Explore Big Sky - March 23 to April 5, 2023

SCHOOL DISTRICT PRESENTS BOND TO TAXPAYERS

BIG HORNS RAISE THE BAR AT STATE

USPS OPENS 30-DAY PUBLIC COMMENT

TRAFFIC CALMING ON OUSEL FALLS ROAD

March 23 - April 5, 2023

Volume 14, Issue No. 5

Owned and published in Big Sky, Montana PUBLISHER

Eric Ladd | eric@theoutlawpartners.com

EDITORIAL

MANAGING EDITOR

Jason Bacaj | jason@theoutlawpartners.com

DIGITAL PRODUCER

Julia Barton | julia@theoutlawpartners.com

STAFF WRITER

Jack Reaney | jack@theoutlawpartners.com

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT

Leslie Kilgore | leslie@theoutlawpartners.com

CREATIVE

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Trista Hillman | trista@theoutlawpartners.com

SALES AND OPERATIONS

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

Megan Paulson | megan@theoutlawpartners.com

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Treston Wold | treston@theoutlawpartners.com

VP DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Hiller Higman | hiller@theoutlawpartners.com

MEDIA AND EVENTS DIRECTOR

Ersin Ozer | ersin@theoutlawpartners.com

MARKETING MANAGER

Sophia Breyfogle | sophia@theoutlawpartners.com

CONTENT PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Mira Brody | mira@theoutlawpartners.com

MARKETING COORDINATOR

Tucker Harris | tucker@theoutlawpartners.com

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

Sara Sipe | sara@theoutlawpartners.com

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LEAD

Patrick Mahoney | patrick@theoutlawpartners.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Dan Egan, Jacob W. Frank, Gabrielle Gasser, Rachel Hergett, Jim Peaco, Benjamin Alva Polley, Paul Swenson, Keila Szpaller, Nate Tellstrom, Story Warren

OPENING SHOT

Big Sky Ski Education Foundation athlete Hayes Livernois catches air on Obsidian during an IFSA national freeride competition at Big Sky Resort in early March. Athletes from BSSEF snagged four spots on the podium, including three gold medals: Livernois took the highly-competitive boy’s 15-18 year old skier category, Mac Bertelson the 12-14 boy’s ski title, and Kennedy Cochenour and Sabine Hurlbut secured first and second in the 12-14 year old girl’s group.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

7

USPS OPENS 30-DAY PUBLIC COMMENT

The Big Sky Post Office may eventually become operated by the United States Postal Service, as suggested by a USPS press release announcing a public comment period for the Big Sky community on a possible facility upgrade. According to the current contract operator of the Big Sky Post Office, it’s a big and promising step to see USPS to pursue feedback from Big Sky residents after a few months of uncertainty.

BIG SKY RESORT OPENS HOUSING COMPLEX

In the first of three phases to open Levinski Lodge complex, Big Sky Resort added 35 employee beds on March 9. The apartmentstyle housing is new for Big Sky Resort, and officials say they hope it can provide more comfortable living for management-level positions. The resort also took efforts to build Levinsky Lodge into its sustainability goals.

8

TRAFFIC CALMING ON OUSEL FALLS ROAD

To help slow speeds and reduce total vehicle volume on Ousel Falls Road, the Big Sky Community Organization and Western Transportation Institute have partnered to install fixtures and street art in Town Center’s main roadway. Pedestrian safety will be a main focus for the project, which will be installed in May.

ON THE COVER:

Grayson Timon snowmobiles along Buck Ridge. The snowpack in both the Madison and Gallatin ranges was 115% of normal at the beginning of March, thanks to a rather snowy February, according to the Montana Natural Resource Conservation Service. PHOTO BY ERIC LADD

EDITORIAL POLICIES

EDITORIAL POLICY

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

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

SCHOOL DISTRICT PRESENTS BOND TO TAXPAYERS

For an additional $93 each year per million dollars of home value, the Big Sky School District plans to finish its three-phase master facilities plan by building a spectator-oriented gymnasium. The new gym would increase capacity from 365 to 1,150 as the Big Horns move into Montana’s Class B athletic conference.

