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Big Sky

Big Sky’s Locally Owned & Published Newspaper

March 18, 2011 Volume 2 // Issue #6

Dirtbag Ball: Wild, Wooly & sometimes Scandalous

Staycation | 320 Ranch

Photo by troy paulson

The Uncertain

Future of

Medical

Marijuana

Local gear: Buck Products Knappsacks

Big Sky kids headed to state science fair

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Big Sky

Happy spring from the Outlaw Partners! Spring Equinox this year is March 20.

Big Sky Weekly

March 18, 2011 Volume 2, Issue 6 CEO, PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Eric Ladd COO & SENIOR EDITOR Megan Paulson CREATIVE DIRECTOR Mike Martins MANAGING EDITOR Emily Stifler GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kelsey Dzintars EDITOR Abbie Digel Sales Director Hunter Rothwell Distribution Director Danielle Chamberlain VIDEOGRAPHER Brian Niles

Two Daisiy Girl Scouts learning to Rock Climb at Geyser Whitewater this fall

CONTRIBUTors Anne Cantrell, Audrae Coury, Ania Bulis, Ethan Gaddy, Kelly Gorham, Crystal Hagerman, Sara Hoovler, Jamey Kabish, Mike Quist Kautz, Hatton Littman, Cindy McGinnis, Brandon Niles, David Nolt, Ersin Ozer, Troy Paulson, Nicole Rosenleaf-Ritter, Rachel Roth, Scotty Savage, Kaela Schommer, Amy Smit, Ennion Williams

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.

It’s Girl Scout Cookie Season Visit the Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming website: gsmw.org to find out how to get your Samoa cookie fix. The girls have dominated sales this year, so get them while they last!

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 © 2011 The Big Sky Weekly Unauthorized reproduction prohibited

2 March 18, 2011

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. We reserve the right to edit letters. Please include: first and last name, address, phone number and title. Send letters to emily@theoutlawpartners.com.

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Table of Contents Community…4

Classifieds…31

Local News…7

Local Gear…33

Regional…8

Gallery...37

Montana…12

Outdoors…38

Explore…14

Health &

Collage...17

Wellness…41

Youth…23

Music Hunter…43

Sports…24

Events…45

Real Estate…25

Fun...47

Business...27

Back 40…48

Big Sky Weekly

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Big Sky Weekly

community

Resort Tax Q+A Hello Ms. Smit, My wife and I are visiting this week for the great skiing at Big Sky. I read your article about the Resort Tax in the “Big Sky Weekly” and have some questions about your comment that to have a “resort area, the community must be unincorporated, with a population of less than 2,500.”

My wife and I live in Red Lodge, which is under 2,500 in population but is incorporated, in fact, we voted for our resort tax, which has done great things for our town. I know that Whitefish, Montana, is incorporated and is over 2,500 in population. Am I missing something in the interpretation of the “Resort Tax” law?

-HR from Red Lodge

Letters The chairlift dismount lacking style The dismount… An under-appreciated and misperceived art form when skiing the lifts. People! I assure you that a wave or a nod will no longer cut it when leaving the chair. It is time for some BMS (Big Mountain Steeze).

I’m talking about showing some excitement when your long ride up is over.

Maybe a superman or tickets to the gun show. Add some creativity and come up with a grab or something!

And what’s this business with standing up way to early? There are “unload here” signs for a reason. Unless you like getting bumped in the rear as a parting farewell... If that’s your thing then, by all means, keep it up. It’s your ass on the line.

Dear HR, When I referred to resort area, I was using the definition contained in Montana state law. Montana has two categories for places, which may implement a resort tax: communities and areas.

So, to all of you ski bums out there, the challenge has been set. The bar has been raised. Are there any willing challengers out there?

Big Sky is a resort area because it is unincorporated and has a population of less than 2,500. An incorporated town with a population of less than 5,500 is considered a resort community. Whitefish, Red Lodge, Virginia City and West Yellowstone are Montana’s current resort tax communities. Resort areas in Montana with a resort tax are Big Sky, St. Regis, Seeley Lake and Craig.

Correction and Compliment

The voters in Ennis recently voted against implementing a resort tax in their community. Seeley Lake is the one resort area that has not implemented a resort tax.

Thanks so much for your time and interest. If you would like more information, please visit the state of Montana’s Official website, mt.gov, and search for the term “resort tax”.

In the March 4 edition, in your article THE ONE DOLLAR BILL, your second sentence contained a mistake. 1957 was not the first year for the one dollar bill. It was the first year the dollar bill appeared as a Federal Reserve Note. It was also the first time “In God We Trust” appeared on the dollar bill. Prior to 1957, the dollar bills most seen in circulation were series of 1935 Silver Certificates.

There is no official explanation for the reason one side of the pyramid is dark while the other side is lighter on the back of the bill. People have assumed the stated intention.

The bald eagle was used on the seal because it is a uniquely American bird.

Amy Smit Do you have a question about resort tax? Email Amy Smit, Big Sky’s Resort Tax Administrative Officer, at amy@bigskyresorttax.com.

Skiers and Snowboarders help fight cancer at Big Sky Hope on the Slopes Event The Second Annual Big Sky Hope on the Slopes event took place on Saturday, March 12 under the bright blue sky of the Big Sky Resort. There were 30 skiers and snowboarders who participated in the fight against cancer by raising over $6,300.

The printing of the one dollar bill by the federal government goes back to the Legal Tender Notes that were issued August 1, 1862 and contained the portrait of Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln.

As a side note, the Presidential Seal had the eagle facing the claw holding the arrows until President Truman had it changes so that the eagle now faces the claw holding the olive branches.

- Monroe Cameron P.S. I like the clean layout of the newspaper.

Gransberg Cup Results The First Annual Gransberg Cup took place Saturday, March 12 at Big Sky Resort.

89 competitors ages five through 70-plus took place in this event. Racers came from Big Sky, Bozeman and as far as New Zealand (albeit through the Yellowstone Club) to compete.

Megan McWalter raised $1,025 to win the K2 Ski – Slay Blade Snowboard valued at $550. Power Plex was the Top Fundraising Team -- they raised $3,372. Vertical Challenge winners were Luke Arbib with 56,666 feet, Kristen Karr with 51,702 feet and Mark Bukowski with 46,116 feet.

“We had hoped for more participants to come out and enjoy the day,” said Cindy McGinnis, American Cancer Society staff. “ But we are thankful to all those who raised funds to help fight cancer and to all the businesses who provided food or prizes. Next year, we hope to double or triple the number of participants.”

If you are interested in helping with the 2012 Big Sky Hope on the Slopes event, please contact Cindy McGinnis at (800) 252-5470 or cindy.mcginnis@cancer.org

4 March 18, 2011

- Mike Hawk

explorebigsky.com

Top 20 Competitors: Alexa Coyle Henry Hall Scott Foster Peter Manka Denny Holder Wesley Robbins Jim Robbins Percy Amble Reece Bell Kuka Holder Aaron Van Wechel

Fran Noel Nick Matlich Tim Cyr Chris Linkenbach Maci St Cyr Beck Trebesch Kodi Boersma Sam Johnson

Big Sky Weekly

BSSEF Race Updates BSSEF racers dominated at Discovery Over 160 kids from the state of Montana competed at Discovery Mountain the weekend of March 5 and 6, including 25 athletes from Big Sky. The Big Sky girls filled the podium every day in the J-7, J-6, J-5 and J-4 categories, with Alexa Coyle getting the fastest time overall on Sunday. She beat both the women and men racers that day. Many of the Big Sky athletes placed in the top 15 each day. Congrats racers!

Big Sky Athletes who made the podium: Saturday, March 5 J-7 Girls – Kassidy Boersma – 1st J-6 Girls – Mazie Schreiner – 2nd J-5 Girls – Kuka Holder – 2nd J-4 Girls – Alexa Coyle – 1st

Sunday, March 6 J-7 Girls – Kassidy Boersma – 1st J-6 Girls – Mazie Schreiner – 3rd J-5 Girls – Kuka Holder – 3rd J-4 Girls – Alexa Coyle – 1st

J-7 Boys – Alex Rager- 2nd J-7 Boys – Luke Kirchmayr- 3rd

BSSEF offers dynamic programs for all ages

By Abbie Digel The Big Sky Ski Education Foundation (BSSEF) was founded in 1993 by a group of parents who wanted to provide opportunities for their children to become avid skiers and gain appreciation for the sport. Originally, the organization solely provided race programs, but since, they’ve added a freeride team, a nordic team and a masters program for ages 18 and above.

said Eric Becker, President of the Board. Becker is a 20 year resident of Big Sky, and has been involved with BSSEF for two years both on the board and as a parent. “We have a group of completely dedicated parents and volunteers,” Becker said. Some of those parents grew up within the program, like Jeremy Ueland, who is Program Director, along with 14 coaches.

There are 80 participants within the competitive, racing-based foundation. “We had 50 kids competing in all different places last weekend,”

The funding for the foundation comes from a mix of sponsors, like Lone Peak Physical Therapy and Alpine Property Management.

Tasty Treats Yield Big Bucks for Ophir The annual Ophir School Pie Auction, which took place at Buck’s T-4 on Saturday, March 12, brought in more than $40,000 this year. The event was an “amazing success,” said organizer Kimmi Warga.

“It was great to see so many people—including those who do not have children at Ophir—at our auction. In a recovering economy, to make this much money is a testament to the community and how Big Sky values education,” Warga said. “We were touched by all the local businesses that contributed items for our silent and live auctions as well as the raffle.”

The evening’s theme was Mad Hatter.

Event attendees dressed in their best costumes and hats to make the most of the evening. Pies, cakes, student artwork and the best Big Sky has to offer was up for grabs.

Ski filmmaker Warren Miller and his wife Laurie dropped by the auction to bid on a few items. Lone Peak High School Students have the option of participating in The Warren Miller Freedom Foundation’s Young Entrepreneur Program, which is popular at the school.

The Ophir School student council, teachers, administration and students would like to thank Buck’s T-4 and everyone who supported the event. ophirschooldistrict.org Visit explorebigsky.com to read Barb Dillon’s letter about the pie auction.

Other funds come from hosting races, program fees, resort tax and grant writing. BSSEF also received a generous grant from the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation, and students can apply for merit-based scholarships.

“An individual sport like ski racing is invaluable for character development, family time, athlete development, and learning a lifestyle sport,” said Becker.

is meant to help introduce newcomers to the sport, which has been growing in popularity in Big Sky, thanks to the miles of groomed trails at Lone Mountain Ranch. Last week, the Ranch hosted the first annual Big Sky Nordic Ski Festival. Locals showed up and raced down the pristine groomed trails for the King and Queen of the Mountain race, as well as other events throughout the week.

Check bssef.com for race schedules or to get involved.

New this year is the nordic terrain park. Near the Town Center, the park

Big Sky Freeride Team Goes Big at Crystal Mountain, headed to Targhee, WY In the beginning of March, the BSSEF Freeride team, along with coaches ScotLivingston and Devan Backstom, and a few family members, spent the weekend in Crystal Mountain Ski Area for the second stop of the Junior Freeskiing World Tour.

Competition day dawned with a foot of fresh snow and foggy, snowy conditions. Big Sky Freeride had three competitors at Crystal: Micah Robin, 14, Solomon Amsden, 16, and Joey Manship, 16.

Robin was the first to compete. His takeoff and air were beautiful, but the backseat landing ended in a yard sale.

Solomon Amsden competed in the 15-17 age group. He skied smoothly to his first feature, launched himself upside down and landed his first back flip in a competition. The crowd went wild and his support group heaved a sigh of relief. But it was short lived, as Amsden headed to a cluster of rocks to launch one more trick. He landed hard on hidden rocks that ripped the bottom of his skis to shreds.

Joey Manship had a decent run with a couple of nice hits, but also found the landing difficult on the last jump.

Their next competition is in Targhee the weekend of March 25.

explorebigsky.com

March 18, 2011 5

Big Sky

Integrity.

Vision.

Craft.

An Update from The Big Sky Natural Resource Council

By Crystal Hagerman The Healthy Forest Initiative program is working with Northwest Management, a business contracted to prepare the final draft of the Big Sky Forest Stewardship Plan. Once complete, the Council will make it available to the public through printed and electronic copies, public forums and workshops.

The Council is also working towards offering natural resource education, being a resource for natural resource/ forestry information, and assisting with forest related activities that can reduce on-the-ground costs such as utilizing the woody biomass from forest activities, and/or treating forests on a landscape level to keep costs low, and being more effective with actively managing forestlands.

406-995-2174

continentalconstruction.com/montana

In January, Council Member Ernie Filice coordinated an informational conference call with General Electric, Nexterra, council members, and representatives from Montana Department of Natural Resource and

Conservation and Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

They discussed: - Where GE and Nexterra stand with utilization of woody biomass projects.

- How Big Sky can determine if there is enough woody biomass material from private lands to supply a system long term and that the system is cost effective for the owner and supplier.

- How Big Sky can determine and ensure that a woody biomass system would not compromise Big Sky’s precious and very important air quality for breathing and aesthetics.

Filice is conducting ongoing conversations with Northwest Energy, and the Council is looking to have them attend the April Council meeting. foresthealth.wikispaces.com

Big Sky Fire Department A “Heart Saver” CPR class will be offered Sunday 3/20 at 9 a.m. Please call Station 1 @ 995-2100 to sign up. Future classes will be done as needed, please call for details.

3/5 - 02:21-02:59 – Fire personnel responded to a report of Smoke. No hazard was found and crews were cancelled while enroute.

3/5 – 11:05-12:24 - EMS personnel responded to Moonlight Ski Patrol.

Patient received ALS care and was transported to Big Sky Medical Clinic.

3/5 – 12:13-12:56 - EMS personnel responded to Big Sky Ski Patrol.

Patient received BLS care and refused transport.

