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Big Sky

Big Sky’s Locally Owned & Published Newspaper

December 24, 2010 Volume 1 // Issue #5

Happy Holidays The Outlaw Partners provide marketing grants

Profile: Lee Poole and the future of Moonlight Commercial Trucking back on Highway 191 Big Sky welcomes Wounded Warriors

Rider // Mark Davidson Photographer // John Marshall Location // Big Sky

media@theoutlawpartners.com

Big Sky

Photo by Matty McCain

Big Sky Weekly

December 24, 2010 Volume 1, Issue 5 CEO, PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Eric Ladd COO & SENIOR EDITOR Megan Paulson CREATIVE DIRECTOR Mike Martins MANAGING EDITOR Emily Stifler GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kelsey Dzintars ASSISTANT EDITOR Abigail Digel Sales Director Hunter Rothwell Distribution Director Danielle Chamberlain VIDEOGRAPHER Brian Niles CONTRIBUTors Pat Branting, Dick Dorworth, Pam Flach, Ryan Hamilton, Sara Hoovler, Kim Ibes, Linda Kelly, Chris Kronebusch, Katie Lee, JohnE Milich, John Marshall, Matty McCain, Brandon Niles, Eric Paulsen, Luke Rice

Editorial Policy Outlaw Partners LLC is the sole owner of The Big Sky Weekly. No part of this publication may be reprinted without written permission from the publisher. The Big Sky Weekly reserves the right to edit all submitted material for content, corrections or length. Printed material reflects the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the opinion of Outlaw Partners or the editors of this publication. No advertisements, columns, letters to the editor or other information will be published that contain discrimination based on sex, age, race, religion, creed, nationality, sexual preference, or are in bad taste.

Paper Distribution Distributed every other Friday in towns across Southwest Montana, including Big Sky, Bozeman, West Yellowstone, Three Forks and Livingston.

CORRECTIONS The Big Sky Weekly runs corrections to errors we’ve printed. Please report them to emily@theoutlawpartners.com OUTLAW PARTNERS & THE BIG SKY WEEKLY P.O. Box 160250 Big Sky, MT 59716 ExploreBigSky.com (406) 995-2055 media@theoutlawpartners.com © 2010 The Big Sky Weekly Unauthorized reproduction prohibited

2 December 24, 2010

Letter from the Editor I went skate skiing on the Lone Mountain Ranch trails at lunch recently. I wound through meadows and forest, and new snow sparkled in the sunlight. The South Face at Big Sky was in shadow. I’d just talked to a friend who was riding up the Triple chair – she said the skiing on Marx and Lenin was epic. 6” overnight combined with just the right wind had turned into over a foot of powder up top. I couldn’t help but be a little jealous.

Back at my truck at the North Fork pull off on the Big Sky access road, I tried to pull out and found I was stuck on ice. The four-wheel drive on my truck went out a couple days ago, so my rear wheels just spun and spun. I tried hacking at the ice with my snow shovel and shoving pieces of a camping pad under my rear wheels. My wheels continued to spin and my truck only slid back into the snow bank.

I waved down a truck. The driver threw on the brakes and pulled up next to me. The decal on the side of his truck read Houghteling Construction.

“Stuck?” he asked. I told him about my four-wheel drive, and he said he had a chain. I introduced myself.

“I’m Bob,” he said, and we shook hands. He hauled me off the ice, unhitched his chain, and took off down the road, waving good bye.

We live in a beautiful place with a small but growing community. I hope that through the Weekly and our new website, explorebigsky.com, we can help connect neighbors. I also hope Big Sky is always the kind of place people stop to pull you out of the ditch.

Thanks, Bob. Emily Stifler, Managing Editor emily@theoutlawpartners.com

Letter to the Editor Parameters This is a platform for readers to express views and share ways they would like to effect change. The Weekly will run letters, positive or negative, of 250 words or less that are respectful, ethical, state accurate facts and figures, and are proofread for grammar and content. State your position clearly on one issue, elaborate with supporting evidence, and recommend action for a unique resolution. We reserve the right to edit letters. Please include: first and last name, address, phone number and title. Send letters to emily@theoutlawpartners.com.

Corrections

Restaurant Profile: 11/26, pg 20. All yarns lining the shelves at La Luna are provided by CR.eations yarn shop in Ennis. Christine Rodgers, the proprietor of CR.eations yarn shop, has an arrangement with Valerie to display CR.eations yarns at La Luna Restaurant.

Regional: 12/10, pg 7. The road from Cooke City, 212 to Highway 296 to Cody, Red Lodge or Billings, is closed to vehicles. This road is not plowed, and is for snowmobiles only.

Explore: 12/10, pg 12. The custom boot fitting technology at Grizzly outfitters is called GRIZZFIT. The following 8th Grade Ophir Middle School students received high honors: Gabrielle Gasser Simeon Goode Quinn House Griffin House Trevor House Justin McKillop Benjamin Michel The price for the Little Lobos program at Big Sky Resort is $150 for six sessions, not $150 a day. The Mad Wolf & Club Shred ages for snowboarders are 7-14, not 6-14.

Big Sky Weekly

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PureWest Properties.com | info@PureWest Properties.com | 406-995-4009 December 24, 2010 3

community Moonlight’s Turkey for a Ticket Food Drive Collects 28,500 lbs, 850 Turkeys On Friday, December 17, droves of enthusiastic skiers came to Moonlight for the 4th annual “Turkey for a Ticket” food drive benefiting the Gallatin Valley Food Bank. Quickly becoming a holiday tradition, Moonlight Basin gives a free lift ticket to anyone who donates a turkey or 20 cans of food. This year, with 28,500 pounds of food collected, including 850 turkeys, the event’s donations far exceeded past years.

In 2009, GVFB reported an average of 154 new families per month who were turning to the food bank for assistance. With this level of need, events like Turkey for a Ticket are integral in helping the food bank keep up with the needs of the community.

Moonlight Basin and the Gallatin Valley Food Bank would like to thank those who participated in Turkey for a Ticket.

“We are extremely proud to partner with the Gallatin Valley Food Bank each December for this event,” says Moonlight’s general manager, Greg Pack. “It is impressive to see the overwhelming response from the community, and hopefully events like this will continue to raise awareness and generate support for the hunger issues and needs in our local region.” moonlightbasin.com gallatinvalleyfoodbank.org

ACBS Presents Muir String Quartet The Arts Council of Big Sky will present its first winter concert, the Muir String Quartet, on January 12 at the Talus Room in the Summit Hotel at Big Sky. Tickets are $40, and includes a three-course dinner from Peaks restaurant. The evening starts at 5:30 with a social hour/cash bar, followed by dinner at 6:45 p.m., and the concert beginning at 8 p.m. In its 32nd season, the Muir String Quartet has long been acknowledged as one of the world’s most powerful and insightful ensembles, and has been in residence at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts since 1983. This event is part of the annual Peggy Dicken Schwer Memorial Fund

Big Sky Weekly Concert Series. Reservations are now being accepted. (406) 995-2742 bigskyarts.org

BSSEF 2010-2011 YCCF Scholarships Awarded The BSSEF extends its thanks to the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation for its generous support of the BSSEF scholarship program. Each athlete that met the age requirements was awarded a scholarship.

Ambros Locker Alexa Coyle Ben Littman Roeder Weston Littman Roeder Joe Olson Caitlyn Messick Charlie Lerch Maci St Cyr Nahalem Manka

There will be an informal BSSEF meeting for all parents on Sunday, December 26 at 9:30 a.m. in the Mammoth Room and then a meet and greet Apres Ski at Andiamo’s for all families on the 26th from 3:30 to 5 p.m. bssef.com

ARE YOU A BIG SKY OWNERS ASSOCIATION HOMEOWNER?

Big Sky Community Library Holiday Hours The library will be open during the holiday break. It will be closed Sunday, December 26 and resume regular hours on Monday, Dec. 27 from 10-6.

Post Office Holiday Hours Monday-Friday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Saturday 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

December 24: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Last hour is for package pick up only Closed December 25 and January 1

Bridge Results December 8 bridge results: 1st: Ruby Delzer Sacajewea: Lynne Malpeli December 15 bridge results: 1st: Marion Hathaway 2nd: Dorrie Williams Sacajewea: Wayne Hill

DON’T FORGET TO PURCHASE YOUR

$50

LONE MOUNTAIN RANCH SEASON PASS (RETAIL $275)

Makes a great Christmas gift!

Lone Mountain Ranch BIG SKY MONTANA

4 December 24, 2010

Stop at BSOA office to purchase - located next to Willow Boutique and La Luna, look for green awning Call us 995-4166

Big Sky Weekly

local news Biggest Skiing in America forum

By Abbie Digel

At the BSIA public meeting on December 15, close to 25 community members attended to hear updates on the second year of the successful campaign. The campaign is upping its efforts with collaboration from community members, the resorts, lodging members, resort tax dollars and private funding. Marne Hayes, Executive Director of the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the importance of community involvement, regional aspects, and creating a focus on both winter and summer seasons.

Big Sky Resort has a 30% increase in skier days compared to this time last year, and Moonlight Basin is up 1500 skier visits over last year. Highlights of increased booking rates include 320 Ranch at 10%, Lone Mountain Ranch at 25%, and the Lodge at Big Sky is already half way to total bookings.

In 2010, the campaign appeared in nine national magazines including inflight publications. Two-page spreads in the publications led consumers directly to the BSIA website. This year, the campaign will appear on new websites including Pandora and Skiing Interactive. The campaign also stretched to Vertical Media travel websites and ski show attendance.

Also new this year is a revamped website that now includes mountain stats, area facts, links for the Chamber and transportation links. There are 11,900 total visits as of December 15, and 90% of visitors are new. The biggest change for the website is the ability to search for lodging by date instead of booking through a third party site.

Meg O’Leary, Director of Sales and Marketing at Big Sky Resort, said the campaign is also working on branding not only Big Sky but the state of Montana as a ski destination. “It’s important to say we’ve got snow, and you’ve got to come ski here.” biggestskiinginamerica.com bigskychamber.com

winter and co. announce new Partner Shawna Winter, of Winter & Company Real Estate, is pleased to announce Aimee Andren Gerharter as the newest edition of her team.

Gerharter is originally from Bozeman and has enjoyed visiting and playing in Big Sky for over 20 years. Before joining Winter & Co in December, Gerhart started and operated Wild Joe’s Organic Coffee & Tea House in Bozeman. Prior to that, Gerhart and

her husband owned Hart’s Furniture and Slumberland in Bozeman. After receiving her real estate license, Gerhart was an agent at Prudential Montana in Big Sky. She is pleased about her new position as a broker.

“I’m passionate about this place, and can’t wait to help other people realize their Montana dream.”

Madison Valley Park District Slated for Spring Vote

Bill Olson, tireless park and trail advocate from the Madison County section of Big Sky, said while he would support a Madison Valley park and recreation district, the Big Sky area should be removed from the boundary because it’s a very different community with different needs and issues.

Katie Morrison, Director of the Big Sky Community Corporation (BSCC), said the proposed park district could lead to confusion with the homeowners associations that

participate in the BSCC’s voluntary park- and trail-funding program.

Additionally, the commission received letters from the Big Sky Chamber, Big Sky Resort and the Big Sky Town Center – two requested a 30-day postponement to do more research before passing the resolution.

A coalition of Big Sky owners, entities and resorts is forming to research the issues and work with the Commission as necessary so any future parks and recreation district works for both communities.

A group of Madison Valley park and recreation managers and enthusiasts have proposed creating a new parks and recreation district following the Ennis School District boundary in the Madison County. The Ennis School District includes Ennis, Virginia City and the Big Sky section of Madison County (properties in the Yellowstone Club, Big Sky Resort, Moonlight Basin, portions of Spanish Peaks). The proposed taxing district would help finance the district’s operation, maintenance, capital improvement projects and programs.

The maximum tax is proposed at 3 mills, which would result in a $10 annual tax for a home valued at $200,000 or a $20 annual tax for a home valued at $400,000. Big Sky properties in Madison County would contribute approximately $145,000 of the $183,000 total annual district revenue.

This group is comprised of representatives from Madison Byways, Madison Valley Aquatic Center, Madison Meadows Golf Course, and the towns of Ennis and Virginia City. Additionally, the Lions Club, 4H and the Tennis Club (all from the Madison Valley), have submitted estimates of possible future funding needs from the new district.

No Big Sky groups are included.

