Big Sky
Big Sky’s Locally Owned & Published Newspaper
special section:
summer sports in montana
Q+A: RURAL EDUCATION
Photo by: Troy Paulson
June 17, 2011 Volume 2 // Issue #11
solstice Poker ruN
delicioso: cafe madriz
+
resort tax appropriations
Montana Climbers Ascend Mount Logan for Planned Parenthood
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june 17, 2011 Volume 2, Issue 11 CEO, PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Eric Ladd
H app y b i rthday B r i an N i les ! Y o u ’ re fly i n g thr o u g h l i fe .
COO & SENIOR EDITOR Megan Paulson CREATIVE DIRECTOR Mike Martins MANAGING EDITOR Emily Stifler GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kelsey Dzintars EDITOR Abbie Digel Editorial Assistant Taylor Anderson Hello!
Sales Director Hunter Rothwell Distribution Director Danielle Chamberlain VIDEOGRAPHER Brian Niles
Big Sky
CONTRIBUTors Tyler Allen, Victoria Bentley, Pat Callis, Jamie Daugaard, Sonya Iverson, Terry Kennedy, Katie Morrison, Brandon Niles, Josh Olsen, Amy Smit, Austin Trayser, Whitewater Rescue Institute, Dave Zinn
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.
advertising opportunities available for
Special sections June 17 September 9 (406)995-2055 media@theoutlawpartners.com
The new summer Mountain Outlaw magazine is making a wave across Southwest Montana. We’ve already gone through nearly 5,000 copies in the first three weeks and are distributing 20,000 this summer/fall. Be sure to pick up your copy soon. We are also excited to kick-off a new series of special sections in this edition of the Weekly dedicated to promoting various locations, adventures and activities across the region. In the following five editions, you’ll find a 16-page section focusing on the following topics: June 17 - Summer outdoor sports July 1 - Yellowstone National Park July 29 - Health and wellness August 12 - Fishing September 9 - Hunting Special advertising space is available for each of these editions. If you’re interested in securing a spot, be sure to give us a call at (406) 995-2055 or send an email to media@theoutlawpartners.com. Remember you can always read our publications and daily news online at explorebigsky.com. We’re looking forward to a great summer here in Big Sky country! Regards, Megan Outlaw Partners
Photo by Austin Trayser
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 June 17, 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
Real Estate...21
Big Sky…7
Business Directory...22
Local News...8 Regional…11
Events...25
Montana…12
Classifieds...26
Profile...14
Music...27
Food & Dining...17
Fun...29
Health...18 Sports...19 Architecture...20
Back 40...31 Special Section: Summer Sports...33
Big Sky Weekly
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June 17, 2011 3
Big Sky Weekly
community
Happy Father’s Day! Free Fishing For the first time ever, Montana is offering free fishing for all on Father’s Day Weekend. This new promotion by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks was approved by the Montana Legislature and recently signed into law by Gov. Brian Schweitzer. “It’s a wonderful idea because it provides everyone in Montana with the opportunity to get hooked on fishing,” said Joe Maurier, Director of Montana FWP. “You can legally fish without a license on June 18 and June 19.”
Celebrate Dad over a Lone Mountain Ranch brunch and complimentary mimosa Big Sky’s Lone Mountain Ranch is celebrating Father’s Day with a Sunday Brunch Baron of Buffalo (smoked overnight), an array of breakfast items, such as french toast with an apple compote, sockeye salmon with meyer lemon dill hollandaise, and an assortment of fabulous pastries and desserts. 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Call the Ranch for reservations. (406) 995-2782
Big Sky Chamber of Commerce plans for Annual Meeting, Dinner and Awards Banquet June 22 The Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for its annual meeting, dinner and awards banquet, Wednesday, June 22 at the 320 Guest Ranch in Big Sky’s Gallatin Canyon. Held each June as a precursor to the new fiscal year and a wrap up of the current fiscal year, this event sets the stage for the Chamber’s first annual Big Sky Business Expo this October. June’s event will also be a chance for Chamber membership to hear what the organization has been working on the past year, as well as outlining which items will be the points of focus for continued work, marketing and business development in the coming year. During the business portion of the meeting, the Chamber will introduce the three newly elected board members, and will also approve the fiscal 2012 budget. Annual community awards will be presented, including Business of the Year, Community Person of the Year, Green Business of the Year, and Non-Profit of the Year. This year, the Chamber has invited local photographers Ryan Turner and Kene Sperry to provide the evening’s entertainment: a slide show showcasing their talents and the breathtaking landscapes, lifestyles and natural surroundings of Big Sky. WYS Old Faithful Ad-GR:Layout 1
7/31/10
10:14 AM
Page 1
Catch a flight in the morning. Begin your vacation by noon! You can’t land any closer to where you want to be!
Yellowstone Big Sky Gallatin Madison Ennis Virginia City Island Park
www.yellowstoneairport.org FLIGHTS DAILY FROM WEST YELLOWSTONE MONTANA
4 June 17, 2011
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Discover Gallatin Canyon’s first annual Summer Solstice Poker Run In celebration of the first day of summer and the longest day of the year, Discover Gallatin Canyon, a new association of Big Sky’s Gallatin Canyon businesses is hosting its first annual Summer Solstice Poker Run. This fun event will have cash prizes, raffles and one-day only specials to showcase the many different businesses in Big Sky’s summer recreation corridor. For more information, check out our business profile on page 22-23.
Big Sky Fire Department CPR and First Aid classes are offered at Station 1 as needed. Please call 995-2100 for information or to schedule a class. 5/29 – 17:27-17:58 – EMS personnel responded. Patient received BLS assessment and refused transport. 6/2 -13:29-13:44 – Fire personnel responded to a False Alarm at Big Sky Resort. 6/3 – 17:05-18:09 – Fire personnel responded to a Hazard Alarm. Hazard was mitigated and property turned over to property management
Big Sky in the running to become future home of Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame By Abbie Digel A committee met on Wednesday, June 15 to discuss further action in bringing the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center (MCHF & WHC) to the Big Sky Area. This was the first meeting for the committee, which is made up of prominent community members who are in favor of bringing the hall of fame to Big Sky. They discussed how the museum’s presence would better the interests of both Big Sky and Montana. Bill Collins, a member of this group, stressed the importance of becoming a finalist in the running. The MCHF and WHC Board of Directors, made up of representatives from all over the state, will announce finalists after approximately 50 candidates submit requests for proposals. The future building site will be awarded in November. The Board wants to choose the best location that represents the Montana way of life. The Big Sky committee has until July 29 to submit their RFP, and in the time being they will submit a cover letter and a video to the MCHF and WHC Board explaining why they think Big Sky is the best candidate. At the meeting, the committee discussed the advantages Big Sky has that
will be presented to the board. First, the building should be constructed on Highway 191 because of the high traffic between Yellowstone, Bozeman and Gallatin Field Airport. Also, Big Sky has a strong population of young equestrians, experienced cowboys and dude ranches. Meg O’Leary, Director of Sales and Marketing at Big Sky Resort, said Big Sky’s rich history and the Chet Huntley tie-in is also an advantage. Big Sky has all of the amenities in place, as well as a conference center, and plenty of shopping, dining and recreation opportunities. “All the cards are in place for Big Sky to be a front-runner for the Hall of Fame,” said Ryan Hamilton. The committee agreed they’ll need to be diligent ensuring important details are presented in front of the Board, including land space, economy, transportation, services and utilities. If you have input or suggestions, there is still an opportunity to join Big Sky’s committee or get involved. Contact Ryan Hamilton at ryan@ bigskytowncenter.com or Eric Ladd at eric@theoutlawpartners.com.
Big Sky Weekly
community Gallatin County Commission passes Big Sky Park District resolution By Katie Morrison
Integrity. Vision.
On Tuesday June 14, the Gallatin County Commission passed a resolution of intent to create the Big Sky Meadow Trails, Recreation and Parks Special District. This resolution is one step toward creating a multi-jurisdictional district encompassing both the meadow and mountain villages of Big Sky. Since Nov. 2010, a collaborative group representing numerous Big Sky entities and residents has worked toward a solution for Big Sky to maintain control of the parks, trails and recreation in our community. The answer: create a self-funded multi-jurisdictional park district. In order to accomplish this, both Gallatin and Madison counties must pass a resolution and an inter-local agreement allowing a single five-member board to administer the combined district. This district would benefit Big Sky in numerous ways, from qualifying for additional grant funding sources, to providing Big Sky with a locally controlled public infrastructure for parks, trails and recreation.
Craft.
With the passage of the resolution in Gallatin County, the next step is to present a similar resolution and inter-local agreement to the Madison County Commission on June 21, 2011. The Madison County Commission has been in support of such a resolution up to this point, including a memo to the Gallatin County Commission stating their support. After both Commissions have passed the resolution, they must also agree upon an inter-local agreement to administer the district through a single board comprised of residents from each county. Gallatin County will also be mailing a notice to property owners within the Gallatin County portion of the district to notify them of a 30-day protest period, allowing them to make a written protest regarding the proposed program or improvements in the district, which will be self funded and will not be assessing fees or taxes. During the 30-day protest period, the Big Sky Community Corporation (BSCC), along with other partners, will be hosting a public meeting to answer any questions at noon on July 13, at the Big Sky Chapel. Comments submitted thus far to Gallatin County have all been in support of the district. Barring significant protests to the resolution, the Commission will finalize both the inter-local agreement and resolution, and the district will be officially created.
406-995-2174
continentalconstruction.com/montana
With questions regarding the Big Sky Park District, or to make a contribution toward this effort, please contact Katie Morrison, Executive Director of the BSCC, at katie@bsccmt.org or (406) 993-2112.
Big Sky Community Corporation Trails Day a Success The Big Sky Community Corporation (BSCC) hosted its annual Trails Day celebration Saturday, June 4. The event had a great turnout, with 30 people volunteering their time to work on Big Sky’s trails. Groups collaborated to pick up trash, clear brush, stain picnic tables and improve erosion issues. The sunny weather contributed to an enjoyable day for all who participated. Steve Johnson, Chair of the BSCC Board and BSCC Trails Committee noted, “It’s terrific to see so many people turn out to put our trails into shape. Everyone’s eager to get out and hike.” The Big Sky Community Corporation is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit entity which exists to promote, acquire, preserve, and maintain land, parks, trails and easements for the people of Big Sky and the general public. If you would like more information on the BSCC, including other volunteer opportunities, please call 993-2112 or visit bsccmt.org K.M.
R E C E N T P ROJ E C T Chalet 504 at Yellowstone Club explorebigsky.com
June 17, 2011 5
Big Sky Weekly
6 June 17, 2011
explorebigsky.com
Big Sky Weekly
Big Sky
PBR fever has hit Big Sky The famed Professional Bull Riding circuit is coming to Big Sky for the first time ever on August 3. Since the event’s early June announcement, excitement has been overwhelming, according to the event committee. “We are getting phone calls from people around the state wanting to get involved, become sponsors and buy tickets,” said Andy Watson, one of the committee organizers. “This is becoming an amazing community event,” said Eric Ladd, who has been instrumental in bringing the PBR to Big Sky. Ladd said businesses and sponsors are “really pulling together to help make this happen—from the Big Sky Town Center who donated the land, to businesses like Geyser Whitewater, which is donating raft ing for the bull riders, to Dr. Jeff Saad who is donating chiropractor adjustments for the riders. The Big Sky community is alive and well.” Montanan Beau Hill, one of the top bull riders in the world, will be attending. “What a cool event in the making,” Hill said. The event committee also announced the lineup of music, including Montana native and Nashville recording artist Jessica Kilroy, who will play a pre-party event on Aug. 2 (location TBA), and The Dirty Shame will play the after party on Aug. 3. For more information, visit explorebigsky.com.
SPONSORSHIP Some limited sponsorship opportunities are still available, including spots in the vendor village, banner sponsorship slots, and a chance to be the business sponsor of the live music. Interested businesses should contact Eric Ladd as soon as possible at eric@theoutlawpartners.com. Current sponsors include: Presenting Sponsor – Yellowstone Club Big Screen Sponsor and Barrel Sponsor – Continental Construction Media Sponsor – Outlaw Partners Lodging Sponsor – Big Sky Resort Mutton Bustin Sponsor – Moonlight Basin Chute Gate Sponsors – Fay Ranches, 320 Guest Ranch, Sotheby’s, Big Sky Town Center August 3 Pre-Party Sponsor - Choppers Food and Beverage Vendors – Wrap Shack, Trailhead Pizza, Choppers, Broken Spoke, Scissorbills and Kettle Korn Vendors – Willow Boutique, Four Corners Saddles, Eagle Ridge Beef, Stronghold and Morningstar Banner Sponsors – Lone Pine Builders, Big Sky Western Bank, Hammond Property Management, Black Bull, Grizzly Outfitters, Explorebigsky.com and Stifel & Nicolas.
TICKETS
9 a.m. Tickets go on sale June 22 at explorebigsky.com, 320 Ticket outlets include: online at Partners, Country Market, Ranch, Bugaboo Café, Outlaw il & More and Big Sky Resort. Choppers, Trailhead Pizza, Ma
Big Sky Broadway presents Willy Wonka, Junior Twenty-five Big Sky kids will take to the stage at Big Sky Resort on July 1, when Big Sky Broadway presents Willy Wonka, Junior on the ballroom stage at 6 p.m. This abridged version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory features all the characters you know and love, played by kids you’ve seen around town. Directed by Big Sky’s muchlauded musical talents John Zirkle and Klaudia Kosiak, audiences can expect a professionally produced show, with some Oompa Loompas having just completed first grade. “John and Klaudia are skilled at expecting and getting excellent results from the kids, while still making the experience fun,” says Producer Barbara Rowley. “Last year, we thought we were reaching when we had the kids learn three Broadway songs for a benefit performance, but we quickly learned they can do much more than we can imagine.” Imagination is the key-word for this stand-alone performance and the two-weeks of rehearsal that precede it, says Director John Zirkle. “Roald Dahl’s book is all
about stretching your imagination and not being confined by what others say is possible,” says Zirkle. In rehearsals and in the show, Zirkle plans on daily exercises of the imagination which he hopes will infuse this classic show with new and unexpected flair. The kids will be involved in their costumes, set designs, and the back-stories of their characters as they prepare to put on the first-ever summer musical in Big Sky. The production is being Some of the Big Sky Broadway staff: Eric Corliss, John Zirkle, Klaudia Kosiak and Steph Brink. Zirkle and Kosiak have assembled nical Director and Michel Tallichet sponsored by Big Sky a team ready to teach the actors all is the lighting designer. Resort, which is providing all rethe finer points of production and hearsal and performance spaces, the theater, including Stephanie Brink, Tickets for the show will sell for Big Sky Community Chorus, and a choreographer, opera singer and $5 and will be available at the door Camp Big Sky, of which Big Sky vocal coach from Colorado Springs and also at tables outside the post Broadway is a part. As a special (litand Eric Corliss, who as Camp Dioffice during lunch hour during eral) treat, La Chatelaine Chocolat rector, will keep rehearsals up-beat the two weeks before the perforCompany of Bozeman will sell their and creative. Anna Middleton, a mance. For more information on the trademark chocolates as well as speLPHS student, will serve as General show, contact Barbara Rowley at cial chocolate bars--five of which Stage Manager. Ambrose Locker, browley@3rivers.net. will contain a golden ticket good for another LPHS student, is the Techa box of La Chatelaine chocolates.
explorebigsky.com
June 17, 2011 7
Big Sky Weekly
local news
Big Sky Resort Area District Appropriations FY 2012 Resort Tax Applicants
By Amy Smit Resort tax funds were awarded to applicants Wednesday, June 15 at the Big Sky Chapel at 1 p.m. The Big Sky Resort Area District (BSRAD) Board of Directors has the difficult job of assessing all of the applications and deciding how to appropriate the funds. The Board discusses and votes on the applications at the meeting, and no decisions have been made prior to this. The Board must follow certain guidelines during appropriations.