3/5 – 12:18-13:35 – Fire and EMS personnel responded to a Vehicle Accident out of district on Hwy 191. Law Enforcement controlled the scene and patient was transported by AMR. 3/5 – 12:33-16:04 - EMS personnel responded to Big Sky Ski Patrol. Patient received ALS care and was transported to BDH. 3/5 – 13:39-17:00 - EMS personnel responded to Moonlight Ski Patrol.

Patient received ALS care and was transported to BDH. 3/5 – 14:52-15:50 - EMS personnel responded to Big Sky Ski Patrol. Patient received ALS care and was transported to Big Sky Medical Clinic.

R E C E N T P ROJ E C T Chalet 504 at Yellowstone Club explorebigsky.com

3/5 – 18:37-18:58 – EMS personnel responded to Station 1. Patient received BLS care and refused transport.

3/5 – 19:39-22:45 – EMS personnel responded. Patient received ALS care and was transported to BDH. 3/6 – 12:10-14:55 - EMS personnel responded to Big Sky Ski Patrol. Patient received BLS care and was transported to BDH. 3/6 – 16:15-19:33 - EMS personnel responded to Big Sky Ski Patrol. Patient received BLS care and was transported to BDH. 3/8 – 20:26-23:30 – Fire personnel responded to a Carbon Monoxide Alarm.

The hazard was mitigated and property turned over to homeowners.

3/8 – 22:19-22:30 – Fire personnel responded to a Fire Alarm. No hazard found.

3/10 – 14:09-14:30 – Fire personnel responded to a Fire Alarm at Big Sky Resort. Crews were cancelled enroute.

3/10 – 14:40-16:00 – Fire personnel performed a service call.

3/11 – 10:33-11:10 - EMS personnel responded to Big Sky Ski Patrol.

Patient received BLS care and refused transport.

3/11 – 22:06-23:15 – EMS personnel responded to Big Sky Resort. Patient received BLS assessment and refused transport.

Big Sky Weekly

local news

Penny Wars at Ophir, LPHS All Saints Joins Pennies 4

By Hatton Littman Peace Campaign Penny Wars is an annual fundraising hope for the future. This shows those campaign at Ophir School spearheaded by the Middle School Student Council. This fall, the 12-member council voted to send Penny Wars funds to the Central Asia Institute (CAI), which is based in Bozeman and works to build schools in remote Pakistan and Afghanistan.

From March 1-11, Big Sky’s Penny Wars became part of Pennies for Peace (P4P), a growing international campaign of over 11,000 schools and organizations that have raised over 535 million pennies.

Student Council President Trevor House said, “It introduces how other people in the world don’t have the lives that people in Big Sky do. It introduces new ways to give to people who aren’t as fortunate as people in our school are.”

Council Treasurer, Bella Butler, and Secretary, Dasha Bough, added,” It means a lot to those kids because they haven’t been given the same opportunities that we have. To be given this opportunity gives them more

students that there are people who care about them and that they are appreciated.”

Traditionally, funds from Penny Wars were donated locally to Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter. This year’s fundraiser takes a more global approach and also connects the entire school with a cause linked to our curriculum. In primary grades, students are doing a reading Around the World program; the second grade class is sending coats, clothing and supplies to children in Afghanistan; the sixth graders are studying India in World Geography and the High School students study the entire Middle East in their Interdisciplinary Block 1 and 2.

Ophir School District is so pleased to receive the support of All Saints Fellowship, bringing the world into our classrooms.

Hatton Littman is the film/video teacher at Big Sky’s Ophir School and Lone Peak High School. She is also faculty advisor to the student council.

Ophir District Awarded for Anti-Tobacco Efforts This month, Montana Office of Public Instruction Superintendent Denise Juneau recognized Ophir School District in Big Sky as a Tobacco Free School District of Excellence.

Ophir will be highlighted among a growing number of Montana districts for exceptional school policy efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use as part of the Montana Tobacco Free Excellence Initiative. Tobacco Free School Districts of Excellence receive official recognition, new tobacco free signage

to be displayed at schools and events, as well as resources and technical assistance from OPI. The purpose of the Montana Office of Public Instruction School Tobacco Use Prevention and Education program is to help schools educate their students on the risks of tobacco. They provide technical assistance in the development of tobacco free school policies and help schools meet the standards of the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act.

Ophir School Board Update At the last Ophir School Board meeting on February 23 Chair Loren Bough awarded 37 Honor Roll Certificates to Middle School and High School Honor roll students.

The Facilities committee reported on a recommendation to move towards a levy in Spring of 2011 to address serious safety issues surrounding the parking and traffic flow near the LPHS entrance.

Contracts necessary to accept the donation of bleacher seating for the LPHS Bighorn Football season were approved.

Lastly, the Board approved a motion for a May 3 election for one trustee position.

The next regular Ophir School Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 30 at 3 p.m. in the Ophir School/Big Sky Community Library.

There will also be a Budget Workshop on March 30.

The school calendar for 2011-2012 school year was approved and is available for review on the website ophirschooldistrict.org.

By Audrae Coury

In conjunction with Big Sky schools’ penny fundraiser, the Outreach Committee of All Saints in Big Sky also sponsored a P4P campaign February 20 - March 21 to fund the Central Asia Insitute (CAI).

The Bozeman-based CAI was cofounded by Greg Mortenson, who is best known for his New York Times bestsellers, Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools. Through its mission “to promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan,” CAI has established supported over 170 schools in both countries.

According to CAI’s publication, Journey of Hope, “P4P is designed to educate children about the world beyond their experience and show them that they can make a positive impact on a global scale, one penny at a time.”

As part of the Big Sky campaigns, CAI representative Fozia Naseer will present at Ophir and LPHS, and at an evening community forum sponsored

by All Saints at Big Sky Chapel on March 21. A lawyer and teacher

from the Kashmir region of Pakistan, 27-year-old Naseer did post graduate studies at MSU with a CAI scholarship. She is currently working with scholarship students in CAI’s Azad Kashmir program.

Although the P4P website focuses on how to do school-based campaigns, many community groups like All Saints of Big Sky have joined the effort.

Audrae Coury was an ESL/EFL teacher for over 40 years. She has worked with international women students, refugees and immigrants. In Big Sky since 1993, Coury is on the church council, the All Saints in Big Sky Outreach Committee, is Secretary of the Gallatin Canyon Women’s Club, and is an active member of the Arts Council.

Community Forum Recap – APEC, BSIA, Parks

By Danielle Chamberlain On Thursday, Mar. 10, the Big Sky Chamber hosted a community forum in the Big Sky Chapel meeting room. Approximately, 130 people attended the hour-and-half meeting, where updates were given on the APEC conference at Big Sky Resort, zoning committee, Biggest Skiing In America Campaign, Big Sky Town Center and Big Sky Parks and Recreation.

APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Corporation) holds four annual conferences in a different country. The upcoming conference in Big Sky will be the second this year, and is expected to bring in approximately 1500 people during May 7-21. U.S. Senator Baucus (D) was instrumental in bringing APEC to Montana. The conference will focus is on mining, trade, and small and medium enterprise.

The Zoning Committee gave general updates on their ongoing work amending the current regulation and zoning in Big Sky. Representatives from the Biggest Skiing in America gave an update on fund allocation for that marketing campaign.

The Big Sky Town Center announced an idea for an entryway to Big Sky on 191 that would attract the summer crowd into the business area.

Big Sky Parks and recreation gave an update about the Madison Valley Commission that controls Big Sky’s funds for parks and recreation, and the research a Big Sky group has done in an effort to retain those funds locally.

They are looking into a final decision to create a Big Sky Parks and Recreation District, with an option to create a new tax. bigskychamber.com

explorebigsky.com

March 18, 2011 7

regional An artificial climbing boulder by Stronghold Fabrication

Lynn Hill Slideshow to Benefit Bozeman Boulder Initiative World-renowned climber Lynn Hill, Whit Magro slideshows Lynn Hill will be giving a at the Emerson Theater slideshow March 30 at the Emerson Theater in BozeMarch 30 at 6:30 p.m. man. Famous for making the $10 entry fee gets you pizza and first free ascent of the 3000’ draft beer Nose (VI 5.14 a/b) on Yosemite’s El Capitan, Hill also has tales from the sport climbPatagonian skyline: Desmochada, ing competition circuit in the ‘80s Silla and Fitzroy. in Europe (read: neon spandex), and from climbing in places like The evening will support the BozMadagascar and Australia. eman Boulder Initiative, which is working on the fifth in-town The energetic Bozeman local artificial climbing boulder. There Whit Magro will open for Hill, will also be tons of silent auction giving a presentation on a new items with good deals from major route he climbed this winter in gear companies. Stronghold FabPatagonia. Magro, Nate Opp and rication will build the structure Josh Wharton spent five days in this summer at Rose Park, west January climbing the Wave Afof the old Town and Country in fect, “a mega link up traverse” of Bozeman. three of the major peaks on the E.S.

Lynn Hill at Hueco Tanks National Park, Texas

Care about Water Quality in the Gallatin Watershed?

Attend Greater Gallatin Watershed Council’s third annual mini-symposium The Greater Gallatin Watershed Council (GGWC) will hold its third annual Gallatin Stream Team minisymposium on Wednesday, March 23, 6 - 8 p.m. at the Bozeman Public Library. Members of the Gallatin Watershed are welcome.

Gallatin Stream Team members participating in the GGWC’s volunteer stream monitoring program, residents of the Gallatin watershed, scientists, representatives from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MT DEQ), Gallatin Local Water Quality District, Montana Watercourse, and other local and state agencies will share information and experiences from data collected from four Bozeman Creek, Bridger Creek, Mandeville Creek and Hyalite since 2008.

8 March 18, 2011

Volunteers participating in the Gallatin Stream Teams stream-monitoring program, under the guidance of experts, were trained to collect water samples for three consecutive months beginning in July 2010. A goal of the program was to establish baseline data in the target streams and to make the collected data available to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and to the public. The program was successful, and the MT DEQ is using the data.

Program support is provided by the

explorebigsky.com

Gallatin Local Water Quality District, Montana Watercourse, MT DEQ, the Gallatin Conservation District, and Montana Import Group and is the first step in addressing challenges to water quality in the Gallatin watershed.

The GGWC and the Gallatin Stream Teams will continue the volunteer water quality monitoring program in 2011.

Program goals are to continue to build a foundation of data and knowledge.

Interested residents of the Gallatin watershed can contact the GGWC to volunteer with a Gallatin Stream Team.

Since 2004, the Greater Gallatin Watershed Council has been working to address water issues in the Gallatin watershed. The GGWC has collaborated with a wide spectrum of partners to accomplish our mission of promoting conservation and enhancing our water resources while supporting the traditions of community, agriculture and recreation. In addition, the GGWC is working collaboratively with regional watershed groups as a member of the Missouri Headwaters Partnership to address natural resource issues in the headwaters to the great Missouri River. GGWC Board members are also active in the leadership and activities of the Montana Watershed Coordination Council. greatergallatin.org.

Big Sky Weekly

regional One of the ‘most influential people in the world’ tokeynote Tester’s next jobs workshop Deputy Secretary of Agriculture to address March 26 Small Business Opportunity Workshop in Bozeman

Merrigan is a former teacher and manager of the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food effort, which highlights the connection between farmers and consumers and supports local food systems to boost economic opportunities in rural America.

Financial Advisor Scott L. Brown was recently recognized among the top advisors in Montana by Barron’s magazine, on the “America’s top 1000 Advisors: Stateby-State” list published in the Februrary 21 edition. Brown has residences in Big Sky and Bozeman and has been with Merrill Lynch more than five years.

To achieve this ranking, advisors must have a minimum of seven years’ financial services experience and have been employed at their current firm for at least one year. Determining measures include: client balances, return on assets, client satisfaction/retention, compliance records, and community contribution.

Astronomy Day Over the past two years, over a thousand of Montana small business owners and entrepreneurs have attended Tester’s workshops in Great Falls, Bozeman, Kalispell and Missoula.

The Bozeman workshop will be at Montana State University, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP at tester.senate.gov/workshop.

Moonlight Basin extending winter season

By April every year, Moonlight’s Headwaters are in prime shape. Chokes of the chutes are filled in. The aprons are fat. The wetter spring snow sticks to the rocks and makes for hero conditions. The sun is finally shining on the north-facing cirque, but the mountain is about to shut down.

Not this year. In keeping with the theme of Montana’s ski areas for spring 2011, Moonlight Basin is extended operations for the winter ski season by two weekends. The last official day of operation at Moonlight Basin was April 10, however now the resort will reopen on April 16, 17, 23 and 24 (weekends only, weather dependent). Big Sky will be open those days, and Bridger Bowl also extended its season further into April.

Moonlight’s ticketing, rentals, retail shops and dining will operate in a limited capacity, and all lifts with the exception of the Lone Tree, Pony and Derringer will run. Guests who purchase a 2011/12 season pass (pass sale starts March 19) can also ski and ride the remainder of this season.

“Mother Nature has been very generous … throughout the 2010/11 season, and we’re thrilled to offer extended skiing and riding as a thank you to our visitors,” said Moonlight’s General Manager, Greg Pack.

E.S.

Help Chi Omega Sorority and Montana State University basketball players make a slam-dunk for children with life-threatening medical conditions by attending Swishes for Wishes 3-on-3 basketball tournament on March 27. The annual event, being held to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Montana, will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at MSU’s Shroyer Gym in Bozeman. Team signups are available at swishes4wishes.webs.com.

Big Sky/Bozeman Financial Advisor Ranked among top in Montana

One of Time magazine’s most “influential people in the world” will deliver the keynote address at Senator Jon Tester’s next Small Business Opportunity Workshop, which is March 26 in Bozeman. U.S. Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan will discuss economic opportunities in farming and ranching, as well as accessing capital and foreign markets.

“As I keep up my fight for Montana jobs, it’s critical to have the nation’s leaders hear directly from folks on the ground and to open up every available resource for Montana’s farmers and ranchers,” said Tester, the U.S. Senate’s only farmer.