The Madison County Commission held a series of public meetings this fall. At a December 14 meeting the Commission took comments, and then voted 2-1 in favor of adopting a resolution of intent to create the proposed district. It is now scheduled to go to a vote this spring.

Several Big Sky residents and managers presented information and asked the Commission to consider alternatives to the proposed resolution.

They requested the Big Sky portion be removed from the district, or the resolution be modified to allow some percentage of park district funds to be spent in the Big Sky area. A letter submitted from the Big Sky Owners Association echoed this theme. There was also a legal question as to whether park district funds could be spent on programs or improvements outside of the district boundary.

Yoga in Big Sky Take an hour to stretch sore skiing muscles and escape into the calming and strengthening world of yoga. There are three locations in Big Sky currently offering classes open to the public. Please contact the teachers for more information.

Anna (406) 600-7565 ~ Debby (406)539-6488 ~ Jill (480) 773-0496 ~ Dani (678) 6402-252. Private and group lessons available upon request.

Yellowstone Mountain Center for the Arts 467 Spruce Cone Drive, Big Sky Monday Anusara Style Yoga with Anna Tuesday Anusara Style Yoga with Anna Wednesday Pilates with Jolene Anusara Style Yoga with Jill Thursday 50/50 Pilates with Jolene Friday Anusara Style Yoga with Anna

6:15 - 7:45 p.m.

10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

9:00 - 10:00 a.m.

5:30 - 6:45 p.m.

5:45 - 6:45 p.m.

8:30 - 10:00 a.m.

$12 $12 $10 $10 $10 $12

The Studio 32 Market Place, Meadow Village (next to Big Sky Health and Fitness) Wednesday Anusara Style Yoga with 9:00 - 10:15 a.m.

Debby

$10

Big Sky Wellness Center Big Sky Resort (406) 995-5806/8006 Call for updated schedule and instructor contacts.

Monday Pilates with Jolene 7:30-8:30 a.m.

Anusara Style Yoga with Anna 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Tuesday Yoga with Lianne 7:30-8:30 a.m.

Wednesday Yoga with Dani 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Thursday Pilates with Jolene 7:30-8:30 a.m.

Anusara Style Yoga with Anna 4:30- 5:30 p.m.

Saturday Yoga with Lianne 7:30-8:30 a.m.

Yoga with Dani 4:30-5:30 p.m.

$10 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10

December 24, 2010 5

Big Sky Weekly

regional Forest Jobs and Recreation Act Shelved until Spring Session

By Emily Stifler On December 16 at midnight, the U.S. Congress essentially killed the Omnibus Appropriations Bill.

Montana Senator Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act was part of this bill. Tester spokesman Aaron Murphy says, “Partisan politics shot down this measure, but it won’t keep Jon from creating Montana jobs—through middle-class tax relief, strengthening family agriculture and small businesses, and working together with Montanans on bipartisan plans like his forest jobs bill.”

Murphy says a debate over earmarks stopped the Omnibus bill, which would have funded the government

Gardiner and the Paradise Valley A Marine stationed in Afghanistan is requesting school supplies to donate to three schools in his district. Drop supplies off at the Food Farm or the Gardiner School.

for the upcoming year. Going forward, the federal government will rely on temporary funding.

Tester first introduced this controversial bill in July of 2009 and adjusted the bill after 11 public listening sessions with Montanans.

The new version is renamed the Montana Forest Jobs and Restoration Pilot Initiative and would affect communities and wild lands in Southwest Montana. Its programs would preserve key wildlife habitat adjacent to the Lee Metcalf and Snowcrest wilderness areas. The bill would also maintain recreational use in certain areas requested by snowmobilers and mountain bikers, such as Mcatee Basin south of Big Sky and 5,000 acres in the Tobacco The Gardiner/Mammoth crosscountry ski team will begin practices the first week of January. The team is open to 4th-12th grade students in the area. $50 for the season includes wax and instructions. Call Doug Madsen (307) 344-6511 for more information. HAVE FUN/ GO FAST! The Mammoth Community Center will be hosting Winter Wednesday Potlucks through March 30,

Roots. In addition, it would mandate the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest to conduct annual landscape restoration projects to reduce forest fuels near communities, provide jobs and restore damaged streams and trout fisheries.

If implemented, these laws would leave most of this land on the Madison Ranger District under the same management as it is now, says John Gatchell, Conservation Director for the Montana Wilderness Association. Certain historic use would also remain the same: trail access in the Lee Metcalf at Cowboys’ Heaven and in the East Pioneers, sheep trailing across the Snowcrest Range, access to water infrastructure for irrigators in wilderness areas designated 2011. Join each Wednesday (Except 12/15) from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Bring a dish to share and your own place settings.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is competing for $250,000 in the Pepsi Refresh contest. Support a Gardiner Baby by voting at refresheverything.com. You can vote daily on the website, on Facebook, and by texting 102534 to Pepsi (73774) through December 31.

MSU Bozeman

ORGANIC COFFEE, ESPRESSO AND TEA

This past July, Chad Diehl, an MSU history major (’03), published Raft of Corpses, a book of translated poems written by a survivor of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. During his undergrad, Diehl won a Fulbright Fellowship to spend a year studying in Japan. He was later awarded funding for graduate studies at Columbia University in New York and is now completing his doctoral work.

Diehl grew up in a working class family in Gardiner, Montana, where he played high school football. He told Evelyn Boswell with the MSU news service that he remembers “shooing elk away from the football field and the coach calling a game warden to deal with the more dangerous bison.”

Cooke City and Yellowstone Park

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 6:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. LOCATION - IN FRONT OF EXXON ON HWY 191, 1/4 MI. SOUTH OF BIG SKY TURNOFF

6 December 24, 2010

There is over 60 inches of snow on the ground at 9,000 feet outside of Cooke City. The avalanche center has reported a few nasty persistent weak layers in the snowpack, so be cautious if you’re out skiing, snowmobiling or traveling anywhere in the backcountry.

by the bill, and loop roads in the West Big Hole. The bill would also authorize use of federal funds for biomass facilities.

Opponents of Tester’s bill lie on both ends of the political spectrum.

Environmentalists say it doesn’t include enough wilderness designation. Conservatives say it would restrict motorized use. The bill’s supporters are largely moderate environmental groups and their odd bedfellows: logging companies that would profit from the mandates.

With the Omnibus Act shelved, the path forward for the forest bill is unclear. Stay tuned. tester.senate.gov/forest

As of December 15, Yellowstone opened most interior park roads to commercially guided snowmobile and snowcoach travel. Limited, managed motorized oversnow travel over groomed, snow-packed park roads will be permitted again this season under the same temporary plan as last year.

The plan allows up to 318 commercially guided, Best Available Technology (BAT) snowmobiles, and up to 78 commercially guided snowcoaches a day into the park. The Old Faithful Visitor Education Center also reopened.

U of M Western in Dillon The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education recently named University of Montana Western Professor of Education Delena NorrisTull as 2010 Montana Professor of the Year. This honor was made official at the annual U.S.. Professors of the Year awards ceremonies in Washington, D.C. in November.

“This university has been producing remarkable teachers since 1893,” Norris-Tull says. She says Montana Western’s block-scheduling system, Experience One, prepares students by giving them the benefit of studying in an immersion-learning environment. Through this program, students take one class at a time for three hours per day, and are able to focus intensely on a particular subject.

West Yellowstone The cross-country ski trails are in great shape with a firm base and both classic tracks and skate lanes. The Rendezvous Ski Trails are open seven days a week and are ideal for a holiday ski.

The Gallatin National Forest Ava-

Big Sky Weekly

lanche Center is offering a two-day avalanche course in West Yellowstone January 1-2. An avalanche rescue beacon and shovel is required. Call 587-6984 or mtavalanche@gmail. com or info@rendezvousskitrails.com for questions or to sign up. A $30 donation to the Friends of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center is recommended.

Now that Yellowstone Park and its trails are open for the winter, West is hoppin’ with snowmobile trails and fun activities. Come on down!

The Big Hole Get your booty to Lost Trail – it’s been dumping. Total snowfall this year is over 100 inches, and because the hill is closed Monday-Wednesday, powder Thursdays are the real goods. All lifts are open.

Nearby, the tiny town of Wisdom (population 115) traces its name back to Lewis and Clark. As they travelled back across the country in July 1806, William Clark and his men crossed Gibbons Pass into the Big Hole Basin.

The party camped alongside a river Lewis had named “Wisdom” after

one of Thomas Jefferson’s character traits. Today, skiers and ranchers live alongside each other here. At 6,000 feet, this remote, wind-blown valley is spectacular in winter. Southwest of town, Homer Young’s Peak climbs to 10,621 feet.

Karen Loveless is new Livingstonarea wildlife biologist Biologist Karen Loveless has worked in Katmai National Park in Alaska.

There, she worked as a bear management specialist “keeping brown bears and people separate” on the Brooks River and tributaries. She also conducted an assessment of the harvest level’s effects on the brown bear population.

Loveless started her career in Yellowstone National Park working on research projects looking at elk calf mortality and the effects of wolves on elk and willows, ungulate monitoring, and bear management. She has also worked for FWP in the Missoula area, tracking and trapping wolves and assisting with livestock-wolf conflicts.

Loveless completed her masters thesis on wolf-prey interactions in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario.

This position replaces Tom Lemke, who retired in December 2009. Loveless plans to establish an office in Livingston by early 2011.

Yellowstone Area Residents and Employees Asked to Share Holiday Memories for StoryCorps The Oral History Collection at Yellowstone National Park contains recordings made by people from all walks of life who have visited the park, or worked or grown up in the area. However, there is very little material in the collection about the holiday season.

As in past years, the project is reaching out to current and former area

residents and employees, inviting them to share special memories by participating in the “Holidays in Yellowstone” oral history project. People of all ages are welcome to share special holiday memories involving Yellowstone whether it is about a special wildlife sighting, Santa on a snowmobile, or another holiday tradition that involves the Park.

Those interested in the project are encouraged to interview friends and family members regarding their favorite Yellowstone holiday memories, and then submit copies of the recordings for consideration to become part of the park’s permanent Oral History Collection.

Technical information about recording interviews, and even some sample questions to help you get started, is available on the web through StoryCorps, a non-profit organization working to preserve oral histories on a wide variety of subjects, some of which have aired on National Public Radio. (307) 244-2260 Charissa_Reid@nps.gov storycorps.org

Lunch, Apres Ski & Fine Dining

BURGERS & BREWS • • • •

100 beers 100 wines 12 HDTVs Full Bar & Menu

Open daily at 11:30 a.m.

Open mic night every Wednesday at 9:30pm BIG SKY TOWN CENTER big sky, montana (406)995-3830

TIMBERS - MOONLIGHT LODGE

big sky, montana (406)995-7777 Reservations Recommended For Dinner

December 24, 2010 7

Big Sky Weekly

montana

Highway 191 open to commercial trucking

By Kim Thielman-Ibes After a two-year hiatus, commercial truck traffic is again permitted on Highway 191. The Montana Department of Transportation elected to prohibit semi trucks during a highway improvement project, which began on June 2008 and ended July 2010. Lori Ryan, Montana DOT public information officer, explains that because Highway 191 is a federal aid highway, it would violate both state and federal laws to indefinitely restrict truck traffic. Today, commercial truckers account for approximately 9.42% of Highway 191 traffic, roughly the same percentage as they were before the 2008-2010 construction restriction.

The highway construction project was funded in part by the Federal Highway Administration and cost about 12 million dollars. The construction aimed to improve public safety for drivers in Gallatin Canyon and included such projects as adding turn lanes for Highway 64 going to Big Sky, replacing two bridges (the Jack Smith and West Fork), widening shoulders, flattening slopes and installing new guard rails.

Initially, commercial trucks delivering to Big Sky were rerouted to Highway 287 through Ennis. This created a hardship for Montana companies like Bozeman’s Coun-

8 December 24, 2010

try Classic Dairies. “I had trucks making deliveries to West Yellowstone and Big Sky,” says Burt Smith, Transportation Manager of Country Classic Dairies. “It took my drivers 80 miles out of their way. In the milk business, where we’re operating on pennies and our delivery cost is $1.90/mile, it really adds up.”

Highway 191 is one of three major north-south commercial truck routes through Southwest Montana, including Highway 287 through Ennis and Interstate 15 south of Butte. Commercial truckers in Southeastern Montana with southern routes prefer Highway 191 for two reasons: economics and safety. Agricultural Express Trucking out of Billings uses Highway 191 for their southbound deliveries to Idaho, California and Utah because the road is maintained, remains open during the winter months and saves them miles and time. High winds plague 287 and Interstate 15 resulting in the closure of Monida Pass, and drivers there also contend with significant animal traffic.