Note: Excess funds ($178,951.82) went back into the BSRAD’s bank accounts. (The Water & Sewer Dist bond payment for $500,000 is part of an ongoing agreement). Rollover funds were appropriated last fiscal year, but not used. Organizations can apply to “roll them over” for use in the next fiscal year.
The Big Sky Resort Area District is a governmental subdivision. Therefore, it is subject to legal requirements concerning the appropriation of tax revenues. Section 19 of the Big Sky Resort Area District Ordinance No. 98-01-ORD reads: Appropriation, Expenditure, and Purpose of Resort Tax: The revenue derived from the imposition of the resort tax will be appropriated by the District Board and expended for infrastructure facilities (as that term is commonly defined) in the Big Sky Resort Area District; public services, including but not limited to the establishment and maintenance of an adequately-sized post office; ambulance and other emergency medical services; public transportation systems; snow plowing; tourism development for the Big Sky Resort Area District; other services that provide for the public health, safety, and welfare within the Big Sky Resort Area District; and reimbursement or payment to the resort area district of the costs associated with the collection, administration, and litigation of the resort tax.” Over the years BSRAD has requested several legal opinions to assist it in interpreting the ordinance. Legal Opinion #49, which has been influential for BSRAD, states: “Projects that serve a “public purpose” and benefit the community at large may be funded by resort tax dollars. The recipient must be legally capable of implementing the public purpose and have the capacity to be accountable for doing so … The particular purpose must benefit a substantial group of beneficiaries or the community at large, not a single person, organization, or corporation.” Many community members joined us at the appropriations meeting to see their government in action. Public comment was allowed at the beginning and at the conclusion of the meeting. If you have any questions regarding this process or the 3% resort tax, please send an email to resorttax@gmail.com.
New Request
Funded
Gallatin County Sheriff's Office Big Sky / Canyon Division / Patrol Services
$122,498.00
$122,498.00
Special Event Fund
$10,000.00
$0.00
$82,775.00
$82,775.00
$302,078.00
$290,000.00
$15,000.00
$15,000.00
$10,000.00
$10,000.00
$452,250.00
$430,000.00
Community Counseling Program
$20,800.00
$20,800.00
Community Counseling Program
Rollover - $9,200.00
$9,200.00
Arts Council of Big Sky Building the Arts in Big Sky…for our Residents and Visitors
Big Sky Transportation District Skyline
Gallatin Valley Snowmobile Association Buck Ridge Snowmobile Trail Grooming
Big Sky Search and Rescue, Inc. Operations
Big Sky Fire Department Big Sky Fire Department
Women In Action
Big Sky Chamber of Commerce Wayfinding Signage & Entry Monument Project (Permitting & Design)
$40,000.00
$33,000.00
Strategic Planning & Community Branding Initiative
$20,000.00
$20,000.00
Biggest Skiing in America, Winter Marketing Campaign
$200,000.00
$200,000.00
Chamber Publications Printing; Area Guide/Area Map
$31,000.00
$25,344.00
Signature Summer Event & Regional Promotion
$23,000.00
$12,000.00
$48,690.00
$33,000.00
$57,000.00
$52,000.00
Blue Water Task Force, Inc. Watershed Group Funding
Friends of the Big Sky Community Library Big Sky Community Library
Application Withdrawn
Big Sky Institute Community and Educational Greenhouse
$0.00
Lone Peak Partners Big Sky Recreational Plaza
$1.00
$0.00
$60,000.00
$0.00
$69,480.00
$0.00
Morningstar Learning Center ,Inc. Excellence in Education and Childcare
Westfork Meadows Homeowners Association Westfork Road & Drainage Improvements
Big Sky Community Corporation Community Park Project
$179,000.00
$179,000.00
BSCC Operating and Maintenance 2011-12
$100,000.00
$95,000.00
$24,170.00
$0.00
$2,000.00
$2,000.00
$19,000.00
$19,000.00
Gallatin County Business Association Marketing
Jack Creek Preserve Foundation Jack Creek Water Quality Monitoring Project
Northern Rocky Mountain RC&D Gallatin/Big Sky Noxious Weed Project
Montana State University Ski Team
Not eligible
Alpine Competition Funding
$0.00
Big Sky County Water & Sewer District No. 363 Existing Water & Sewer Project Debt Service Cost Sharing
$300,000.00
$250,000.00
Pilot Snowmaking Project
Rollover - $15,000.00
$15,000.00
$44,000.00
$44,000.00
$15,600.00
$15,600.00
The Post Office, LLC The Big Sky Post Office
Montana State University - Gallatin County Extension Big Sky Forest Health and Fire Safe Program
TOTALS $2,248,342.00 Total New and Rollover Requests $2,272,542.00 Water & Sewer District No. 363 - 2011-2012 Water & Sewer Bond
$500,000.00
TOTALs Requested $2,772,542.00 8 June 17, 2011
explorebigsky.com
Awarded $1,925,217.00
Big Sky Weekly
local news
Work on Hebgen Basin Fuels Reduction Project Begins Work on the Hebgen Basin Fuels Reduction Project in the Gallatin National Forest began the second week of June outside of West Yellowstone. The project will reduce the threat to the lives and property in the wildland-urban interface areas near the Madison Arm of Hebgen Lake, according to the Montana Forest Service Treatment will reduce the risk of crown (treetop forest fires) and wildland fire spread. Workers will thin trees to reduce crown closure and remove dead and downed trees. Treatment will also help maintain evacuation routes for the community of West Yellowstone along highways 191 and 20. These highways provide access to and from the city in the event that an evacuation from a large fire is needed. Project treatments include understory thinning (vegetation on the ground level), commercial thinning, hand piling, and prescribed burning. Over the
last five years the Forest Service has implemented all aspects of the project with the exception of work that had to be done by the contractor. This commercial aspect of the project that is underway is the final step in the project. “The work that’s occurring now will go on throughout the summer,” Forest Service spokesperson Marna Daley said. “We’re hoping it’s no longer than three weeks, but it’s based on weather.” Human entry is closed while heavy equipment is working in the area. The southern boundary of the closure is the West Yellowstone town limits, and extends north to mile marker 2 on Highway 191. Yellowstone National Park forms the eastern boundary and the west is Highway 191. -Gallatin National Forest wire services
Big Sky schools receive technology, nutrition, music grants YCCF partnership with Ophir School District continues to grow Students at Ophir and Lone Peak high schools will have access to the latest educational technology and software in their classrooms next fall, thanks to a grant from the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation. “As a district, we’ve been able to outfit most of our classrooms with the LCD projectors and document cameras our teachers need—but not all of them. So, some teachers were able to have these devices easily available to integrate into their teaching while others could not,” said Andrea Johnson, Superintendent. The YCCF funds will be used to remove this inequity so teachers from kindergarten through high school, will have these tools. In addition, the YCCF grant included the purchase of necessary software to use with these technologies, as well as with the laptop computers a previous YCCF grant helped fund last fall.
The YCCF’s investment in school technology is particularly important for a small rural school district like Ophir, Johnson said. “The technology we will now have in place will not only allow our kids to access the world much more readily, but will allow them to reach the high achievement standards which are a priority goal in our district.” These grants, like other YCCF awards to Ophir, exemplify the foundation’s approach to partnering with the school district to provide outside funds imperative for the school’s educational goals. Through another grant, the YCCF is making possible the school district’s firs ever cafeteria salad bar. “Our hope is that with the ability to purchase and fill a salad bar, we will be able to increase participation in our school lunch program enough to qualify for us for federal awards and become more financially self-sustaining,” said Wellness Com-
mittee Chair and Board Trustee Barbara Rowley. “We are excited that our students will have daily access to fresh fruits and vegetables.” Without the grant, the district likely wouldn’t ever have had money to buy, stock and operate a salad bar on its own, she added. Finally, students in the Ophir District will have a music education otherwise out of reach for the district. The grant will pay for stringed music instruction and the creation of a pep band. “Reaching and assisting the Big Sky community through the school has been and will be a continuing focus of the YCCF,” says Casey Schwartz, YCCF Executive Director. “It is obvious to anyone that the school is the very heart of this community, and that by helping kids, we help families, and the community as a whole.”
explorebigsky.com
June 17, 2011 9
Big Sky Weekly HELMS JAMISON KULESZA
Commercial Opportunities
Peaks Centre Building 175 Aspen Leaf Drive | In the Big Sky Town Center between the Fire Station & Hungry Moose Market
ADVANTAGES OF OWNERSHIP: • Mortgage Interest Deduction • Depreciation Deduction
Owner Financing Breakdown Ground Floor
Size
Purchase the Building
Purchase One of the Suites
Suite A
1,826 sq. ft.
Square Footage
8,706 sq. ft.
Suite A - 1,826 sq. ft.
Suite B
1,266 sq. ft.
Purchase Price
$1.2M / $138 psf
$273,980 / $150 psf
Suite C
1,735 sq. ft. (LEASED)
Down Payment (5%)
$60,000
$13,698
Second Floor
Size
1st Mortgage* (80%)
$960K @ 5.5% = $52,800 p.a. $260K @ 5.5% = $14,315 p.a.
Suite D
1,974 sq. ft.
2nd Mortgage* * (15%)
$180K @ 4.0% = $ 7,200 p.a. $41,190 @ 4% = $ 1,648 p.a.
Suite E
1,292 sq. ft. (SOLD)
Yearly Payment
Suite F
1,965 sq. ft.
Financing Costs
$60K / 8,760 sq. ft. = $6.85 psf $15,963 / 1,826 sq. ft. = $8.74 psf
All Suites
8,706 sq. ft.
Operating Costs
$6 psf
$6 psf
Effective Rent
$12.85 psf
$14.74 psf
$60,000
$15,963
* Conventional Bank Loan. Contact your lender for terms. ** Owner Financing Available. Contact listing team for details.
RJS TOWER SUITES 205 & 207
•
• •
2nd floor professional office space in a premier location of the Big Sky Town Center Conference room & 3 offices with established foot traffic 1,100 sq. ft. available for $245,000
COWDREY WAREHOUSES
• • • • •
Commercial warehouse units in Big Sky 712 SF to 2,263 SF Prices start at $64,000 13 units available - 61% of entire complex Contact us for details and to get on our reservation list
Big Sky Sotheby’s International Realty
JEFF HELMS Broker
10 June 17, 2011
TALLIE JAMISON Associate
explorebigsky.com
RYAN KULESZA Broker
123 Lone Peak Drive, Suite 5 Big Sky Town Center www.bigskysir.com info@bigskysir.com tel 406.995.2244
This material is based upon information which we consider reliable, but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete, and it should not be relied upon as such. This offering is subject to errors, omissions and changes including price or withdrawal without notice. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Office in Independently Owned and Operated. If your property is listed with a real estate broker, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other real estate brokers. We are happy to work with them and cooperate fully.
Big Sky Weekly
regional
BYEP Spring Runoff raises much-needed funds
McHugh to host fundraiser in Bozeman for injured friend
By Taylor Anderson It’s not the sort of rejection letter a troubled child would like to receive in the mail, being denied acceptance into the Big Sky Youth Empowerment program. That’s something that would leave the troubled in a perhaps eternal hole. But that’s exactly what founder and executive director Pete MacFadyen wants to avoid with fundraising events like the Spring Run Off.
After raising more than $160,000 at the 10th annual fundraiser, it looks like the program—which provides at-risk kids with opportunities to grow while skiing, hiking and learning by example from mentors—can accept more kids than ever this year.
Rob Wudlick was injured on day 19 of a month-long raft trip in the Grand Canyon. He fractured vertebra C4 and C5 and lost sensory and muscle movement below the fracture site. Although raised in Minnesota, Rob calls Bozeman home.
Hundreds of donors piled into the Emerson Center in Bozeman Friday, June 10 to bid on items like Burton snowboards, men and women’s bike cruisers, and trips to Bali and Patagonia. This event alone raised funds to cover 36 percent of BYEP’s 2010 budget. One donor called in and placed a $15,000 bid on a trophy elkhunting trip in Montana.
According to his friend Zach Mchugh, “Rob is the most optimistic and adventurous person you’ll ever met. He has reached the summit of the Grand Teton, skied endless powder in the backcountry of Montana and has rafted hundreds of miles of wild rivers.”