BIG HORNS RAISE THE BAR AT STATE

The Lone Peak High School boys basketball team made their first ever state tournament appearance in early March. While the team’s result didn’t come with a trophy, coaches and players reflected with Explore Big Sky on a groundbreaking season that improved upon the Big Horns’ three-win campaign just one year ago.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters to the editor allow EBS readers to express views and share how they would like to effect change. These are not Thank You notes. Letters should be 250 words or less, respectful, ethical, accurate, and proofread for grammar and content. We reserve the right to edit letters and will not publish individual grievances about specific businesses or letters that are abusive, malicious or potentially libelous. Include: full name, address, phone number and title. Submit to media@outlaw.partners.

ADVERTISING DEADLINE

For the April 6, 2023 issue: March 29, 2023

CORRECTIONS

Please report errors to media@outlaw.partners.

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

© 2023 Explore Big Sky unauthorized reproduction prohibited

PHOTO BY JULIA BARTON

ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED IS DEEMED RELIABLE BUT IS NOT GUARANTEED AND SHOULD BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED. INFORMATION AND DEPICTIONS ARE SUBJECT TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, PRIOR SALES, PRICE CHANGES OR WITHDRAWAL WITHOUT NOTICE. NO GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY HAS JUDGED THE MERITS OR VALUE, IF ANY, OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ADVERTISEMENT OR ANY REAL ESTATE DESCRIBED OR DEPICTED HEREIN. THIS MATERIAL SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL IN ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE PRIOR REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED OR WHERE SUCH AN OFFER WOULD BE PROHIBITED, AND THIS SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH ANOTHER REAL

OBITUARY

Marek Krawczyk passed away February 27, 2023, at home alongside his family after a long and vigorous battle with cancer. Mark leaves behind his wife, Irene, daughter, Yolanda, son-in-law Mark locally in Big Sky and a brother and family in Poland. Mark cared for and loved his family dearly as well as the family’s 3 dogs.

Mark, and his family, are longtime locals and full time Big Sky residents for well over 15 years, enthusiasts of Montana’s rugged beauty from the first day arriving over 20+ years ago when both he and his wife first stepped foot here locally. Both are originally from Poland.

Many knew Mark as a man of many talents; a problem solver, a thinker, an artist, a master carpenter, builder, old-world craftsman in various fields that nothing really stood in his way. If he chose to put his mind to it, it was accomplished and then some.

Mark’s passion and hobby for cooking was loved by many. He savored in preparing delicious meals for both family and friends. When coming over or you simply stopped by you knew a warm welcome, fabulous meal and wonderful entertainment would be had. “Absolutely Delicious!” was heard often by many that experienced food at Big Sky’s Burger Bar that was once locally owned and

family operated, located in the heart of the Big Sky Resort’s Mountain Village Plaza area offering a variety of authentic Polish dishes as well as American favorites. Or maybe find Mark helping travelers with ski services located at both the base of the mountain or at the lower level of the Shoshone Condominium Hotel.

Mark enjoyed classical music while gardening, plants were therapeutic, and a green thumb was

natural for him. Mark enjoyed the outdoors as well as Montana’s wildlife, who at times would come up to the window as if looking in to say “hello”. Mark loved to travel with his family, sightseeing, intrigued with local history, the landscape, while enjoying the local foods that were prevalent, was a must.

Mark loved to read and was highly educated in many areas and fields of interest, referencing Mark often as “a walking encyclopedia”. A lover of history, art, design, herbs and naturopathic health, political matters, science, and so much more that when spending time with Mark there was always a conversation to be had, Mark loved to share his vast knowledge and encourage a “better and more meaningful life” to those that crossed his path. Mark’s time on this earth has been taken away too early, most say. Mark wanted to continue his journey to encourage life and contribute to the betterment of those around him. Most certainly, anyone that has had the opportunity to meet Mark, he wholeheartedly left them with nothing short of a positive impact and a welcoming embrace.

A dear friend says it best, “…deep grief expresses the deepest love and he’ll be well remembered for a life well lived.” We couldn’t agree more.

We love you and have you in our hearts forever!

Local Government Contracts Approved

Saving Property Taxpayers over $6 million

In the Big Sky Resort Area District’s (BSRAD) March 8 Board meeting, contracts were approved for Government Services for Fiscal Year 2024 (July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024). This is arguably one of the most foundational categories of Resort Tax funding. Traditionally funded through property taxes, fees, and assessments, local government entities provide community services like public safety, transit, and water and sewer.

For FY24, our commitments total over $6 million, directly offsetting property taxes. Highlights include:

Public Safety

Big Sky Fire Department

Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office

Our Public Safety organizations are always adapting and upgrading to provide Big Sky with the best services to keep our community safe.

The Sheriff’s Office will extend their coverage with the addition of two full-time deputies.