Swishes for Wishes

A day of astronomy-related events for kids, adults and teachers will be held in Bozeman on Saturday, April 2, including a presentation by astronaut Richard Arnold, who flew to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Teacher in Space program.

Public events take place at the Museum of the Rockies from 1-4 p.m., and an evening telescope viewing session is scheduled for 7:30-10 p.m., weather permitting. All Astronomy Day 2011 activities are free.

At 1:10 p.m., astronaut Richard Arnold will speak about his 2009 mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery, with an autograph session to follow. NASA Solar System Ambassador Shirley Green will present “Pluto and New Horizons” at 3 p.m. At 4 p.m., Robert Leamon, a Living with a Star Discipline Scientist, will present about NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.

grade 4-12 educators can learn about lunar and meteorite samples stored at the NASA Johnson Space Center and become certified to bring these samples into their classrooms. The workshop is led by NASA education specialist Tony Leavitt. “Ice in the Solar System” takes place noon -1 p.m. Designed for teachers of grades K-12, it is led by NASA Solar System Educator Shirley Greene. CE Units are available and pre-registration is required.

Astronomy Day is sponsored by the Museum of the Rockies, Montana Space Grant Consortium and its Space Public Outreach Team (SPOT), Project WET Foundation, Southwest Montana Astronomical Society, and MSU’s Astrobiology Biogeocatalysis Research Center, Department of Education, Extended University, Solar Physics Research Group and SPIE. eu.montana.edu/AstronomyDay

Kids’ activities include face painting, sun catchers, star finders and solar system jewelry. Telescopes will be set up for solar observing, and exhibits in the main lobby will feature activities, information and give-aways from NASA missions and MSU researchers.

Educator workshops are a new addition this year. From 9 a.m. to noon,

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montana

Medical Marijuana in Montana: Just Getting Interesting

By Emily Stifler As the construction business collapsed, Medical Marijuana exploded in Montana. With recent federal raids of 26 pot shops across the state, the State legislature considering regulation and repeal, and almost 30,000 state-legal green card holders, the industry that has woven quickly into the fabric of the state’s culture and economy is in a state of uncertainty.

The Raids At approximately 11 a.m., on Monday, March 14, federal authorities “smashed through the door” at Big Sky Patient Care, a medical marijuana grow operation and dispensary in Four Corners, said employee Jimmy Gaalswyk. The DEA and FBI agents had a sealed search and seizure warrant. Gaalswyk said he “was greeted with a silenced rifle and someone in a mask telling me to get on the floor. I was placed in handcuffs and so were [my co-worker] Zach and the receptionist. We were told to be quiet and let them do what they were going to do. About an hour later were finally released. It took them all day and they pretty much trashed the building.They took lights and plants.”

Simultaneously, DEA agents entered a franchise location of Big Sky Patient Care in the RJS tower in the meadow area of Big Sky. Authorities refused to discuss that raid— though presumably they took supplies from the business. The business owner, John Raddick, formerly of Raddick Construction, was out of town and unavailable for comment, and the door of the upstairs office was locked the following day. Neighboring businesses commented the raid was “low key.”

These raids were part of a larger crackdown in 13 Montana cities – in total, 26 state-sanctioned medical marijuana operations were raided, statewide—authorities confiscated marijuana, paraphernalia, computers, firearms, cell phones, cash and vehicle titles.

No federal criminal charges, indictments, informations or complaints were immediately filed.

These were “the culmination of a 18-month multiagency investigation into the drug trafficking activities of criminal enterprises operating throughout the State of Montana,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, Michael W. Cotter, announced Tuesday, March 15. In addition, Civil Seizure Warrants for financial institutions in Bozeman, Helena, and Kalispell seeking up to $4,000,000 were executed.

A press release from Cotter stated, “Search warrants and civil seizure warrants were issued based on judicial findings that probable cause exists to believe that the premises located in thirteen Montana towns are involved in criminal enterprises that have violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) related to marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance.”

The statement also made clear that individuals with illnesses in “clear and unambiguous compliance with state law” were not the investigation’s focus.

Zach Selznick was in charge of inventory at Big Sky Patient Care in Four Corners. “I know for a fact we don’t buy from out of state,” he said. He said the feds “hit some of the more ethical providers, who [work] with people that really need it and do keep track of every gram and every dollar.” His theory: “They left some of the less ethical players out there to paint the industry poorly.”

12 March 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

The Law Federal law still prohibits buying, selling, growing and using marijuana in any capacity, but in November 2004, Montanans passed a ballot initiative by a 62 percent vote, legalizing medically prescribed cannabis.

Since the October 2009 federally issued “medical marijuana memo” that stopped prosecution in the 15 states with legal statutes, the industry in Montana grew exponentially.

As of February 2011, Montana had 28,739 authorized medical marijuana users, 4,833 caregivers, and 353 associated physicians.

Gallatin County had 3771 cardholders and 672 caregivers, and Madison County 375 and 57. All this was taxable.

Montana’s original medical marijuana statute had many unclear provisions, according to an April 2010 article for the Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Interim Committee. To deal with the law’s ambiguous nature, many Montana cities created individual ordinances; several placed moratoriums on new businesses, and others used zoning restrictions.

In Big Sky, the Big Sky/Gallatin Canyon Advisory Committee included medical marijuana in their 2010 list of proposed zone text amendments, because it wasn’t clearly addressed in zoning regulation. The Committee discussed proposed text amendments, but then tabled further discussion when the legislature proposed extensive changes for 2011 to the Medical Marijuana Act. Because the town is unincorporated, homeowners associations (and the covenants governing them) often act as community government. The Meadow Village Center added an amendment to its covenants, prohibiting medical marijuana businesses and consumption. Across the road, Town Center passed a resolution that allowed businesses associated with medical marijuana only on the second floors of the Town Center Commercial Zone, and not in residential areas.

Regulation or Repeal?

Also on March 14, House Bill 161, which would have repealed the medical marijuana law, stalled on a 6-6 vote in the 12-person Montana Senate Judiciary Committee. In February, the House passed the Republican-backed bill 63-37. The bill is slated for a three-vote process in the Senate during this legislative session.

Beyond the Senate, a repeal or regulation bill would go to Governor Schweitzer for final decision. Montana, which has never repealed a voter-passed initiative, would be the first state to repeal a medical marijuana law.

While many in the state legislature see outright repeal as too harsh, most agree the multi-million dollar industry grew beyond the intent of the 2004 voter initiative that approved the law.

Committee Chairman, Senator Terry Murphy (RCardwell), favors reform because he believes in the value of marijuana’s medical benefits; however none of the reform bills “seem to do the whole job,” he stated. “They are either overregulating or not covering every area...”

Supporter of 161, Representative James Knox (RBillings), is also webmaster of Safe Community Safe Kids, the Billings-based group backing the repeal.

He said that group is not affiliated with a particular religion, and the majority of their funding has come from small internet donations. He watched medical marijuana legalization “ruin” California, and he doesn’t want to see Montana have a similar “breakdown of morals.”

Other House members described medical marijuana as “a totally uncontrolled epidemic by the drug trade industry,” and compared it to Mexican drug cartels.

Mike Singer, owner of Belgrade-based Sensible Alternatives, said he’d welcome regulation. “It needs to happen. It’d be nice to weed out some of the more

Big Sky Weekly shady operators – no pun intended. [Some are] interpreting the law more liberally than they should.” Singer foresees facilities inspections, stricter rules for card acquisition, steep taxes and growers’ dues.

Governor Schweitzer has not stated outright his position on a repeal, and a detailed reform bill may be difficult to pass through the Senate and House. If the repeal doesn’t pass and reform is stalled, the status quo could continue.

Community A March 5 New York Times article suggested this fast-growing business was “central to surviving hard times…as the construction industry and the second-home market collapsed [in the Bozeman area].” Energy companies, gardening supply shops, hardware stores and bakeries profited, medical marijuana intertwined with Montana’s economy, communities and culture.

Singer partnered his grow operation and dispensary with local organic farmers, and recently invested $40,000 in a solar array, installed by a Bozeman company, Independent Power Systems.

In the immediate Big Sky area, Big Sky Patient Care was one of five commercial growers. Others include Lone Peak Caregivers, Beartooth Coalition, Medicine Ridge Wellness Center and the Healing Center of Big Sky. There are also a handful of smaller operations, where cardholders legally grow up to six plants in their own homes.

the Montana Medical Growers Association, still has rows of 15-gallon containers holding bright green leafy marijuana plants growing at his facility south of Big Sky. “I figure the raids were on people that were doing bad things,” Gaillard said Tuesday.

In Big Sky, the Town Center “took a proactive approach,” said Project Manager Ryan Hamilton. “We saw potential issues with this type of business, so we researched what other Western resort towns had done… It was clear it was probably going to happen, so we wanted to restrict rather than prohibit it.”

In neighboring West Fork, the property owner who rents a space to the Altitude Club said that caregiver/storefront is one of the best tenants he’s had, “as far as paying for everything and being upfront.”

As medical cannabis has become a legal part of Montana communities, repeal groups have asked: What about the children?

Big Sky parent Ty Moline said it’s a topic he’s discussed with other parents. “How do you address this with your kids? It’s a gray area. We say no to drugs, but this is [state] legal. It’s all in proper education and presentation.”

As the plot thickens, no one really knows—or will say—where this issue will go in the next weeks and months, but everyone, from caregivers to federal agents, agree it’s going to be interesting.

Charlie Gaillard, owner of Lone Peak Caregivers and Director of the Bozeman Chapter of

pooches on pot One day, Bozeman resident Rebecca Marans’s 12-pound Chihuahua, Jazz, was woozy and staggering like she was drunk. Marans took Jazz to the vet, where she began throwing up.

“We’re not into that stuff (marijuana).” The doctor conducted a pee test and the dog was positive. “After she was put on IV she was all right,” said Marans.

Cindy Moreaux, veterinarian and owner of Banfield Animal Hospital in Bozeman, weighed in on the increase of dogs visiting the hospital after getting into their owners medical marijuana.

“Over the last year we’ve seen a dramatic increase in what we call ‘Pot-Dogs.’ Dogs love to find pot, they love the flavor and the smell,” said Moreaux.

The problem is that pot ingestion can mimic other things, as well, like anti-freeze poisoning. Common symptoms are dizziness, dilated eyes, a very slow heart rate, and colder body temperatures. It’s not likely that a dog will die as a result of ingesting marijuana but the symptoms could prove fatal when combined with other factors.

For example, a dog with a lowered body temperature and slow heart rate that normally spends the night outdoors stands a greater risk of exposure.

Moreaux said, “A nightmare would be a dark chocolate pot brownie,” due to dogs’ notorious sensitivity to cocoa.

“It’s not that owners aren’t good with pot. It’s that the dogs really love it, that’s why they can be trained so well to find it,” said Moreaux.

- Ethan Gaddy

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Worldwide Water Bozeman nonprofit’s water education materials will span the globe during upcoming World Water Day celebrations.

By Nicole Rosenleaf Ritter The Project WET Foundation is going to be in a lot of places at once come March 22—or at least its books, lessons and other water education materials will be. The Bozeman-based water education organization will have a hand in World Water Day festivities in as many as 110 countries this year through its work with the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UNHABITAT), World Water Monitoring Day and Nestlé Waters.

World Water Day—founded as an outgrowth of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro—is observed every March 22.

This year’s main World Water Day event will be held in Cape Town, South Africa. Project WET Senior Vice President John Etgen and Project Manager Julia Nelson will be there delivering a workshop with UN-HABITAT. This year’s theme is “Water for cities: responding to the urban water challenge.”

Etgen is passionate about the issue of water in urban areas—and how education can change lives for the better.

“Rapid urbanization has put pressure on existing water resources,” Etgen explains. “In many countries, poor urban residents have been left with unsanitary and unreliable water sources. Water, sanitation and hygiene education can play a strategic role in promoting positive behavior and attitudinal changes.”

Education around water, sanitation and hygiene—often shorthanded as WASH in the international develop-

ment sphere—has become a primary vehicle for Project WET’s international expansion in the past several years. In 2007, Project WET partnered with the United States Agency for International Development’s Africa Education Program to develop water education materials for teachers and students in cooperation with educators and government officials on the ground in several African countries.

The resulting materials—the Healthy Water, Healthy Habits, Healthy People educators’ guide and children’s activity booklet, along with additional materials such as durable, water-resistant posters—have now reached more than 23,000 schools, 239,000 teachers and 10,000,000 students in sub-Saharan Africa with hands-on lessons about proper hand washing, disease prevention and water source protection.

“Our methodology relies on investigative, hands-on, easy-to-use activities that teach about water resources and empower change by encouraging participants to take action in communities,” Etgen says. “Project WET works because the activities make learning fun.”

Follow-up impact assessments bear out that assertion. Hand washing with soap and water—one of the most important disease-fighting actions that can be taken—has improved dramatically in schools using the Project WET WASH materials.

School absence and reported illness rates have fallen correspondingly.

14 March 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

The success of the Africa WASH materials has led not only to workshops such as the one Etgen is leading in South Africa for World Water Day but also to opportunities to expand the materials geographically and linguistically. With materials already available in French and Kiswahili in addition to English, work is underway to translate and customize them for use in five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and in India.

with World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD), an international education and outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging citizens to conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies. WWMD will kick off its annual data collection on World Water Day, offering free, downloadable lesson plans for teachers and other educators developed in partnership with Project WET.

TEACHING TEACHERS ABOUT WATER

Coordinated by the Water Environment Federation the International Water Association, WWMD last year saw more than 200,000 people in 85 countries taking the time to test the quality of their local waterways. The organizers hope to expand participation to one million people in 100 countries by 2012.