With an annual budget that has grown in 10 years from around $15,000 to more than $500,000 last year, the program has seen more success than its founders could have imagined, so turnouts like the one last week are tell-tale signs that folks in the area are happy with the results from the organization. Youth in the BYEP program rafting the Gallatin
Mchugh is organizing a fundraiser for Wudlick, who is at Craig Hospital in Denver. Date: Thursday, June 23, 5-11pm, at the Beall Rec Center-Beall Park. 409 N. Bozeman Ave, Bozeman BBQ: Bring your own meat or purchase from concession Donations: tax deductible and can be made to: Rob Wudlick Benefit Donation Fund Silent Auction and Raffle Music: Holler N’ Pine For more information email or call: zack.mchugh@ gmail.com (406) 595 9225
New date set for bison trial By Taylor Anderson After a state agency requested a new judge for the Montana Stockgrowers Association lawsuit over 75,000 acres of bison grazing grounds north of Gardiner, the trial has been set to continue; but not until October. The proceedings came after Yellowstone National Park bison were hazed or migrated back into the park, and fresh after heated debate between conservation, cattle and private property groups. District Judge Nels Swandal appointed last week judge E. Wayne Phillips to take over ruling in the case, and a scheduling conference took place yesterday to rehash the details. Phillips granted four groups’ motion to intervene and sit in on the case. Three of the groups are conservation groups and the other is the Montana Farm Bureau Federation. Phillips also combined two lawsuits – each against the Interagency Bison Management Plan – into one. The stockgrowers filed a restraining order against the IBMP working in the area, along with the closure of a 75,000-acre pasture for the Yellowstone National Park bison that left park boundaries last winter. Despite a four-month break before trials (May 25 was the original date) a legal official at the Montana FWP (which requested finding a replacement for judge Swandal) said there would be ample time to settle the issue before the bison leave the park again. Bison carry brucellosis, a disease that causes miscarriage and can be passed from elk and bison to cattle. If the disease were passed onto Montana’s cattle, the industry would lose “Brucellosis free” designation across the state and would lose face against other states’ products. Because of this, 770 bison were captured in the Stephens Creek trap facility near Gardiner this winter, after trying to leave the park. Conservation groups argue that there has never been a case of brucellosis passed from bison to cattle, yet bison are being trapped and slaughtered to protect cattle. Private property owners and ranchers butted heads because of the differing opinions on whether the bison should be allowed to roam free on their lands in West Yellowstone and Gardiner.
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June 17, 2011 11
Big Sky Weekly
montana
Rural Education Q+A: Denise Juneau, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction In early June, Denise Juneau, Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, hosted education leaders from 11 rural states across the country in Big Sky. The conference was sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers and was an opportunity for heads of state education departments to address current issues in rural states. This was the group’s second annual meeting. The conference addressed American Indian education issues, academic achievement in small, rural schools, and ways to leverage resources, particularly around the common core state standards and new assessments. They also received information on federal funding opportunities from the U.S. Dept. of Education and the USDA and addressed the “brain drain” in rural America. Describe your position as the Superintendent of Public Instruction. I ran for election in ’08 and started the job January ’09. It’s been great. I travel, visit schools and set big state policies. I work with the legislature and other groups to focus on public education and talk about the good things happening. What’s your focus? We have an initiative called ‘Graduation Matters Montana’. We’re working with businesses and communities to spread that message, and hopefully [help] schools focus on keeping kids in school and making sure they’re graduating college and career ready. We had a legislative agenda to raise the legal dropout age to 18. Right now
“We had a presentation about all the definitions of rural right now,” Juneau said. “They’re all federal definitions, and they should all be the same, but they’re all over the place. We talked about what that means, why those definitions matter to us, and how the U.S. map looks according to each definition.” Representatives came from 12 states, including Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming. During the conference, Superintendent Juneau spoke with the Weekly about rural education issues and why they matter to all Montanans. E.S.
kids can drop out at 16—before we let them make any major life decisions, vote or do anything an adult would do, we let them make a decision that will change the rest of their life. I worked with Taylor Brown (R-Billings) on that bill, but it didn’t pass. What opportunities do high school kids have for alternative or tech programs? They’re primarily based in our larger cities, because they have the capacity and the number of students. Billings, for example, has the Career Center – a high school based on different career pathways. They have engineering classes, technical writing, a pre-school and a daycare. All over the state, schools are doing innovative things.
The Council of Chief State School Officers CCSSO is the parent organization for all of the state Secretaries of Education, Commissioners of Education, and Public Superintendents of Education.
In past CCSSO meetings, “The issues discussed centered mostly on major, large populated states,” said Tom Oster (former chief school state school officer for South Dakota). So, in 2010, Oster worked with Supt. Juneau, and CSSOs from other rural states to form a group of 11 rural states at the first meeting in May 2010. “We came up with several suggestions for improving No Child Left Behind during the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and we sent a letter to Secretary Duncan (U.S. Secretary of Education) and to all of our congressional delegation and our senators,” Oster said. “We didn’t flip the world on its ear, but we felt like the folks heard our concerns, and people started talking. Now, the President [has] cabinet members working together on rural issues, and the Department of Education designated a person for rural issues.” Rural education now has more of a voice, Oster said. ccsso.org
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Do you work with students? I have the first-ever state superintendent student advisory board. We brought 40 students from 31 high schools to talk about dropout prevention. We had valedictorians and kids who’d dropped out of school and then re-enrolled. It was good to hear from across the spectrum. I think they learned a lot being around kids they usually wouldn’t hang out with, on both ends. We brought them together twice this year. The first time we focused on Graduation Matters Montana and the legislation. It’s important to get input from the people our policies most directly affect. They had an idea about making an across the state ‘I pledge to graduate’ initiative. We’ll kick that off in the fall.
The second meeting was about school climate and bullying in schools. We supported Kim Gillan’s (D-Billings) anti-bullying policy bill. Students from the advisory board spoke on both of our bills. How many staff do you have? We have about 160 in the agency – pretty small. About $9 million state funds. We implement a lot of federal programs as well, like No Child Left Behind monitoring and distribution to schools. I am part of the national Council of Chief State School Officers. Each state varies in how they approach education, and [my position] is different in other states. [Many] are appointed by governors or boards of education. This group brings us together to talk about larger
Dropout Rates for Grades 9-12 2003-04 to 2008-09
Big Sky Weekly policy issues. This meeting is an offspring of that group. Rural states have unique challenges in our schools – geography, travel, isolation. What are the other challenges? In addition to turning the lights on and paying teachers, rural schools need busses and a bus barn and other infrastructure and facilities that bigger city schools have. Rural schools have all the same needs, but enrollment is declining. There are no kids. The population is getting older and smaller. [At this conference], we discussed how things work, and how we can do things more efficiently. We’re reading about the ‘rural brain drain’. There are leavers, stayers and returners… How do you build infrastructure so those communities can still be economically vibrant? Was talking with other states valuable? It’s important to understand what others are doing. We’re all strapped for money, given the economics of our country... But maybe we can coordinate efforts, [for example, we could] pay less if we had a common [student] assessment among us. I recently recommended adoption of the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Math to the Board of Public Education. These standards are what students need to know, learn and understand while they’re in school, [and they’re] higher than our current standards, more rigorous. About 40 states have adopted these Common Core standards, and our Board of Public Education is moving toward adopting those as well. Are there advantages for students in Montana? Oh yes, especially at small schools in close knit
communities. I talk at a lot of commencements, and go out to small communities where there may be four graduates, but the gym is filled with everybody from the community to celebrate their successes, including teachers, family, grandparents. Montana is a very special place, with all the great outdoor [activities]. I grew up in Browning, Montana and went to school there. I moved away, but I always come back. This conference also focused on Native American education, right? Montana’s constitution recognizes the “distinct and unique culture and heritage of American Indians” and is committed to its educational goals to the preservation of their culture and integrity. Montana is the only state with that constitutional provision. [Until recently] there had never been any funding to implement that. The tribes have public schools, and we work closely with them… Montana, like a lot of the western states, has big achievement gaps between American Indians and white students. Is Governer Schweitzer pro-education? Before Schweitzer, there was really a decline in school funding. Since he’s been Governor, school funding has increased. He has an education advisor on staff that travels around. Schweitzer has [supported] K-12 and post-secondary education. Do you like your job? Every day there’s a new challenge, or there’s great successes going out and watching our teachers do what they do every day with students…. They pour their lifeblood in to their work. It’s fun to watch kids grasp a concept and just watch learning happening. We have a great education system, and it’s fun to watch all that play out.
Montana’s Public Education System, broken down: The State Board of Public Education: The Governor appoints members of the Board to seven-year terms. This group sets rules and regulations for all public schools, K-12. The Montana Office of Public Instruction: This agency oversees K-12 public education, and carries out the state board’s rules, as well as federal regulations and programs. Its Superintendent (currently Denise Juneau) can be elected for two four-year terms. It also distributes money to schools, and works with clerks, school boards and teachers. School districts and local school boards: Montana has 429 school districts, and each has a local school board that has local control over curriculum. They deal with multi-million dollar budgets, and they hire and fire. “There’s a lot of power in school boards,” Supt. Juneau said. “They’re able to shape the future of their communities… It’s important for education to be as community-based as possible, and reflect the values of a community while still maintaining overall quality of our schools.
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June 17, 2011 13
Big Sky Weekly
memorial Profile
Climb on, Jim Kanzler By Terry kennedy Jim Kanzler backed over the edge and stopped 10 feet down the rappel. He looked up the rope, his gaze fixed. “What’s wrong?” I glanced nervously to the knot of the runner anchoring us—it was OK. Had Jim felt the block shift? It was November 1977. We were retreating from an obscure crag Jim had discovered up Bear Basin, near Big Sky. The steel gray sky threatened snow. Kanzler didn’t answer for a moment. He wasn’t looking at the anchor, but at the vertical slab above, with small edges protected only by shaky wired nuts. It had turned both of us back. “I didn’t try my hardest,” Kanzler confessed like a disgraced boy scout. “What?” I couldn’t put what he was saying into context. “I think I can get up that pitch. I didn’t try hard enough.” Kanzler grabbed the doubled rope, “bat-manned” up to the ledge, and we retied into the ends. He warmed his hands under his armpits, shook them vigorously, then launched into the pitch, power breathing like a steam locomotive as he disappeared over the crux. I followed by the skin of my teeth. That was 30-some years ago. On April 18, 2011, Jim Kanzler was found dead outside of his tiny one room cabin outside Jackson Hole, a few days shy of 63. Kanzler began skiing on Big Mountain, within view of Columbia Falls, the town where he grew up. He became a professional ski patrolman at Bridger Bowl in 1968 and Big Sky’s first Ski Patrol Director in 1972 (the year before the area opened). He played a major role mapping terrain and developing routes and procedures for avalanche control on Lone Mountain. “Jim was a good snow technician and a great leader,” said Beep Dixon, who patrolled with Kanzler at both Bridger Bowl and Big Sky. “He could sit down and listen, and he could command. The guy knew what he was doing.”
Kanzler circa 1970 in the Humburg Spires south of Butte
“Jim had an even disposition, a great sense of humor and superior patrolling skills. We never questioned his decisions and would have followed him anywhere.” According to “Dougal” McCarty, “Jim had an even disposition, a great sense of humor and superior patrolling skills.” McCarty also patrolled at Big Sky and was a regular climbing partner. “We never questioned his decisions and would have followed him anywhere.”
Columbia Falls in the early 1960s with his father Hal and brother, Jerry. When the family moved to Butte in 1966, Jim and Jerry teamed up with other teenage climbers, discovering the Humbug Spires for climbing. Jim named the Wedge and established its first routes. Tragedies were just around the corner.
Kanzler left Big Sky in 1978 and joined the Jackson Hole ski patrol. He evolved into the leadership position of avalanche hazard forecasting in Jackson in 1986, using field data and computers. Kanzler was also a guide with Exum in the Tetons for 22 years until he took a full time position in the IT department at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in 1999.
Hal died in 1967. Then in December of 1969, Jerry and four other young climbers were swept to their deaths on Mt. Cleveland in Glacier Park. Jim and renowned alpinists, Pat Callis and Peter Lev joined the park service search and bivouacked in a snow cave high on the mountain but found no survivors.
The witty and sarcastic Kanzler was an influential figure in Montana rock and alpine climbing. He started scrambling the peaks of Glacier Park in grade school in
In the next two years, Jim Kanzler’s resolve took him up the Northwest Face of Half Dome and the Nose of El Capitan, two of Yosemite’s most prominent big
In 1974, Kanzler and Pat Callis made a significant multi-day attempt on the Emperor Face of Mt. Robson in the Canadian Rockies, one of the biggest unclimbed faces in North America at the time. Theirs was the high point for several years.
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photo by Pat Callis
Jim Kanzler (on right) with American climbing legend Fred Beckey at a Bozeman climbers’ reunion in 2007. Photo courtesy of Terry Kennedy
Big Sky Weekly
walls. Kanzler and Chad Chadwick of Billings formed an early guide service in the Beartooths in 1972, called Mountaincraft. They also pioneered the most difficult routes of the day in Montana’s highest mountains. In 1974, Kanzler and Callis made an epic attempt on the 4900’ Emperor Face of Mt. Robson in the Canadian Rockies. “Jim wanted to go up the middle,” Callis said. “I was in favor of a less committing route but Kanzler’s enthusiasm was catchy. We went for bold.” Two years later, in Glacier, Jim led the crux sections on the first ascent of the upper headwall of Mt. Cleveland’s 4000’ North Face, something of a vindication of his brother and friends’ deaths there. Jim and I went on to make the first ascent on the coveted 3500’ North Face of Mt. Siyeh in 1979. Jim later joined expeditions to Denali and China.
Grocery run Like many who live in Big Sky, Kanzler drove into Bozeman for supplies. On the way, he had a regular routine: he free soloed the Standard Route on Gallatin Tower, including the 5.9 Direct Finish (first climbed by his brother, Jerry). He could do it under 15 minutes
from the car and sometimes repeated the stunt on the way back.
During the years Kanzler and I focused on Mt. Siyeh, I nicknamed him “Mad Wolf.” Si-yeh is the phonetic pronunciation for the Blackfoot word meaning Mad Wolf. Friends and ski patrollers referred to Kanzler as Mad Wolf during the last years of his Big Sky tenure, and the ski run on Andesite is named after him. But another nickname, “Rat Hole”, “Ratty” or “RH” developed more adhesion. Kanzler’s attitude and prowess had earned him the nickname “Reinhold,” after the world famous Italian climber, Reinhold Messner. Jim had married Lindalee Voss, whom he’d met in high school in Columbia
Falls. One evening at a party in their mobile home in Big Sky, their six-year-old son Jamie asked, “Daddy why do they call you Reinhold?” Someone misheard, and thought Jamie said “rat hole.” The following laughter tagged Kanzler with a name that stuck like an overdriven piton. During winter of 1976-77, Kanzler recruited me to climb a facet of Lone Mountain near the terminus of the triple chair in the cirque above the tram, called the West Wall. (Strangely, it’s on the east shoulder of the mountain and faces south). We rode the lift, skied up the moraine, then climbed an exciting line of snow-covered rock leading to the cliff’s apex, which we protected with a few pitons. Jim thought it was a great winter training climb because of the short approach. Kanzler’s influence permeated younger climbers in the Bozeman area, including Alex Lowe. A photo of Lowe is on the cover of Climbing magazine, no. 166, and when he autographed a copy for Kanzler, Lowe wrote: “Jim—You started this non sense—chasing you.” Jim Kanzler would walk into the ski patrol room full of cranky, hung over ski patrollers every morning, two hours before sunrise and light the place up. Climbing, he took the sharp end of the rope when the chips were down. His wisdom and the sound of his boots approaching will be missed by the many people who knew him. Safe travels, my friend. Terry Kennedy is a Physical Therapist at Health in Motion Physical Therapy in Bozeman.