Equipment upgrades and the increasing use of the wildfire detection cameras help the Fire Department detect, assess, and pinpoint fires for swifter action.

Transit

Big Sky Transportation District

Additional Deputies

Skyline Bus, offering service throughout Big Sky, and between Big Sky and Bozeman, has introduced Big Sky Connect. This fare-free, on-demand service allows riders to request transportation around Big Sky Town Center and Meadow Village areas.

In its first two months, over 10,000 riders have taken over 7,600 rides with an average wait time of 7 minutes though Big Sky Connect.

Water & Sewer

Big Sky Water & Sewer District

Gallatin Canyon Water & Sewer District

The Big Sky County Water & Sewer District’s Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) project is well underway. The first phase, which covers upgrades to the WRRF to increase treatment capacity.

The second phase entails constructing a lift station and pipelines for the Gallatin Canyon, helping to eliminate some canyon area septic drain fields. The net result will improve water quality, address capacity issues, and minimize environmental impacts, most notably on the Gallatin River.

Find more information at: bigskywatersewer.com & gallatincanyonwsd.com

99% less bacteria & 90% less nitrogen & phosphorus entering the groundwater

LOCAL

NEWS IN BRIEF

WINTER STORM CAUSES MULTI-VEHICLE ACCIDENTS, ROAD CLOSURE ON US 191

EBS STAFF

U.S. Highway 191 was closed at 11:23 a.m. March 15 from Four Corners to the intersection with Lone Mountain Trail in Big Sky because of multiple accidents, according to the Montana Department of Transportation and Sgt. Dan Haydon with the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office. Authorities cleared the accidents and reopened the road by 2:23 p.m. on March 15.

At 10:15 a.m. a six-vehicle accident blocked both lanes of traffic at mile marker 66 prompting MDT to close the road, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Office. The release reported 16 total traffic incidents in the Big Sky area due to the weather between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on March 15. No injuries were reported.

CHANGE TO MONTANA CONSTITUTION WOULD EXPAND HUNTING, FISHING AND TRAPPING PROTECTIONS

EBS STAFF

Republican state lawmakers are pushing to amend Montana’s constitution to expand protections for hunting and fishing, while making trapping more challenging to regulate.

The amendment proposed under House Bill 372 would make hunting and fishing a constitutional “right” rather than the existing protected “opportunity.” Trapping, which is not currently protected in the Constitution, would also become a right. Proponents of the bill argue that constitutional protection for trapping is needed to prevent interest groups from seeking to regulate it. However, critics of the bill contend that it would give undue power to trappers and could impede wildlife management policies.

Versions of the bill have circulated the Legislature since 2017. The bill needs twothirds approval in the Legislature to move on to a public vote. The House Judiciary Committee has yet to take action on the bill.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Robert “Bob” Vozar passed away on Oct. 6, 2022. A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, April 2 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Riverhouse BBQ & Events, 45130 Gallatin Rd, Gallatin Gateway, MT 59730.

STATE LAWMAKERS MOVE TO CRIMINALIZE DRONE FLIGHTS OVER WILDFIRES

EBS STAFF

Flying drones over wildfires could soon result in criminal penalties under a bill gaining momentum in the Montana Legislature.

Unauthorized drone flights often force fire managers to suspend aerial firefighting efforts, according to reporting from Montana Public Radio. These drone pilots are currently subject to civil penalties, but Senate Bill 219 would make the infraction a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,500.

The bill moved into the House after passing the Senate with a 37-10 vote in February.

WALGREENS WILL NOT DISTRIBUTE ABORTION PILLS IN MONTANA

EBS STAFF

Walgreens says its pharmacies will not distribute medication abortion pills in Montana, despite a federal rule adopted in January allowing pharmacies to dispense the pills.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen was among 20 attorneys general from across the country that signed a letter threatening legal action against pharmacies that distribute Mifepristone, the drug used in abortion pills.

Patients previously had to obtain the medication directly from a healthcare provider, but the federal rule could expand access to rural communities. Walgreens has decided not to distribute the medication in the 20 states that threatened to take them to court.

GALLATIN COUNTY FORMS TASK FORCE TO HANDLE UNPROSECUTED SEX CRIMES

EBS STAFF

The Gallatin County Attorney’s Office has formed a joint task force to handle more than 100 unprosecuted sex crimes and domestic violence cases that were found in an empty office in January.