“We use the most efficient and practical route,” says Barry Stang, Executive Vice President of Motor Carriers Montana. “Closing one of these three routes would put more pressure on other communities as it did when

Highway 191 was closed and carriers were routed through Ennis.

It’s a matter of shifting responsibility from one community to another, and it’s why we advocate keeping all roads open that we pay taxes on to build and move goods across Montana and the country.”

The latest numbers from the Montana Transportation Research Institute show that in 2008 the Montana trucking industry employed one in 16 residents and paid more than $301 million in federal and state roadway taxes and fees, equivalent to 55% of all taxes and fees owed by Montana motorists, who represent about 12% of vehicle miles traveled in the state.

Highway 191 is the gateway to skiing, hiking, fishing and resort living. Local businesses also felt severe economic hardship with the closing of Highway 191 to commercial trucking.

“During construction it wasn’t just commercial traffic that was diverted,” says Marne Hayes, Executive Director of the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce.

Devon White, co-owner and operator of the Corral Bar and Saloon is very happy to see the construction project completed and commercial traffic back on Highway 191. “Road construction ruined us for three summers,” says White, “I was glad to see the trucks back because they brought all the traffic with them and we do a bit of business with the truckers.”

Hayes notes there is some concern about truck traffic on 191 from a safety perspective, but she’s heard more from businesses about dropping the speed limit to less than 50 miles per hour through Big Sky. Thanks to the efforts of a local Big Sky group in the mid-1980s, DOT placarded hazardous materials are restricted on Highway 191 unless permitted for local deliveries.

“No matter how you stack it, nobody enjoys living close to a two-lane highway, but the safety improvements that have been made are a benefit to all,” says Michael More, who lives a third of a mile off Highway 191 and serves as the House District 70 representative.

“The common sense reality is that it’s essential for interstate commerce, and it’s part of life in the rural countryside.”

Big Sky Weekly

explore

BIG SKY OFFERS LIFETIME OPPORTUNITIES for Wounded Warriors Upcoming program needs support as more veterans sign up for Operation SAS

By Linda Kelly

Wounded veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming to town. Mark your calendars for a banquet in Big Sky that you will not want to miss. Country music artist Lee Greenwood will emcee the event, and special guests will include Senator Jon Tester and Montana Lt. Governor John Bohlinger.

January 7-11, Operation SAS will offer “Sports, Afield and Stream” opportunities to warriors from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom with physical and/or invisible wounds.

Through outdoor recreation in Montana, veterans from around the country will be introduced to new passions, skills, thrills, comforts and even new purpose. Operation Never Forgotten (ONF) hosts this five-day rebound program. ONF is a 100 percent volunteer-supported creates national awareness campaigns for deployed troops, wounded warriors, fallen heroes, military families and organizations supporting them.

As this popular event for wounded warriors rapidly approaches, an overwhelming number of Purple Heart recipients have inquired about attending.

However, there have only been enough sponsors to pay for 20 percent of these attendees. Interested veterans include amputees, visually impaired, partially paralyzed, severely burned, brain injured or those with post-traumatic stress syndrome. All proceeds go directly to these wounded warriors.

So many disabled veterans are still athletes. For many, this exposure to new ways of doing things can help them enjoy better lives. The explosions or bullets that changed their lives may have created limitations, but so many of these wounded warriors still want to hunt, fish, do outdoor sports, learn new skills and take on new challenges. Operation SAS can help them do those things.

These well-trained men and women have been our defenders, laying their lives on the line to protect our freedom and privileges. Even after traumatic injuries, they’re still brave and honorable. We can never repay them for their sacrifices, but we can help by bringing them to Big Sky where they can redefine their perceptions of what is possible.

The banquet Friday, January 7 at Big Sky Resort is open to the public. The evening includes an elk and trout buffet, presentations from world-class mountaineers and athletes, a great auction, stand-up comedians, prizes and special guests. Banquet tickets

are sold online or at local participating outlets for $58 ($45 for Veterans). Sponsor’s tables are $500 and seat eight. The social starts at 5 p.m.

For four days following the banquet, warrior guests and assistants/companions will participate in hunting and fishing workshops, ice climbing, skiing, dog sledding, snowmobiling, archery, mountain yurt dinners, sleigh rides and winter Yellowstone tours. Come to the banquet for fun, excitement and to support wounded warriors.

For more information about volunteering or contributing, visit operationsas.org or contact Linda Kelly at mailto:linda@operationnf.org or (406) 581-8358.

Banquet tickets are available online or at: American Legion (Downtown Main, Bozeman); Residence Inn by Marriott (6195 E. Valley Center, Bozeman); GranTree Inn (1325 North 7th, Bozeman); Montana Travel (1102 West Babcock, Bozeman); Montana Troutfitters (1716 W. Main, Bozeman); Yellowstone Gateway Sports (21 Forkhorn, Four Corners); Prolite Gear (421 West Griffin #1, Bozeman); Hungry Moose Market & Deli (209 Aspen Leaf Drive, Big Sky); or Big Sky Resort

AUTHENTIC THAI & ASIAN CUISINE Open for the Winter Season Come try our NEW Halibut and Banana Curry!

Takeout available 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. nightly Please call early to place your takeout order so we may best accomodate

3090 Pine Drive #2, Big Sky 406-995-2728

December 24, 2010 9

Big Sky Weekly

Profile

Lee Poole is still looking toward the future with Moonlight

by Emily Stifler Photos courtesy of Moonlight Basin Lee Poole’s face lights up when he talks about this winter’s early snow. “I skied with my family last weekend, and we had such a great time.” His voice is soft but gravelly, and he moves his hands as he speaks. “For this time of year, this quality snow, you gotta be kidding. It’s really neat.”

The owner of Moonlight Basin has had a tough few years. Swept up in the inflated real estate boom of the early 2000s, he and his partners began developing the 25,000-acre property in and around Jack Creek – a major drainage that runs west from Big Sky toward Ennis. Laying the groundwork for a dream resort, they built the spectacular Moonlight Lodge, a major new ski area, the infamous stone entryway, and what is now a half built clubhouse and golf course.

But Moonlight was hit fast and hard by the recession. An upcoming trial with Lehman Brothers looms in April 2011, and with Lehman’s attempt to foreclose on the resort and Moonlight in Chapter 11, this litigation could potentially change the economy of the resort entirely—affecting Big Sky and Ennis, as well. Poole, though, is optimistic, and is moving forward with operations and plans for growth. With over 70 percent of employees returning, ticket sales up from last year, and a December snowpack that is over 100 percent of average, why shouldn’t he?

When Poole and his partners bought the land, “the goal from day one was to protect the property for

wildlife habitat as much as possible. Number two was to create as many jobs as we could out of Ennis and the Big Sky area, which we’ve done,” he says.

“We also wanted create a one-of-a kind experience for our owners, guests and clients coming to Moonlight.” He says the company is on track: “We’ve got better than half of the property in conservation easements through conservation buyers. We have a golf course that will be, by several experts’ opinions, probably the finest mountain course in North America. Coupled with Big Sky, we have the Biggest Skiing in America campaign. Moonlight has the best in-bounds extreme skiing in the United States, and with Big Sky we have the most skiable acreage.

Because we own the summit of Lone Mountain, we could, in the future, be number one in vertical.”

Moonlight’s history sheds light on how they got to this major tipping point. In 1973, Lee Poole and his wife Lathie moved to Montana from Cleveland, Ohio. They’d married right out of high school and had two kids. Cleveland, he says, had the highest murder rate in the United States, and was terribly polluted. He remembers when the Cuyahoga River caught on fire and burned for three days.

In search of a better place to raise a family, they picked up and moved to Ennis, Montana. “We had $7,500 in our pocket,” Poole says. They spent seven years living and working at the Valley Garden Ranch in Ennis. In the 80s and early 90s, the Pooles started a series of successful businesses in the Madison Valley – an art gallery, a custom airplane business, and a real estate conservation company. He says the relationships they built with clients helped create new investors and investments.

“The goal from day one was to protect the property for wildlife habitat as much as possible. Number two was to create as many jobs as we could out of Ennis and the Big Sky area, which we’ve done.”

When Plum Creek put the Jack Creek parcel up for sale in the early 90s, big names vied for the land: Ted Turner, the Nature Conservancy, Tim Blixeth, Ronald Reagan and Ross Perot. Poole, Joe Vujovich and Keith Brown purchased the 25,000-acre property in 1992. They hired John Cada, a wildlife biologist and timber expert who’d worked for Fish and Game, to study the ecosystem in the Jack Creek drainage.

After a yearlong study, they made a goal to protect 22,000 - 23,000 acres and to keep the road “as private as possible.” Cada suggested building a ski area and said it would increase wildlife habitats on the north side of Lone Mountain.

“When we purchased it, the property was clear cut, devastated,” Poole says. “It took years to clean it up. Joe and I went out there with borrowed and leased equipment, and we hired other contractors.

Now, after almost 20 years, the trees have grown back and are 12-25 feet tall. We’ve got one of the largest elk calving grounds in the Madison, and our moose population has almost tripled. We’ve got whitetail and mule deer, mountain lions, wolves and bobcats. We’ve created a mini Yellowstone, and an ecosystem that we believe will be able to blend with humans.”

Poole bought out Joe Vujovich in 2005. Then in early 2007, Poole and Brown decided to refinance the company and brought on Lehman Brothers as another partner. Lehman went Chapter 11 in 2008, and consequently, Moonlight laid off employees just before the ski area opened that fall. “It was really bad timing,” Poole says. They retrieved capital reserves from Lehman and rehired.

After that, Moonlight attempted to find an investor to help buy back their loan from Lehman. But when Lehman Brothers reorganized, they tried to foreclose on the resort. Moonlight entered Chapter 11 and the subsequent lawsuit with Lehman. Poole declines to discuss the lawsuit because of the upcoming litigation. “In the meantime,” he says, “we’re still working with capital and developing partnerships.” Moonlight is also continuing negotiation with Lehman.

“We have our plan and our vision, and we’re going to keep moving forward,” Poole says. The resort currently has funding through September 2011.

10 December 24, 2010

Big Sky Weekly

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Poole says the business plan coming out of Chapter 11 is conservative.

“This was really a horrible experience in the very beginning. But this just makes us better all the way around.”

He is still a businessman selling a product he believes in: “We have this winter, and we’re working on our budgets for this coming summer. That includes amenity development and new real estate products.”

He believes future markets will be in smaller, green products with reduced carrying cost. “Our goal is to make our company as efficient as possible—not just for ourselves, but also for our clients, our guests and our customers.” He adds that Moonlight is accessible to everyone: “You don’t have to own property to become a member at the golf course.

The fees are the most competitive prices in the nation. We have nine holes and are working to potentially finish the front nine this summer.”

They currently have 114 members.

Remaining conservation-minded, he aims to create a self-contained energy system and is looking at biomass boilers and geothermal sources. Opening the Jack Creek Road might seem an obvious economic solution for the company. Poole maintains, “If that opens up, it would destroy the habitats, migration routes and everything else as we know it. If somebody asks and they want to go across, we have a

program that allows them to do that.

I’m proud to show everybody what’s happened back there.” His mission remains “to protect the land we love, and to create a habitat that is forever,” he says. “I will fight until I’m dead to protect that.”

As for combining Moonlight and Big Sky into a mega-resort? While joining the skiing is positive, he says competing resorts create higher quality service and value.

“Our plan is to make [skiing at Moonlight] as simple as possible.

This has got to be a family-oriented, homegrown, Montana experience. If you want the glitz, go down to Aspen or Telluride. This is where you come and relax.”

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After 37 years in Montana and 19 owning the property, Poole wants thank the owners and employees at Moonlight for their support. “We’ve really had to cut back and everybody’s multi-tasking, including me,” he says. “Our community and the Ennis and Big Sky communities have been fantastic to us. Our suppliers and our contractors have been so faithful. 98 percent have understood our situation.”

He philosophizes: “It’ll be interesting to see how this comes together, because you never know. We feel very good about it.”

December 24, 2010 11

Winter

Celebrate

For all of our wonderful blessings

business

Outlaw Partners Announce Allocation of Marketing Grants

By Abbie Digel On December 14th, Outlaw Partners announced a plan to extend marketing grants to Southwest Montana businesses that have suffered during the economic downturn.