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June 17, 2011 15
Big Sky Weekly
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food & dining
Café
June 17, 2011 Volume 2 // Issue #11
Big Sky
A u t h e n t i c Span i s h food in the heart of Yellowstone
story and photos by abbie digel Cafe Madriz is one of the best excuses to visit West Yellowstone since the inception of the National Park. Elena de Deigo West, a native of Madrid, Spain, brings generations of Spanish cooking to her kitchen—literally. West’s parents came over from Spain with her grandmother Vicenta, which was her first trip to the U.S. They brought artwork to hang on the walls, and material to sew the red-checked curtains that hang in the windows in West’s restaurant, a quaint space on North Canyon Street. West’s Aunt Pili also came carrying the expertise of a restaurateur; she started Prada a Tope in Madrid 25 years ago, which became a franchise and is one of the hot spots in the downtown Madrid social scene. West created Cafe Madriz because she thought the area needed fresh, simple food made from scratch with Spanish influence, of course. As an entrepreneur, West is not lacking in experience or creativity. She has 7 years of HR experience at both the Yellowstone Club and in Bozeman, and she and her husband run the laundromat in West Yellowstone, a booming business catered toward both locals and tourists. It was easy for West to design her meticulous menu, which is a replica of spreads seen at tapas bars in Madrid. She put together the list of soups, salads, cold and hot tapas, and three simple and decadent desserts all based from her favorite Spanish dishes and family recipes. “I try to only use three ingredients in my cooking,” said West. That way, she said, it tastes better, it’s not overloaded with flavors and spiced, and its exactly the
way Spaniards cook. “A low flame and few ingredients is all it takes to make a decent meal.” A meal at Cafe Madriz is also an education in Spanish cuisine, which is often confused with Mexican and South American. “Forget tamales, tacos, enchiladas or frijoles,” said West. “You won’t be able to find rice and beans anywhere.”
Spain. These small plates are a typical first order at any tapas bar, and a definite hit on the menu. West slices up quesos made from the milk of cows, sheep and goats. The highlight was the Garrotxa, a soft cheese with flavors remnant of blue cheese with an herb and mushroom aroma.
The meats, from salty to sweet, are served with a fresh loaf of country bread made right in West Spanish food revolves around tapas, small plates of Yellowstone. Don’t be fooled by the chorizo—this food meant to be shared, most of the time over drinks, time it doesn’t come served in a breakfast burrito. especially sangria. At The Spanish version of Cafe Madriz, the dining “Spanish food brings you to a the pork sausage is cured room is filled with picnic place where food is simple, cared or cooked in red wine tables and bar seats at the (served both ways at Cafe for, and prepared perfectly.” window, which in Spain Madrid), then seasoned -Elena de Diego West, Owner & Chef with paprika. “patrons would be fighting over,” said West. West’s most popular dish is paella, a heaping tradiEating tapas is about enjoying company in a lively amtional dish of Spanish rice seasoned with olive oil and biance. “Spanish food brings you to a place where food saffron, and served piping hot in a special pan that is is simple, cared for, and prepared perfectly.” only used for cooking the dish. Paella is a century old dish, where the most modern form originated in the West and her small staff bring out plates full of Valencia region of Spain in the 18th century. Traditionsautéed vegetables and seafood that taste like ally, men cooked the dish while working in the fields, their straight from the market. West doesn’t and used whatever they had on hand. The ingredients use butter in her cooking, so it is rich with were usually rabbit, chicken or duck with vegetables. the taste of smooth olive oil and guindilla “Because Spain is a machista country some of the tradipepper, the main source of spice in Spanish tions are still the same,” said West, but her paella is her cooking. grandmother’s recipe: She learned by watching, and doesn’t use a recipe for any of her dishes. Don’t forget to share the Spanish olives marinated in olive oil and spices and the meat and Make sure to ask for more bread after the food is gone; cheese sampler: a plate of traditional quesos it’s not rude to soak up the leftovers. And make sure to and ibericos (pork cured meats) imported from save room for dessert.
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Big Sky Weekly
health & wellness
The Dos and Don’ts of Cooking Oils How to enhance flavor and heath benefits By Victoria Bentley NCTMB, CPI, LMT, HC This is a subject with much contention and confusion, and I’d like to shed light on the numerous kinds of fat and oils available for home cooking. We’ve been told to eat a low fat diet and that saturated fats are particularly bad, but this is malarky.
a local farmer, or better yet, go to a farmers’ market to get lard, tallow or schmaltz. It’s important to eat animal fat from properly raised animals. I cannot stress that enough.
The quality of all cooking oils and fats is important. Choosing organic brands is a good way to ensure this quality. Most grocery stores offer these, and Organic Valley and Kerrygold have pasture-style butters that are great. Find
Having a range of flavors to choose from makes food taste better. Use animal fats like butter/Ghee, coconut oil, and palm oil. Walnut, hazelnut and avocado oils add great flavor to your dishes, but use these sparingly.
Now, let’s enjoy cooking! The good guys:
The bad Guys:
Butter
Coconut Oil
Mmm! This is a flavorful cooking fat that is used for medium heat cooking. Don’t use it for high heat cooking due to trace levels of proteins, lactose (milk-sugar) and carbohydrates that burn easily.
One of my favorites, this oil is extremely stable and great for high temperature cooking. It does have a slight coconut flavor, so I tend to melt it over a baked sweet potato with some nutmeg and cinnamon. I also like to put a dollop in protein shakes. It is highly saturated, and has a bad rap because of this, but the benefit of the medium chained fatty acids from this oil are proven to be very healthy.
Vegetable Oils such as Peanut and Corn Oil
Palm Oil
This is an unstable fat that oxidizes from light, air and heat. Even though it has Omega-3, it’s a plant source which does not offer health benefits.
It’s very important to buy grass-fed/ pasture-style butter. Cows who have been pastured and grass-fed are not injected with hormones and antibiotics as conventionally raised animals are. Much better for you and yours. We have been consuming butter for three millennia, and it used to be thought of as medicinal. Only in the last century did it come to be considered “unhealthy.” There’s nothing unhealthy about these delicious fats. What’s unhealthy and not real is margarine, so avoid that all together.
This oil is full of flavor and color and chock full of vitamin E. It’s also stable and good for high heat cooking and frying. Worldwide, it’s widely appreciated and is the second most used. The first is soybean oil. Palm oil is highly saturated and is great for meats and veggies over high heat.
These are wholly unnatural fats that are extremely high in Omega-6 fatty acids that we have far too much of in the American diet. This high percentage of Omega-6 tends to increase inflammation in our bodies, which is not healthy. They are refined and deodorized just to make them shelf stable. Bottom line: Do not use them.
Flaxseed Oil
Canola Oil The media “toots their horn” for this oil, but I do not. It’s heavily refined and genetically engineered. There is no healthy benefit.
Sesame Oil
Ghee This is clarified butter from Southeast Asia used for high temperature cooking. It is pure butterfat that is skimmed after it has been boiling, a process that leaves the “schorchable” proteins behind. Lard, Tallow, Schmaltz (animal fat from pork, beef and goose respectively) – Buy the grass-fed/pasture-style to avoid the dangerous toxins that are stored in fat. Always choose the highest quality. These are excellent cooking fats that are stable over high heat. Beef tallow used to be the secret ingredient that McDonalds used to cook their French fries. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case, due to the intervention by some well-meaning, but misguided nutritionists.
Get out your wok! I use this for dishes that I want to give an Asian flair, and it’s definitely for medium to low temperature cooking. The toasted variety adds a smoky complexity. Use it with cabbage, carrots, ginger, soy/tamari sauce at the end of the cooking process.
Olive Oil This is not the best choice for cooking, especially over high heat, but it’s wonderful for salads, dipping sauces and pouring over vegetables. There are three types of olive oils: extra virgin, virgin and pure. The first two are from the first pressing of the olives. They can be very flavorful and tasty. Pure olive oil is refined, which renders it flavorless and odorless. The better oils have lower acidity and stronger flavors.
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Don’t be afraid of fat! It has wonderful health benefits and even more important, it makes our food delicious. Victoria Bentley is the Owner and Director of Bentley Bodies, a premiere mindbody wellness boutique committed to healthy lifestyle choices. Locations are Big Sky and Bozeman. bentleybodies.net
Big Sky Weekly
sports
NBA Eastern Conference: predictions for next year
By Brandon Niles In the previous issue, I discussed the final four teams from the Western Conference and what to expect next season. This time, I’ll cover the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The East has been riddled with poor teams and marginal talent for the past several years, allowing teams with mediocre records to get into the playoffs. The conference has been top-heavy, with only a handful of very good teams. With some new contenders this year, perhaps parity will finally come to the East in the coming seasons.
Miami – The Heat, love them or hate them, they’re here to stay. They accomplished a great feat this year, relying on the starstudded trio of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. As they draft young contributors and develop more chemistry, they’ll only continue to improve as a team. That spells trouble for the entire league. Miami will be a force to reckon with for years to come. Chicago – The Bulls had the look of a champion as the regular season ended. Led by MVP Derrick Rose, they had the chemistry and star power to succeed in the playoffs. However, as the games intensified, the Bulls became a one-man army of Rose running isolation plays and trying to do everything himself. The Bulls will remain highly competitive, but until they learn to play together in the postseason, they may be doomed to second place each year behind the Heat.
Boston – Celtics fans hope their beloved team will find a way back to the post-season next year, but with three of their four stars a collective 103 years of age, the window of opportunity for Boston may be closing. They’ll still be in the playoffs, but they may not be a legitimate title contender again until they reload.
Stoudemire. They’ll be back next season, but can they get enough help around them to truly be competitive? Philadelphia was a nice story this season, but they remain in rebuilding mode for the time being. Indiana showed promise and has some young pieces to build on. If they can get some consistent backcourt scoring, they should improve next season.
Orlando – Dwight Howard can only do so much, and the additions of Gilbert Arenas and Hedo Turkoglu proved not to be enough to give them a legitimate title shot this year. As long as they have Howard, Orlando will continue to compete in the East; but his contract is up in 2012 and if the Magic doesn’t find some help for Howard soon, they may lose him.
Some teams in the East that could take the next step include: the Bucks, with Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut; the Pistons have a chance to develop a great young big man in Greg Monroe; the Nets should improve with a full season of Deron Williams at the point; and maybe the Wizards improve with emerging superstar John Wall running the offense.
The Rest – The Atlanta Hawks will continue to compete, but Joe Johnson looks like one of those players who can get you to the second round of the playoffs but never further. New York has a chance to build on their exciting combination of Carmelo Anthony and Amare
Brandon Niles has done online freelance writing since 2007. A Communication Studies graduate student at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Niles is also an avid Miami Dolphins fan, which has led to his becoming an avid Scotch whisky fan over the past decade. He’d love to visit Montana one day.
41 REAS O N S T O V I S I T B O Z E M A N DE A C O N E S S P HARMA C Y A T BI G S K Y . Fill a prescription. Refill a prescription. Shop for over-the-counter remedies for head colds, heartburn, and whatever else ails you. Quickly. Conveniently. Right here in Big Sky at Meadow Village Center across from the Big Sky Chapel.
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June 17, 2011 19
Architecture
Market Statistics for the Big Sky area are showing a stabilization in prices. Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to buy. Average Sold Price
Big Sky Real Estate Sale Trends
Information provided by the GAR® Southwest Montana MLS is compiled from miscellaneous sources. Neither the Association, listing brokers, nor agents are responsible for its accuracy.
Choose your Real Estate Broker for the Right Reasons. Specializing in Big Sky, Spanish Peaks, Yellowstone Club, & Moonlight Basin Properties.
www.purewestproperties.com 406.995.4009
20 June 17, 2011
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Big Sky Weekly
Revealing the Design Process Exploration and Discovery By Jamie Daugaard The prospect of designing a home can sometimes seem overwhelming. As designers, we strive to make these initial steps enjoyable. Recall as a child, the excitement of creating that perfect fort in the living room or tree house that just had to be shown off to the entire neighborhood. The feeling of accomplishment as we hid in the grand fortress! The process of designing your dream home can be—and should be—just as exciting and fulfilling.
sun properly, and wind and seasonal storm patterns. These site discoveries are instrumental in developing the story of how the surroundings and the building meet. Will the project slowly rise from the site and terrace with the land, blending into the inspiring backdrop? Or will it stand freely with a presence that imbues a beauty of its own? What story does the journey to the building tell?
As designers, it is imperative for us to learn as much as possible about our clients: the property they’d like to build on, their architectural and interior style preferences, and how those can combine with their living patterns. We discuss and review the site and, in some instances, aid in site selection. By compiling sketches and photographs of various aesthetic expressions, materials and furnishings, we discover a client’s “architectural personality.” Everything else builds upon this.
With a design concept in hand, we can discuss in-depth the goals of aesthetics, budget, square footage, schedule and life-cycle costs. Lifecycle costs are the expenses required to not only build, but to operate the building over its lifetime. These can be greatly reduced through implementation of self-sustaining technologies such as geothermal heating and cooling, solar water heaters, and wind and photovoltaic energy production. From these discussions, a project can evolve from a dream into reality.
With an understanding of our client’s goals, we begin exploring which spaces a client requires and how those spaces will be used. Here we recognize the values of the client through spatial connections and desired spatial qualities. These spaces can range from a quiet respite created within a library/study, to secret passageways and rooms for the kids to explore and hide, to a state-of-theart theatre room.
These first steps of the design process are the most important and often have the most impact. The more we learn about the place we are designing, who our clients are, and what they are looking for, the more successful we will be as a collaborative team in creating that unique place, customtailored to those who inspired it.