The case files stretch back to 2008 and total 113 cases, including 52 that involve some form of sexual violence against children, according to a Gallatin County press release. The files are “Request for Prosecutions,” which are investigations submitted by law enforcement agencies to the county attorney’s office for review. Once reviewed, the office decides whether to prosecute.

“Once I realized what they were, it made me sick to my stomach,” Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell stated in the release.

Cromwell, who took office in 2023, stated that the cases were deprioritized by the former administration. Cromwell emphasized in the press release that “law enforcement did everything properly” and that the failure occurred at the county attorney’s office.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

ACTION NEEDED TO MAKE U.S. HIGHWAY 191 TRAVEL CORRIDOR SAFER

Dear Editor,

We as a society must find alternative routes between Idaho Falls to Bozeman for shipping freight. Perhaps economic incentives, such as fast pass stations, can be employed to reduce increasingly heavy truck trafficking through America’s most sensitive wildlife corridors.

Following the recent Gallatin Valley Earth Day Committee event about safe wildlife crossings, a question was raised but not answered: “Instead of hardening the entire transportation corridor through the Yellowstone Ecosystem, how about regulating long haul trucking permits to avoid high speed travel and related visitor and wildlife resource impacts.”

According to Google Maps, the fastest way from Idaho Falls to Bozeman is through the sleepy cow town of Ennis on the Madison River wildlife corridor, with an expected drive time of 3hrs 49min. The same drive time through the Gallatin Canyon is 3hrs 52min. Same drive, but sticking to the designated freeways to Butte and then to Bozeman: 4hrs 10min.

Trucking dispatchers automatically select the quickest travel routes for the 36,000 trucks traveling from Idaho Falls to or through Bozeman each year and vice-versa.

All the carnage we have been experiencing from 18-wheelers driving too fast on our icy, narrow roads could be avoided by requiring corporate controllers to avoid trafficking freight through our Yellowstone ecosystem.

So tightly are these routes regulated, that I was told that a single DOT check station cost them more time than was saved by driving through Ennis, a drive where drivers are killing anything in their way because they can’t see, due to poor visibility—which is always the excuse given to law enforcement.

Eighteen minutes are saved by parsimonious computer programs that direct our essential transportation workers into peril: West Yellowstone’s buffalo highway has seen 19 bison killed this winter alone, with an equal number of elk at Gateway, so far. The unprotected Highway 20 in Island Park kills a lot of moose.

The Ennis travel corridor (U.S. Highway 287) saves the companies 21 minutes (compared to the interstate route). Multiplied by 36,000 trucks per year, it’s a noticeable impact. However, collisions, crashes and driving into the ditch because of poor visibility must make this shortcut a fool’s errand sometimes.

My question during the event was partially answered by a staffer for the Center for Large Landscape Conservation who said, “regulation of freight roads is an administrative policy issue,” controlled by DOT. Highway 191 has been temporarily closed in the past for administrative reasons.

Considering the increasing volume of trucks, can we ask our elected officials to request a DOT review of the status of freight roads through sensitive ecosystems. We should ask them to consider the cost of new regulations versus the cost of killing the wild animals that make our home so special. Which way is easier?

Bob Lindstrom Local resident Hebgen Lake

USPS TO OPEN 30-DAY PUBLIC COMMENT FOR BIG SKY POST OFFICE

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—The Big Sky Post Office continues to approach a long-term solution.

“The Postal Service has begun the research process to add a new postal operated retail facility in Big Sky,” stated a March 10 press release from the United States Postal Service.

“The proposed project includes finding a suitable location, preparing it for use as a Post Office, and transitioning operations from the current contractor operated facility to the new postal operated facility.”

Al Malinowski, President of Gallatin Partners—which operates the Big Sky Post Office and originally sparked action in October from USPS by announcing a termination to their 21 years of contract service—told EBS that he anticipates this announcement refers to a federally-operated post office.

“In the basket of long-term solutions that we’ve been asking for, it’s something we’ve been asking them to consider,” Malinowski said.

“A federally operated facility has potential to provide more efficient and additional services to the Big Sky community.”

Some changes could include passport services, mail status scanning and automated point-ofsale system—Malinowski reinforced his past discussion with EBS about the limitations of operating a contract postal unit, as Gallatin Partners has done since 2001 when Big Sky’s population was just over 1,000. It has roughly tripled since.

With regards to the contract’s expiration on May 31 Malinowski said his team remains committed to being the bridge to a positive solution. He suggested that a future extension may be in order.

