROOM SPACES FLOOR PLANS

Scan the QR code to visit the website for floor plans, virtual tours, and more.

Eric Ladd 406-995-2404 eric@outlaw.realty Michael Pitcairn 406-539-6060 michael@outlaw.realty

LEARN MORE AT THEFRANKLINBIGSK Y.COM

40 October 19 - November 1, 2023

OPINION

Explore Big Sky

DON’T JUST VISIT HERE, LIVE HERE.

2150 Looking Glass Road, Big Sky, MT 59716 3 Beds | 3.5 Baths | +/- 2,681 Sqft.

MLS# 384852 | $2,695,000 Stacy Ossorio, Broker | Private Office stacy.ossorio@engelvoelkers.com | 406.539.8553 ©2023 Engel &Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage independently owned and operated. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. If your property is currently represented by a real estate broker, this is not an attempt to solicit your listing. Engel & Völkers and its independent License Partners are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act.

Get Outside.

Grow Inside.

Give back to your community and introduce teens to adventures you love.

Become a volunteer mentor with Big Sky Youth Empowerment!

41 October 19 - November 1, 2023

FUN

Explore Big Sky

What’s wrong with this campsite?

ACTIVITY: Bears are always sniffing around for food.

Can you circle all the things that will attract bears?

COLORING PAGE

Grab your crayons and color the picture below

BEAR FACT Bears are opportunistic feeders, taking advantage of a readily available food source and expending the least amount of energy for the highest caloric intake.

SAFETY TIP

Gear up for adventure at HeyBear.com

Make sure to place garbage in an airtight plastic bag and put into a bearproof trash can! @say_hey_bear

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BAC K 4 0

42 October 19 - November 1, 2023

BACK 40

Explore Big Sky

For Explore Big Sky, the Back 40 is a resource: a place where we can delve into subjects and ask experts to share their knowledge. Here, we highlight stories from our flagship sister publication Mountain Outlaw magazine.

Noun: wild or rough terrain adjacent to a developed area Origin: shortened form of “back 40 acres”

FEATURED OUTLAW: PHIL CAPY Photos of Nepal treks adorn Capy’s walls—of trips to Annapurna and Everest base camps—along with ski patrol plaques marking 35 years of National Ski Patrol service, and 17 seasons as lead medic and patroller at Mt. Bachelor. A framed image of Lone Mountain, signed by the entire Big Sky patrol at Capy’s 80th birthday celebration in 2008, hangs in his bedroom. In red marker across the top is written, “Phil, you inspire us all.”

BY JOSEPH T. O’CONNOR This article was originally published in the winter 2016 issue of Mountain Outlaw.

It’s been said that ski patrollers work long hours; that they ride chairlifts before dawn, in snowstorms pushed by 80-mph winds; that avalanche control and the term “blaster” are listed in the job description; that a safe return isn’t guaranteed.

Capy had enlisted in the Navy after high school, with hopes of becoming an air crewman at the tail end of World War II. But in 1948, after serving as an engineer and member of the Scouts and underwater demolition team—precursors to the SEALS known as frogmen—Capy completed his service and returned stateside.

Phil Capy doesn’t know for sure, but people have told him he’s the oldest professional ski patroller in the country. This winter marks Capy’s 20th season at Montana’s Big Sky Resort, and he’s been patrolling on and off for the last 54 years. He’s 87.

When Phil Capy was born in April 1928, St. Moritz, Switzerland had just hosted the second Winter Olympic Games—without alpine events.

That same year metal edges were first introduced to skis. And Herbert Hoover was elected president.

In 1961 Capy, a Texas native, began his ski patrol career in Vermont at Mount Snow and then at Haystack Mountain. After a decade writing in Hollywood, he moved to Oregon in 1978 and worked as a pro patroller and lead medic at Mt. Bachelor for 17 years. Then he found Montana.

“I love the mountains here,” Capy says. “I can hike and I can ski, and I like looking at them. That drive from Big Sky up to [Bozeman], when you look at Castle Rock, that’s the same beauty you get in Yellowstone. I don’t get tired of looking at that.”

Big Sky Resort employs roughly 105 paid patrollers and 140 volunteers, and this season will again find Capy alongside his comrades patrolling the slopes of Lone Mountain. Capy no longer runs avalanche routes but still patrols the ski area as a rover, checking sleds and rope lines, responding to incidents, and tracking medical supplies. He teaches mass casualty incident training at the resort, and helped write MCI plans for Oregon’s Deschutes County and Gallatin County here in Montana.

While Capy hasn’t dropped into the resort’s famed Big Couloir since 2007, he’s committed to the patrol at least through the 2015-2016 season. “It’s year to year now,” he says. “I just do what I like to do, [and] try not to fall. I’m getting too old for that.”

As a measure of his calculated approach to skiing and life these days, Capy’s only injury in more than 65 years of skiing was a torn thumb ligament after he was knocked over by another skier in 1990.

“Phil is just a legend,” said Big Sky Ski Patrol Director Bob Dixon, who hired Capy in ‘95, the same year the Lone Peak Tram began hauling skiers to the summit. “He’s very focused and very knowledgeable, and extremely experienced—a great role model for the ski patrollers coming up. He should probably be nominated for the [National] Ski Hall of Fame.”