After the design aesthetic and spatial program are established, we re-visit the site to explore connections of interior spaces to the site, creating the initial conceptual layouts of what the structure may become. While discovering the site, there are many points to explore: lay of the land, zoning and ecological restrictions, vehicular access, views to and from the building, orientation to capture the
Jamie Daugaard, principal of Centre Sky Architecture, received his B-Arch and M-Arch from Montana State University. Sustainability is deeply rooted in his work, which is mostly located in mountain regions with offices in Denver, Colorado, and Big Sky, Montana. If you would like to comment on this article or would like to learn more about another topic, you can contact him at jamie@ centresky.com or (406) 995-7572. centresky.com
REAL ESTATE PROFILE FEATURING AMAZING HOMES IN S/W MONTANA
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Big River Lodge Big Sky, Montana Real estate profile: Big River Lodge Situated a stone’s throw
spectacular. The lush 19-
By Abbie Digel
that captures the spirit of
Dallas grew“Old upMontana”. spending sumLocatedRiver nearand the Stormacre Castle from the Gallatin river retreat resides on The estate mers fishing in Ennisenough and wanted trailhead and the popular surrounded by National a ¼limestone mile of river frontage is versatile to host climbing area Scorched Earth, Big to return to Montana after he and Forest, the Big River Lodge and consists of a primary gatherings with family and Debbie married. Working in corpoRiver Lodge is a 19-acre property blends luxury, privacy residence, several guest friends, but could also be yearning for the chance to host rate Los Angeles and commuting to and warmth to create a cabins and additional out used as a commercial lodge Montana in the summers, the Maguests once again. This land, resting recreation-oriented property buildings, each created in or business venture. vrils ran and operated the Big River just feet from the Gallatin River off that is nothing short of distinctive, rustic style of Highway 191, is onea of the most Lodge as a young couple. They purchased the Lodge in 1998, and versatile properties on the market, says Branif Scott, a Broker for Pure in 2000, after adding three cabins visit: behind the primary residence, they West in Big Sky. For more information, www.realestateofbigsky.com hosted their first guests. “It truly was a family run business,” said It’s true, stated the current owners, Debbie. Debbie and Dallas Mavril, who reside in L.A. but spent about 10 summers Because of its close location to running the lodge as a fishing, recreation and corporate retreat. It was Bozeman, Big Sky and Yellowstone National Park, guests can enjoy a easy, Debbie said, to run the lodge variety of activities, but fly fishing in that location because, “It was all is the most popular draw because of about the guests… Everything they needed, we provided for them.” the neighboring river. At the edge
of National Forest land, the property consisting of a main lodge, five cabins and a conference building.
bringing friends, and once their own family grew, they brought up to five families with children who all had their own private lodging between the cabins and main lodge.
The Mavrils had a full staff working at the Lodge who all lived on the propThe Lodge was also a destination for erty. They had four chefs manning the corporate retreats, hosting big names large kitchen serving healthy, gourmet food in the spacious dining room. like CNN, Sports Illustrated, PepsiCo, Time Inc, ESPN, AOL and Taco Bell. Guests began their evenings sipping Christie’s Great Estates | PureWest With its capacity for guests and separate cocktails around the fire on the heated Branif Scott, Jason Parks or Ania conference room, it’s also perfectBulis for patio, and ended bundledContact in wool blan800-691-8251 kets in the private, intimate family cabgroups such as veterans, Boy/Girl Scouts or large family retreats. ins. Days were filled with large meals, long hikes, jaunts to Yellowstone, The Big River Lodge is a turn-key propand hours in the spa. erty, meaning it comes fully furnished The appeal of the Big River Lodge is and ready to hit the ground running, whether it be a business venture, comits timelessness and rustic luxury, but mercial lodge or family estate. most of all it’s the variety of guests the realestateofbigsky.com Lodge can host. The Mavrils began
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June 17, 2011 21
business directory
Big Sky Weekly
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Discover Gallatin Canyon and the first annual Summer Solstice Poker Run Approximately 1.7 million vehicles drive up the Gallatin Canyon each summer, and according to Dave O’Connor, Owner of Bucks T-4, “Most of these vehicles pass through Big Sky, oblivious to the fact that there is a service-rich and vibrant community here.” Together with 21 other businesses on Highway 121, O’Connor has created a new organization, Discover Gallatin Canyon. Similar to a chamber of commerce, the involved businesses are dedicated to sharing information about the Big Sky community and encouraging guests and locals who “visit canyon businesses for gas, hardware or lunch to proceed up the Spur Road for other recreational and economic activities.” O’Connor said.
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Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine www.greatturninghealing.com 81 W. Kagy Blvd, Bozeman, MT 406-922-2745
TREE REMOVAL 995-7852
REMOVING DEAD AND INFESTED TREES Grants Available for home Fire Suppression Approved RC&D Hazardous fuels reduction contractor Tom Newberry:
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To kick off the summer, the group will hold its first annual Summer Solstice Poker Run on June 21 at 4 p.m. Participants will start at the 320 Ranch, where they will buy a punch card for $5 and be given their first playing card. They will proceed up the canyon, stopping at each business along the way to get another playing card. Restaurants will be offering tasty bites and beer samples from Montana breweries. Designated drivers will enjoy complimentary tastes and non-alcoholic beverages. Each business will be offering giveaways, raffles and other incentives. Participants will meet at The Corral at 8 p.m. to assemble their best fivecard hand. The top three hands will split the pot. Participants must start at the 320 Ranch, but can then pick up cards in any order. E.S.
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June 17, 2011 23
R U O Y T E G
N O B GRU Y K S G I B N I OUND
Big Sky Weekly
NOW OPEN FOR THE SUMMER
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• Daily drink specials • Live Music • 12 HDTVs • Amazing Food • 100 beers • 100 wines
MONDAY-FRIDAY 3:00-5:00 PM *½ price well drinks and pints
June Music Fri. 3rd: Kent Johnson and Friends 9:30 p.m. Fri. 10th: Bottom of the Barrel 9:30 p.m.
Fri. 17th: Mountain Grip 9:30 p.m. Tues. 28th:
Leo Rondeau and Dynamite Tales 9:30 p.m. (from Austin, Texas)
CHECK OUT OUR BRAND NEW STAGE AND MUSIC AREA!
OPEN DAILY AT 11:30 A.M. LUNCH & DINNER 24 June 17, 2011
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LOCATED IN THE BIG SKY TOWN CENTER big sky, montana 406-995-3830
Big Sky Weekly
EVENTS big sky
Planning an event? Let us know! Email abbie@theoutlawpartners.com and we’ll spread the word. Check explorebigsky.com for an extended calendar.
West yellowstone Wild West Yellowstone Rodeo 8 p.m. June 15, -18, 22 - 25, 29 -30, July 1, 2
Free Fly-casting Clinic Art Exhibition: Jonathan Wilde: “An Introduction” Gallatin River Gallery June 14 - July 30
Monday Night Pig Roast 320 Guest Ranch June 20, 27 6 - 8 p.m.
Discover Gallatin Canyon Summer Solstice Poker Run 320 Guest Ranch June 21 4 p.m.
Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting 320 Guest Ranch June 22 6 p.m.
Jacklin’s Fly Shop Starting June 19 7:30 p.m.
Yellowstone National Park Fee Free Day June 21
Mountain Bike Biathlon Rendezvous Ski Trails June 25
Bozeman Much Ado About Nothing Presented by Montana Shakespeare in the Parks MSU-Grove June 17 ,18, 22-25 8 p.m.
Veteran Stand Down Gallatin Valley Fairgrounds June 18 9 - 3 p.m.
Gallatin Valley Farmers’ Market
Grand Victorian Ball of 1864
The Emerson June 17 - 19 7:30 p.m. montanapride.org
“I Love the Emerson” PARTY! PARTY! PARTY! Appreciation Night & Party June 22
Women’s Bike Maintenance Bozeman REI June 23 6:30 - 8 p.m.
Downtown Bozeman June 30 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
virginia city
Montana Pride Celebration
Bozeman REI June 22 7 - 8 p.m.
Bozeman REI June 25 3 - 6 p.m.
Music on Main
Haynes Pavilion, Gallatin County Fairgrounds June 18, 25 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Camping Basics
Great American Backyard Campout
VC Community Center June 18 7 p.m.
Mike Dowling Live The Elling House June 18 7 p.m.
ennis Guardians of the River Gala Banquet Old Kirby Place in Cameron June 24 (406) 682-3148
Gallatin Canyon Women’s Club Meeting Big Sky Chapel June 22 1 p.m.
Big Sky Natural Resource Council Free Community Barbecue Town Center Park June 23 5 - 8 p.m.
3rd Annual Gallatin River Trash Pick-up & Weed Pull Castle Rock Inn June 25 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
ONLY - $15]
Gallatin County Women’s Club Big Sky Kids Picnic Town Center June 26 Noon
Big Sky Broadway Presents Willy Wonka, Jr Big Sky Ballroom July 1 6 p.m.
BSCC@BSCCMT.ORG OR 406-993-2112
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June 17, 2011 25
Big Sky Weekly
Big Sky Weekly
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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
26 June 17, 2011
Ophir School District #72 Seeking two (2) Route bus drivers and Activities bus drivers for the 2011-2012 school year. CDL w/�S� endorsement required. Please see full ad and application online at www.ophirschool.org.
SERVICES Golf and Ski Membership Opportunity. $5,000 and monthly dues gives you full member rights for the use of the Club at Spanish Peaks. Spanish Peaks is one of the few Communities in the world where you can ski, golf, fish and ride horses in the same neighborhood. Only one of these opportunities is available and membership must be approved. Call 303-419-1263 for details.
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Get ready to sweat! Bentley Bodies Boot Camp Every Tues & Thurs 6:00 a.m. - 7:00 a.m.
Summer Yogalattes Every Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
Join us for this rigorous and fun overall functional fitness class:
Fusion of classical Pilates mat with Vinyasa yoga $12/class Drop-ins welcome
Combination of interval style plyometrics, kettle bells, suspension trainers, free weights and outdoor work (weather permitting). Class size minimum of 6, max 10.
Where: Bentley Bodies Studio in Big Sky, above Gallatin Alpine Sports Call Victoria with any questions 406-570-9154
$10/class, total of 16 sessions (June 7 - July 28). Reservations required. Call Victoria to secure a spot - 406-570-9154 Location: Bentley Bodies Studio in Big Sky, above Gallatin Alpine Sports
Want to advertise? Contact Outlaw Partners at (406) 995-2055 or media@theoutlawpartners.com
Big Sky Weekly
Music Hunter
whiskey myers Straight out of the Southern rock tradition, Whiskey Myers has emerged onto the national scene from the private parties and flatbed trailers where they began playing in East Texas. Cody Cannon (lead vocals/acoustic guitar) and life long friend Cody Tate (lead guitar) were already collaborating writing songs when they and another hometown friend, John Jeffers (rhythm guitar), moved to Tyler, Texas to have a go at a music career. There, the three friends added Jeff Hogg (drums) and Gary Brown (bass) and formally became Whiskey Myers. The band describes their style as “[winding] around a Lynyrd Skynyrd/Led Zeppelin-centered foundation, veering off the spokes of grunge, psychedelia, harmony-laden pop rock and rockabilly…a Southern rock band with jam band tendencies.” On their second album, Firewater, the band brought in ex-Shooter Jennings guitarist and songwriter LeRoy Powell to produce the album. Recorded at the famed Panhandle Studios in Denton, Texas, Whiskey Myers pumped out 12 tracks of country rockin’ glory. These Texas boys are talented musicians and songwriters that know how to have a good time. “Bar, Guitar and a Honky Tonk Crowd” opens the album and is a hard-charging anthem for the country lifestyle. Following is the blues-rock influenced “Guitar Picker,” written by Cody Cannon. The band revels in the lyrics: Oh, Southern wind won’t you take me higher / I got seven ladies dancing naked around an old camp fire / Guitar pickin’ with a bottle of wine / I’ll be an old guitar picker until I die.
“Ballad of a Southern Man” and “Turn It Up” are strong tracks, and “Anna Marie” has its eponymous subject chew Levi Garrett with a bible in her hand and a flask in her shoe. Its strongest songwriting is Cannon’s “Broken Window Serenade,” a beautiful, harmonic ballad about the realities of life in rural America. This album is good enough to leave in the CD player on replay from May to September all summer.
By Hunter Rothwell
we love rock, we love blues—we just love to jam, period. It doesn’t matter to us where the music comes from, it just matters that it is real.” Similar artists that should be on your radar: Cross Canadian Ragweed, Reckless Kelly, Ryan Bingham, Hayes Carll and Randy Rogers.
The great thing about Whiskey Myers is their relentless touring. The road warriors played 150 shows in 2010 alone; this is how a band hones its skills and takes its music to the next level. Just as Hamburg had the Beatles in the early days of their career playing every night, Texas has had Whiskey Myers. Their live shows have gained a reputation of producing intense musical interplay, and are “knocking ‘em dead.” A young group of talented musicians that enjoy fishing, camping and 4-wheelers have the chops to be the real thing in modern country rock, and we’ll hear more about them over the next few years. Cody Cannon said, “We know people are going to compare us to bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, and that’s fine, we take that as a high compliment. But when they hear this new record, they’re going to find out that there’s a whole lot more to this band. We love country music,
“We know people are going to compare us to bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, and that’s fine, we take that as a high compliment. But when they hear this new record, they’re going to find out that there’s a whole lot more to this band.” - Cody Cannon, lead vocals/acoustic guitar
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June 17, 2011 27
Big Sky Weekly
Exclusively
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fun
some restaurants do italian food. some do chinese food.
WE DO BIG SKY FOOD
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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.
Cold Water Immersion By Josh Olsen It was a chilly, 65-degree spring day, and I was guiding a group of kayakers on the river. A client in his early 30s took a wave on the right side of his boat, over corrected and ended up swimming. He gasped for air and clawed at the neck of his dry top. I pointed to his kayak and yelled, “swim to your boat!” He stared at me and bobbed, but because he was stunned by the frigid immersion, he was unable to rescue himself. I paddled to him, he grabbed the handle on the stern of my boat, and dragged him to shore.
There, he continued gasping and wheezing. I rifled through a list of possible injuries or illnesses: immersion syndrome? Water aspiration? Laryngospasm? I tried to calm his breathing by coaching. Between stunted exhalations he blurted out, “Asthma.” After using his inhaler, his breathing slowed. However, I couldn’t rule out the possibility he may have inhaled water into his lungs. We continued the float, and afterward, I recommended he visit the hospital for a full evaluation. It would have been difficult to fully attribute the asthma attack to the submersion event, because fear or anxiety may have been contributing factors.
Basic rescue:
If you are involved in a rescue, remember your priorities. First, do not make yourself a victim. As the saying goes: hello, reach, throw, tow, row, go, helo (helicopter). Hello – encourage the victim to swim to safety. Point positive e.g. point them to safety. Reach – attempt to get the victim out of the water by reaching them a paddle Throw- throw them a flotation or a throw bag. Tow - tow the victim to shore or to the boat with a throw bag. Row - row out to get the victim. Go - if you feel confident you can initiate a rescue safely, as a last resort, go out to get the victim. Helo - get help for the victim and yourself from other boaters or by calling search and rescue.
“As you enjoy this season on Montana’s beautiful rivers and lakes, remember prevention through preparation will be your best defense to a cold water accident.”