“In the last three months we’ve realized there is tremendous need for great businesses that are hurting and just hanging on,” says Eric Ladd, CEO of Outlaw Partners. “They would love to market but can’t afford to do it. The community supports us [Outlaw], so this is our way to give back. It is going to be an active part of our business.”

A business is eligible to apply for a grant if they meet one or more of the following criteria: •

Suffered from hardships and loss

•

Start-up company that lacks money for marketing

•

Charitable organizations in need of support

The grants will be issued monthly based on need. There will be no cap on how many grants Outlaw allows.

Once chosen, the business will sit down with the Outlaw team, and together they will decide a marketing strategy that will best support them.

“There is no one size fits all for marketing,” says Ladd. “Every business depends on who your client is and the best way to reach them. It could be print, video, online, or editorial.

We do it all.”

WINTER & COMPANY REAL ESTATE 406-581-2033

Shawna Winter www.MTwinter.com Shawna@MTwinter.com 12 December 24, 2010

Big Sky Weekly

The grants will allocate a marketing budget toward each business’ marketing needs, and help them create a platform from which they can grow. Outlaw’s inspiration grew from the idea of microfinancing, where small loans are given to poverty-stricken small businesses in order to get them on their feet.

In Southwest Montana, there are plenty of businesses that have potential to grow, but need that extra push.

“The most important time to market a business is during a recession.

It’s the hardest time to come up with money, but this is the time when businesses need to buckle down and share the news about what their cause is,” says Ladd.

Outlaw will develop the proper solution to market the grant recipient’s business, suggest ways the grant will be best utilized, and provide enough resources to ensure they will have the tools to succeed.

“At the end of the day if businesses are able to prosper, they’ll have room to grow. If providing the grants gives businesses a leg up and a chance to succeed, it will pay off for everyone.”

To apply, visit theoutlawpartners. com and click on the ‘business grants’ link - share business name, contact information and insight into eligibility for a grant. (406) 995-2055

“The most important time to market a business is during a recession. It’s the hardest time to come up with money, but this is the time when businesses need to buckle down and share the news about what their cause is.”

Big Sky Weekly

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Sky, Montana • Park City, Utah December 24, 2010 13

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14 December 24, 2010

Big Sky Weekly

health & safety

Tips for Safe Driving By chris kronebusch 191 is one of the most deadly roads in Montana, but not because of the curves or the conditions that dominate its surface. Other roads are just as windy and snow-covered and have 70 mph speed limits, but lower fatality rates. 191 is dangerous because of the volume of traffic and the uneducated, unfamiliar or inconsiderate drivers.

Some of the following items are Montana law, some are common sense: Following too closely. All motor vehicles on a roadway outside of a business or residence district, must be operated in a manner that allows sufficient space between each vehicle or combination of vehicles to enable any other vehicle to enter and occupy the space without danger. To quantify this, the distance between you and the vehicle in front of you should be around three seconds when the road is dry and visibility is not compromised. When it is slick or snowing, separation should be doubled. It is your right not to pass, but not allowing enough room for someone else to pass is dangerous for you and other drivers. This goes for

city driving as well. If someone is riding your bumper, put your hazard lights on until they back off.

Use turnouts. If cars are behind you, and there is no one ahead of you, you may be impeding traffic. In this situation, pull over and let faster traffic through. If slower drivers used turnouts more often, passing would not be necessary. Plus, it is more economical to travel at a consistent speed and not have the yoyo of accelerating and braking every time the road curves. If a vehicle doesn’t have all-wheel, four-wheel drive or snow tires, it is physically impossible to safely travel as fast as one with a proper winter set-up.

Please be courteous to those who have spent extra money to safely drive in our Montana weather.

Common sense defensive driving techniques can solve most issues in any situation, on any road. National Safety Council’s defensive driving course defines this as “driving to save lives, time, and money, in spite of the conditions around you

and the actions of others.” Anticipate dangerous situations, despite adverse conditions or the mistakes of others. If you plan ahead and give yourself enough room, your brakes can be reserved for emergencies.

Brake before entering a corner and then accelerate out of it. Using the engine to slow down gives more control to move through and complete a turn. If it is slick, braking hard while you are making a corner gives you less control.

Use headlights during the day.

This keeps you safer by letting other drivers see you from a distance. Your headlight effectiveness is greatly diminished unless you brush, scrape or clean your headlights off when they are snow-covered or dirty.

Do a regular “walk-around” your vehicle. Check tire pressure, headlights and taillights. You may be saving your own life.

Leave yourself enough time for any trip or commute. 191 drive times vary from 45 minutes to two

S R E L L SE d e t n a W BUYERS 304 & 305 LOOKING FOR GLACIER / YELLOWSTONE / SILVERBOW CONDO. 2 couples, one from Wisconsin now have a kids in the area and another from SD looking to relocate to Big Sky. ONE BUYER UNDER CONTRACT

BUYER 003 LOOKING FOR 3 TO 4 BEDROOM HOME IN MEADOW, CANYON, GATEWAY. Couple from Bozeman looking to be closer to Big Sky, pre-qualified and ready to buy.

NEGOTIATIONS PENDING

BUYER 102 LOOKING FOR DIAMOND HITCH HOME. Older couple from Florida. They’re ready for a family vacation home at a great price.

BUYER 198 INVESTOR SEEKING HIGHLY MOTIVATED SKI-IN SKIOUT BUILT PRODUCT. Cash buyer looking for Powder Ridge, Moonlight Mountain Home or Chalet. Quick closing.

BUYER 100 LOOKING FOR 2 BEDROOM CONDO UNDER $200K. Newlyweds relocating to Big Sky need immediate occupancy. Quick closing.

NEW BUYER 210 LOOKING FOR 1,000+ SQ.FT. UNDER $300K W/ GARAGE. Young, working family ready to step on the real estate ladder.

hours. It is your responsibility to check the weather conditions and plan accordingly. Furthermore, it’s always better to arrive a little late than not at all. Those who drive Gallatin Canyon frequently know it can make a 15-20 minute difference in arrival time to pass slower drivers in marked passing zones, when it is safe. However, there are occasions where there are too many vehicles backed up and passing is pointless.

Inexpensive public transportation departs and arrives at various times via the Skyline Bus. skylinebus.com Report traffic offenders to the Montana Highway Patrol at (406) 388-3190 or (800) 525-5555. This means people driving excessively slow, as well as speeding and improper passing.

Native Montanan Chris Kronebusch is Snowboard Program Manager at Big Sky Resort. (406) 995-5737

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December 24, 2010 15

history

A

By Dick Dorworth

“We have not even to risk the adventure alone; for the heroes of all time have gone before us; the labyrinth is thoroughly known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero-path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence; where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.” - Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

Skiing is as crucial to the vitality of many mountain towns of the modern West as, say, mining, logging and ranching once were and, in some places, still are. It is arguable whether the cattle, mining and logging barons (some of them robbers, some not), and the gunmen who did their bidding of the West’s 19th and early 20th centuries are heroes, but they certainly were powerful icons of undisputed influence who have, for the most part, left environmental and therefore social devastation in their clear-cut, open-pit, over-grazed, violent wake. Skiing, however, has some genuine heroes who, as Joseph Campbell points out, have left a thread to guide us to the center of our own existence where it is possible to see more clearly what we do and why and what it might mean.

Each year there are more and more skiers venturing into the backcountry. They seek different rewards—nature, solitude, untracked powder, exercise, relief from the congestion and pretension of modern ski resorts, and adventure with consequences for lapses in judgment, knowledge or respect.

Western America’s first great hero of backcountry skiing must surely be the Norwegian immigrant known as Snowshoe Thompson. Born Jon Torsteinson-Rue (later changed to John A. Thompson) on April 30, 1827 in a small town in the Telemark region of Norway, he came to America at age 10, and lived in Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin before moving to Placerville, California in 1851 during the gold rush.

In 1855, he saw an ad in the Sacramento Union newspaper for a mail carrier from Placerville, east across the snow of winter in the Sierra Nevada, to Mormon Station, Utah (which later became Genoa, Nevada). The ad read: “People lost to the

16 December 24, 2010

world; Uncle Sam needs a mail carrier.”

Like most Norwegians of Telemark, Thompson learned to ski as a child and brought those skills to the New World. He was the only applicant for the mail job, and in January 1856, a crowd in Placerville watched him leave on his first 90-mile journey across the Sierra. His homemade skis (called ‘snowshoes’, thus the nickname) were 10 feet long, made of oak and weighed 25 pounds, though in later years he got them down to about 9’4” and a bit lighter.

Few in the crowd thought he would make it, but five days later he returned, having delivered the mail going east and bringing back the mail going west.

Thus began the career of a true hero of the old west, the father of California skiing, and a Most remarkable man I ever knew, that legendary postman.

Snowshoe Thompson. He must be made

of iron. Besides, he never thinks of himself, but he’d give his last breath for anyone else— even a total stranger.

Two to four times a month for the next 20 winters Thompson made the trip, three days east, two days coming back west, covering between 25 and 40 miles a day.

Because his sack of mail weighed between 60 and 100 pounds, he carried minimal personal equipment: a few crackers, some bread and dried meat to eat, a heavy Mackinaw and a wide rimmed hat for shelter and sleep. He didn’t use a compass and once said, “There is no danger of getting lost in a narrow range of mountains like the Sierra if a man has his wits about him.”

Every modern day backcountry skier—with equipment weighing less that one of Thompson’s skis—can appreciate the simplicity and austerity of Snowshoe’s tours across the Sierra.

The Sacramento Union wrote of Thompson, “His reliability, kindness and physical prowess quickly earned the admiration and respect of the Sierra residents.”

He was never paid for his efforts and service.

Ron Watters wrote of Thompson, paraphrasing Dan DeQuille: “The mountains were his sanctuary, and storms were just another part of its raw beauty. On his skis, he could freely move across the snow covered landscape. The feeling of freedom must have been never more

real to Thompson than when gliding down hill, holding his balance pole out in front of him, dipping it one direction and then the other, his wide-brimmed hat flapping in the wind and the Sierras spread out in front of him. At times like that, he must have felt like a soaring eagle.”

S.A. Kinsey, the postmaster of Genoa, where Thompson is buried, said, “Most remarkable man I ever knew, that Snowshoe Thompson. He must be made of iron. Besides, he never thinks of himself, but he’d give his last breath for anyone else—even a total stranger.”

Thompson was true hero of the old West at the center of our own existence.

Dick Dorworth is the author of Night Driving: Invention of the Wheel and Other Blues and The Perfect Turn and Other Tales of Skiing and Skiers.

He divides his time between Ketchum, Idaho and Bozeman, Montana and is a reporter and regular columnist for the Idaho Mountain Express.

gallery

December 24, 2010 Volume 1 // Issue #5

“Bison Head in Snow” by Pat Branting

Big Sky

“Hungry Grizz” by Katie Lee

MEET ARTISTS PAT BRANTING, KATIE LEE, AND TERRY AND WHITNEY HALL December 27 and 28, 4 - 8 p.m. at Big Sky Furniture Meadow Village, Big Sky Also featuring: Stone tables from Black Mountain Forge Wine offerings from Natalie’s Estate Winery

Pat Branting Originally from Nebraska, painter Pat Branting has lived in the Gallatin Valley since 1976. She taught elementary school for 34 years and now teaches adult art classes out of her home in Belgrade. Branting is excited for the Western Masters Show in Great Falls this coming March, which is in conjunction with the annual C.M. Russell art show.

I mostly paint in oils, but I do watercolors also. I love to paint Montana landscapes and wildlife. I use colors and go for mood and light in a painting.

I’m working on a big painting of Lone Peak right now that’s four by six feet.

I do plein air watercolor sketches of landscapes. That’s been part of my learning to paint. I also paint from photographs. I’m an avid hiker and outdoor person. I hike in Yellowstone Park, in Glacier and around Gallatin County.

I love the washes and the beautiful freedom that comes in painting in watercolor. In oils, I love the textures you can build up and the thickness.

“Fresh Powder” by Katie Lee vacationed to the mountains, and found it so beautiful, so we packed up and moved here. We skied every weekend, and hiked and backpacked in the summer. We canoed the rivers and rafted.

I raised two boys and they are avid skiers and mountain bikers. I’m the only artist in my family.

My art is my passion. I retired from teaching and feel like working on my art is what I need to be doing. It feeds my soul and completes me. patbranting.com

Katie Lee Katie Lee was born in Montana and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The 26-year-old is self-taught as an artist. At 14, she started painting with acrylic and now primarily works with oil on canvas. She completed her college degree at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, did a stint in Seattle, and recently moved back to Grand Forks.