“This certainly is some of the progress we were hoping for,” he said. “Understanding that to do this right, it’s going to take some time.”

To ensure USPS does it right, the public will have a chance to weigh in.

A 30-day public comment period will begin when postcards are delivered to residents of Big Sky’s postal area—zip code 59716. USPS will consider feedback from the community before making final determinations and asked for patience from the community given “a project of this magnitude.”

Malinowski said he hopes USPS will consider adding the Gallatin Canyon portion of Big Sky into its zip code. The canyon is currently serviced by Gallatin Gateway Post Office, which creates confusion for Big Sky customers multiple times per day. He said that’s one topic worth bringing up during public comment, as a unified zip code would streamline mail service for USPS if it does take over.

“Also, this is a great opportunity to share other services that [community members] see in other communities, that we don’t have,” Malinowski said.

The office of U.S. Senator Steve Daines sent a release about the development, noting that the senator has been in written contact with Postmaster Louis DeJoy about issues in the Bozeman area, as well as advocating for improved Big Sky facilities.

“I have long advocated for the USPS to provide better service to Montanans in every corner of our state so I am grateful the U.S. Postal Service is taking the first step to possibly provide improved service to Big Sky,” Daines stated in the release.

HOUSING

BIG SKY RESORT OPENS LEVINSKI LODGE

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—Big Sky Resort continues to chip away at its workforce housing challenge, adding 35 beds mid-season in the first of three buildings at the new Levinski Complex.

The opening marks progress for the resort’s goal to provide housing for 50% of the winter workforce by early 2024. After the completion of Levinski Complex buildings B and C, the resort expects to provide 1,000 beds in the Mountain Village by next winter—roughly half of the winter staff.

“We want our team members to live right here in Big Sky. It enlivens the community, and it’s better for the employee, atmosphere, and climate,” stated Troy Nedved, the resort’s general manager, in a press release from the resort. The Levinski Lodge is located within walking distance of the base area, which will reduce pressure on transportation infrastructure.

Building A features apartment-style housing, a first for the resort. Each apartment is fully furnished, and includes a full kitchen, common space, bathrooms, storage closets, and free laundry

facilities in the building, according to the release. Some tenants will move in with families.

“Recognizing that we need more diverse and affordable housing options is crucial to address the housing shortage in the Big Sky community,” Nedved stated. “Apartment-style units address a part of the population that has not quite fit in our other housing offerings.”

Buildings B and C will include a mix of dorms and apartments.

Amy Fonte, resort sustainability specialist, stated that the Levinski Complex includes low-flow water fixtures, an energy-efficient HVAC system and rooftop solar panels as a partial power source.

Now offering 826 beds in Big Sky, the resort provides more than seven times the ski industry average, according to the release. Big Sky Resort also offers employee housing in Bozeman and employees get a free pass to ride the Skyline Bus.

TRAFFIC CALMING PROJECT SET FOR OUSEL FALLS ROAD

WILL

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—A traffic calming project to reduce speeds and increase sidewalk visibility will affect drivers on Ousel Falls Road later this spring.

The Big Sky Community Organization and Western Transportation Institute officially partnered in January 2022, and received Resort Tax funding to install interim “pop-up” fixtures on Ousel Falls Road as early as May 2023. The project aims to slow vehicles and reduce total traffic volume, and will include street art as a “place-making” component, according to WTI researcher Matt Madsen. A community meeting will be held at BASE on Thursday, March 23 at 5:30 p.m. to present the plan and collect feedback from residents and commuters.

“As a community member, I would advise all community members that drive on Ousel Falls Road to come,” said Ashley Wilson, BSCO controller. “Matt and his team [will present] what installations are going to be in place… It’s giving the community a chance to have input on these traffic installations that are going to affect their daily drives, [whether] they go up to the [Yellowstone or Spanish Peaks clubs] or around Town Center.”

Wilson said that former BSCO Parks and Trails Director Adam Johnson kickstarted the project. BSCO began looking at pedestrian and cycling safety in Town Center, as Ousel Falls Road has grown increasingly busy in the past decade due to industrial traffic. Wilson has seen near-misses, especially during Music in the Mountains concerts and farmers markets—traffic doesn’t slow down for those events, she said.

In tandem with the Big Sky Transportation District’s goal to reduce personal vehicles, Wilson said BSCO saw the need to improve safety and connectivity for cyclists and pedestrians.