Photo courtesy of whitewater rescue institute
Cold water can pull body heat away through conduction 25 times faster than cold air. Anyone who has experienced immersion in a Montana river or lake during the early boating and fishing season can relate to the crippling effect of cold water. Cold water immersion, especially in swift moving water, can make rescue very difficult, as the effects of cold water can slow motor skills and cloud decision making. This year, with record snowfall and heavy rains the cold “spring” runoff could be around for months. By taking a few precautions during cold water recreation, you can keep your enjoyment level up and your hospitalization level down: •
Be prepared and dress to get wet.
•
Know the flow. Check water levels at americanwhitewater.org or waterdata.usgs.gov/MT/nwis/ current/?type=flow
•
Scout rapids and have a plan if someone swims, decide on a safe eddy, or rescue plan.
•
Wear a personal flotation device that fits. This may seem obvious, right? But think about the last time you saw someone at the put-in with a PFD that was too big or none at all.
•
Take a class in swift water rescue from Whitewater Rescue Institute (whitewaterrescue.com) and a class in first aid or wilderness medicine.
There are also a range of post immersion related illness and injuries. A few major concerns are: Cold water drowning affects both the respiratory and cardiac systems and often causes victims to gasp, aspirating water. This can lead to asphyxiation. If a victim is pulseless and not breathing, s/he needs CPR and advanced care. Complications from a submersion event or death secondary to drowning, victims may aspirate water, filling their lungs and leading to respiratory distress. Sometimes this condition is called “parking lot drowning,” because the victim is often out of the water and may not manifest symptoms until well after the submersion event. Although these victims may report they feel “fine,” they need to be evaluated by a medical professional. The wilderness medical
society suggests monitoring a person involved in a submersion event for 24 to 48 hours for signs of a wet persistent cough or respiratory distress. Post-immersion victims may develop hypothermia, which is abnormally low body temperature. Mild hypothermic victims often shiver, act confused and present the “umbles”—stumbling, fumbling and mumbling. They may also be combative or display poordecision making skills. A hypothermic victim should not remain in cold wet clothing. If possible, encourage the victim to exercise and eat simple sugars to increase warmth. Severely hypothermic people will stop shivering and have grossly impaired motor skills and decreasing responsiveness. Eventually they will become unresponsive. Prevent further heat loss, handle gently and
remember all hypothermic victims should seek immediate medical attention. It can be challenging to differentiate between drowning, immersion injury and hypothermia without advanced training, as signs and symptoms can be complex and confusing. As I experienced, a cold water accident can trigger other common illnesses such as asthma or exacerbate other pre-existing medical conditions. So, as you enjoy this season on Montana’s beautiful rivers and lakes, remember prevention through preparation will be your best defense to a cold water accident. Native Montanan Josh Olsen (WEMT) is a lead instructor for Aerie backcountry medicine, a ski patroller and a whitewater rescue technician. He lives in Bozeman.
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June 17, 2011 31
Big Sky Weekly HELMS JAMISON KULESZA
international exposure, local expertise If you’re considering listing your property this summer, you owe it to yourself to give us a call.
406.995.2244
LOWEST PRICED HOME IN BIG SKY 2265 Little Coyote $299,000
SUMMER FLY FISHING RETREAT 3025 Half Moon Court $1,850,000 view video online at: vimeo.com/25161327
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YEARS OF LOCAL EXPERTISE
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June 17, 2011 Volume 2 // Issue #11
Big Sky
Gallatin River Guide...34 Kayaking...35 Fishing...37 Roller Derby...37 Climbing...39 Highlining...41 Mountain Biking...43 Hiking...44 Golf...47 Disc Golf...48
special section: summer sports PHOTO BY royce gorsuch
PHOTO BY sonya iverson
courtesy of dave zinn
explorebigsky.com
June 17, 2011 33
Big Sky Weekly Squaw Creek TO
B O Z E M A N
Montana Whitewater Hellroaring (II) Storm Castle River Access The Mad Mile (see detailed inset)
1.3 miles of continuous class III to IV rapids. Many rocks create swimmers and during high water become large holes that can flip boats. There is not much calm water throughout the Mad Mile and incidents can create a very dangerous situation. Proceed with caution!
Hilarity Hole (III)
At high water this hole is very dangerous and located after a sharp river bend to the right. Stay left. It has been reported that boats have been stuck in this hole for over an hour until the river level changed.
Lava Lake Straightaway (II)
Long wave train located next to the road.
Bambi & Thumper (II)
Screaming Left (III)
On river left there is a large boulder resembling a face named Chief Joseph Rock. Hug river left corner and stay left.
New Rock (II) Picture Rock (II)
THE MAD MILE Beers From Heaven (II)
In 2003, a Miller High Life truck crashed on the highway, spilling 40,000 cans into the river.
Storm Castle River Access
Magnet Rock (III)
Avoid large rock on river left. Stay river right.
Prudential (III)
Avoid large rock pourover on river right.
Moose Creek
GoGoosh (III)
Davey Jones Locker (III)
Ray’s Bay
Large hole on river right.
Eddy on river right.
Rodeo (III)
Large hole in the center of the river.
House Rock and Bouldergarden (IV)
Super Eddy
House Rock is a giant boulder located in the middle of the river. Go left of House. River left just before House is a large hole called Whacker. After House, you will enter a very shallow, boulder packed section called Bouldergarden.
Calm water before House Rock Rapid.
Two Scoops (III)
Snaggletooth (III) Showstopper and Pinball (II/IV) Old Bridge (III)
Showstopper (II) on river left, Pinball (IV) on river right. CAUTION - There is a seive on river right. A sieve is where two rocks are lodged very close together; water can pass, but objects cannot.
Portal Creek (III)
Approx. 2 river miles downstream of Green Bridge. Watch out for this one as it comes up fast and has many large boulders throughout. It catches many boaters off-guard. Line is center right or center left.
Entrance Exam (III)
High water straight down the middle. Low water hug right side and right of large boulder.
Sheep Eater Falls (III)
Lava Lake Deer Creek (Green Bridge)
Downstream of Green Bridge. Large jagged rocks on river left.
Commercial Rafting Company Put-in/Launch Point Rapid 191
Eddy Take out/Exit Point
B I G
Gallatin River
SKY
M O N TA N A
Geyser Whitewater Expeditions
The Gallatin River starts from Gallatin Lake in Yellowstone National Park and runs approx 120 mi north till it converges with the Jefferson and Madison river to form the Headwaters
TO W E S T Y E L L O W S TO N E
Porcupine Trailhead
of the Missouri. In July of 1805 Meriwether Lewis named the river after Albert Gallatin who was the longest serving U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Many fisherman know the Gallatin as the “blue ribbon” trout stream. As your floating keep an eye out for Big Horn Sheep that range on the cliffs above while enjoying what the Indians called “valley of the flowers.”
explorebigsky.com © 2011 Outlaw Partners, LLC. All Rights Reserverd. Published by Outlaw Partners, a marketing and media company based in Big Sky, Montana. www.theoutlawpartners.com | www.explorebigsky.com * This map is to act as a visual guide. Actual water levels may vary and therefore affect rapid behavior and boating lines. Please raft at your own caution.
34 June 17, 2011
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Big Sky Weekly
High Water Means Fun on the Wave Train By Tyler Allen | photos courtesy of Dave Zinn A 10-year boy old strummed his kayak paddle like an air guitar, simultaneously surfing the Yellowstone River’s famous wave, Mrs. Bubbles. His teammates from Wave Train Kayak Team cheered, and I watched, astounded. The big wave had kicked me off every time, despite my furious paddle strokes. Founded in 1996 by Dennis Steinhauer, Wave Train Kayak Team offers Gallatin Valley youth opportunities to learn and hone paddling skills throughout summer runoff.
To many, kayaking is a difficult sport to access. But if you start paddling as an adolescent, it affords a lifetime of fun on rivers and creeks in Southwest Montana and around the world. Dave Zinn, Wave Train’s Director, has taught kayaking from Mexico to Africa and has run the program since 2009. Zinn says its objective is to “provide good athletic output in an athletic, adventure-based town, and … promote self-discovery, growth and increase self-confi-
G NEW STORE OPENIN ST 1 IN BIG SKY ON JULY
dence.” Wave Train gets kids on the water with expert instruction for 22 sessions over 11 weeks. This year the program started May 22 and will meet Monday and Wednesday evenings until Aug. 3. From the Bozeman Pond to the riffles of the Jefferson River and the rapids of the Gallatin and Yellowstone rivers, participants work on their paddle strokes, rolls and river running skills. Eight of the nine participants are returns from last summer—100 percent return, except for kids too old
•
for the program. The program costs $1,000, and gear rentals are offered at a discount through Northern Lights at the Barn. This year, Zinn is also offering adult classes starting June 14. The Junior Wave Train program begins July 5 and is geared toward 10-15 year olds. With a long runoff expected, Wave Train is a great opportunity for young and old to begin a lifetime of paddling. wavetrainkayak.blogspot.com.
RETAIL NURSERY
Open Mon.-Sat. 9-5 and Sunday 10-2 •
FULL SERVICE LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE
Spring Clean Up, Irrigation, Gardening, Mowing, Water Feature Care, Weed Control, Organic Fertilizer and Microbial Soil Amendment, Tree Care by Licensed Arborist
Located across from Bugaboo in the Big Horn Center off Hwy 191
Selling lightly used, quality clothes, sporting goods, home furnishings & more!
Please call Janine or Dick @ (406) 993-9333 for an appointment to consign your items for sale with us in our new store.
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LANDSCAPE DESIGN CONSULTING & ASLA SERVICES 406.995.4818 • san@wildwoodbigsky.com
WILDWOOD NURSERY
Hwy 191 just south of the Big Sky stoplight
wildwoodbigsky.com
Growing in Big Sky for 31 years explorebigsky.com
June 17, 2011 35
Big Sky Weekly
320 Ranch Steakhouse & Saloon
Open for the Summer
Enjoy Big Sky hospitality and cowboy gourmet food! Saloon opens at 4:30 p.m., Dining Room begins serving at 5:30 p.m. Reservations recommended
Monday Night Pig Roast No reservations required $10 Pig Roast ~ Kids half off! Every Monday 5-8 p.m.
Wednesday Night Riverside Chuck Wagon BBQs
Join us Wednesday evenings starting June 8 for a 2 hour Trail Ride or Hayride to our BBQ near the Gallatin River—featuring NY Strip Steaks, BBQ Chicken and all of the fixins with S’mores to top it off! Reservations required.
406.995.4283
e www.320ranch.com
Located at Mile Marker 36 on HWY 191 toward Yellowstone Park
bigskytowncenter.com
Where Big Sky Comes Together
36 June 17, 2011
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Big Sky Weekly
Fishing Report:
Salmonflies will start hatching any day now.
Where is an angler to go in these conditions?
Photo by Scott Heppel
By Ennion Williams
There are several spring creeks in the The rivers have started the spring runarea with excellent fishing during high off, but with nighttime temps in the 30s water. DePuy, Armstrong and Nelsons at high elevations, the snow is taking its spring creeks are all outside of Livtime melting. Snowpack was heavy all ingston and offer excellent dry fly and winter and increased in May. Accordstreamer fishing in the spring. ing to the Snotel website, the snowpack in the Gallatin range The M-Z Ranch in Belincreased 101 percent be- Mountain precipitation in grade also offers chaltween May 1 and June 1. May was 118 percent of Mountain precipitation average. This should equate lenging sight fishing near in May was 118 percent to the Gallatin River running the East Gallatin River. Just outside Dillon is of average. This should at 156 percent of normal McCoy Spring Creek, equate to the Gallatin stream-flow this summer. which has some exciting River running at 156 perfishing as well. These are cent of normal streamall private and require a rod fee. If you’re flow this summer. The story is similar not familiar with the creeks, it’s best to with all rivers in Montana this year. hire a guide, as these fish are selective and can be difficult to catch. Where is an angler to go in these conditions? Lake fishing is a good option. Hebgen Lake has been fishing well on some The salmonfly hatch is not far off. This will start first on the Firehole River in of the sunnier days. A midge hatch there Yellowstone Park and on the Henry’s brings large trout near the surface. Fork River in Idaho. Soon after, it will
hatch on the Lower Madison and Yellowstone rivers, as well. Salmonflies are large stoneflies that emerge onto the riverbanks. Anglers enjoy this hatch because the fly patterns are large, and the fish are hungry for them. Once temperatures warm up, this hatch will get underway and last for about three weeks. This year however, high water may prevent anglers from being able to fish this hatch effectively. Ennion Williams is a professional Fishing Guide and Outfitter in Big Sky. He can be reached at (406) 579-7094 or at ennion3@yahoo.com. He also runs Big Sky Local Foods. bigskylocalfood.com
Full Service Flyshop & Guide Service Est. 1984 • Montana Outfitter #235
montanaflyfishing.com | (406) 995-2290 1/2 mile past Big Sky turnoff on HWY 191
8th Annual Pesca Fiesta! Saturday, july 2nd 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Kids & Adults rod demos and casting tips join reps from Sage, Simms, winston, Ross & More. Check out the new gear for 2011!
The Way to Fish
Roller Derby comes to Southwest Montana By Marcie Knoff Women’s flat track roller derby has arrived in Southwest Montana. No longer a staged exhibition spectacle, Roller Derby has matured into a legitimate athletic sport with rapidly growing popularity around the nation. There are five skaters on each team and ten on the track. The pack closes tight, and the jammers (scorers) look to score in the narrow spaces between skaters by passing a player from the opposing team. The rest of the team works to block the opposing team’s jammer. Wheels bounce off each other while girls assist their teammates and war with opponents simultaneously. Penalties and crashes are common. When the two-minute ‘jam’ is up, players regroup quickly for the start of the next. Gallatin Roller Girlz welcomes roller divas and rookies alike, non-skating volunteers and anyone else interested in helping to support and build their burgeoning, eight-wheeled skate community. gallatinrollergirlz.com
explorebigsky.com
June 17, 2011 37
Big Sky Weekly
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.com
southwest montana’s news · business · video · media network
Mortgage rates are still historically low
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MONTANA STORIES
In-depth interviews, human interest pieces, lifestyle, adventure stories, news and tips from the experts
Look into refinancing with a responsible lending leader. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage continues to offer quality refinance choices, including options that address many of the unique challenges facing homeowners today. You may be able to:
Mortgage rates are facebook.com/explorebigsky twitter.com/explorebigsky still historically low
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Look into refinancing with a responsible lending leader. Contact Wells Fargo Home Mortgage today Wells Fargo Home Mortgage continues to offer quality refinance choices, including options that address many of Lance Child the unique challenges facing homeowners You may Look into refinancing atoday. responsible Private with Mortgage Bankerlending leader. be able to: Wells Fargo Home Mortgage continues to offer quality Phone: 406-995-4625 refinance choices, including options Cell: payment 406-580-5489 that address many of • Lower your monthly mortgage the unique challenges facing homeowners 145 Center Lane, Suiteloan A today. You may • Switch from an ARM to a predictable fixed-rate be able to: Big Sky, • Access funds for large expenses or MT debt59716 management lance.m.child@wellsfargo.com • Lower your mortgagefaster payment • Get a shorter term to pay offmonthly your mortgage NMLSR IDto403996 • Switch from an ARM a predictable • Finance your closing costs as part of your new loan fixed-rate loan
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Private Mortgage Banker Phone: 406-995-4625 Cell: 406-580-5489 145 Center Lane, Suite A Big Sky, MT 59716 lance.m.child@wellsfargo.com NMLSR ID 403996
• Access funds for large expenses or debt management • Get a shorter term to pay off your mortgage faster your• chance Finance your closing costs as part of your new loan
Just a few minutes with a home mortgage consultant will help you understand your refinancing options.