Still, WASH education is a relatively recent addition to the Project WET fold. Founded in 1984, Project WET—the “WET” stands for “Water Education for Teachers”—was for many years best known for its Curriculum & Activity Guide and the “Local water monitoring of the kind U.S.-wide network of Project WET that takes place for World Water organizations that use it to conduct water resources education training for teachers. Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been trained to use Project WET materials with students in classes ranging from science to history, covering topics such as water quality and conservaEducate. Empower. Act. The mission of tion, water chemProject WET is to reach children, paristry, water rights ents, educators and communities of the and the language of world with water education. We invite water. you to join us in educating children about the most precious resource on It was that expertise the planet — water. that led to Project WET’s partnership

Educate. Empower. Act.

Big Sky Weekly

Healthy Water, Healthy People!

Celebrate World Water Day in Montana with Run for the Rivers, a fun race in a beautiful place.

Run for the Rivers seeks to increase awareness of local watershed issues, provide opportunity to improve waterways Southwest Montana waterways, and develop a self-sustaining program. Proceeds benefit Bluewater Taskforce, the Greater Gallatin Watershed Council and Montana Watercourse.

Sign up early and receive a free pint glass: 5-7 p.m. on March 21 at Montana Ale Works in Bozeman. runfortherivers.com Waters is mobilizing with Project WET in World Water Day celebrations in 24 countries. More than 10,000 children in countries where Nestlé Waters has a production site are expected to participate in World Water Day Water Care Festivals.

Monitoring Day promotes stewardship of water resources,” contends Project WET’s founder, Dennis Nelson, who is also the organization’s president and CEO. “It is crucial to teach educators and students about the relationship between water quality and human and environmental health.”

SUSTAINING THE BLUE PLANET Water quality and its importance for human health is also a theme behind celebrations that Nestlé

Children from each local community are invited to a Nestlé Waters factory or a nearby park to engage in Project WET lessons. The activities focus on water in nature, water for healthy hydration and water for hygiene and disease prevention. In addition to organizing the events, Nestlé Waters employees are also engaged in activities with the children, or learn more about water through educational programs on World Water Day.

In all, Project WET’s deep and wide-ranging involvement with World Water Day celebrations demonstrates the reach that a small, Montana-based organization can have in the wider world. And they are hoping to show that scope to locals when they convene the Sustaining the Blue Planet: Global Water Education Conference in Bozeman in September.

“We are expecting 300-500 people to come to Bozeman for the event,” Nelson notes. “Water education—whether it happens through celebrations such as those surrounding World Water Day, in conferences like Sustaining the Blue Planet or in individual classrooms with a single teacher—has the potential to lead to sustainable, local solutions for pressing water issues. That is always our goal at Project WET.”

World Water Day: worldwaterday.org

“The impact of these festivals and the involvement of Nestlé Waters employees in reaching local communities cannot be underestimated,” Nelson says.

“The engagement of children, plants and communities is central to the creation of meaningful local actions and solutions, especially to honor important international observations such as World Water Day.”

Project WET Foundation: projectwet.org World Water Monitoring Day: worldwatermonitoringday.org

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March 4, 2011 Volume 2 // Issue #6

First Annual Big Sky Nordic Festival

Big Sky

First Annual Big Sky Nordic Festival Huge Success

By Emily Stifler King of the Mountain Gunnar Kristiansen cranked from the top of the Lone Mountain Ranch trail system in 15 minutes, 10 seconds. Second place was Dan Cantrell, at 15:11.

Abbie Digel and I brought up the rear, with 41:10.

Between us, the field was made of 15 other competitors between age seven and 40. Abbie and I stopped to take photos and talk to race coordinators, LMR employees Herb Davis and Chris Nelson.

When we decided to get serious, we descended the 1600’ vertical and 10 km pretty dang fast. We schussed through the S-curves, falling snow hitting our teeth as we laughed.

The King, Kristiansen, is a 27-yearold MSU grad originally from Hemsedal, Norway.

“Montana is like Norway on steroids,” said Kristiansen, who raced for MSU, and was previously one of the top nordic junior racers in the world. “This race was harder than I thought it was going to be, but it was super fun,” said Kristiansen.

He added, “Nordic is one of those sports that everyone can compete – slow or fast, you still have a good time.”

In addition to this grassroots evening race, the first Annual Nordic Fest drew 150 total participants and competitors to eight other events. The weeklong festival accomplished its goal of being family and community friendly.

Festival organizer, Katie Smith, says, “It’s wonderful that the Big Sky community and Lone Mountain Ranch could create a fun event for every level of skier to enjoy.”

In addition to the King and Queen of the Mountain, the family sprint races and Nordic Terrain Park showcased the growing enthusiasm for Nordic skiing in Big Sky. At the Mad Wolf Classic, the week’s culmination, 21 racers sped down from the top of the Lone Moose lift dressed in hilarious costumes. Dan Cantrell, not slowed down by his pink and purple muumuu, led the pack the entire race, while a pirate on touring skis found his own way down the course.

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Profile

Dr. Irving Weissman When Dr. Irving Weissman discusses his work, he sometimes says only the first part of each word, as though there is so much to say he can’t waste time uttering the final syllable. It’s indicative of what drives him: a belief that medicine should be based on science and advanced through constant research; and, there is so much yet to be done.

A world-renowned stem cell researcher, Weissman is a pioneer at the forefront of a science that could change nearly everything about how we treat illness and disease, from heart disease to cancer. The Director of Stanford University’s Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Weissman is also a member of the elite National Academy of Sciences. His colleagues say he stands above even the very best scientists.

Yet, as essential as science is to Weissman, so are his roots. The native Montanan and Montana State College graduate returns to the state often, giving lectures, serving on boards and fly fishing.

As the immediate past president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, Weissman is immersed in one of the greatest ethical debates of this age, one that involves science, medicine, politics and religion. He is invested in this debate, professionally and personally, and the stakes are high.

Weissman’s work could, for example, result in a cure for cancer.

He knew nearly 15 years ago he could isolate bloodforming stem cells from women with breast cancer.

Theoretically, these stem cells could be transplanted back into a woman after she received a powerful, cancer-killing course of chemotherapy. The chemo’s side affect was destruction of blood-forming tissues, and transplanted stem cells offered a solution to regrow those tissues.

In 1996, for the first time, physicians transplanted cancer-free blood-forming stem cells into a breast cancer patient after chemotherapy. Her cancer was aggressive, and as she was undergoing chemotherapy, a burst of cancer cells developed in her chest, indicating it had spread. The physicians said it was hopeless.

“Nobody gets out of that one alive,” Weissman said.

Except this woman did. The chemotherapy followed by the transplant of cells worked. Weissman received a report nearly 15 years later that the woman was cancer-free.

The results should have been a medical breakthrough and a tale of hope for cancer patients and their families. But politics and economics got in the way, Weissman said.

When a company he’d formed to take the new treatment into clinical trials was taken over, the new company stopped the trials before complete results were known.

National legislation on stem cell use has restricted research, and Weissman’s work has made him the subject of hateful messages in the blogosphere and at least one death threat.

In 2001, Weissman headed a National Academies panel on stem cells. Because embryonic stem cells could give rise to adult stem cells, the panel voted unanimously to accelerate the federal funding of

that kind of research. Most embryonic stem cells are a few days old, derived from embryos artificially fertilized in a clinic and donated for research. Still, stem cell work is controversial, since creating an embryonic stem cell line for research requires starting with cells in an excess blastocyst stage embryo from an in vitro fertilization clinic. The debates have fueled pro-life advocates, who view an embryo as a person.

Weissman feels a responsibility to overcome the hurdles, because he believes it could improve people’s lives.

Weissman’s journey into understanding some of the most intricate science about the human body began in Montana. His grandfather arrived as an immigrant at Ellis Island in the early 1900s and then headed west, settling near Great Falls. He worked Dr. Irving Weissman is an innovator in one of medicine’s most exciting and as a junk man and fur trader controversial disciplines. One key to his success stems from his Montana and later owned a second-hand roots. MSU photo by Kelly Gorham. auto body parts store, eventually also working in steel supply, plumbing supply and hardware.

Weissman will speak at MSU Friday, March 25, Weissman’s father took over the as part of the Kopriva Science Seminar Series. business.

Weissman, now 70, said his interMore information about the event is availest in science began when he was able here: montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.

10 and read a book about the lives php?article=9533 of scientists, including Robert Koch, a German physician who developed criteria to establish a Geneticist Palmer “Dave” Skaar’s courses “[anacausal relationship between a microbe and disease. lyzed] the great genetics experiments of the day, “How do you know something causes a disease?

This discovery by Koch dramatically changed things…Seeing that connection between science and disease—I wanted to be able to do that.”

About five years later, Weissman began working in scientist Ernst Eichwald’s Great Falls laboratory, in Deaconess Hospital. Weissman remembers encountering a toddler with leukemia in a room near the lab.

“That combination, working in the lab, watching this poor 18-month-old child die because there was no therapy, all added up to plenty of motivation...

Not only to do research, but to take the research as far as possible [and] apply it to medicine.”

While Weissman wasn’t in the top 10 percent of his class in Great Falls, he won a grand prize in the 1957 Montana State Science Fair his senior year, and published two papers before graduating high school.

He attended Dartmouth for two years, but “wasn’t learning or doing science [there],” and he hated the East’s “traditionalism.” So, Weissman enrolled at what was then Montana State College in Bozeman, where he met “some of the greatest scientists and teachers—often better than I had at Dartmouth.”

As a Montana State undergraduate, Weissman learned to read others’ research experiments thoroughly and evaluate their methods and analyses.

and he related them to problems in both evolution and population biology.”

“You also have to have the desire to look at medical issues, from fundamental science where you’re asking questions, devising experiments to answer the questions, and then the whole deal of making it real,” Weissman said.

In fall of 1960, he entered a special five-year research and medicine program at Stanford, allowing him—in conjunction with his coursework at Dartmouth and Montana State—to receive a bachelor’s of science in pre-medicine from Montana State College in 1961. Weissman earned his M.D. at Stanford in 1965, and he’s been there since.

His Montana background was crucial to his success.

“One of the things about growing up in Montana, compared to the East, is that you’re less constrained by tradition and convention, so you can think creatively…You are more likely to question authority.

And that’s a good thing.”

Weissman’s colleagues also note his path illustrates his love of learning and desire for knowledge.

“Irv exhibits a deep and burning intellectual curiosity. That is fundamental to good scientists,” said Leroy Hood, a long-time friend. Hood is also from Montana and is co-founder of the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, which pioneers systems approaches to biology and medicine. Continued on p.21

explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 19

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Big Sky Weekly

Profile Continued from p. 19 Though he would rather be conducting research or fly-fishing, Weissman’s work also demands involvement in politics and economics. His methodical reasoning, calm demeanor and ability to communicate scientific relevance to a lay audience have been assets as he testifies at hearings and debates about stem cells, including hearings before the U.S. Congress.

Still, Weissman says politics and economics are often the most frustrating aspects of his job.

In 2001, President George W. Bush limited federal funding for embryonic stem cell research to the stem cell lines then in existence, arguing that extracting the stem cell destroys the embryo and its potential for life. President Barack Obama lifted the ban last year, only to be reversed in August 2010 by a federal judge, who said an expansion of embryonic stem cell research violated a ban on federal money used to destroy embryos. An appeals court lifted the resulting temporary injunction barring the federal government from funding that research, but the implications of the judge’s ruling were still being determined. Weissman said he hoped it would be overturned. “(President) Bush, and (Sam) Brownback in the (U.S.) Senate, and (Dave) Weldon in the (U.S.) House, and the Catholic Church, and the Pope—who

I eventually met—all opposed this kind of stem cell research, some equating it to murder,” Weissman said. “And I said, ‘Well, which of these diseases do you think we shouldn’t pursue just as hard as we can? Stopping stem cell research stops an important path to understand and treat these diseases.’”

then already it’s been polarized and politicized, and whatever religious or political group got to you first might have influenced your way.”

In addition to membership in the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors for a scientist or engineer, Weissman has received numerous awards. Among them are In a response to the ban, Weissman California Scientist of the Year (2002), was imporand the leadtant in the “Working in the lab, watching this poor ing internawriting and 18-month-old child die because there tional award passage of was no therapy, all added up to plenty in microbiCalifornia’s of motivation... Not only to do research, ology, the Proposition but to take the research as far as pos- Robert Koch 71, which Prize (2008). sible [and] apply it to medicine.” protected the research “Irv stands as a state right and allocated $3 bilabove most scientists,” said George lion in state funds over 10 years. The Carlson, Director of the McLaughlin measure put California at the forefront Research Institute in Great Falls, of nationally of the field of stem cell which Weissman is a board member. research.

Throughout his career, Weissman has Weissman recognizes communicareturned often to Montana, sometimes tion about stem cells can be polarto lecture or to raise funds for the izing, weighed down by people’s McLaughlin Research Institute. perceptions.

Carlson believes Montana is impor“I realized that if I said … to people tant for another reason. “He knows who weren’t even in the field, ‘Draw where he came from, and I think an embryo,’ inevitably they’d draw things like the work ethic play a big a fetus. So I’d say, ‘How can we talk role in his success…And, of course, to each other?’ If I say ‘embryo,’ and he loves to fish.”

I know it’s some cells that are in a dish, and you think of a human fetus, In fact, it doesn’t take long for fishing

to come up in a conversation with Weissman. One anecdote involves his 17-year-old daughter, Rachel.

“She is a great caster…If I float…with her down the Bitterroot or the Missouri ... usually I sit in back and she sits in front. And so you’re looking for the spot where the trout might be.

And you cast your fly. Inevitably now, I see the spot, I do the cast, and hers lands just in front of mine.”

Weissman remembers every discovery he’s ever made, from his early experiments as a 16-year-old boy, to breakthrough research performed as an adult. “The big celebration is the moment you see it, and usually you’re alone. It’s incredible, to see a piece of data coming from a thought you had, an experiment you designed.”

More important than discovery, is its application, Weissman said.

“If this translation doesn’t happen, or is delayed for 4-8 years while somebody dithers about the philosophy of it, or the political reality of it, some people will die who had a short window of opportunity… I’m really cognizant of that.”