The Western Transportation Institute is an outreach center at Montana State University, said Madsen, who focuses on mobility and public transit, bicycle and pedestrian connectivity and transportation demand management.

Madsen met with BSCO, Lone Mountain Land Company and other community partners in the past year. His working group conducted a “walk audit” in September, and using all the data, “[looked] at the main crossing areas on Ousel Falls Road to identify some spots to install some traffic calming and slow [vehicle] speeds, increase visibility for pedestrians, and do some place-making.”

Interim-style projects are affordable and allow WTI to test the impact before there’s actual road reconstruction, Madsen said. If the fixtures are successful, they will re-install interim fixtures every year until a road goes through its regular reconstruction process.

Madsen also met with Big Sky Arts Council to ensure the street art component fits with the community. In past projects, Madsen has leaned on neighbors adjacent to a street art installment to inspire representative art.

“As long as it’s not political or controversial, we work with them to support that process,” Madsen said. He added that some combination of local artists, high school students and art-loving community members might complete Big Sky’s place-making street art. After installing traffic calming components, WTI will measure the impact on vehicle volume, speed and driver yielding rates. The working group will also conduct surveys to gauge community feedback and input on the efforts. A final report will be released in early summer 2023, including further recommendations for connectivity in Big Sky beyond Ousel Falls Road.

Madsen said the March 23 meeting is intended to provide transparency before moving forward.

“We’ll present the ideas for traffic calming, get input from community members, businesses, and start the next steps of the process: materials procurement, encroachment permit, submittal.

“Community engagement with these projects is very important, especially because [traffic calming will] be in areas that are high-traffic, so people should be aware [of] what’s going on, and the reasons behind it,” Madsen added.

“If a community member wants to give input, has an opinion, we’d love to hear it,” Wilson said.

Madsen said that although certain goals parallel the TIGER grant work on Montana Highway 64 which will continue this summer, the traffic calming project is not related in leadership, purpose or funding.

Wilson thanked Resort Tax “for supporting a safer Big Sky by funding this project.”

The project received $16,320 in fiscal year 2023.

Bedroom in a ‘Levinski Lodge A’ apartment. PHOTO BY MORGAN SCHULTE / BIG SKY RESORT

Kitchen in a 'Levinski Lodge A' apartment. PHOTO BY MORGAN SCHULTE / BIG SKY RESORT

BSCO AND MSU’S WESTERN TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE

INSTALL FIXTURES AND STREET ART IN MAY FOR PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLIST SAFETY

Vehicle congestion on Ousel Falls Road just after 5 p.m. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

TRANSPORTATION AND CLIMATE ACTION DISCUSSED AT BSRAD

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—Discussions of Big Sky’s Climate Action Plan and Big Sky Transportation District highlighted a quicker-than-usual Big Sky Resort Area District meeting on Wednesday, March. 8.

Other topics included the capital improvement plan defining long-term investment strategy for public funds, fiscal year 2024 resort tax funding requests, improving BSRAD’s cash reserve investment strategy, and a brief update on the Big Sky Local Governance group that recently hit the brakes on its efforts to engage the public. The meeting was attended by Jennifer Boyer, recently elected to the Gallatin County Commission.

Big Sky Sustainability Network Organization’s director of community sustainability Lizzie Peyton and Big Sky Resort sustainability specialist Amy Fonte spoke about the recently unveiled Climate Action Plan. They summarized the plan’s four targeted improvement priorities: energy and buildings, natural environment, transportation, and consumption and waste.

On energy, they said are representing Big Sky in a collaboration between Bozeman, Missoula and Helena to negotiate renewable energy rates with Northwest Energy.

On natural environment, they plan to distribute guides for homeowners looking to implement fire-safe and habitat-friendly landscaping.

On waste and consumption, Peyton described Big Sky SNO’s process of “data driven dumpster diving,” in which the group studies large quantities of waste and separates it into 30 categories.

“Currently we’ve sorted through, I think, 8,000 pounds of trash,” Peyton said. “We have found the current data is just over 15% of what goes into the landfill is actually divertible with systems in place that we currently have.”

BSRAD board chair Sarah Blechta asked what percentage of edible food could be recovered. Peyton responded that 28% percent of food studied by Big Sky SNO was edible, and she agreed with the board’s suggestion that a better effort could be made to support the Big Sky Community Food Bank.

“Composting is fantastic, don’t want to diminish it,” Peyton said “[But] you should be trying to feed other humans with edible food first.”