It’s safe to say Capy has squeezed the most out of the last 87 years. He’s been shot down while

At age 87 in winter 2016, Phil Capy may have been the oldest professional ski patroller in the country. PHOTO BY WES OVERVOLD

flying an Army plane in the Korean War; sang in a traveling jazz trio; sailed on the Navy’s first Arctic Ocean icebreaker ship; wrote pilots for TV shows including “Gunsmoke”; and trekked to Everest base camp.

Capy claims he’s no adrenaline junkie, but he still rides his 1976 BMW motorcycle to work in Big Sky Resort’s maintenance department during the summer. He sometimes rides it to the patrol locker room in winter, affixing a studded rear tire to the bike.

“He’s an all-American, professional badass,” mused fellow Big Sky patroller Patrick Robbins.

---Phil Capy answers the front door of his Bozeman home with a grandfatherly smile and a well-kempt white beard. Balding on top, Capy’s snow-white hair is slicked back, feathery wisps peeking out from behind his ears. He stands 5-feet-6-inches tall, but claims he was once 5-foot-8. “I keep shrinking every year,” he says, gripping my hand firmly.

At home, Capy is more prudent than daredevil.

He reads spy novels and history books, and listens to jazz and folk music with his partner of nearly 30 years, Linda Herrick. “He likes to cook and bake bread, and if he has enough time he likes to make his own yogurt,” says Herrick, who met Capy in Oregon in 1987. “He’s a very kind and caring person [and] very generous with his laughter. He laughs at all my jokes even if they aren’t very funny.”

Ornate knives and ivory statuettes of Ganesh from India and Nepal decorate a wooden shelf along one wall of the house. Capy, a 50-plus-year Hindu convert, has visited the region five times. He practices yoga. He’s a vegetarian.

In 1950, Capy learned to ski at Vermont’s Bromley Mountain at the age of 21. The Korean War started in June of that year. Capy had earned a pilot’s license on his own, and with the hastiness of U.S. involvement in Korea, the Army was looking for every good man it could get.

During the war, Capy’s Piper J-3 Cub fixed-wing was shot down mid-air. “I could hear the thump, thump, thump on the plate,” he said, referring to enemy fire hitting armored plates retrofitted under the plane to protect the pilot. But as the bullet thumps moved forward, they began piercing the fuel tank and one hit Capy in the wrist. Luckily, he says, it only grazed him.

“I just said, ‘I’m gonna die,’” Capy told me. “It was that serious. We were behind enemy lines.”

As fuel poured out of the tank, Capy thought back on his extensive training in forced landings. He steered the craft back toward the battle line and landed safely in a South Korea field. “I was back flying the next day,” Capy says, running an index finger over the scar on his right wrist. “It taught me an appreciation for life. I’m still alive; friends aren’t.

If you can walk away and nobody gets hurt, that’s a good landing.”

Camaraderie runs deep in the military. It’s critical, as well, on any emergency response team. Capy sees these similarities in ski patrol. “What keeps me around is the family. Everybody looks forward to getting back to the ski area just because we get to see each other again.”

---It’s 8:30 a.m. at Big Sky Resort, and the blowing snow from a rogue April storm stings the face.

Phil Capy peers through yellow lenses and wipes melting snow from his goggles. “PHIL” is scrawled in black Sharpie on the index finger of his worn Kinco work gloves.

“This is what it’s all about,” he says, and, looking over his shoulder, shoves off down the fall line.

“Public can’t even get on the lift until 9 a.m.”

With arms akimbo, and balanced on still-steady legs, Capy makes deliberate turns in the fresh snow, and disappears into the storm. He has sleds to check.

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11762 GOOCH HILL - GALL ATIN GATEWAY - Lovely 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath custom home - Completely set up for horses on 20 acres - Corrals, cross fenced, large round pen $2,650,000 | MLS 374431

1662 ARROWHEAD CONDOMINIUM - BIG SKY RESOR T - Uniquely furnished front row chalet with true ski-in/ski-out access - 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath lavish, stand-alone condominium - 2 fireplaces, sauna, indoor jacuzzi, and much more! $3,500,000 | MLS 385525

78 MEADOW VILL AGE, UNIT E - LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! - Commercial condo in the Meadow Village Center - 2,115+/- sf of office space in the heart of Big Sky $1,580,000 | MLS 377559

TBD L AZY J TRAIL - BIG SKY CANYON - 17+ acres w/ southern exposure - Build your dream home, guest house, barn & bring your horses - Near the entrance to Big Sky $895,000 | MLS 382590

85 FRENCHMAN RD - BIG SKY RIVERFRONT - 2 acres with fish-in/out access - 4 bedroom, 3 bath fully furnished, luxury home - Enjoy serenity along the coveted Gallatin River! $2,945,000 | MLS 381935

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STOP IN AND VISIT JULIE AT THE ARROWHEAD MALL OFFICE OR CALL HER AT 406-640-1514

NOW OPEN

PEAK SKIS SHOWROOM Located in Bozeman, en route to Big Sky, the Peak Skis Showroom is a place to shop our lineup of skis, browse fine goods crafted by Montana locals; or just hang out at one of our movie premieres, ski clinics, and barbecues.

245 Quail Run Road Bozeman, MT 59718

(406)-577-8328 peakskis.com