I paint animals because people enjoy them, but sometimes wildlife is just a bunch of browns. I use color to make things more interesting and colorful than they really are. I love mixing and making new colors.

I think animals have their own personalities. I am just finishing painting a bear. I like the massiveness of bison—they have such a history with the Native Americans and their connection to the land. I love placing the animals in their habitat. I’ve got a moose walking in the water along the Madison River in Yellowstone Park.

Montana has always been an inspiration. I love skiing, and I have family in Big Sky and visit every year. I’ve also painted subjects from North Dakota.

How the animals survive in winter amazes me. I love all the different moods snow can give.

I’ve turned my paintings into greeting cards and custom-made greeting card gift boxes.

I’m from North Platte Nebraska, where the North Platte and the South Platte rivers meet. During my childhood, we spent a lot of time on the rivers and lakes. We

I haven’t been to this show before, and I’m excited. gallerybykatielee.com

I’ve sold paintings all over the U.S. and Mexico.

December 24, 2010 17

Big Sky Weekly

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18 December 24, 2010

Big Sky Weekly

outdoors

Since my life, my partner’s, and the skiing public’s safety depended on the decisions we make during avalanche control work, we take this aspect of the job very seriously. On the Ridge even small avalanches can produce a lot of harm to a person by knocking someone over a cliff or into trees, thus it is imperative that every hazardous pocket of snow gets covered.

On route at the Ridge, Peter Carse throws an explosive into a newly loaded avalanche starting zone. Photo by Luke Rice.

Ray and I chiseled large cornices off the ridge-top, ski cut fields of powder, and placed shots, all in an attempt to find and flush out weaknesses in the snowpack.

We finished and called ourselves in clear to dispatch. The results from our route were limited to small isolated pocket avalanches, and new snow sluffing, which indicated a relatively well-bonded snowpack with limited weaknesses. This will change over the course of the winter, weaknesses will develop, and it will be our job to stay on top of the changes that take place within the snow.

avalanche controL at Bridger Bowl

By Luke Rice “OK, Ray, my shot has a clean, dry fuse end and is properly assembled,” I said, and then looked up at veteran Bridger patroller Ray Dombroski.

The sun lit his face as he listened.

He nodded. “I have a safe, makeable placement, a dry igniter, our position is safe from shrapnel and hazard above, and our run out is clear. Our contingency plan is to take our established escape route to a safe location on that knoll.”

Dombroski nodded again.

“Fire in the hole, upper Colter’s,” I called in to dispatch on my radio.

I cut an inch of fuse off, attached and held a pull-wire igniter to the fuse, then yanked the cap off the igniter. The fuse smoked. I tossed the shot just below a notorious, avalanche-prone rollover.

Ray had already forged a path to our safety zone through dense, kneedeep powder, so my escape was quick and safe. We hunkered down and plugged our ears. 90 seconds after I’d ignited the fuse, a deep boom echoed along the narrow range of mountains. Snow burst from the blast, and the sonic clap shook a blanket of new powder from the surrounding trees and cliffs. The resulting avalanche created a thick, white cloud that plummeted through a tight gully and over a cliff band.

As Ray and I continued working the C-south region of the Ridge on that first day of avalanche control for the 2010-2011 season, we recited Patrol Director Doug Richmond’s rules for before lighting each shot. Later in the season these rules become ingrained in our routine, but for now, we recited them to refresh our memories on each critical point of the process.

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“Yeah, I can’t remember the last time we had this much snow before Thanksgiving,” he replied with a grin that showed almost 30 years of history with the mountain.

With no control work conducted thus far on the Ridge, the snowpack was backcountry. Because of this, we travelled with our senses heightened.

Over the course of a season, and over 50 years of avalanche control history, Bridger’s patrol has developed an idea of how the snowpack is going to behave before we’re even up doing control work for the morning.

However, this early in the season our information base was limited, so our approach was one of caution.

We pointed our skis downhill and enjoyed a few powder turns on our way to help get the rest of the mountain ready for an enthusiastic skiing community waiting for the lifts to start turning once again.

Luke Rice was born and raised in the Shields Valley and graduated from Park High School in Livingston. After graduating from Colorado College with a degree in environmental science, Luke moved back to Southwest Montana. He now resides in Bozeman and is a professional ski patroller at Bridger Bowl.

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“Looks like we could be in for a good season,” I said to Ray. Given that the base was already over 40 inches and it was only November, I couldn’t help but be pleased.

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DR YSDALE M CLE AN W IL LETT PPLP est. 1969

Bozeman Ice Climbing Festival

LAW PRACTICE EMPHASIZING: Commercial & Business Law Estate Planning • Trusts Probate • Real Estate • Wills Mediation • Employment Law

By Emily stifler The 13th annual Bozeman Ice Climbing Festival December 7-12 in Hyalite Canyon was a great success. With participants and visiting pros from across the state and continent, the festival kicked off the ice season with a bang. 60 people per day participated in on-ice clinics, as per forest service regulations. With dozens of other visiting climbers also in the canyon climbing, Hyalite had a festive atmosphere for those four days.

The evening events were also a big hit, with 200-400 people attending slide shows and films from local climbers and international superstars like Adam Knoff, Will Gadd and Jim Shimburg.

With support form Arc’teryx, Northern Lights Trading Company and Montana Alpine Guides, the festival still has a homegrown feel. Participants mingled with professional athletes from one-on-one instruction to hot chocolate and schnapps

JAMES A. MCLEAN ANDREW J. WILLETT

afterward. This followed a somber event last year, when Canadian climber Guy Lacelle was killed in an avalanche in Hyalite.

P: 582-0027 F: 582-0028 2066 STADIUM DRIVE, SUITE 101

“The turnout was amazing. People are showing so much support for the festival, for plowing the Hyalite road, and for Guy’s family,” said festival organizer, Joe Josephson. bozemanicefestival.com Interested in climbing ice, but never been? Want to climb something rad but can’t get the rope up? Montana Alpine Guides, the state’s oldest guide service is a great place to start. Professional guides can help you take a whack at this incredible sport on Ouzel Falls in Big Sky, in world-renowned Hyalite Canyon or in the alpine flows of the Beartooths. adventuremontana.com (406) 586 - 8430

Base Area Twin Zip Guided Zipline Tour Bungee Trampoline Climbing Wall Tube Park

bigskyresort.com/basecamp or call 406-995-5769

BSWeekly_12-17.indd 1

12/17/2010 10:29:56 AM

December 24, 2010 21

Big Sky Weekly

J EWELRY - ART - ARTIFACTS

NATIVE AMERICAN & WESTERN ACCENTS f o r you and your home

IN LIFE’S GREAT ADVENTURE EVERYONE COULD USE A HAND.

WE’RE COMMITTED TO HELPING YOU MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

I N T H E M O U N TA I N M A L L

LOCALS LIVE IN BIG SKY? Then bring this couONLY!

B I G S K Y, M O N T A N A

pon and get 25% off all jewelry between 12/24 & 1/15 No minimum purchase required. Expires 1/15/11

406-995-3210

Get a free pearl necklace set FREE with any purchase over $200.

PEARLS !

Includes a 16” necklace of natural freshwater pearls and matching earrings. A great gift for anyone on your list.

At First Security Bank, we know that you have individual goals, and our products and services are designed to help you reach them – faster.

And, with a friendly staff of experts always willing to lend a hand, you’ll never feel like you’re alone in the wilderness. Stop by the branch in Meadow Village or call us for more information.

www.ourbank.com

(406) 993-3350

Expires 12/31/10

Member FDIC

FOREST HEALTH SPECIALIST

5TH ANNUAL

FREE CHRISTMAS TREE PICK-UP WILD FIRE FUEL REDUCTION • FOREST CLEAN-UP TREE CARE • FOREST MANAGEMENT & CONSULTING STUMP REMOVAL • DEFENSIBLE SPACE • FIRE WISE FOREST HEALTH & BEAUTIFICATION SERVICES

406.581.9675

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from our crew!

Please leave your tree at the end of your driveway or in a convenient pick-up location visible from the street. Please remove any non-organic materials, string, wire of tinsel, as this may clog our equipment.

January 3-7, 2011

Mountain Village • Moonlight BasinCanyon (North to Karst and South to the Corral Bar) Beaver Creek

January 10-14, 2011

Meadow Village • West Fork • South Fork • Fire Light • Hidden Village Aspen Grove • Sweet Grass HIlls Spanish Peaks

If we missed your location or if you need more information, call us at 406.581.9675

22 December 24, 2010

Big Sky Weekly

sports

Brett Favre’s Streak Ends,

but will the drama ever be over?

By Brandon Niles

1992. The first Bush was president, Miley Cyrus was born, Marissa Tomei won an Oscar, and Brett Favre made his first career NFL start. Since then, Favre has started every game until mid-December 2010. That’s 297 consecutive starts; an NFL record by a long shot. Second and third place on that list are at 205 and 116, though Peyton Manning is still adding to his current run at 205. This streak is amazing due to the physical nature of football, and it’s unlikely it will ever be broken.

Assuming Favre retires, it will be the end of an era. His record is impressive, and at times he’s been a thrill to watch. But watching him play this year was like watching your grandfather ice skate. It’s clear he knew what he was doing at some point, but now he needs to get off the ice and let the kids have a turn. Favre deserves to go into the Hall of Fame, but to become eligible he has to retire. All indications point toward Favre hanging up his cleats (and his Dr. Scholl’s foot inserts) at the end of this season.

“...watching him play this year was like watching your grandfather ice skate. It’s clear he knew what he was doing at some point, but now he needs to get off the ice and let the kids have a turn.”

If he does retire, maybe announcers will stop injecting him into every discussion. For years, Favre has been a media darling. Maybe it’s the way he smiles or his exciting style of play that makes the media go nuts over him. Perhaps it’s the Wranglers commercials. Even this season, amidst allegations of misconduct regarding a certain phallic photo, Favre remained popular.

I propose a solution to the Favre mania that swept the sport of football each year.

Now that the streak is over, and his body has paid a terrible toll for his incredible longevity, we can simply nod our heads, acknowledge the effort and move on. This year, let’s assume Favre isn’t playing and stop worrying about it. There will be other things in football to talk about, and fans will

love those things because football fans love football. There are after all, 1,695 other NFL players. Everyone will be okay if we don’t hear Favre’s name this off-season. Besides, Peyton Manning is feeling very ignored.

Brandon Niles has done online freelance writing about the NFL since 2007. His articles range from NFL news to team-specific commentary.

A Communication Studies graduate student at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Niles is also an avid Miami Dolphins fan, which has led to his becoming an avid Scotch whisky fan over the past decade.

helping owners of rental properties enjoy a pleasant, hassle-free and rewarding second home ownership since 1999.

East West considers the relationship with our Big Sky and Moonlight Basin homeowners a partnership. We’ll work together to maintain and improve the condition of your Big Sky/ Moonlight property and its rental performance.

e a s t w e s t bi g s k y. c o m | 8 7 7 . 5 1 2 . 9 7 9 4 December 24, 2010 23

Big Sky Weekly

P

roudly serving buyers and sellers in Big Sky, Yellowstone Club, Moonlight Basin and the Club at Spanish Peaks

AT BIG SKY SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY WE KNOW WHY YOU LOVE BIG SKY. WE LIVE HERE, WE WORK HERE, WE PLAY HERE.

Big Sky Resort’s Black Eagle Lodge

We can help you realize your investment goals by offering unrivaled access to qualified people and distinctive properties within Big Sky and around the world.

Yellowstone Club Sunrise Ridge Condo

bigskysothebysrealty.com 24 December 24, 2010

|

406.995.2211

|

info@bigskysothebysrealty.com

Big Sky Weekly

book review

Outlaw Library

by Hunter Rothwell

“We must handle the water, the wood, the grasses, so that we will hand them on to our children and children’s children in better and not worse shape than we got them.”

-Theodore Roosevelt This call to action was Roosevelt’s most consistent message during his extraordinary presidency [19011909]. So many books have been written about this man that you could fill a library. The majority of Roosevelt biographies concentrate on his successes as a soldier, a trustbuster, infrastructure projects initiated during his administration, his imperialism and the building of the Panama Canal. Douglas Brinkley’s The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, provides due compensation for Roosevelt’s lifelong mission to preserve America’s natural resources. During his tenure, Roosevelt created the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service, and he oversaw the passage of the Antiquities Act of 1906. On his watch, Roosevelt’s administration created five National Parks, 18 National Monuments, 150 National Forests and placed 230 million acres of U.S. land under public protection [half the size of the Louisiana Purchase].