One less car

On transportation, Fonte polled the boardroom on how people got to Big Sky. None rode the bus, none rode Big Sky Connect micro transit, and all drove their own cars.

“We have a lot of room for improvement in transportation,” Fonte said. “It [causes] one-

third of our greenhouse gas emissions in our community.”

Big Sky One Less Car, the carpooling incentive which offers $30 gifts cards from participating businesses to commuters who logged shared rides or bus rides, had 62 participants in February.

To reach the CAP goal of net-zero emissions, “it takes literally every single person in this community, whether you’re a full-time resident, second homeowner, a visitor, a business owner—every single person needs to be a part of this solution.”

The CAP discussion on limiting individual cars reinforced an update from Big Sky Transportation District board chair Ennion Williams, who highlighted the early success of Big Sky Connect micro transit and the challenges of serving the entire resort area district. Williams also works for Outlaw Partners, the publisher of Explore Big Sky.

Big Sky Connect has served 10,000 passengers since launching on Jan. 2, Williams said. The service averages 150-200 rides per day.

The BSRAD board asked Williams questions, clarifying the physical boundaries of the service. They pointed out that as soon as possible, Big Sky Connect should be serving the entire resort area district to make fair use of taxpayer dollars.

“I think that at the end of the season, it’s my hope that we’re able to bring online Hidden Village and Powder Light,” Williams said. In past discussion with EBS, district executive director Darren Brugmann outlined plans to expand the current service area to those locations after collecting data in early months after implementation.

Board discussion also included deeper connection with Bozeman’s Streamline Bus. The Streamline may benefit from an upcoming ballot-item which would affirm urban transportation district, according to Commissioner Boyer. If it passes, the district would go online in September.

“That will allow Streamline to change its fiscal headquarters to that entity, so they can still receive federal funds,” Boyer said.

Capital improvement

Four months after the board agreed to pursue a contractor to update Big Sky’s Capital Improvement Plan, Daniel Bierschwale, BSRAD executive director, said that TischlerBise is under contract and will begin their work soon.

Board member Kevin Germain spoke in support of an economic impact analysis.

“We felt [it] would be extremely beneficial to show other partners the dollars that are being generated in this community… I think

it [would be] very wise dollars spent and something worth pulling together.”

Data could help improve applications for grants across nonprofits and government services.

The board approved a motion to pursue an economic impact analysis to be updated every two years, contracting with the Northern Rocky Mountain Economic Development District.

Board secretary and treasurer Steve Johnson provided an update on past board discussion on making better use of cash reserves, which rarely get below eight figures in the bank due to BSRAD’s conservative strategy.

“We have been given the go ahead to hire an attorney to consider the possibility of investing our pile of cash, which is significant,” Johnson said. “Expect a proposal from us relatively soon on that. This is a huge deal.”

Johnson said BSRAD is currently earning money market rates—he said that’s 1%—on cash, “which is rather pathetic. We can do better and we will.”

Later in the meeting, Bierschwale introduced the fiscal year 2024 overview. Funding requests were $11,094,535 in total, which exceeded the $7.9 million in BSRAD’s budget. In fiscal year 2023, Resort Tax distributed $7,998,179 to 66 projects.

“Another good reason to have a capital improvement plan. We can’t save for things in the process. This is not working, so we need this [CIP] in order to save our dollars in an effective way.”

The board briefly addressed the incorporation of Big Sky as a municipality.

“We are working with a few people who are a part of that group to try to sort out what next steps are,” Blechta said. “There were some changes in the group, so we are trying to help facilitate with all parties to make sure everybody can keep talking and moving things forward, openly and with everybody at the table. We’re hoping to have some good information here in the next few months, but no other real update at this point.”

PHOTO BY JULIA BARTON

BASE CELEBRATES ONE YEAR WITH FREE CLASSES AND CONTESTS

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—On Monday, March 13, BASE hosted a free community event to celebrate one year of ‘Big Adventures, Safe Environment.’

From 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., staff instructors taught free classes in yoga, spin, pickleball and primal movement. The event also included a half-court shot challenge in the gym, a climbing wall challenge for kids and adults, and a raffle for an annual BASE pass, awarded to one adult, worth $600.

“We want everybody here,” BASE director Madeleine Feher told EBS before the event. “We really want to showcase the facility and thank the community for making BASE the success that it has been. It’s been an outstanding year… The community buy-in has been amazing.”