This article was adapted from a story originally written by Anne Cantrell and published in “Mountains and Minds,” MSU’s flagship magazine.

This is how Big Sky gets into hot water.

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explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 21

Big Sky Weekly

RIVER RUN AT YELLOWSTONE CLUB

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Morningstar learning center’s

Dance and Wine Tasting at Buck’s T-4

Saturday April 2, 7:00 p.m.

Jeni Fleming and band

Natalie’s Estates Winery

will perform for the event

will be featuring their fabulous wines

Ticket price includes entry, wine tasting and hors d’oeurves. Tickets are $35 in advance, & on sale at Big Sky Home Owners Association, Meadow Village Country Market and Big Sky Western Bank in Big Sky. Or by contacting Morningstar, 995-2565 or mlcbigsky@gmail.com.

MORNINGSTAR LEARNING CENTER SPONSORS & DONORS: Sponsors:

Merrill Lynch Big Sky Western Bank Big Sky Furniture Blue Ribbon Builders Big Sky Build American Bank The Agency Insurance Division Mail & More Big Sky Weekly- Outlaw Partners

Natalie’s Estates Winery Buck’s T-4 Lone Peak Lookout American Land Title Hammond Property Management

Donors for Raffle and Auction: Kokoro, Private Sushi Chef East Slope Outdoors

22 March 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

320 Ranch Geyser Whitewater La Luna Meadow Village Country Market Big Sky Home Owners Association Wrap Shack Wolff Creek Massage Half Moon Saloon

By Word of Mouth Lone Peak Brewery Big Sky Health & Fitness

Music Villa Think Big Sky Rentals Ryan Turner Photography Blue Moon Bakery Moonlight Basin Big Sky Resort Greg Hodge Carole Sisson Designs AriO Jewelry Simms Fishing Black Tie Rentals

Big Sky Private Chef Big Sky Landscape Big Sky Coffee and Tea Montana Backcountry Adventures Chelsea Noggle Artwork Lone Mountain Sports The Cabin Conoco/ Lone Perk Dragonfly Interiors Anderson Enterprises Paulie’s Hot Dogs

The Ditch The Bowl Yeti Dog Mark Ganoom JuJu Skirts Pat Branting Eye in the Sky Photography Rainbow Ranch Gallatin Alpine Sports

Big Sky Weekly

youth

Spanish Legends El Puma Contra Los Conquistadores

Lone Peak High School’s Spanish 3 students spent a large part of second quarter reading native legends from around the Spanish-speaking world, and realizing related themes. “Students then chose an area or peoples they were interested in, did some research, and wrote their own legends,” says Spanish teacher Cassie Kapes. The story below is by sophomore Kaela Schommer.

by Kaela Schommer Summary: A small jungle tribe sees a puma hit by an arrow. The tribe realizes the arrow came from a group of Spanish conquerors coming to take over their tribe. They nurse the puma back to health. In turn, she rallies her puma friends to help defeat the conquerors. This legend comes from connections to our readings and Kaela’s research.

Había una vez un pequeño pueblo que estaba rodeado por una selva enorme. Vivía una tribu en medio de la selva debajo de un árbol tan enorme como una montaña encumbrada. Un día la gente en la tribu oyó un chillido fuerte desde la parte superior de los árboles. Era un chillido tan fuerte que podría hacer un bebé llorando.

Después de mucho confuso la tribu vi que el chillido era de un puma. El puma se inicia cada seguido más grande que dio cuenta de que el puma estaba cayendo hacía ellos desde los árboles después de ser golpeada por algo.

La gente corrió a ver lo que golpeó el puma y si el puma estaba bien. Vieron una flecha se clavó en el costado

del puma. Nana, una mujer mayor de la tribu se puso a cantar. El puma cayó en un sueño apacible y Nana cogió suavemente la flecha del lado del puma.

La tribu aprendió que los conquistadores Españoles dispararon el puma. Los hombres de la tribu comenzaron a combatir a los españoles mientras que Nana ayuda el puma recuperar su fuerza.

El puma y sus amigos ayudaron a la lucha contra los hombres. La batalla duró tres días, hasta el puma y sus amigos fuertes capturaron el jefe de los españoles. Después de tres días el pueblo ganó la batalla.

La gente ya no tienen miedo a los pumas ni los Españoles. Vivía en paz en sus bosques durante los próximos años con la ayuda de los pumas.

‘Nerdy’ not the case: Ophir students head to state science fair Results from the Regional Science and Engineering Fair Fifth Grade Anna Alvin “Does Voice Affect Plant Growth?” - First place, silver medal Helen Sacchi “Hail and Pollution” - First place, bronze medal

Seventh Grade Griffin Schumacher and Chris Goode “Natural vs. Abstract” - First place/gold medal

Ethan Schumacher and Harrison Schreiner”Recco, Avy Dog, or Beacon?” Second place

Frances Cronin “Priming, Gender Stereotype, and School Performance” - First place/gold medal

Holden Samuels and Rhett Leuzinger-”Avalanche Beacons: 1,2,or 3 Antennas?”

- First place/ silver medal

Chase Samuels and Charlie Johnson “What Ski JumpWorks Best?” - Second place

Howie Robin and Kaleb Gale--”Is the Rule of Thumb Correct?” Third place

Eighth Grade Rachid Schultz and Ben Michel “Are Solar Furnaces Effective?” - First place/gold medal

Katie Pearl Hoffman “Video Games and Hand-Eye Coordination” - Second place/ special award

Dakota Perry and James Ramirez present their project “Evaporation and Crystal Growth.” They are headed to the state competition on March 31 in Missoula.

Kuka Holder and Blair Johnsen “Product Labeling” Second place

15 Ophir and LPHS students are traveling to Missoula on March 31 for the statewide science fair. The students have already competed in the Ophir School science fair and the Regional Science and Engineering Fair in Butte this month.

Sixth Grade Dasha Bough “The Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Brassica and Camelina” - First place, gold medal, Top ten science projects, Best of Show Biological Science and other special awards

This is the third year the Ophir School District has participated in the science fair thanks to their Middle School Science teacher Sue Barton, who helped introduce the program to the school. Also, this is the first year a LPHS student has made it to the state competition.

The fair “teaches [the students] that science can be fun,” said Barton. “They can turn something their interested in into something that can be tested.”

There were 450 different projects at the regional fair, and the Ophir kids performed well. Six out of seven of all of Barton’s students are headed to states, and there are a total of 14 middle schoolers going.

At most schools, Barton said: “ Science is nerdy, but ‘nerdy’ is not the case here. Every middle schooler at Ophir did a project.” A.D.

Garrett Cronin “Truss Joints” - Third place

Bella Butler--”Endorphins and Skiing” First place/gold medal Evynn Gibbs-Cook and Bianca Godoy “The Placebo Effect” - First place/gold medal Dakota Perry and James Ramirez “Evaporation and Crystal Growth” - First place/ gold medal, special award

Simeon Goode “Man vs. Computer”First place/silver medal Ashlay Ruddick and Gage Lindell ”What Is Most Effective for the Tesla Turbine?” First place/ gold medal Gabby Michel and Haven Fry “Can Cockroaches Be Habituated?”- Second place Trevor House and Harry Child “Does Gender Affect Frustration?”- Second place Anthony Savoy and Griffin House “Hovercrafts” - Second place Kirra Austin and Molly Sharr “The Stroop Effect” - Second place Ninth Grade Anna Middleton “Phytoremediation in Native Aquatic Plants” - First Place/gold medal

explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 23

Big Sky Weekly

sports

Over 3 decades building in Montana

Huck-a-Berry Jam

By Ersin Ozer

Giving you the most

value possible, with dedication, communication and design insight, we focus on cost

effectiveness, building the most

efficient way possible.

On Saturday, March 5, 45 competitors converged on Moonlight Basin, bringing high energy to the fifth annual Huck-A-Berry Jam. Ranging in age from seven to 33, skiers and snowboarders competed head-tohead, highlighting the rail features and textbook jumps in the Zero Gravity Terrain Park. One skier hailed from Florence, Montana, over four hours away.

a classic 45-foot jump and a rail line to the side. The complex rail features in zone three included a wall ride, a hitching post and a hip that could be doubled as a tree-bonk.

This year, Huck-A-Berry returned to its slopestyle roots, thanks to feedback from competitors, sponsors and Moonlight staff. The course was broken into three zones, with one judge per zone. The first zone had two c-boxes and the choice to hit a 35foot jump or a rail line. Zone two was

First place winners in each division walked away with skateboards, helmets, gloves, and cool swag from Mountjoy Snowboards, Union Realm Unlimited, Cutbird Skateboards, Bern and Pow, as well as local Big Sky restaurants. moonlightbasin.com

At the start-gate, skiers and riders strategized and cheered each other on.

Music blasted from big speakers, and people riding the Six Shooter chairlift danced and hooted.

145 Center Lane, Unit L Meadow Village Big Sky, MT 59715

406-995-4579 BlueRibbonBuilders.com

Settle Down Critics

By Brandon Niles Inevitably, each NBA season, commentators will dissect every game played by the league’s top teams.

After a surprise loss or an off night, there’s always a new headline announcing doom and gloom: Are the Lakers still tops in the west?

Are the Heat done?

Is this the end for the Celtics?

I’m here to tell the critics writing these premature prognostications to relax. Settle down everyone. It’s going to be okay.

The Lakers have been a little inconsistent all season, and this has prompted headlines indicating they’re not favorites to win a title. However, they’ll still be hosting at least one home playoff series, and they essentially have the same roster that won them the last two championships. Additionally, they’ve shown when they really want to play, they’re tough to beat.

While they do seem to be snoozing a bit during the regular season, let’s wait until playoff time.

The Celtics traded away Kendrick Perkins for a backup wing player, which hurts them as a team. However, they’re still one of the best teams in the league and are as tough defensively as anyone. There’s no reason to think the Celtics won’t be legitimate contenders, so long as

24 March 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

their four-man core of Rondo, Garnett, Pierce and Allen stay healthy.

teams are worried whether they’ll get a playoff series. All teams have bad nights, but we don’t need to scrutinize every sub-par game they The Heat have been under excessive scrutiny all season. After signput up. There are 82 games in an NBA season, and the fact that all ing Lebron James and Chris Bosh, three of these teams remain high they’ve had unreasonable expectaup in the overall standings proves tions. Now, as they’ve struggled to beat good teams, commentators have they’re legitimate title contenders.

Lighten up been harsh.

Chill out! It “The bottom line is, it’s not playoff everyone and takes time to time yet, and none of these elite enjoy watchdevelop team teams are worried whether they’ll ing three great chemistry, teams with get a playoff series. All teams and the core bona fide super have bad nights, but we don’t stars entertain players need need to scrutinize every sub-par us for a few time to demore months. velop talent. game they put up.”

The Heat are a contender Brandon Niles has done online freethis year and will host a playoff lance writing about the NFL since series. The Heat are going to be fine, and whether they win a title 2007. His articles range from NFL this year or not, they’ll be perennews to team-specific commentary. nial contenders for the next several A Communication Studies graduate student at the University of North years—they have three super stars in Carolina Greensboro, Niles is also an their mid-twenties, in the first years of their contracts. avid Miami Dolphins fan, which has led to his becoming an avid Scotch whisky fan over the past decade.

The bottom line is, it’s not playoff time yet, and none of these elite

Big Sky Weekly

real estate

Selling Property in a Buyer’s Market

By Jason Parks, Branif Scott and Ania Bulis

J E W EL R Y - A R T - A R T I FA C T S

NATIVE AMERICAN & WESTERN ACCENTS for you and your home

With so many properties for sale and so many eager sellers willing to strike a deal, what does it take to make a property trade hands, while others remain stagnant on the real estate market? Although there is no magic bullet, there are some measures sellers can take to put their home at the forefront of the pack: 1) Pricing real estate correctly ultimately has the greatest impact on whether or not your property garners interest from buyers and realtors alike. Sellers often price properties higher because they fear having to negotiate with buyers, only to lower their asking price over the course of the listing. Had the property been priced realistically from the onset, chances are it would have sold and the seller would have avoided chasing a downward market.

2) Pricing aside, buyers are often looking for means to offset ownership cost.

In a second home market, one obvious method is rental income. When selling a rental property, have rental numbers handy (both gross and net) for potential buyers to review. Historical rental revenue gives buyers a sense of comfort, even if they have no intention of actually renting it.

3) Maintenance is often overlooked in a second home market. While preservation and non-critical repairs are frequently deferred, they will no doubt creep up during inspection. Perform inspections when listing a property for sale, especially if it’s summer or fall. Winter snowfall prevents inspectors from giving opinions on roofs, drainage and foundations. Inspections done in advance can prevent buyers from requesting a withholding at closing, and can also allow sellers to mitigate and repair critical items prior to the listing.

4) Presentation is crucial. A clutterfree and clean home is a necessity.

Highlighting the features or amenities of a property is also beneficial.

For example, if a property has great ski access, make certain that is apparent and accessible. This may entail additional grooming or shoveling, but is worth the effort. Alternatively, wooded home sites often benefit from having a viewing platform or trees thinned. Buyers sometimes have a difficult time visualizing the highlights and assets of a property, and removing the guesswork has a positive impact.

5) Last, but not least, be amenable to creative structures and solutions. In the last year, Big Sky had an uptick in sales involving both seller financing and trades. Trades provide two sellers the opportunity to liquidate properties, with one party upgrading and the other trading into a smaller, less expensive property. This is one way to diminish debt and/or reduce exposure, as well as free up capital, depending on one’s financial picture.

There are a few factors that sellers cannot control, location being the most obvious. Some properties simply have the benefit of a great view, ski access or a perfectly situated home site. Others have the good fortune of being considered a “scarcity,” despite the fact that inventory levels remain elevated. Nonetheless, even the most ideally positioned property benefits from appropriate pricing and will stand out to buyers and their realtors with some of these suggestions implemented.