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Credit is subject to approval. Some restrictions apply. This information is
Contact Wells Fargo Home today accurate as of date of printing and isMortgage subject to change without notice. Lance Child
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ©2011
Private Mortgage Banker Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. NMLSR ID 399801. 104226 - 06/11 Lance Child Phone: 406-995-4625 Private Mortgage Banker Cell: 406-580-5489 Phone: 145 Center Lane, Suite406-995-4625 A Cell: 406-580-5489 Big Sky, MT 59716 145 Center Lane, Suite A lance.m.child@wellsfargo.com Big Sky, MT 59716 NMLSR ID 403996 lance.m.child@wellsfargo.com NMLSR ID 403996
38 June 17, 2011
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Credit is subject to approval. Some restrictions apply. This information is accurate as of date of printing and is subject to change without notice. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ©2011 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. NMLSR ID 399801. 104226 - 06/11
Big Sky Weekly
Montanans climbing Mount Logan for Planned Parenthood By Emily Stifler | photo by joe josephson
The Ridge is on the skyline. The Warbler Ridge is the big sub-peak and ridge on the right side of the pic. This was taken from the Seward Glacier at about 6,000 feet. The summit is 19,540.’
Peter Ramos, a Bozeman-based nurse, climber and skier, believes in mountain karma. He believes in educating Montana teens about their health. And he loves big adventures. In late June, Ramos, 28, will join three Billings climbers in a bid at 19,551-foot Mount Logan, the highest peak in Canada. And they’re doing it to raise awareness and money for Planned Parenthood of Montana. As a nurse at Community Health Partners and an advanced wilderness life support certified Wildernes EMT, this mission fits Ramos perfectly.
Ramos and his partners—Stan Price, Rusty Willis and Daniel Burson—will drive north from Montana 36 hours. Just north of Haines Junction, at mile 1054 on the Alaska Highway, they’ll meet their pilot and fly an hour into their remote camp at the base of Mount Logan. There, they’ll spend two weeks climbing, conditions dependent. With 12 sub-summits, Logan is one the largest massifs in North America. Livingston resident Joe Josephson, who’s climbed it twice, said Logan is unlike any mountain in the world in terms of sheer mass:
“It’s big even compared to the Himalaya. The masRecent legislation eliminated funding for family sif rises over 14,000 feet from the glacier, and has a planning from the state budget and cut federal Title X plateau at 16,000 feet that is 15 miles long and two dollars by 5.6 percent, severely affecting income for miles wide.” The scale, he said, is hard to describe or PPMT and other Montana family planning clinics (like understand—until you’re there. Part of the Saint Elias Bozeman’s BridgerCare). AcMountain Range, the peak is cording to Ann Vinciguerra, PPMT says patient services and adjacent to the third largest Planned Parenthood’s ice cap in the world, after contraceptive options will deBozeman Development Antarctica and Greenland. Associate, “This amounts to crease while patient fees will a $300,000 shortfall” in the increase, and some rural clinics The team has an eye on sevcoming year. Because of this, are likely to close. eral possible ascent routes. PPMT says patient services and contraceptive options “Depending on conditions, will decrease while patient fees will increase, and some we’d like to acclimatize on the standard East Ridge, a rural clinics are likely to close. snow slog that goes to the east summit,” Ramos said. Another possibility is a new route up a technical-lookWith five clinics and five rural outreach sites, PPMT is ing ridge that faces southeast and connects to the East Montana’s largest provider of family planning services. Ridge part-way up. The organization provides general health care services (cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes screenAfter that, they’d like to attempt a route called the ing, flu vaccinations, mild depression/anxiety treatWarbler or the Hummingbird, neither of which have ment, and so forth) and reproductive health services seen a second ascent. The Hummingbird has been (Such as STI testing, breast and annual exams, and named one of the “50 classic climbs of North America” contraception). in the standard-setting 1979 book by Allen Steck and Steve Roper. Ramos said the 13,800-foot knife-edge Ramos likes the idea of climbing for a cause, and said, has dual cornices and massive exposure. “We want to help support our local communities and our state.” PPMT’s work affects all taxpayers, he To train as a group, Ramos, Willis and Price had a added: “If you prevent unwanted teen pregnancies, huge day out in the Beartooths: They climbed the there would be fewer people on welfare.” 4000’ ice flow California Ice, carrying skis, then skied the Cham Couloir.
“The dynamic was awesome,” Ramos said. “I feel ready to go. I’m chompin’ at the bit.” Upon the climbing team’s return, Planned Parenthood of Montana plans to host an event in Bozeman. firstgiving.com/mtlogan
According to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Public Health and Safety Division, teen pregnancy and birth rates have decreased significantly in Montana since 1995. However, since 2006 there has been a slight increase in the pregnancy rate among older teens. Additionally, there are racial/ethnice disparities in teen pregnancy rates. Six percent of Montana’s population is American Indian, more than one in four teen births are to an American Indian teen. In 2004, teen pregnancy costed Montana taxpayers $18 million. Teen pregnancy costs $9 year in the U.S.
billion each
In 2009 20.3 percent of ninth graders reported being sexually active, while 50.2 percent of 12th graders said they were sexually active. In 2009, there were 1,265 births to females 15-19 and two births to females under the age of 15. Each day in 2009, approximately three Montana teens gave birth. dphhs.mt.gov/PHSD/Women-Health/pdf/ pregnancyreport.pdf
explorebigsky.com
June 17, 2011 39
Big Sky Weekly
R are
Resale
O p p o r t u n i t y
o n
P i o n e e r
4 Chalet at Yellowstone Club
Incredible, Direct Ski-in/Ski-out Access 6,000+ Livable Square Feet 5 Bedrooms Turnkey Property with Base Area Location Steps from Warren Miller Lodge View Video Online - chalet4.com Contact Will Littman, YC Sales, for tours or information will.littman@yellowstoneclub.com | 406-993-7012 | chalet4.com
40 June 17, 2011
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M o u n t a i n
Big Sky Weekly
Thomas Sloss, from Vancouver BC, in Moab, UT
Joanne Perino, from Bozeman, in Gallatin Canyon
A slackline is a piece of nylon webbing tensioned between two anchor points. Unlike a tightrope, a slackline stretches and bounces. Highlining is similar, but is performed at heights. For protection, highliners often wear a climbing harness and tether themselves to the line with a carabiner that slides as they walk.
ne i l h g i h s by
PHoto
n iverso sonya
hy.com
sydia
grap nphoto
Ammiel Branson, from Bozeman, in Moab, UT
Josh Simfenderfer with son Nyen in Lindley Park
Josh Simfenderfer, from Big Sky, in Gallatin Canyon
explorebigsky.com
June 17, 2011 41
Big Sky Weekly Tax return preparation Tax planning Payroll Services Bookkeeping
This is how Big Sky gets into hot water.
Financial Statement preparation Business Consulting Business Valuation
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CoMiNg SooN Lone Peak Cinema Building featuring Big Sky’s first “feature film” movie theater
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42 June 17, 2011
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Big Sky Weekly
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-rap draeh aluossiM ni truoC tcirtsiD By Mark D. Miller .stsinogatna dna sretroppus sti morf seit drawrof evom ylno lliw tnemelttes ehT eh redro na no yats a stup yollaM fi flow gnitatsnier remmus tsal deussi .ohadI dna anatnoM ni snoitcetorp sretnuh dna srehcnar nretseW ynaM -tic ,tnuh eht gnitatsnier troppus a dna sevlow yb skcatta kcotsevil gni -nemnorivnE .sdreh kle emos ni enilced ti yas tnemelttes eht ot gnieerga stsilat lanoissergnoC laitnetop tpmeerp dluow -nadnE eht gninimrednu noitalsigel .tcA seicepS dereg ,desoporp saw tnemelttes eht retfA laredeF eht fo yolloM dlanoD egduJ morf draeh aluossiM ni truoC tcirtsiD sihT .stsinogatna dna sretroppus sti yollaM fi drawrof evom ylno lliw laed tsal deussi eh redro na no yats a stup niWhen snoitcetIoheard rp flow gthe nitatword snier remmus “bear,” I knew.ohitadhad a I dnato anabe tnoM grizzly. James was 100 feet .S.E ahead of me, staring into a meadow paralleling the trail. Still straddling his bike, he slowly removed his pack and pulled out his bear spray, never taking his eyes off the meadow. His tone was methodical and calm. It raised the hair on the back of my neck.
ni noitcudortnier 5991 eht gniwolloF daerps sah noitalupop eht ,enotswolleY ereht erehw ,setats eseht tuohguorht .sevlow 156,1 detamitse na won era nretseW sa emac tnemelttes ehT erew ssergnoC .S.U eht dna srekamwal snoitcetorp tfil ot erusserp gnisaercni -norivne emos yb desoppO .sevlow fo wolla ot dengised si ti ,spuorg latnem evom ot sevlow gnidnuorrus stciflnoc .drawrof dluow laed eht fo snoitidnoc ehT“ plenty no ecnofeifood cs fo and ydobwater, wen abut rofclouds edivorp were moving in, and wet cotton flow rieht esab nac stnemnrevog hwould cihw lbe eaha cserious iM detaproblem ts ”,seicion lopatchilly nemegmounanam ehtain t gnevening. itneserper yenrotta eht ,erotaneS
-cuder fo smret ni tnemeveihca tse peehs dna eviheeb ,nekcihc gni ,ledaM ekiM dias ,noitaderped ni tsilaiceps tnemeganam raeb PWF .uaetohC -zirg ni rucco peehs reverehW“ fo rettam a ylno si ti ,tatibah ylz etacol lliw sraeb eht erofeb emit gniddeb nommoc esu peehS .meht detarutas emoceb taht sdnuorg rof ysae yrev era dna tnecs htiw .dias eh ”,dnif ot sraeb -azinagro tiforpnon emos era erehT raeb gnicuder ni detseretni snoit hctam semitemos taht noitaderped ,srecudorp kcotsevil htiw sdnuf sdnuf gnihctam osla era ereht dna dna hsiF .S.U eht hguorht elbaliava .dias ledaM ,ecivreS efildliW legs ,hsdangled iF anatnlike oMaegiant ht si ndog otpon iT eits naiD hindquarters. His fluffy head was -rofnI ediwetatS skraP dna efildlthe iW size of a car tire. He stared .recifin fOour nodirecitam tion and sniffed. The sliding of metal broke the silence as Scott chambered a bullet.