Brinkley explains that from a very early age, the bright young Roosevelt consumed books on nature. His heroes were storied men such as John James Audubon and Charles Darwin.

His own father, Theodore Roosevelt Sr., founded the Museum of Natural History in New York City. Before the age of 10, Teddy started his own natural museum in his family’s home, where he performed all the taxidermy himself. Roosevelt’s boyhood dream was to become a great naturalist.

Rich in detail, Brinkley’s writing rewards the reader with often overlooked historical accounts of Roosevelt’s bird watching in the Adirondacks, hiking trips in the Blue Ridge Mountains, ranching in the Dakotas, hunting in the Big Horns and his escape to the outdoors of Wyoming,

Montana, Idaho and the Sierra Nevada. From Roosevelt’s teenage years until his death in 1919, he published 26 books, over 1000 articles and thousands of speeches and letters on his observations of the natural world.

Brinkley used these to offer insight into Roosevelt’s mind.

When he stepped into the presidency in 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley, Roosevelt utilized his “bully pulpit” to slow the hectic pace of lumber, mining, fur and plumage interests. By this time, half of America’s original stand of timber had been cut and billions of tons of precious topsoil had eroded.

The American bison and many native bird species had been harvested to near extinction.

wild areas.

The Wilderness Warrior is a treasure of a biography and should be a priority read for anyone who loves nature. With no uncertainty, Brinkley helps readers understand how much we owe Theodore Roosevelt. The beautiful state of Montana would look very different if not for his unwavering crusade for conservation.

Rough Rider Teddy believed in hard work and wild places:

To his critics, Roosevelt was a man of contradictions. He was a preservationist and a big game hunter. He was a leader who encouraged war and conflict as being healthy for the national spirit, but then won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating a halt to war between Russia and Japan. He championed “the strenuous life.” He boxed, wrestled, lifted weights, hiked, rowed, rode horses, played polo and tennis. Often called the most intellectual president since John Quincy Adams, he could read two books a night and recite passages from those books five years later. The First Volunteer Calvary Regiment, nicknamed the Rough Riders by the press, was the embodiment of Col. Roosevelt’s diverse interests. The Rough Riders consisted of every type of successful American man from cowboys and Indians of the Wild West to Ivy League friends from New York. Brinkley masterfully highlights Roosevelt’s most interesting characteristic—his adventurous side.

Brinkley’s accounts of Roosevelt’s friendships with the most recognizable names in American history are wonderful: racing through the woods alongside John Burroughs to see who could identify the most birds; camping with John Muir in Yellowstone, where Muir set fire to a dead pine tree and the two men danced around it in celebration; the retelling of Roosevelt’s friendships with his Rough Riders and Seth Bullock, the sheriff of Deadwood. These relationships, in combination with Roosevelt’s unwavering passion, helped the 26th president achieve so much for America’s

“When life gets to be too easy and the elements of danger, risk and hardship are removed, we have to expose ourselves to these again, and we need to preserve the places where we can do that.”

wishing you

HOLIDAY CHEERS

(406)995-3350

Open

7 Days

a Week 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

We are 100 yards north of the Big Sky turn off in the Bighorn Shopping Center

December 24, 2010 25

Big Sky Weekly

Ski out your door to access Yellowstone Club, Big Sky Resort and Moonlight Basin • Nine properties available from 1.7 to 4.8 acres spread among 23 acres • 65 acres of additional dedicated open space • Year-round access to private and public amenities

Skiing YC’s Private Powder™

“Any day you can remember is a great day. There are many days where you follow a routine, and they seem to blend with all the others. We aspire to create experiences that can break through the routine and create amazing lifetime memories. At Lone View Ridge within Yellowstone Club, we’ve been able to do that.”

- Developer, Lone View Ridge

Custom Residence 486

Designed by Locati Architects, built by SBC Construction

Exclusively

Yellowstone Club, Uniquely Big Sky

elevation8448 development24.41acres open space64.76acres gross88.17acres

snowfall400+inches ski access8200acres golf course18 holes designed by Tom Weiskopf

Direct ski access to: Yellowstone Club Big Sky Resort Moonlight Basin

To view videos and learn more about Lone View Ridge properties, visit LoneViewRidge.com or YellowstoneClub.com. For direct questions or sales inquiries, email sales@loneviewridge.com 26 December 24, 2010

Big Sky Weekly

T h e w e s T m ay b e w i l d , but it’s not uncivilized

N e w m e N u ! Featuring • Roasted Locally Grown Organic Beets, Arugula, Amalthea Dairy Chevre, Orange Supremes, Fine Herb Vinaigrette • Asian Barbecue Glazed grilled Quail, Braised Greens, Fingerling Potato, Blood Orange Gastrique • Braised Szechuan Spiced Rubbed Bison Short-ribs, Parsnip Potato puree, Broccolini, Braising Jus

New ResTauRaNT maNaGemeNT Steve Kuntz & Matt Fritz

RaiNbow RaNch ResTauRaNT 8 0 0 - 9 3 7 - 4 1 3 2 • 4 0 6 - 9 9 5 - 4 1 3 2 • F ive m i l e s s o u t h o f B i g S ky e n t r a n c e o n H w y 1 9 1 Reservatio n s r e c o m m e n d e d • w w w. r a i n b ow r a n c h b i g s ky. c o m December 24, 2010 27

Big Sky Weekly

BIG SKY BUSINESS SERVICES New Location: 3091 Big Pine Drive Unit 6-2, Big Sky (next to Gallatin Alpine Sports & Big Sky Chamber of Commerce)

HOURS Monday-Friday Saturday Sunday

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Closed

Ship your ski equipment and luggage directly to your home or office!  No unknown fees  No waiting at baggage carousel  No hauling it through the airport  Ship & Relax

Services offered: UPS, FedEx, USPS, packing, packing materials and boxes, copying, faxing, scanning, office supplies, envelopes and shipping supplies, gift wrap and supplies, greeting cards, postcards, private mailboxes, mail forwarding service, peanuts and bubble wrap recycling.

Phone: 406-995-7884

Fax: 406-995-7885

Email: bsbsmt@yahoo.com

Reduced by over 1 million dollars from original listing price!!!

Custom Crafted Home on 5.14 acres bordering open space/horses allowed!

Featuring 5800 sq ft +/- home with high end finishes throughout.

4 bedrooms/plus loft - 6 baths Gourmet Kitchen 3 fireplaces & multiple living areas Spacious yet cozy!

Professionally landscaped & Wonderful Wilderness views!

28 December 24, 2010

$1,787,000

130 Fortress Road, Porcupine Park Sub. -POSSIBLE TRADE OPPORTUNIT YCall: Caroline Henley 406-581-0964 henleycaroline@hotmail.com Broker/Agent Owned

Big Sky Weekly

ski bum 101 Big Sky is a secluded ski town in a corner of reality. This column is for those who are here or in other Montana ski towns to live, party (optional), ski, snowboard or telemark every possible day, and for those who want to bike, fish, camp, hike, or climb all summer. I’d like this to be a guide for surviving issues like broken skis or broken cars, and a guide to feeding yourself properly so you don’t expire in the middle of the Big Couloir. This column is for those who desire a better life, and for those of us who don’t want to go back to where we came from. In this column, I will do my absolute best to help the Big Sky ski bum succeed in living the dream.

BIG SK BEST P Y ’S I

&CALZ ZZA ONES

Delivery Take Out Take-N-Bake

406-995-7175

Lesson 2: The Epic Day by eric paulson

5 1 2

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OFF

ANY ORDER $15 OR MORE

Offer not valid with any other coupon or discount

$

OFF

COOKIE DOUGH

Offer not valid with any other coupon or discount

$

OFF

ANY SALAD

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There are great days of skiing, and then there are epic days. Epic days should never be confused with epic conditions. While epic conditions happen all the time, for you to truly have an epic day you’ll want to take care of a few things first.

1. Wake up! Getting out of bed can be a chore. Between working, riding, and partying, the average ski bum usually lacks sleep. For many, waking up early isn’t an option. For these individuals I suggest learning ‘The Fireman’. This is a pretty easy skill once mastered. First, have all your gear ready to go. Socks, clothes, goggles, skis... everything. Lay it all out so you can wake up, sit up, and start putting your gear on. The goal is to be out the door in three minutes.

Once you’ve mastered the fireman, you can sleep longer and still make it to the mountain on time.

2. Make sure your sticks are tuned. You can go all season long without tuning your skis or board, but that doesn’t mean you should. Sure, you probably won’t notice your tune (or lack thereof) cruising down the Dictators in chest deep powder. But slow sticks equal longer cat tracks, wasted energy and a slower, less epic you.

3. Give yourself the energy to ski all day long. Your day won’t be epic if you’re bonking at noon. Everyone is different, but the most common sources for energy come from things like food, water and caffeine. My personal routine is feasting the night before, drinking a pot of

West Fork Meadow Plaza facebook.com/trailheadpizza

coffee the morning of and snacking between runs. I fill my backpack with things like water, hard-boiled eggs, dried fruit and trail mix. All of these are affordable and filling.

4. Plan your attack. This skill is mastered with time and consequently, it makes each epic day better than the last. Things like snow, wind, chairlift openings/closures and crowds need consideration. I’ve had epic days skiing all over Big Sky and Moonlight Basin, but the most important thing for me is finding the chunk of the mountain with the deepest snow and the smallest crowds.

5. Face shots. Ahhhh, the most important part of the equation. While the act of choking is not something I usually enjoy, I make an exception when it gets deep out there. When it gets really deep, you have to time each turn to inhale between face shots. Some days it is so deep you wished man was born with the ability to breathe snow. Those are the days you remember for the rest of your life: when you’re firing on all cylinders, floating through ridiculously deep powder, and you feel like the mountain has disappeared and left you hanging in the clouds. This is it... this is EPIC. Eric Paulson, owner of LonePeak Auto Detailing, moved to Big Sky in 1999.

He grew up skiing Spirit Mountain in Duluth, Minnesota. Besides enjoying the outdoors, Eric spends the rest of the year focused on work, fishing, hunting and fixing up old cars.

SHUFFLEBOARD NIGHT Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m.

• 8 Teams of 2 • Double elimination • Players get $3 pints and a special tournament menu HOURS

Everyday 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. OR LATER...

We stay open if people are having fun!

365 Days a Year!

(406) 995-3939

Big Sky Meadow Village Center

December 24, 2010 29

Big Sky Weekly

This is how Big Sky gets into hot water.

Nordic Hot Tub We service what we sell!

Spa sales to fit your budget Pool and spa care after the sale Custom maintenance plans

Spa covers and custom lifts Lots of accessories for your spa Special orders available

www.BigSkyHotTubs.com (406) 995-4892 • NordicHotTub@aol.com 47520 Gallatin Rd. • Big Sky, MT 59716

30 December 24, 2010

Big Sky, Montana Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner Drink • Dine • Den 5 miles South of Big Sky - HWY 191, Mile Marker 43 menu online - www.corralbar.com - 406-995-4249

Big Sky Weekly

Big Sky Skating and Hockey Association BSSHA Updates On New Year’s day at 3 p.m., the Alpine Ice Rink at Town Center will host the 1st Annual Pavelich Invitational.

This first-ever hockey game at the new rink will feature players from Big Sky and Bozeman. Marty Pavelich, 83year old Big Sky resident and 4-time Stanley Cup champion from the 50’s, will drop the puck. Open skate begins at 4:30 p.m., along with live music on Center Stage. Food and beverages will be available on-site, and rental skates available from Grizzly Outfitters.

Additionally, the BSSHA received confirmation that their grant application to the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation (YCCF) was approved. This funding will be used to purchase equipment, supplies and services necessary to build and maintain the new ice rinks.

Sign up for hockey during the adult or youth hockey slots. Cost is $34 and USAHockey.com membership. The Alpine Rink at Town Center will be open to the public on December 24.

There will be a suggested donation of $5 for skating.

December 24, 2010 31

Big Sky Weekly

®

Assuring the value of your investment

The newest strategy to go from For Sale to Sold In today’s uncertain real estate market, HomeBuyer’s Price Protection is the new way to assure value for potential buyers and give your home a competitive edge against a sea of other unsold homes.

For Buyers: Buyers need to have confidence that the home they just purchased will not lose value after the closing. HomeBuyer’s Price Protection assures buyers the purchase value of their home will not decline and offers sellers a clear-cut competitive advantage.