Ania Bulis, Branif Scott and Jason Parks are all Brokers with The Signature Group at Christie’s Great Estates | PureWest in Big Sky. realestateofbigksy.com

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Try our 1/2 Day Walk Wades on the Gallatin River or float trips on the Madison or Yellowstone Rivers. Now is the time to enjoy some springtime fly-fishing with the best guides in Big Sky.

FLY SHOP: (406)-995-2975 or 406-581-7537 This ad good for 10% off any guided trip.

Expires: 4/15/11

explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 25

Big Sky Weekly

Big Sky Weekly

business

FOR SALE BY OWNER

Banking Safety:

Paper versus Electronic

By Jamey Kabish I am asked quite often about the safety and security of banking online.

Many people in Big Sky have eagerly adopted electronic banking features, but some are still concerned about online safety of their identity. What are the facts? According to identitytheft.com, an estimated 70 percent of all bank-related fraud stems from papers with account numbers and other personal information on them falling into the wrong hands. What can you do to keep your information safe?

To evaluate your options, consider the lifecycle of paper versus electronic information. Most Big Sky residents have a mailbox key and thus, controlled access. What if you misplace your statement and someone gets his hands on it? It’s easy to forget to shred papers, and dumpster diving is an easy way for thieves to gather information.

Emailed statements offer multiple layers of security. How it works: bank customers receive emailed notification that their bank statement is available through the bank’s website. This notification is generic – no personal information is included.

Customers can then log into the secure online banking system with a previously established user name

and password. Printing information is often unnecessary. Once logged in, current and previous statements are available.

The key to maintaining eStatement security is keeping the spyware, Trojan, and anti-virus software on your home computer up to date.

Reputable security software makes it very difficult for your computer to be compromised. Additional steps are to: download personal information only as required; password protect your computer; password protect key files; create difficult passwords using numbers and symbols; and shred any printed papers.

What if you are traveling? Most banks authenticate the computer their customers use. Log into your account from a computer you don’t regularly use, and you’ll be required to enter information proving your identity before accessing your account.

2605 Little Coyote Rd. Meadow Village 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.

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%

Tax return preparation Tax planning Payroll Services Bookkeeping Financial Statement preparation Business Consulting Business Valuation

Jamey Kabisch is Branch President at First Security Bank in Big Sky. If you’d like to know more about online banking, the friendly staff at First Security is available to answer your questions. (406) 993-3350

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1184 North 15th Ave. Ste. 1, Bozeman, MT 59715 Phone (406) 587-9239 Fax (406) 586-4737 explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 27

Big Sky Weekly

business directory

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Business Profile of the Week:

Yellowstone Snowmobile Adventures By hunter rothwell Over the past few years, the National Park Service has implemented new rules regulating winter park use. Winter visitors in Yellowstone are required to have a professional guide employed by an authorized Licensed Concessionaire, and Two Top Snowmobile Rental in West Yellowstone has been the guide service of choice since the late 1960s, when proprietor David McCray’s father started the business.

McCray and his wife Jamie, who are always present in the shop, work full-time to ensure all their guests have a fantastic experience. “Our business is serious stuff, and people have the potential to hurt themselves,” said McCray. “We are serious when we need to be, but try to keep it very light.”

The snowmobiles at Two Top are complete with hand and seat warmers, as well as fresh, clean gear needed to stay comfortable on a Yellowstone adventure. Two Top is named for the world famous snowmobiling destination, Two Top Mountain, which is in view out the rental shop’s front door.

McCray, who has been at the shop his entire life, is proud of his experienced and friendly guide staff, who are also park naturalists or fishing guides. They know the best places to view elk, bison, eagles, coyotes, foxes and other park spectacles. Guides like Two Top veteran Mickey Wooten, originally from Memphis, TN and a summer fishing guide for Madison River Outfitters, has

horse of a different color

Live with the things you Love � PILATES � YOGA � MASSAGE � PERSONAL TRAINING

� HEALTH COUNSELING

Big Sky Meadow Village Across from the Post Office 406-995-3113 Monday - Saturday: 10-5 Sunday: 11-5

Big Sky Weekly

Balance your Life Delilah Price Eakman, RYT® Certified Integrative Relaxation Facilitator Certified Restorative Yoga Trainer Offering: Amrit Yoga - a gentle yoga suitable for all levels Relax and Renew® Restorative Yoga Integrative Relaxation (Yoga Nidra) Senior Yoga Prenatal Yoga Reiki (Ray Key) Provider To schedule a class call 406-581-2442 or email delilah2104@gmail.com

hand printed in Big Sky, mt

406.995.2940 more interesting park facts than one can retain in a daylong tour; as an added bonus he points out the best fishing spots when the season is open.

:

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The geysers, multi-colored hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles are a true wonder in the winter. All Two Top guides have a plethora of information on the park’s history, geology, geothermal activity and folklore.

While experienced snowmobilers may have difficulty considering a Yellowstone trip (due to the park regulated 35 MPH speed limit and the designated trails), when guides aren’t looking, it’s possible to sneak in a quick fish tail or a mean burnout.

The power of seeing one of the most unique areas on our planet by snowmobile is a trip less than 1 percent of Americans will experience. Two Top Snowmobile Rentals offers complete snowmobile lodging packages. Make a reservation before the snow melts.

Home

Life

The

Auto

Agency Insurance Division Protecting Your Assets

twotopsnowmobile.com

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

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR Straight from the FOOD source to your table COMES FROM? explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 29 Learn more and order online at bigskylocalfood.com | 406-579-7094

30 March 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

Big Sky Weekly home of the

10

$

Classifieds!

$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 Snow business looking for shovelers and equipment operators for immediate openings. Following required: Valid License, Vehicle, Winter Apparel, Texting Capabilities, Drug Testing. Pay weekly.

Work in Big Sky/ Private Club.

Contact Bob at 406-581-4331.

Delzer Diversified.

Big Sky Weekly Office space in the Jefferson Building in West Fork Meadows Great space with reception area and 3 seperate rooms. $500.00 per month. For more information call 406-580-5191

For sale

-----------------------------------------Local BS home builder seeks outgoing energetic person to assist with office and admin duties.

MS Office and blueprint exp preferred. Salary DOE. Please send cover letter and resume to bigskyjob23@yahoo.com or fax 406-995-2125.”

For rent

Office Spaces across from the Post Office. Professional Image. AC with shared conference room and kitchenette. Value priced flat fee with no extra charges. Call Debbie at 581-5785.

Rossignol HC500 Snowboard Bindings, gray/white, Men’s/ M. Never been used. $20 OBO. 605431-2178

Lost LOST! Silver Medallion in the shape of an eagle. It is about the size of a quarter. It has super high sentimental value to the ten year old owner! It could be anywhere in Big Sky. REWARD! 995.3377 Thank you!

SERVICES 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

Want to advertise?

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

explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 31

Big Sky Weekly

Exclusively

Yellowstone Club, Uniquely Big Sky

Di r e c t s k i A c c e s s to Y e l l ow s t o n e c l u b , b i g s k Y r e s o rt & m o o n l i g h t b A s i n Private development within Yellowstone Club Situated on the saddle between Yellowstone Club and Big Sky Resort Year-round private & public amenities

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lot

486

Lot Size: 1.77 acres Square Footage: 10,372 sq. ft.

Heated Livable: 12,207 sq. ft.

Garage & Storage: 1,835 sq. ft.

Bedrooms: 4 +2 bunkrooms Bathrooms: 7 + 3 powder rooms Garage: 3 car & storage Finished Space Lower Level: 5,138 sq. ft.

Main Level: 5,234 sq. ft.

Total: 10,372 sq. ft.

Storage Space Lower Level: 382 sq. ft.

Main Level: 1,435 sq. ft.

Total: 1,835 sq. ft.

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

local gear

March 18, 2011 Volume 2 // Issue #6

Big Sky

The new Buck Product bag design with multiple closures

Alex Buck shows off his work in the knappsackery

Buck Products Grassroots Bozeman company makes simple, custom, rolltop “backsacks”

By Kelsey Dzintars Alex Buck began sewing in the summer of 2008, when he and his wife, Allie, received a sewing machine as a wedding present. He started out with a few simple patterns to learn the skill, and it didn’t take him long to start dreaming up possibilities.

Originally from Portland, Maine, Buck always enjoyed making and building things from scraps of wood and objects he found in his barn. In fall of 2005, he moved to Bozeman to ski and attend MSU. By the end of that year, he found a niche in sculpture. The need for something simple and durable to haul his sculpture supplies around campus led him to make his first knapsack.

Tired of overly complicated, technical backpacks on the market, he started with a simple river duffel bag design. Buck has since refined his design, but kept it simple - one large pocket with no zippers, a roll top with a clasp snap closure, and two smaller pockets inside.

Attention and demand for the “knappsacks” grew quickly. He settled on CORDURA® brand 1000-denier nylon and lined the bags with water repellent Packcloth, making his packs robust and long lasting. Buck realized with the range of colors available, this could be a useful, custom product for hauling everyday life essentials.

Now, Buck has a full-time operation and his own “knappsackery,” located in the Bozeman Seed Building. He estimates he has sold several hundred custom bags since 2009, producing batches of about five sacks at a time. Having his design, equipment and materials further dialed, he spends about and hour-and-a-half to two hours on each handmade knapsack.

In addition to his original knappsack, Buck now has a new design: the notyet-titled Buck Product sack. This design is slightly bigger, with easy Velcro closures and pockets on the outside, and the option to fold or roll the top. He also makes custom padded laptop cases that fit inside both packs.

Occasionally, he makes fanny packs by request, and he plans to make a smaller pack for kids, inspired by his own two-year-old son.

Buck’s sales are almost entirely viral, having sold custom knappsacks in Maine, New York, Boston and California all through email communication. He is currently working on a collaboration with Rogues Gallery in Portland, Maine to produce unique, organic knappsacks for their store. In Montana, he’s sold packs through Girls Outdoors and Second Wind Sports in Bozeman, and he plans to add a few more local vendors.

To get your own knappsack, email Alex at akbuckbuck@gmail.com.

Stock knappsack (ships ASAP): $65 Custom knappsack: $75 Computer sleeves: $35 (All prices include shipping) Colors: purple, orange, mint green, forest green, camo, navy, pink, royal blue and a few hidden gems

Although sales and production have taken off for Buck Products, Buck plans to keep his business small, “sticking to simplicity and classic design, all while creating highly useful daily haul bags.” buckproducts.com

Padded laptop sleeve fits easily inside any Buck Product knappsack

explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 33

Big Sky Weekly

Purify ionize AlkAlize VitAlize energize liVing WAter tAstes Pure And refreshing

Offering Living Water with the revolutionary Direct Disk Ionization Technology for drinking water

Yellowstone living water store 47250 Gallatin Road Unit 1 (South of the Exxon) Big Sky, Montana

YellowstoneLivingWater.com 34 March 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

Sleek, stainless steel, easily installs to your existing faucet For a healthy body, healthy home and healthy life

Or drop in for a drink at our new store!

For more information call:

faith 406.581.0616 Also other natural organic alternatives for Big Sky Homes Environmental Purity

Big Sky Weekly

A Staycation for any Season

By Abbie Digel

stay·ca·tion noun \ˈstā-ˈkā-shən\ vacation spent at home or nearby The sound of pool balls cracking against each other, followed by a high five and cheers of excitement, echoes from the dining cabin at 320 Ranch. A line of snowmobiles is parked outside of the cabin, and a warm glow lights the evening. Inside, Chef Nick Mehmke and his staff are boiling lobster, grilling local steaks and keeping wine glasses full.

style barbecues, fly fishing on the Gallatin (right on the property), and rafting. In the winter, their popular sleigh ride is always a hit for families, as well as dog sledding and nordic skiing. New this year, 320 introduced free shuttle rides to and from their restaurant, as well as free rides for guests up to the ski hill and to other nearby restaurants.

“It’s a quick getaway, far enough that it feels like a weekend away, but close enough so it’s not time consuming,” said General Manager John Richardson. “People really gravitate toward that. With less families travelling since the recession, more people aren’t able to get away like they could in the past.”

After breakfast, Richardson meets 320 staff members, and they pile into a car and head up to Big Sky Resort for an employee ski day. “We have our own little family here. We dine together, play together—it’s fun. Everybody lives and works here. Our free time and work time meld together.”

320 offers $15 all-you-can eat prime rib on Mondays, an extensive wine list and a saloon menu featuring Wild Boar Mac and Cheese and Cowboy Pie, all served by friendly staff.

Promotional deals and consistent low prices differentiate 320 from other ranch vacations in Montana, and Richardson says they want to make the property as accessible as possible. “We want guests to have that ranch experience, where everything is larger than life.”

“Overall, it’s all about being present in a simple, quiet setting. Richardson says, “Coming here has a therapeutic effect on people.” - General Manager John Richardson

Over a plate of heaping eggs, cheesy hash browns, and sausage links at breakfast, General Manager John Richardson, points to a large family sitting at a table in the corner. They came from Bozeman just for the night. 320’s local market includes a four-hour radius, including Helena, Butte and Jackson.

“There’s still a misconception that we’re private and only accommodate our on-ranch guests, but we are open to the public; everything we do is a la carte,” Richardson said.

This means guests can pick and choose from various seasonal activities like trail rides, Western

This hospitality is a throwback to the time when Dr. Caroline McGill, the first woman doctor in Montana, purchased the property and used it as a resting place for patients. McGill worked and died there, and as she aged, she donated most of the items from the ranch to the McGill Museum in Bozeman (now Museum of the Rockies).

The 320 team is made up of 20 winter staff, and 50 in summer. Providing staff housing creates “an informal, professional and relaxed environment,” says Richardson. “We want guests to feel like they are coming to a relative’s home they haven’t seen in awhile.”

The staff is currently gearing up for the summer months, where they’ll host a $10 Monday night pig roast.

They also are busy hosting 50-70 wedding events, yearly. The ranch offers offering multiple venues for events, including their banquet hall, 1800 square foot tent, and pastures along the river. The ranch is also a popular place to book family reunions and corporate groups.