Scott started strong, chatting easily with James and Brad. I hung back, sucking wind and questioning my own “Be cool man,” I said, unsure if I was fitness. I felt stronger after a few miles talking to Scott, myself, or the bear. when we turned off the Forest Service Then, as fast as he’d come, the grizroad and began climbing the single zly dropped and turned, disappearing track. It got technical just as it started through the trees on the far side of the pouring rain. When I went to put on meadow. my rain jacket, I realized I had my wife’s small jacket instead of my own XL. I We headed up the trail as fast as we This was just supposed to be another crammed my 200 pounds into her size weekly Thursday night ride with James ecould. ht tubOnce ,setovwe gnstarted itnessidownhill, d erew erehT -pasid saw eh fi yltnecer deksa nehW htiw dnoces tnatsid a ni emac kle eht dna small, zipping it beneath my belly butScott got so cold he and Brad, my regular biking partners. denrut noitcele eht woh htiw detniop -llub eht rof setoV .setov 453,81 ylno now amsirahc etannihad s t i trouble h t i w y lholdzzirg ingsahis But w handlebars raeb ylzziron g ethe h T bumpy, . d n e e h twet ni -id eitvwas itucfall, exe and si ohwe w were ,kcivlooking onehC ,to tuo tnton. acfiiThe ngisboys a tublaughed ,dedrochysterically. er ton erew gorf single-track. With five miles to go, his end the biking season on a high note. yluJ ni seiceps denetaerht a sa detsil ni yrotrepeR yrotSdnoceS eht fo rotcer —952,2 —setov ni-etirw fo rebmun We continued, taking shelter and elegs fildlstarted iW dncramping, a hsiF .S.U e hhe t ybegan b 5791 .lThe la taplan ton was diasto ,nleave otgniwork hsaWearly, ,dnodrop mdeR .detnuunder oc erew trees during downpours and cona truck at Porcupine Creek trailhead, -shivering epS de reguncontrollably. nadnE eht rednu ecivreS upi tin Portal Ithen !ssedrive corp cover itarcto om ed ehCreek t decaand rbmride e I“ a rtinuing of enigam ubspells ,yrotof sihlighter tsinoisrain. iver si tI .tcA seic Thunder and lightning Brad was warm and gave the wild country in the Gallatin Range eb ot detnaw tsuj I ,niw ot deen t’ndid eht emoceb dah gorfllub boomed, eht fi tneand mom clouds trees. between ”,emit dthe oogtwo. a dah erus eW .ti fo trap evah yclung am syalow d ylin raethe ehT .lamNear ina etthe ats gup nithis ne srain sid jacket e ht foand e mao S top of the climb, the trail meandered granola bar. Scott warmed rovaf ni e re w tsac se t o v .dias eh eht fo noissessop 5002 ni tub ,enfi neeb through up, If we took the three to three-and-a-half -eps evendless itan a tomeadows n si hcihwlined —gowith rfllub krabut M .the gorcramping fllub eht fo whitebark pines. continued hours the guidebook suggested, we’d ,kche ivobecame nehC eht fo esuaceb detibihorp saw—seic -darg htxis aand make it to the truck just before dusk. -atirritated neme le with nosrour effehelp J ta re evitan ot od dluoc ti mrah laitnetop However, after a summer of rides, we ta asuggestions, ne le H ni lowhile ohcs yr naibIihpma ehtand EREW SLAMINA REHTO TAHW Lightning flashed, and Brad.sand stopped under a stand of trees to wait we grew agitated felt strong. Scott was the wild card. t u o b a y l g n o r t s o s t lwith ef , ehis mit DEREDISNOC for Scott to catch up.iJ James waited just lack of pace and ungrateful This was our first ride with him, and e r i m r e t l a W m e t a t S f o y r a t e r c e S d e i f i t s e t e h t a h t r e t t a m eht ANATNOM EHT ROF STNUOC ETOV up theectrail. I had an extra long sleeve attitude. his first in two years. rof yramirp eht sa dezingocer si emaG dna hsiF‘ eht e r of e b LAMINA ETATS polypro eH .tshirt cejorpinlamy mipack, na etawhich ts eht dI ngave iheb fo flaheb no ’noissim m o C Scott totwear. That’s It was getting Brad, Scott and I worked on the same woh uoba n rael owhen t stnedwe utheard s detnthe aw .glate, orflland ub ethere ht word “bear.” was a good possibility construction site. Scott was fresh out .skrow tnemnrevog of Maine, and this was his first year in -cele lareneg dna yramirp dleh yehT sof a yrunning lzzirg ehinto t e vanother ah ew fI Bradreand I pulled out canisters of Montana. Seeing our bikes in the truck tov ,sretsop htiw etelpmoc ,snoit dluow ew lamina e tats r u o r a e B y l zhe z iasked r G if he could pepper one Thursday, ,snottspray, ub ngiand apmScott ac ,sedrew hceephis s ,sgun. retsor pa“Everything m eht no ti tup ot evah We couldn’t see the upper half of the join a ride. The next week I told him .sesucuac ytrap dna ,srekcits repmub yawa eracs thgim siht dna seemed meadow, about our plan. It’s not going to be easy nerdbut lihchad looahclear cs 00view 0,1 nof ahtthe eroM eh ,stsiruot rusurreal: o fo emos bottom. I warned him, quoting facts from the ehtTime no sgstopped. niraeh owt eht dednetta ethe H .diaslight e vah odrizzle, t detroper si Everything guidebook: 2300’ of climbing, 3000’ ro defiitsseemed et nevesurreal: emos ,llthe iB ylight lzzirG ethe h tahtmist tcaf ehclinging t thguoht osla drizzle, the mist clinging to the descent, 12 miles total, and strenuous, .ynomitset nettirw dettrees, timbus a ro kle na nees reven dah and the huge grizzly running through trees, expert terrain. k l EThen I added with emdeto timithe l flesm ih raeb yand lzzirg the treeshtthat funneled right to us. phasis, “Right in the middle of grizzly ob ni dessap lliB ylzzirG ehT etthe ats a shuge a seiceps ogrizzly wt eseht country too.” He didn’t flinch. lirpA nO .snigram ediw yb sesuoh .lobmys running through “Hey!” He reassured me with stories of high nednI iyelled. whcS deT ronrevoG ,3891 ,7 school exploits on the track and ski gnitangised ,wal otni llib eht dengis tnthe e dutstrees lanif ehtthat nehW The bear stopped about 70 feet from us teams. Then he showed up in a short -fo eht sa silibirroH sotcrA susrU ylzzirg e ht ,e mright ac etov funneled g o rft-shirt l l u B with only his bike, and stood on sleeve cotton .lahis minhindquarters: a etats anatnothis M lawas icfi setov 634,43 htiw now to us.” the Shaquille O’Neal of bears. His front 32 oz of water, and a Ruger 45. We had
TI...LAMINA ETATS RUO SA YLZZIRG EHT EVAH EW FI“ ”STSIRUOT RUO FO EMOS YAWA ERACS THGIM
notpiT enaiD yB teem sreganam raeb PWF anatnoM eraperp ot hcraM-dim ni raey yreve morf egreme ot sraeb s’etats eht rof ,emit emas eht tuobA .noitanrebih -rits ydaerla era sraeb ylzzirg elam .gnir kcalb dna ylzzirg ,0102 gniruD -ces eht ni detluser stcilfnoc raeb ni drocer no rebmun tsehgih dno dias ,anatnoM tsewhtuos/lartnec ni reganam raeb PWF ,yerF niveK enotswolleY eht ,llarevO .namezoB tsehgih sti dedrocer metsysocE .etad ot stcilfnoc fo rebmun sraeb ,sned morf gnigreme retfA yeht erehw snoitacol ot nruter yam fo eno fI .llaf tsal etal sdoof dnuof evomer ,dray ruoy saw secalp esoht ot stnatcartta doof lla eruces ro -ganam raeB .stcilfnoc raeb ecuder bear, retniafterall, w ni gnithe gnilast rb dsection nemmoiscecalled r sre the Grizzly Loop. Scott alternated gnitcelloc dna dees dna sredeef drib between yb stnajogging tcartta and rehtriding. o gninaelc dna Eventually, James, Brad and I arrived at the final junction. It was an easy track from here, and we knew we’d be out before nightfall. Scott barreled in behind us and fell off his bike, clutching his cramped legs on the soggy ground. We busted out laughing.
laminA etatS s’anatnoM :YLZZIRGeht
“F*** yous guys,” he retorted in his best Maine accent. And just like that, all was forgiven. notpiT enaiD yB On the final stretch, we carved a smooth etats s’atrack natnthrough oM si raesage b ylbrushed zzirg ehT hills, reaching the truck in equal light ni derrefnoc saw ronoh ehT .lam ina and darkness. There, we opened beers ssecorp citarcomed a hguorht 3891 and fo 0toasted 00,55 nour ahtfour-hour erom yb epic. detcuScott dnoc took a sip and blurted out, “That 524 ni nerdlihc loohcs s’etatswas ehtan awesome ride!” .sloohcs
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Big Sky Weekly
This summer hike with the Big Sky Hikers, or take this handy guide and explore our featured hike, Garnet Mountain, with friends and family.
Garnet Mountain How to get there: Travel north on Rte 191 to the Storm Castle Bridge. There are two trailheads right across the bridge, Rat Lake and Storm Castle. Make sure to choose Storm Castle. The proximity to Bozeman affords the hikes up to Garnet easy access. It is not uncommon to run across horse, bike, or 4-wheeler traffic on this hike.
Distance: The distance and elevation gain is 7 miles and 2700’. It can be modified by weather, fire, bears or trail conditions. An easier option goes via Rat Lake TH to Garnet, and is 7.5 miles and 2045’.
STORM CASTLE
Approaching the top looking SW at Table Mtn. in the Spanish Peaks. A Pensive Place. The “lookout” tower we all can see from 191 is an old Fire tower now converted by USFS for overnight campers. It has massive grounding wires on the structure itself and very cool windows and bunking spots inside.
Wild Iris in the flat, low, wet, early part of the hike.
Trailhead
HWY 191
Garnet Mtn Trail Easier Route Roads
On the shoulder after clearing the trees...wildflowers a-plenty. Very close to the sky.
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U.S. Geologic Survey Bench Mark set in chert atop Garnet.
Big Sky Weekly Big Sky Hikers at 9,999’.
Big Sky Hikers - 2011 Season Meeting: Big Sky Hikers meet each Thursday morning at the Big Sky Chapel, on Little Coyote Road across from the Meadow Village Center. To accommodate larger numbers of hikers and differing abilities, three hikes are scheduled for every Thursday in ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and ‘C’ groups. Each hike group goes to a different trailhead, and there is a limit of 15 people for each. All hikes are subject to change due to weather or trail conditions. A hikers depart at 8 a.m., B hikers at 8:30, and C hikers at 8:30 unless otherwise noted. Transportation to
the trailhead will be organized by car-pooling in each group. Rating: None of the hikes require technical climbing or gear. ‘A’ hikes are strenuous, involving long distances and significant altitude gain; these hikes are best suited to fit altitudeacclimated and well-prepared hikers. ‘B’ hikes represent more moderate efforts. ‘C’ hikes are easy and suitable for hikers of all ages. A donation of $2/person per hike pays for administration costs, supplies, refreshments, and donations to relevant causes or organizations.
Hiking Etiquette: Please leave no trace when hiking in the wilderness or YNP. No toddlers or pets. Big Sky hikers keep groups together and take occasional breaks. This is grizzly bear country, and this is a serious consideration on all hikes. Equipment: Experienced hikers carry a well-sorted daypack, with plenty of water, lunch and snacks, rain gear and other clothing layers to cope with the abrupt changes in weather that are typical in the mountains. Sturdy, broken in shoes are suggested, as many of the trails are rocky, may cross patches
Big Sky Hikers Summer Special Events: Flower Hike July 7 Contact: Dr. Jeff Strickler 995-4768 Potluck Picnic Big Sky Community Park July 12 6-8 p.m. Contact: Leslie Piercy 993-2303 Please see explorebigsky.com for the Big Sky Hikers’ full summer schedule. Keyword: Big Sky Hikers Heading off into the Absarokas
of snow and streams, and at times the footing can be unstable. Hike leaders carry basic First Aid kits. Hikers should bring their own bear spray, insect repellant, toilet paper, sunscreen and big smiles! Please contact hike coordinators for more information: A Hikes: Leslie & Rich Piercy (993-2303) B Hikes: Lance Krieg (995-3312) & George Tallichet (995-7292) C Hikes: Rumsey Young (995-2629) & George MacDonald (995-7172)
Getaway August 22 -24 Location: Chico Hot Springs • A block of rooms is on hold, and reservations can be made by calling the resort. Cancellations may be made until two weeks prior to the event. • Open hike from Big Sky (Windy Pass) to Chico (Big Creek Trailhead) on the 22. This is a little up and mostly down, but it’s still 15 miles – a long hike, requiring lots of water, food and conditioning. Shuttles must be coordinated. • Combined A and B 10 mile hike on August 23, C hike also on the 23rd, TBD. Optional hiking on August 24 for those who wish. •
Banquet on Tuesday evening (Aug. 23). Contact: Marisue Tallichet (995-7292)
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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.
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Located in the Meadow Village Center next to Lone Peak Brewery
Big Sky Weekly
Golf in Southwest Montana
By Taylor Anderson | photo by austin trayser Golfing in Southwest Montana provides opportunities not found elsewhere in the state.
a chance to play one of the best public courses in the Meadow Village.
Gallatin County offers great options for the public. Teeing off on the back nine at Bridger Creek gives reason to believe a poet created the term ‘Big Sky Country’: witness endless miles of valley disappearing with the emergence of a sister valley heading south.
While you’re planning a trip to the area, pack the clubs. If you live in the area and haven’t explored what Gallatin and the surrounding counties have to offer, dust off the clubs and get out there!
Despite the exclusivity of the courses near Big Sky, golfers have
1. Big Sky Golf Course 1/2 18 holes - $69 9 holes - $47 Big Sky’s namesake course displays supreme planning and well-executed design that integrates the Gallatin River and seclusion, despite being immersed within the Meadow Village residential area. Call (406) 995-5780 for a tee-time.
2. Cottonwood Hills 18 holes - $40 9 holes - $22 Located seven miles west of Bozeman, this course offers a sense of seclusion from town and good views of its surrounding ranches. The course remains fairly flat, but views north and south are endless when towering trees don’t block them. Call (406) 587-1118 for a tee-time.
3. Spanish Peaks 1/2 (private) This private course has been compared favorably to the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club course. Its panoramic views are truly surreal and no fairway touches another, so golfers are given the feel of playing in the wilderness. If you’re a member, that is. For membership information, call (877) 995-3100. 5. Black Bull 1/2 (private) Pro shop: (406) 556-5011
Big Sky Country: witness endless miles of valley disappearing with the emergence of a sister valley heading south.
*Detailed reviews of the courses can be found on explorebigsky. com. Keyword: Golf courses Ratings are out of five stars.
4. Bridger Creek 1/2 18 holes - $31 9 holes - $19 The course has been deeply affected by its namesake creek that has broken its banks and turned fairways into ponds. The views from the back nine on this course are spectacular. Call (406) 5862333 for a tee-time. Check out these other courses in the area: 6. Beaverhead Golf Course in Dillon 9 holes - $17 Pro shop: (406) 683-9933 7. Headwaters in Three Forks 9 holes - $25 Pro shop: (406) 285-3700 8. Madison Meadows in Ennis 9 holes - $21 Pro shop: (406) 682-7468 9. Livingston Golf Course Pro shop: (406) 222-1100
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Big Sky Weekly
Disc GOlf
The sport is similar to golf, except with the use of a disc, or Frisbee. It is Sometimes played on an organized course using chain-link baskets as holes, or sometimes the course is made up by the players, and trees and other obstacles are used as holes. Disc golf discs are smaller than Frisbees, and can be thrown up to 800 ft.
GOLFER vs. FOLFER
Big sky courses: Big Sky Resort Disc Golf There
is a nine hole par-three course located just above the Snowcrest Lodge. An additional nine holes is located at the top of Andesite Mountain, but a $19 lift charge applies.
Big Horn Ridge Community Course: Just steps away from the
Meadow Village center, this 18 hole course is free and open to the public. Discs are not provided, and a small donation for the upkeep is appreciated. Two years ago Jason Meyers and other disc golfers in Big Sky received approval from the BSCC and the Water and Sewer District to build a nine-hole course. The BSCC donated $3000 of initial funding, and local business such as Grizzly Outfitters, Gallatin Alpine Sports and Blue Moon Bakery sponsored the individual holes, and continue to pay $50 a year for upkeep.
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Last year, Meyers and other disc golf players in Big Sky raised enough funds to implement an additional nine holes, all with official chain holes. “There are at least 10 community members that are completely dedicated to sponsoring holes and course maintenance,” Meyers said. Without their support, the course would not be possible. Meyers invites novices and experts to join other disc golfers on Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. for $3 random doubles tournaments, where the winning team keeps all the funds. Sign up for the Community Park Celebration Tournament on July 4, at 3 p.m. ($15, all donations go to BSCC). There will be three days of tournaments during Cinnafest 2011, a music and outdoors festival at the Cinnamon Lodge, August 10 - 2. The tournament will include random doubles, singles and a Disc Craft Ace Race (discgolfacerace.com). “This tournament will bring some of the state’s best players. Be prepared for a fun weekend,” Myers said.
Other Disc Golf Courses: Bohart Ranch X-C Ski Center Bozeman, 36 holes, $5/day Rose Park - Bozeman, 12 holes Battle Ridge - Bozeman 18 holes,
We suggest new players to take a guide here, it’s very dense, and object based.
Cooke City Disc Golf Course Hallelula Country Club - Dillon
Are we missing your favorite course? Let us know at facebook.com/explorebigsky