For Sellers: Now more than ever, sellers need a tool to help them stand out in a market saturated with homes for sale. HomeBuyer’s Price Protection is a unique and compelling way to sell your home without games or gimmicks and without lowering your price – all while giving buyers the confidence to purchase a home without the fear of it losing value after closing.

Let HomeBuyer’s Price Protection take you from For Sale to Sold.

Call 1-877-906-8246

or visit homebuyerspriceprotection.com to learn more about HomeBuyer’s Price Protection, and to obtain a directory of professional realtors in the Big Sky area that offer this innovative new program.

32 December 24, 2010

food & dining

The Corral In the fall of 1988, hunters gathered in front of the The Corral with their trophies and posed for a photo.

David House, co-owner of Big Sky’s favorite steak house, looks at the photo today. “That was the best hunting season ever,” he remembers. Wildfires drove elk out of woods that year, and proof hangs on the walls of this cozy old Montana establishment.

Only months before that epic season, David House and Devon White, both working construction, purchased The Corral from two Utah couples. “I wish I had a video tape back then,” says David, who sits at the bar eating his breakfast of buffalo sausage and dripping eggs. “The guys drank cheap whiskey and the girls worked all the time, so we jumped behind the bar and worked. We had to duck things that were getting thrown in the bar.”

When David and Devon took over, The Corral wasn’t known for its cuisine. “We wanted to put out a good burger and steak, and on top of that we had endless local support. What did we have to lose?”

Built as a one room log cabin in 1947, The Corral was a destination for hunters who brought their horses literally right to the bar. The eight-bedroom motel was built in 1974.

David House arrived in Big Sky in 1975. “Me and a couple of buddies moved here when there was Max Spore, feeding an elk outside the restaurant, built the Corral in 1947.

December 24, 2010 Volume 1 // Issue #5

By Abbie Digel

Big Sky

Photos courtesy of the Corral

still a gravel road. I was shoveling snow and skiing every day.” Born and raised in Michigan, House had never seen so much snow. “It was bottomless,” he says. “Those were the days.”

The Corral has been through hard times, but David sees the glass half-full. During 2009, stacks of applications were flowing in, and he struggled keeping the establishment afloat, but now there are signs of hope. David thinks this will be the best season in years.

This winter, expect to see the bar floating with locals, Yellowstone Park visitors, and skiers ordering up local brews or $2.50 bottles. Week nights are known for the $7 burger and beer special, all you can eat pasta night, and steak night. The local favorite is the Steak Corral, a filet wrapped in bacon and topped with crab and béarnaise sauce, but the Corral is known for their burgers, all made from Montana and Colorado meat.

“We’ve had the same meat supplier since we took over,” explains David. “When you change providers you can’t keep the same quality.”

The Corral will always draw a colorful crowd.

While the biggest challenge, David says, is maintaining their high standard of quality and service, they sure do a darn good job. corralbar.com (406) 995-4249

PorK Tenderloin with Roasted Grapes & Balsamic Glaze

4 7oz. pieces of pork tenderloin 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste 4 Cups red seedless grapes, stems removed 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold, divided 2 Cups Homemade Chicken Stock 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar 2 Tbsp. Honey Preheat oven to 500F. Brush tenderloins with some of the extra virgin olive oil, season with salt & pepper. In an oven proof sauté pan, heat remaining olive oil & sear pork on all sides until browned.

Remove from pan & set aside. Return pan to high heat; add 1 Tbsp. butter and when hot add grapes. Toss to coat and brown slightly. Return pork to pan with the grapes and roast in oven approximately 10 min(for medium) Remove pork and grapes to side dish and keep warm, leaving juice in pan.

Return pan to burner on high; add chicken stock, vinegar and honey. Cook over high heat until reduced to approximately 1 cup. Cut remaining 3 Tbsp. butter into several pieces and whisk into sauce one at a time to thicken. Adjust seasoning, add Grapes to sauce.

Slice pork into medallions and arrange on plates, spoon grapes and glaze on top. Enjoy!

December 24, 2010 33

Big Sky Weekly

THE

EXTRAORDINARY, EXCEPTIONAL UNIQUE

&

“I know how to best present your property in order to sell this ski season. I offer Big Sky’s most comprehensive advertising campaign coupled with the Sotheby’s International Realty brand.

By listing with me, my clients get a foundation of experience, professionalism and a proven record of success in Big Sky.”

Jeff Helms

JEFF HELMS Big Sky’s Expert in Real Estate

Montana YO U R H O M E I S I N

34 December 24, 2010

JEFF HELMS Big Sky Sotheby’s International Realty 123 Lone Peak Drive Big Sky, Montana 59716 tel 406.995.2244 fax 406.995.2249 jeff.helms@sothebysrealty.com

EVENTS Gardiner 1950’s New Year’s Eve Party December 31, 2010 Gardiner Community Center

Gardiner Speech and Drama Meet January 8, 2011 Gardiner School 848-7563

Planning an event? Let us know!

Email abbie@theoutlawpartners.com and we’ll spread the word.

Christmas Brunch at Lone Mountain Ranch

Half Moon Saloon featuring Head for the Hills

December 25, 2010 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

(406) 995-2872

December 31, 2010 9 p.m. (406) 993-9666

Family Night with Moonlight December 27, 2010 Madison Village Base Area 5 - 8 p.m.

(406) 995-7716

cooke city Christmas Eve Potluck and Church Service

January 1, 2011 Alpine Ice Rink at Town Center 3 p.m.

Christmas Activities

“Eye of the Buffalo” by Katie Lee

December 25, 2010 Big Sky Resort Santa, Fireworks, Torchlight Parade and more 995-5806 or 995-8006

December 27 and 28, 2010 4 - 8 p.m.

Big Sky Furniture Wine and cheese will be served

Meet Big Sky Artists

When the Sun, Moon and Seasons Align

In ancient northern cultures, the solstice day was often a cause for celebration.

From here on out, the days will only become longer and lighter. The Romans called it Dies Natalis Invicti Solis,

Gentleman Hall at Whiskey Jacks

First Annual Pavelich Invitational followed by open skate

big sky

According to The Farmers Almanac, “a lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the sun and the moon. In this alignment, the shadow of the Earth falls upon the moon, dimming the moon and giving it unusual coloring, ranging from muted gray to coppery orange.” The red color during an eclipse is created because the only light hitting the moon is the glow from Earth’s sunrises and sunsets.

December 30-31, 2010 (406) 995-4111

December 31, 2010 Big Sky Resort (406) 995-8077

December 24, 2010 Fire Hall Church Service at Mt. Republic Church, Dinner is 4 to 5:30 p.m.

Service is at 6 p.m.

On December 21, the winter solstice marked the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, as well as the shortest day of the year. In 2010, there was also a total lunar eclipse.

The last time these two events coincided was in 1638.

Mission Mountain Wood Band at Buck’s T-4 Lodge

‘the birthday of the invincible sun’.

The December solstice occurs when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. This day varies year to year from December 20 to December 23.

In 2010, there were two solar and two lunar eclipses, according to the NASA website.

Big Sky Weekly

paradise valley New Year’s Eve Bash!

December 31, 2010 Pine Creek Cafe featuring Archer’s Mob 7:30 p.m.

Saddle Tramps Band December, 31 2010 Chico Hot Springs 9:30 p.m.

livingston Community Christmas Dinner December 25, 2010 Civic Center 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

The Doors Legacy Band December 31, 2010 Mint Bar & Liquor Store of Livingston 9 p.m.

Big Sky’s

F ull S ervice G rocery S tore

Amazing selection & affordable prices here in Big Sky Fresh, Hand-Cut Meats • Deli & Snacks Gourmet Items • Beer & Wine

Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses do not harm the naked human eye.

The next total lunar eclipse visible in Montana will occur on the morning of December 10, 2011.

E.S.

Open Daily from 6:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Located in the Meadow Village next to Lone Peak Brewery bigskygrocery.com T: (406) 995-4636

December 24, 2010 35

Big Sky Weekly

business directory

Home

Auto

Life

The

Agency Insurance Division Protecting Your Assets

Call us today at 993 9242 or visit us on the web at www.ins-agency.com

Business Profile of the Week: Ozssage, Ltd.

FOR SALE BY OWNER 2605 Little Coyote Rd. Meadow Village

Ozssage, Ltd. has been servicing clients for 10 years under the innovative leadership of Jacquie Rager. When clients walk into the studio, nestled in the Meadow Village in Big Sky, “they feel like they’re coming home.”

Recently built. 2800 sq ft. 3 BD 3BA plus large loft. 2 car heated garage, finest fixtures and finishes, custom cabinets, beautiful Alder floors, & stacked stone fireplace. Make this a must see. Minutes to golf, world class fly fishing & hiking trails in summer. Out your door, access to cross country trails in winter.

Skiing at Lone Mountain’s Big Sky Resort just up the mountain.

At Ozssage, whose name is a creative blending of the Australian pronunciation of the country itself, and “massage,” you’ll never get a therapist who is tired or overworked. All therapists are nationally certified and continue their education through clinics and hands-on practice.

Motivated seller asking $689,000 Possible owner financing.

Call Mike’s cell 239-273-4809 for a showing or go to www.2605LittleCoyote.com for more information and photos.

Buyer agents welcome at 4%

Rager moved to the states in 1999 after a ski instructing career in Australia. Her interest in massage therapy began after her own injury on the slopes, which began her commitment to massage therapy’s healing properties. When Rager moved to Big Sky, she began Ozssage with a focus on treatment specific message, and in 2004 became affiliated with Big Sky Health and Fitness. “We built this building from ground up. I was able to put together what I wanted from a spa,” says Rager.

BIG BURRITOS. BIG TASTE.

Ozssage’s full service menu offers facials, waxing and massage for injury prevention, healing, and relaxation. All services are tailored to fit clients’ needs. Put away a couple hours for an appointment and take advantage of the comfy chairs and good reads in the tranquility room. Enjoy a private steam with a hot or cold rain shower and aroma and color therapy, or hit the full service gym. Choose from four treatment rooms that change with the seasons: couples, Thai, Asian and Australian. All rooms have a view of the pond behind the spa.

SMALL PRICES.

“All spa packages are based and designed on escaping,” says Rager. “If you can’t get away for your spring break, you can escape to somewhere at Ozssage.” You can even arrange a massage in your own home. Ozssage therapists gladly make outcalls to the Club at Spanish Peaks, Big Sky Resort, Moonlight and the Gallatin Canyon area.

TACOS • WRAPS • BOWLS KIDS MENU • BEER • MARGS EVERYTHING MADE FRESH EVERY DAY!

DINE IN • TAKE OUT • WEROLLEMFAT.COM

WINTER HOURS START DECEMBER 6 OPEN DAILY 11-8

FIND

US O

N FAC

E

!!

BOOK

LOCATED IN THE WESTFORK PLAZA NEXT TO MILKIES. CALL AHEAD 995-3099!

Providing eco-conscious screen printing services for custom apparel, posters, signs, and other projects.

36 December 24, 2010

406-995-2940 hello@pahaonline.com meadow village, big sky

Stop by for last minute holiday gifts and purchase Rager’s homemade body products, all made without chemicals and preservatives, or pick up a gift certificate for a 30, 60, or 90 minute massage. The website offers detailed descriptions of all treatments and daily specials. ozssage.com (406) 995-7575 A.D.

Big Sky Weekly

� PILATES � YOGA � MASSAGE � PERSONAL TRAINING

� HEALTH COUNSELING

Big Sky L I M IT E D

AD SPACE AVAILABLE

CONTACT ERIC

406-570-0639 • 406-995-2055 MEDIA@THEOUTLAWPARTNERS.COM

Tax return preparation

Happy Holidays and welcome back to Big Sky! If your painting still needs to be done please call:

Tax planning Payroll Services Bookkeeping Financial Statement preparation Business Consulting

Dennis Henley

Business Valuation

Painting Contractor Registered Licensed, Insured Specializing in Repaints 406-581-3057 henleydennis@live.com

Free Estimates

ROOF SHOVELING

WAYNE NEIL, JR. CPA DOUG NEIL CPA JAKE NEIL CPA

Celebrating 40 years of business serving Montana and the Gallatin Valley!

581-9675 BIG SKY AREA

1184 North 15th Ave. Ste. 1, Bozeman, MT 59715 Phone (406) 587-9239 Fax (406) 586-4737

December 24, 2010 37

Big Sky Weekly

Big Sky Weekly

FOR SALE

In need of a Caretaker or Estate Manager? Former corporate facilities manager with 20 years of home building experience seeking long-term caretaker/estate manager position. I will provide an exceptional level of service and commitment in exchange for housing + salary. Excellent references.