But most importantly, “We love our community support, and we want to offer incredible meals to our friends in Big Sky and West Yellowstone,” says Karen Macklin, Director of Food and Beverage.

“We’re a little over 10 minutes out of Big Sky, and just over a half hour out of West Yellowstone. It’s easy to come down and join us for dinner any night of the week.”

Overall, it’s all about being present in a simple, quiet setting. Richardson says, “Coming here has a therapeutic effect on people.”

320ranch.com

explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 35

Big Sky Weekly

Big Sky’s

LARGEST GROCERY SELECTION • • • •

Fresh, Hand-Cut Meats Deli & Snacks Gourmet Items Beer & Wine

Affordable prices Delivery available Call us 406-995-4636

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

36 March 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

Located in the Meadow Village Center next to Lone Peak Brewery

Big Sky Weekly

gallery

C. JACK WALLER, JR. I try to use the most unusual trees and those are usually the contorted lodgepole. Their shapes, and life stories, fascinate me.

It’s pretty much all hand work, because the trees are so irregularly shaped, I rarely use woodworking machines with them. The processes of selecting trees, joining, and assembling them into a chair, for example, feel very sculptural to me.

C. Jack Waller, Jr. has worked with architectural design, construction and furniture making since the late 1960s. He moved to Montana in 1969 and began “tree working,” creating works of art using original tree rather than processed wood. Based out of Virginia City, Waller works mostly with contorted lodgepole pine. His art involves the use of traditional and primitive tools that he uses to build pieces such as toolboxes, chairs, tables and other sculptural works. He describes tree art as “slow, quiet, thoughtful and very experimental.”

There are recurring shapes in the pine tree trunks. I call them motifs, or runes. Certain shapes lend themselves to use, for example, as a chair arm, or a table leg.

It’s like I’m collaborating with nature. The trees have already a big part of the work, so my job is to preserve and enhance that, and combine it into a piece of functional art.

I almost always harvest standing dead trees.

They’re already cured, so I can use them sooner. Every now and then I’ve taken a truly remarkable living tree, but I feel guilty.

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I was born in Independence, Missouri. I moved to California in the late ‘40s. When I was out in the Bay Area, I worked as a remodeling contractor and made furniture on the side, with driftwood.

I’m 68 now, so I’ve been working with wood for over 50 years. It’s been on the job training.

When I first moved to Montana in 1989, I lived near Phillipsburg, up by Georgetown Lake. That’s where I really started working with trees, making furniture, sculpture, and architectural details.

Tree art is one of my poetic practices. The other two are folk music and creative writing. Artist to me means poet, and poet means maker,” says Waller. “It’s essential to me to consider each piece of tree art as a poem.”

I moved to Virginia City in 1995. I like small town living. My wife, daughter, and I have an old log home we’ve been working on for seven years – all kinds of improvements.

jackwallertreeart.com

I’ve centered my adult life around poetry, in the original meaning of the term, which is making.

CREIGHTON BLOCK GALLERY OPENS NEW LOCATION IN BIG SKY In addition to its Virginia City location, Creighton Block Gallery is opening another gallery in Big Sky. To kick off the opening, the gallery will host a “meet the artist” reception featuring “tree artist” C. Jack Waller, Jr. Gallery owners Colin Mathews and Paula Craver invite the public to join the celebration and view some of Waller’s unique pieces.

The Gallery’s Big Sky location will be at 33 Lone Peak Drive. The event will be Saturday, March 26 from 4-7 p.m., and will feature music, hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, as well as a presentation by Waller about tree art and his works.

“If there’s one word I would choose to describe myself, it would be poet,” says Waller. In the show at Big Sky, that will be an essential part of “meet the artist” night.

explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 37

Big Sky Weekly

outdoors

Fishing Report Spring’s First Hatch

By Ennion Williams The nice weather the past couple of weeks has provided excellent fishing on the Madison and Gallatin rivers. The “upper” Madison River closed on March 1 from Earthquake Lake to McAtee Bridge. Fishing is open and very good between Hebgen and Earthquake Lakes, and the fish haven’t started to spawn. The “lower” Madison and the Bear Trap area will fish well now on through spring. When the weather is nice, this section is great for an early season float.

Visiting anglers interested in fly fishing should stop into one of the local fly shops for up to the minute information. The shops can offer advice on fly patterns that work this time of year, and also have guided trips available—a great way to ensure a productive day.

Most of the fishing now is subsurface. Rigging your rod with two nymphs separated about 18 inches apart with a split shot and strike indicator will produce the best results.

Remember, the fish are holding in the deeper, slower water and will be anxious to take your fly if presented properly. A drag free drift of your fly line is important.

With daylight savings, the days will get longer and fishing will be productive longer into the afternoon.

With longer, warmer days the river’s temperature will rise, too. As water temperatures reach 42 - 44 degrees, the first hatches of the spring will be the blue winged olive or spring baetis, and the Skwala Stonefly.

Blue Winged Olives or BWOs will start to emerge on the Gallatin, Madison, Big Hole, Missouri and Yellowstone as well as the Henry’s Fork just over the boarder in Idaho.

Look for them midday and into the afternoon. Trout will hold in smooth slicks and soft pockets and take these flies off the surface. Be prepared with small parachute-style dry flies and any of the numerous variations of the pheasant tail nymph.

A fierce competitor training for the 2010 Bartender’s Cup Drinking Slalom.

photo by Ennion Williams

Rainbow Trout will start their annual spawning period in March.

The Skawala Stonefly is a brownish olive medium-sized stonefly which will be on several of the western Montana rivers like the Bitterroot, Clarks Fork and Rock Creek.

Emergences of this stonefly will occur throughout the day and make spectacular early season fishing, well worth the drive to the Missoula area.

Larger fish in the rivers will key on this first big meal of the spring.

Carry plenty of brown stonefly nymphs in size 10 and 12, as well as down-winged stonefly dry patterns in olive.

Be on the lookout for mid-day midge hatches on the Gallatin and Lower Madison. Right now, nymph fishing is very productive with small nymphs like pheasant tails and any small red pattern. Using a brown or black stonefly nymph as a lead fly will help get your rig to the bottom of the river, which is where the fish are holding now. Enjoy the river!

Ennion Williams is a professional Fishing Guide and Outfitter in Big Sky. If you would like to contact him, he can be reached at (406) 579-7094 or at ennion3@yahoo.com.

Maverick Mountain’s Bartender’s Cup Slalom

By David Nolt Deep in Beaverhead County’s Pioneer Mountains, a strange and seductive display takes place each early spring.

As the light powder turns to creamed corn and the still, icy creeks turn to muddy torrents, the mountainsides blur with a cornucopia of color: hot pink, neon green, periwinkle, purple, silver and gold.

A closer, more intimate view reveals the colors’ origin: bikinis, loincloths, windbreakers, and cheaply made cardboard robot suits.

These are the colors of champions.

These are the uniforms of Maverick Mountain’s annual Bartender’s Cup. This year’s Cup takes place on Sunday, March 27. Intrepid competitors will battle for the coveted Cup throughout three events: the drinking slalom, the boardercross, and, of course, the bikini run.

Three-person teams comprised of

38 March 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

one skier, one snowboarder and one bikinier (gender neutral) will hit the White Thunder in style for their chances at eternal glory and a cash prize. The $100 team entry fee includes a lift ticket.

The weekend’s events get rolling on Saturday, March 26 with live music in the Maverick lodge following a day of skiing. Then, just down the road at the Grasshopper Inn and Restaurant, cut a rug to the reggae “Jawaiian” stylings of Landlocked at 10:30 p.m.

For more information on events and weekend skiing/soaking/lodging packages, search Bartender’s Bash on Facebook.

Maverick is now only open Saturdays and Sundays until the end of the season (sigh), which is April 2.

Big Sky Weekly

outdoors

Celebrate Spring at the Equinox Ski Challenge

West Yellowstone, March 19-20 “The epic 24 hour race…that thing is crazy.”

Founder of the Equinox Challenge, Sam Newbury, wants everyone to know it doesn’t have to be crazy. With three-hour, six-hour, 12 and 24-hour divisions for solo skiers and relay teams, there are options.

“Skiing as part of a team makes it fun and super chill,” he says. “Some folks show up and ski 20 km, some ski 300 km. Choose your challenge.”

The 2011 Equinox Ski Challenge is March 19-20 at the Rendezvous Ski Trails in West Yellowstone. The event is a springtime celebration, a season finale, an opportunity for cross-country skiers to challenge themselves to new levels and a fundraiser for West Yellowstone Ski Education Foundation (WYSEF) and the West Yellowstone Food Bank.

Big Sky Ski Education Foundation coach, Dan Cantrell, is organizing Equinox this year. Cantrell was drawn to the event because, “It’s a different kind of ski race.

There’s really none other race I know of that operates this way.” Cantrell says Equinox has grown every year, and should have a good turnout to celebrate spring 2011.

The goal this year is to raise enough money to bring the non-profit youth leadership program, Manaia, to the West Yellowstone Ski Education Foundation. The event also benefits the West Yellowstone Food Bank, and participants are encouraged to bring food donations. equinoxskichallenge.com manaia.org E.S.

What is the Spring Equinox?

A passage, a word, a rock climb, a sign Twice a year, the sun crosses the plane of the earth’s equator, making night and day about equal length all over the earth (12 hours each). In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring, or vernal, equinox occurs March 20 or 21.

Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin equinoxium, for Latin aequinoctium the time of equal days and nights (aequi- equi- + noct- (stem of nox) night + (-ium) -dictionary.com Vernal Equinox is also the name of an awesome and difficult rock climb established in 2009, on the South Side of Skyline Buttress in Gallatin Canyon.

It’s not in any of the guidebooks, but it’s right next to Dockins’ Layback and Be Cool. This is one of the best places to climb in spring, because it gets sun.

The vernal equinox is also known as the first point of Aries. When devised 2,000 years ago, the spring equinox occurred at the beginning of the zodiac’s Aries. Because the equinoxes move westward, this point is now at the beginning of Pisces.

Equinox core values: Community, Camaraderie and Personal Challenge

Sign up solo, or with a team of up to eight people. Raceday registration is $90/adult and $60/junior. Registration is free for kids under 12 participating in the 24-minute kids’ race.

Volunteer for part of a day or the whole weekend. Discounted event rates apply to volunteers, and discounts are available for racers who also volunteer at the race or who bring someone along to volunteer for them.

Wear a costume! (All racers in costume receive an extra raffle ticket; best costume wins four.)

Don’t miss the Potluck and Party – 6 p.m. Saturday, March 19, and the all-night bonfire at the start/finish line.

The park is closed, so it’s a quiet weekend in West. Sometimes the roads are dry and so it’s a good road biking weekend, as well.

Crust Cruising: A Skate Skiers’ Secret

By Sara Hoovler Crust Cruising: A euphoric phenomena allowing skate skiers to travel over large open areas. Determined solely by Mother Nature.

Periodically throughout the spring, ideal crust cruising conditions present themselves. To the experienced, it is an addiction. The uninitiated question the daybreak departure, but soon are enlightened. Follow these rules and hope to find yourself at the right place, at the right time.

1

Locate suitable terrain. Look for wide-open areas with lots of sun exposure. Around West Yellowstone, Montana popular crust cruising spots include Hebgen Lake, Big Horn Pass, Fawn Pass, and the meadows near the Rendezvous Ski Trails.

2

Wait for a window of perfect weather. Warm spring days with little to no snowfall are a great start. It needs to be warm enough to slightly melt the top layer of snow.

The thermometer must drop below

freezing overnight. Get up early and be rewarded. Skate skiers can literally ski anywhere by staying on top of the hard crust that has formed.

After spending a season confined to groomed trails, skiers will soar across the surface in all directions. Keep your eyes open for views of wildlife and tracks. Look for birds, bears, otters, wolves, coyotes, bison, sandhill cranes and trumpeter swans that show off in the spring.

3

Know when to quit. The caveat of crust cruising is the end time.

Get off the snow before it softens up, or posthole all the way home.

Crust cruising is almost impossible to predict. Watch the weather, consult your favorite Nordic shop, and get a good night’s sleep. One perfect morning sailing over hills and flying through miles of terrain will keep the storage wax away.

explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 39

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

COUPLES GETAWAY DINE AND STAY PACKAGE

$125 per person (minimum package is 2 people)

Price includes: - Riverside Room - 4 Course Dinner - $30 Wine Credit - Continental Breakfast *limited space available, reservations required Offer good through April 15th, 2011

RAINBOW RANCH RESTAURANT O p e n 6 d a y s a w e e k , Tu e s d a y - S u n d a y • D i n i n g ro o m h o u r s 5 : 3 0 - 9 : 3 0 p . m .

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 40 March 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

Big Sky Weekly

health & wellness

Vitamin D

By Rachel Roth

As we sunned ourselves on a lift ride up Lone Peak, I covered my nose in sunscreen and offered it to my friend.

“No thanks,” he declined. “I’m getting my vitamin D.”

Your vitamin D should be above 20 ng/ml, and ideally above 50. Many people are not in the sun regularly, and vitamin D is not abundant in our usual food choices.

Where can I get Vitamin D?

It’s commonly known that we get vitamin D from the sun. But what do we need it for, how much do we need, and how do we ensure we’re getting enough?

Why do I need Vitamin D? The short answer is for your bones.

Vitamin D is vital in helping the body absorb calcium, thereby allowing bone growth, maintaining bone density and preventing osteoporosis.

In addition, it has been found to reduce fatigue and muscle weakness and help protect against cancer, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

How does it work?

Vitamin D is formed in the skin when ultraviolet light (UVB type), strikes bare skin. Enormous quantities are rapidly made in the skin if the sun is high in the sky and your skin is not covered by clothes, sun block, or behind a window. If you let your skin see enough sun that it begins to turn pink, you can make between 10,000 - 50,000 units (more than 100x the amount given by physicians). It is then transported to the liver where it can be stored for later or sent to the kidney, where it is turned on and sent throughout the body to balance the amount of calcium in the bones with the calcium in the blood.

Widespread Deficiency According to several studies, 40-100 percent of U.S. and European elderly men and women are deficient, and over 50 percent of postmenopausal women taking medication for osteoporosis did not have enough vitamin D for their treatment to be effective.

Diet: It is hard to get enough vitamin D from your diet. Fortified foods such as milk, yogurt, some orange juices and cereals contain it, as do fatty fish such as sardines, salmon, tuna and mackerel, and egg yolks and shitake mushrooms.

F O R S O M E, WE’RE THE MOST POPULAR A P R É S S K I PLACE IN TOWN. A day on the slopes can cause aches and pains. Fear not. We’re here with a full line of pain relievers, ointments, wraps, and ice packs so you’ll be ready to go again come morning. You’ll also find relief for coughs, colds, and sore throats to make your days and nights more enjoyable. Find us across from the Big Sky Chapel.

Hours: Monday-Friday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm; Closed 2:00-2:30 pm for lunch Meadow Village Center | 36 Center Ln, Suite 2 406-993-9390 | www.bozemandeaconess.org/pharmacy

Supplements: Many doctors prescribe vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol).

Over the counter cod liver oil or vitamin D3 works, as well. It’s possible to take too much vitamin D, so consult with your doctor regarding the recommended amount.

Sunshine: Sunlight interacts with our skin to make our bodies synthesize vitamin D. This is a natural way to obtain vitamin D, and it’s impossible to overdose, regardless of how much sun you get, due to various protective mechanisms the skin employs. However, due to the risks of melanoma and other skin cancers which sunlight can pose, you have to weigh the risks and not get too much sun exposure.

There are many different ways to get vitamin D. A balanced diet including fish, eggs and milk products, 15 minutes of sunshine daily, and a vitamin D supplement, if recommended by your doctor, should insure you get enough. Use sunscreen, but get outside and enjoy – it’s good for you.

Rachel Roth spent the month of March doing a elective at the Medical Clinic of Big Sky. Rachel attends medical school at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and will be pursuing a career in Family Practice when she graduates this spring.

explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 41

Creighton Block Gallery in Big Sky presents

Big Sky Weekly

“Tree Artist” C. Jack Waller, Jr.

Saturday, March 26th 2011 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Big Sky Town Center 33 Lone Peak Drive Big Sky, MT 59716

C. Jack Waller, Jr. is an accomplished “tree artist.” “Tree working” involves creating works of art using the original trees rather than processed wood. He uses traditional and primitive tools to build pieces such as tool boxes, chairs, tables and other sculptural works.

Come enjoy music, hors d’oeuvres, refreshments and striking works of art created from and inspired by Montana forests.

Creighton Block Gallery is the place to come for the works of world-class artists and artisans.

For more information, please visit creightonblockgallery.com.

33 Lone Peak Drive (Town Center) • Big Sky, MT 59716 • 406-993-9400 42 March 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

Colin Mathews and Paula Craver, Owners

Music Hunter

Big Sky Weekly

Big Sky’s Newest Development

the club at mountain lake

The Queen of Rockabilly

2, 3 and 4 Bedroom Condominium Suites Inspiring & Unobstructed Lone Mountain & Lake Views Convenient & Comfortable Floor Plans Elevator Access & Convenient Garage Parking Prices starting in the upper $400,000s!

By Hunter Rothwell Although most people under 45 have probably never heard of Wanda Jackson, this music sensation is the undisputed Queen of Rockabilly, whose popularity was at its zenith in the ‘50s and ‘60s. As teenager in the mid-’50s, Jackson became the first woman to perform unadulterated rock and roll. Discovered by country star Hank Thompson, she was still a petite high schooler when she recorded with his band, the Brazos Valley Boys. Her tough, gravelly voice, complemented by her glamorous appearance, was an immediate hit with young lovers of what was then hardedged music. In 2009, Wanda Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her influence in the evolution of popular music.

all,” said the Queen, herself. “He just wanted me to have new, fresher material.”

At 73, is Jackson too old to rock out?

In January 2011, Jackson released “The Party Ain’t Over,” an album produced and backed on lead guitar

by Jack White of the White Stripes and Raconteurs. “He wasn’t wanting to change my style of singing at

Perhaps it’s unusual: a rock album by a woman who’s old enough to tell you she dated Elvis Presley back in 1955. But Jackson and White have chemistry in the “The Party Ain’t Over,” and it’s 40 minutes of pure fun and timeless sound.

On this album Jackson and White breathe life into classic songs, old and new. There is the hard driving “Nervous Breakdown,” an Eddie Cochran hit during the infancy of rock and roll. White adds ska sounds to the Andrew’s Sisters’ 1940s-era “Rum and Coca Cola.”

Even more modern hits like Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” and Bob Dylan’s “Thunder on the Mountain” get the retro throwback treatment, with great success.

Jack White knows what he’s doing.

“He’s just such a cool guy that I found myself wanting to please him,” Jackson said. “I wanted to do it his way.”

At 73, is Jackson too old to rock out?

Improved Offering $962,000

cowboy heaven luxury suite a bldg. i Supurb Ski-In/Ski-Out Breathtaking Spanish Peak Views Convenient One Level Living w/ Elevator Luxurious Interior Finishes

WINTER & COMPANY REAL ESTATE 406-581-2033

Shawna Winter www.MTwinter.com Shawna@MTwinter.com Winter & Co. Welcomes

Aimee Gerharter

406-599-4448 aimee@MTwinter.com

explorebigsky.com March 18, 2011 43

i k S s é r p A

S R E T R A U

Q D A E H

March Music Wed. 2nd : Open Mic Night

Sat. 5th : Kayli Smith 5:00-7:00 Sat. 5th : Bottom of the Barrel 9:30 Wed 9th: Open Mic Night Sat. 12th : Kent Johnson 5:00-7:00

• Daily drink specials • Live Music • 12 HDTVs • Amazing Food

Wed 16th: Open Mic Night Fri. 18th : One Leaf Clover 9:30 Sat. 19th : Big Water 5:00-7:00 Wed 23rd: Open Mic Night Sat. 26th: Hairy Dog Show 5:00-7:00

• 100 beers • 100 wines

Wed 30th: Open Mic Night

OPEN MIC/LADIES NIGHT* - EVERY WEDNESDAY 8:30 P.M. *½ price drinks for ladies

- CLOSE

HAPPY HOUR* - MONDAY-FRIDAY 3:00-5:00 PM *½ price well drinks and pints

OPEN DAILY AT 11:30 A.M. LUNCH & DINNER 44 March 18, 2011

LOCATED IN THE BIG SKY TOWN CENTER big sky, montana 406-995-3830

EVENTS big sky More Than Lights

Planning an event? Let us know! Email abbie@theoutlawpartners.com and we’ll spread the word. Check explorebigsky.com for an extended calendar.

Yellowstone’s Hot Spring Biology

Bozeman

@ the Half Moon Saloon March 18 9:30 pm $5 cover, free shuttle

Big Sky Amphitheater- Yellowstone Conference Center March 21, 28 8 – 9:15 p.m.

(406) 995-5806

Dirt Bag Ball

Musik Lives Here

@ the Half Moon Saloon Featuring The Dirty Shame with Bottom of the Barrel March 19 9 p.m. $10 Cover, Free Shuttle

@ the Half Moon Saloon March 26 9:30 pm

@ the Emerson March 24 7 p.m.

Creighton Block Gallery’s “Meet the Artist” Reception

Kopriva Science Seminar Series

gardiner

Connecting the Gems Bozeman REI March 24 6:30 p.m.

Railroad Earth

Yellowstone Federal Credit Union Open House and Annual Meeting

Live at Choppers March 19 5 p.m.

C. Jack Waller, Jr. March 26 4 - 7 p.m. creightonblockgallery.com

On the Snow BBQ

Disney’s Nature Earth

Swishes for Wishes

Madison Village Base Area Free event for Moonlight and BSIA Pass Holders March 20 12 – 3 p.m.

Big Sky Amphitheater- Yellowstone Conference Center March 31 7:30- 9 p.m.

T. Pepper Burruss – Head Athletic Trainer, Green Bay Packers Big Sky Resort March 20 7 – 9 p.m.

(406) 995- 5745

Water and Sewer District Board Meeting March 31 8 a.m.

995-2660

3-on-3 Basketball Tournament MSU’s Shroyer Gym March 27 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. montana.wish.org

Virginia city Winter Chautauqua The Elling House March 19 6: 30 p.m.

Elementary School Play: Pinocchio Gardiner School Multi Purpose Room March 18 7 p.m.

Dr. Iring Weissman, Stem Cell Research MSU Procrastinator Theater 4 p.m.

March 25

Big Water

Big Sky Weekly

March 23 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Live Music and Dinner Featuring There and Back Again Tumbleweed Bookstore March 18 6 - 9 p.m.

Lunafest Film Festival Mammoth Community Center April 7 6:30 p.m.

West Yellowstone Equinox Ski Challenge March 19 – 20 equinoxskichallenge.com

The Elusive Greg Stump In the March 4 Weekly, I reported legendary ski filmmaker Greg Stump would be reemerging from L.A. and the internet ether to show an early edit of his new film, “The “Legend of Aaahhh’s” here in Bozeman. As of March 11, the show was postponed until fall.

That same week, following a phone interview with Stump, a hand-labeled DVD arrived in my mailbox. Part documentary and part autobiography, the majority of the film is a retrospective on “The Blizzard of Aaahhh’s.” In typical Stump fashion, it is also a memorable collection of characters, from Mike Hattrup locked in a car trunk, to an interview with the guy who played a parking lot valet in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, to Klaus Obermeyer doing a Bavarian yodel. There are also thoughtful interviews with nearly every major ski filmmaker of the last 50 years.

Watching the progression of both film and ski technology unfold in Stump’s movie is remarkable. If “The Legend of Aaahhh’s” is ever released, it will be of interest to any skier who has grown up watching ski movies. It also will be proof that even jaw-dropping footage is ultimately less memorable than the characters who make it.

- Mike Quist Kautz

Want an amazing true ski-in/ski-out rental property for your ski vacation?

Call 888.898.4938 Visit us online eastwestbigsky.com

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Big Sky Weekly

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Big Sky Weekly

fun

People on the street What is your favorite hot sauce?

Ben Toews Yellowstone Club “Blaire’s After Death Sauce”

Blake Majors Gallatin River Guides, Big Sky “Maudies Hot Sauce from Austin, TX”

Charlie Wolcott Franconia, New Hampshire “Bucanero Bonacco Sauce, found at Half Moon Bay in Roatan, Honduras.”

Tyler Genge, choppers, Big Sky “Cholula hot sauce is the best!”

Sita the puppy relaxes at Lone Peak Brewery

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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, how-to pieces for traditional or outdoor skills, and science.

A Brief History of the Dirtbag Ball

By Scotty Savage Big Sky Ski Patrol’s Dirtbag Ball, and its accompanying wild, wooly—and sometimes scandalous—festivities have been going on more than three decades.

Here, Scotty Savage, a Dirtbag expert himself, interviews “Father Dirtbag,” patrol veteran Jon “Yunce” Ueland.

Yunce has attended every Dirtbag Powder 8 competition in the event’s 32-year history, and more than 25 Dirtbag Balls.

Yunce, take us back to the beginning – when was the inaugural Dirtbag Ball?

How did the name “Dirtbag” come about?

Terry Onslow and Hambone (Hamilton George Strayer III) used to work as patrollers in Stowe, Vermont. The Stowe patrol gave a yearly award for the patroller who did the dumbest thing at work – a bag of dirt. The award became known as the Dirtbag award. Since the term also described the locals who lived to ski and party every day, it was a great fit for a party.

Maybe, if your ski jacket has more duct tape than fabric showing and if you haven’t missed a day all year, you might have what it A Dirtbag King and Queen are takes to achieve immortality by being crowned the next Dirtbag crowned each year – how are they King or Queen. If not, odds are you’ll still have a really good time. chosen?

The first Dirtbag Ball was in the spring of 1979 at Buck’s T4. Patrollers David Stutzman and Mike Meyers Someone needs to ski hard every hatched the idea to host a party at day, and it helps if they are having Buck’s as a fundraiser. The patrol used fun at night too. For years you had the money to buy rescue equipment, to live in Big gear for the paSky and be a skitrol shacks, and dirtbag (noun): a dirty, unkempt, er (not a snowto pay for our or contemptible person; a genboarder), but end-of-the-year eral term for an uncouth person unfortunately celebration. who lacks class; an award conthat’s changed. sisting of a bag of dirt, given to a person who does something stuTo vote, all Has there been pid in the course of their employthe patrollers a Dirtbag Ball ment; a Big Sky local skier who go into a small every year? plays hard on Lone Mountain room just before every day, whose skis are worth midnight at the The patrol and more than their car, and who Dirtbag Ball management often has colorful stories about and yell for the weren’t getting their evening escapades. candidates they along so well want. Whoever in 1982, so we gets the loudest yells becomes the thought that might be the last one benew King and Queen. cause most of the patrol might not be back the next year. The Bridger Bowl Tell me about the Dirtbag 8’s. patrol called us and asked if they could have a Dirtbag Ball, since ours That started sometime in the ‘80s, might be ending, so that’s how theirs back when powder 8 competitions got started. In true Dirtbag fashion, were all the rage. Only ours wasn’t we didn’t keep our word and had one quite as serious. You get judged on the next year anyway. So yes, there’s skiing, but costume and attitude been a Dirtbag every year.

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are just as important. You’re also allowed to bribe the judges.

Any particularly fond memories of the 8’s?

People are there to have fun, and a lot of the costumes are memorable. John Kircher (former general manager of

Big Sky Resort) frequently attended the Dirtbag festivities and used to ski in the 8’s. One year, he dressed up as the pope and his partner (Scott Bowen, former mountain manager) dressed up as a priest. They had a really good time that year.