Contact Scott @ 406.451.8510

TYM Tractors--the only tractor with the standard5 YEAR WARRANTY, starting at $13500 Yellowstone Tractor Co. 406-3882423 “Your snow removal headquarters”

---------------------------

didate must live in the Big Sky area and be able to fulfill on-call duties as needed. Submit cover letter and resume to: employmentinfobigsky@ gmail.com. EEO

home of the

10

$

--------------------------By Word of Mouth Restaurant is hiring a FT night line cook. Please call or email to set up a interview 406-995-2992 or bwombigsky@ montana.net

Classifieds!

--------------------------Need some extra money? Come share your passion for the Big Sky area as a Driver for Shuttle to Big Sky & Taxi. Must be at least 25 yrs of age w/ clean driving record and able to lift 50 lbs. FT & PT positions avail. Please submit resume to info@bigskytaxi.com. EEO.

$15 with photo

Each Ad can be up to 4 lines (Maximum of 30 words).

Additional lines are $5 per line, Maximum of 8 words per line.

---------------------------

Email classifieds and/or advertising requests to: media@theoutlawpartners.com (406) 995-2055

HELP WANTED Engineering Tech (Part time) The successful candidate will possess basic maintenance skills as they relate to the maintenance and upkeep of household and condominium environments. The ability to diagnose and repair common maintenance items such as simple plumbing issues, heating problems, small appliance repair, are required.

Any experience with satellite TV repair or troubleshooting is a plus.

Candidate must be able to use simple hand tools and lift up to 50 pounds. The successful candidate will be a self-directed and active problem solver able to work under pressure with tight deadlines. Can-

Reservationist (Part Time) Successful candidate will have reservations experience selling lodging over the phone for hotel or condominium properties. Ability to verbally communicate features and benefits of different properties to sell inventory is required.

Familiarity with the Big Sky area is a plus. Must be able to learn and use computer software to book reservations. A high level of professionalism is required for this position selling luxury accommodations. Please send cover letter and resume to: employmentinfobigsky@gmail.com. EEO --------------------------Ophir School District #72 seeking a route bus driver. CDL w/”S” endorsement required. Please see full ad and application online at www.ophirschool.com

For rent Want to Open a Business?

Commercial Space in Town Center – owner is prepared to make deals happen for lease or ownership. Amazing spaces range from 1200sq/ft to 2000sq/ft. Owner, Sam Sammis - (PH) 802-522-8500

Lost

--------------------------Small cabin in Gallatin Canyon.

Available now. 1 person only, NS/ NP, 1st last and deposit. $450/ month. Call 763-4361

SERVICES

Steam Ice Dam Removal - Custom Roofing Professionals - Copper, Cor-Ten, Cold-Rolled, Standing Seam, Cedar Shake, Asphalt - Full-Spectrum Roof Inspections, Including Infrared 406.209.3786 www.roofcoop.com SNOWMOBILE RENTALS DELIVERY AVAILABLE www.bigboystoysrentals.com 406-587-4747

Is a New Computer on Your List?

If you’re planning to buy a new computer this year, you may find that your old dial-up connection just can’t deliver everything your new computer can. Want to watch YouTube? Download music? Stream movies? If you want your new computer to work as advertised, now’s the time to upgrade to 3 Rivers High Speed Internet—sign up today, speed up your connection and save! $39.95 per month for 12 months!* Save $120!

Call today!

1.800.796.4567 ● 467.2535 * New customers only. 12 months commitment required. After 12 months, cost is $49.95 per month.

Speeds are not guaranteed. Not available in all areas. Call for details and qualification.

38 December 24, 2010

Pilates/Yoga fusion class EVERY Sunday at 9:00 am @ BENTLEY BODIES studio in Big Sky. Increase strength, flexibility & balance. All fitness levels welcome.

WWW.BENTLEYBODIES.NET 406.570.9154

Missing since 11/17: Blk&White Malamute named Polar. Last seen on Gallatin Rd. near Karst. Large, Friendly, trained. $1000 Reward for any info leading to his return.

Lenny at 406-548-7499.

Want to advertise in this newspaper or our other publications?

Contact Outlaw Partners at (406) 995-2055 or media@theoutlawpartners.com

Big Sky Weekly

fun

People on the street what are you doing for new year’s eve?

Kristina Whitlow Ennis I’m probably going to bed early because hopefully it’ll be a long week full of avalanche control (with Moonlight Basin ski patrol).

Holiday Fun Facts This year, the White House Christmas Tree came from the Blackrock District of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. The 67 ft. Englemann spruce may have been logged for plywood or attacked by treekilling beetles, but instead a Forest Service employee spotted the tree, and this is the first time ever the Capitol Christmas tree is from Wyoming.

The first president to decorate the white house Christmas tree in the United States was Franklin Pierce.

Contrary to common belief, poinsettia plants are non-toxic.

“It’s a Wonderful Life” appears on TV more often than any other holiday movie.

Rudolph was actually created by Montgomery Ward, a housewares seller, in the late 1930’s for a holiday promotion.

The rest is history.

If you received all of the gifts in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” you would receive 364 gifts.

Holly berries are poisonous.

More diamonds are sold around Christmas than any other time of the year.

“Auld Lang Syne” is an old Scottish song that was first written down in the 1700s.

A translation of the words is “We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet for times gone by.” christmas-celebrations. com/trivia/html dailyyonder.com howstuffworks.com

Host a Festive New Year’s Party As told to Abbie Digel Pam Flach, owner of By Word of Mouth Restaurant and Catering in Big Sky, shares her tips and tricks for throwing a fabulous New Years party.

Drink:

Mark Davidson Big Sky Skiing at midnight. I want to be the first person on the slopes in 2011.

Sally Patrick Big Sky The Progressive Nordic Ski Party. We start at the mountain and end in the meadow, stopping at two hot tubs, three bars, and a couple houses along the way.

Keep your guests hydrated and not sorry they came the next day by leaving out a clear pitcher of water with lemon slices.

Set up a self-serve cocktail table. Fill a small tin tub with holiday beers or get a portable keg from your local brewery filled with seasonal brew. For wine, keep it simple. Choose a red blend to please all your guests. Place Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc in an ice bucket, and put all-purpose wine glasses next to the wine.

Make-Ahead Martinis: Infused vodka is fun, and the options are limitless.

Use pineapple, pear, lemons or cranberries. Let the fruit sit in a cheaper variety of vodka a few days before the party to infuse the fruit flavor. Place infused vodka and fresh fruit in a pretty, clear pitcher. Don’t forget to put out a good bottle of vodka to please the purists.

Leave out a small bucket of ice, a few cocktail shakers, glasses and garnish (lemon peels, olives). Stuff olives with blue cheese or garlic if you are feeling ambitious. A small bottle of your favorite hot sauce will add a kick to martinis, as well.

bake at 350 five minutes on each side. Serve at room temperature with a flavored aioli (spice added to mayonnaise) and lemon wedges. Add a bowl to the buffet table for discarded shrimp tails and tooth picks.

Round off the buffet table with selections of artisanal cheese and crackers. Garnish with fruit. A small vegetable crudités tray with colored peppers, al dente asparagus, carrot sticks, and other seasonal vegetables is a nice addition.

Dessert You can’t do it all, so visit your local bakery and choose brownies, bars etc. Cut desserts into small squares and sprinkle with powder sugar.

Guest Arrival: Hand out flutes of Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) as guests arrive. This beverage is readily available, affordable, light, and something fun and different.

Drop a few frozen cranberries in the champagne flute and drink up. This is a festive way to greet guests and put everyone at ease.

Want to party without the prep? Call By Word of Mouth and they will cater your event.

(406) 995- 2992 bigskycatering.com

Food: Finger food is best to keep the chatter going. Try these easy appetizers.

Lila Shuman South Carolina Celebrating my birthday. I’m turning six on January 1. We might open a couple presents with my parents.

Escalantes Stuff dates with almonds. Wrap each with half slice of raw bacon, secure with a toothpick, and put in oven-proof pan. Drizzle with soy sauce. Cover with foil, bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes to brown tops. Make ahead of time and warm up just before guests arrive.

Oven-Browned Shrimp Put raw shrimp on greased or parchment covered pan. Sprinkle a light dusting of chili powder and dried dill on both sides. Drizzle with olive oil and

December 24, 2010 39

Big Sky Weekly

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

For the Big Sky Weekly, the Back 40 is a resource: a place where we can delve into subjects and ask experts to share their knowledge. Topics include regional history, profiles of local artists and musicians, snow and avalanche education, and how-to pieces for traditional or outdoor skills.

Last year, Jovial age 9, Dad age 42, Headwaters

Christmas Presence

By John E Milich

As Christmas rapidly approached this year, I searched for the right gift for my 10-year-old son, Jovial.

Along with skiing and mountain biking, Jovial is the love of my life.

As such, buying this gift should be an easy task, but each year I make it as difficult as possible; not buying for buying sake, but looking for something special. While I tried to maintain a good attitude toward the Yuletide season, rampant consumerism and piles of crappy red plastic chafed my chamois. I wanted this gift to be something that carried the magic of the Christmas dream– something from the heart. More than anything, it had to be something that justified the weeks of anticipation that define Christmas.

Hiking for his first turns at Moonlight, Jovial age 4

40 December 24, 2010

As a kid, I looked forward to Christmas with intensity only a child could conjure. Starting the countdown as soon as I’d devoured my Halloween candy, I marched through the house announcing “32 days ‘til Christmas…18 days ‘til Christmas.”

This had a lot to do with having two solid weeks off school, but I also looked forward to the magic. The possibility of a phat philanthropist charging through the night sky in an enchanted sleigh towed by flying reindeer was amazing. Believing was part of the spell. To make all the magic work, I had to believe in Santa and talking snowmen, Wise Men and babes in a manger. One small bubble of doubt could have brought the whole fairy tale to a fiery end;

Jovial at age 7, late season Bridger (Pack borrowed from Dad for photo sake)

the threat of coal in my stocking or the reality of hand knit sweaters in every box under the tree.

The presence of the extended family—grandparents, uncles, aunts and funny-faced cousins – enhanced the magic. Their personalities mixed with the smells of fresh pine and apple cider. Cinnamon and Scotch tape became part of Christmas lore.

It wasn’t until I spent a Christmas alone in a mildewing VW van, eating tuna fish out of a can after a rainsoaked ski day in the Cascades that I realized, with a shock of disappointment, that Christmas really is just another day. After that, it became too easy to get caught up in that mentality, but I was none the better for it.

Jingle Bells gave me lobe-splitting headaches. I shouted at Christmas ads on the TV. (Why would Santa ride a Norelco razor around the North Pole?

He’s got a full beard fer chrissake!) I bahhhhumbugged, scrooging my way through the litany of ‘over commercialized’, it’s ‘just a bunch of plastic junk’, ‘lost the real meaning’, until it became the truth—or at least less colorful to believe.

My son has given me the gift of remembering that spark of magic and the anticipation, the joy and the warm love of family members who made the miracle complete. What is Christmas, spirituality or love without belief?

As I searched for the perfect gift for Jovial, I needed to find something

that countered the distraction of digitally enhanced technology. I wanted to find something that didn’t light up, spin or whirr. It couldn’t be something that talked or even hinted of a personality. One year, Jovial received a talking grill named ‘the Bobby Q’.

The slightest motion would set the thing hissing and taking orders for a plastic hamburgers and dogs.

So, I decided to slip a backcountry ski pack under the Christmas tree for Jovial this year. This is the ski family’s equivalent to giving him his first pocketknife. It’s a rite of passage and a way for me to let Jovial know he’s transitioning from a little kid that follows his dad around at the ski hill into a young man gaining ski partner status. A pack is a tool that will ultimately teach responsibility, while also encouraging a little bit of autonomy. And, all the grand rhetoric aside, when I think of the time Jovial and I will spend in the mountains together this winter, a huge smile comes to my face and a warm feeling washes over my heart.

I believe that’s what the magic of Christmas is all about.

JohnE Milich moved to Bozeman in 1980, graduated from high school in West Yellowstone, and has been a professional ski patroller and builder in Montana and Utah for the past decade. He had his first Bridger pass in 1981, and currently works at Moonlight Basin. He lives with his wife and son in Bozeman, and dabbles in writing poetry and short stories.