According to a press release, BASE saw 51,830 visits in its first year. Operated by the Big Sky Community Organization, CEO Whitney Montgomery called it “a watershed moment” for the community behind BSCO’s goal of providing year-round recreation. The release also stated, “with over half of the community involved in BASE programming, the goal is to showcase all BASE has to offer to those who haven’t been into the facility, while also thanking our loyal passholders.”

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the success of this past year than opening our doors to the community,” Feher stated. “BASE was built by the community for the community. The community is at the center of all we do.”

Feher told EBS that the center’s goal is to provide not just leagues, teams and fitness, but community-building events.

“For example, we did a community building wellness-oriented line dancing class,” she said. “We had record-breaking numbers for that class. It was at the right time, and it brought in an amazing group of community members.”

In its first year, BASE staff learned more about what draws people in, Feher added.

For the upcoming year, BASE will not increase pass prices—with the exception of one offering. The current pricing covers 60% of operating costs, with the remainder met through Resort Tax funding and philanthropic support.

“We learned a lot over this past year in terms of what works and what doesn’t in our facility,” Feher stated. “Our team has listened to the feedback in the community and will be offering a few key changes to our passes for those renewing in March. I’m proud that the prices are not increasing for all but one pass… In a ski town where everything carries a higher cost for local residents, we are proud of being able to offer such a low price point for our annual passes.”

The only increase in pass pricing affects the youth pass, which will increase by $5 per month and tighten the age category from 3- to 22-year-olds, to 12- to 18-year-olds.

Feher explained that despite BASE policy stating that children under 13 must be supervised, many pass-holding children were dropped off at BASE which created safety hazards and in some cases, damaged equipment.

“There were too many loose ends,” Feher said. Kids were—and still are—allowed to be unsupervised while participating in a program, but many ran free.

The senior aged pass decreased by $5 per month, in an effort to attract a wider share of Big Sky elders, and visitor/day passes also increased to help offset the cost of keeping community passes affordable, Feher said.

BASE also discounts meeting spaces by 50% for nonprofits, mostly to cover costs of setup and cleaning, Feher said.

About her team of BASE staff, Feher said, “they are amazing. They make this facility, this community center what it is… They are engaged, caring individuals. They are behind the mission we are trying to achieve. We have a lot of fun doing what we do.”

BASE is a community fitness center, climbing gym, meeting space and wellness activity center. PHOTO COURTESY OF BASE

SCHOOL DISTRICT TO BRING BOND TO TAXPAYERS

PHASE THREE OF BIG SKY SCHOOL DISTRICT’S MASTER FACILITY PLAN REQUIRES $19.85

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY— The Big Sky School District will hold a series of presentations around adding $19.85 million of debt over the 17 years remaining on its current school bond in order to complete the final phase of its master facilities plan.

Phases one and two included the multipurpose turf field and track, and the science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (S.T.E.A.M.) laboratory. Phase three aims to bring indoor athletic facilities up to the standards of Montana Class B— the school-size athletic division which Lone Peak High School will join after this school year.

District Superintendent Dustin Shipman hopes district taxpayers—the Gallatin County side of Big Sky—will learn about the bond by attending one of three remaining sessions: March 29, 6:30 p.m. at Ophir Elementary School Library; April 5, 6:45 p.m. at BASE; or April 19, 6:30 p.m. at the WMPAC.

“This is all from 2020, we’re just trying to get it across the finish line,” Shipman said on the threephase plan.

The school bond will be voted on by mail-in ballots, which should arrive in April, and are due to the Gallatin County election office by May 2.

“The narrative is really around growth,” Big Sky School Board trustee Kara Edgar told EBS. “Because student enrollment continues to grow, we’re forced to move from a Class C school to a Class B school. We’re basically building the facilities to reflect that need in the community.”

Edgar pointed out that following growth projections—2.5% per year, on average—total enrollment will reach 500 students by the time next year’s kindergarten class graduates high school. Total enrollment broke 300 students between 2014 and 2015, and 400 students between 2020 and 2021.

As a Class B school, Shipman said the current, 365seat gym won’t cut it.

“Most of our [basketball] games were ‘sell outs,’” Shipman said. “I know from growing up in Montana sports, [opponents] bring half of their town, if not more, to away games.”

Shipman said the Class B high school gyms in Townsend, Big Timber and Whitehall have seating capacities of 1,200, 950 and 800, respectively. He

also mentioned that Manhattan Christian High School has hosted nearly every district basketball tournament since he’s been superintendent. That gym seats 1,500.

Big Sky’s proposed gymnasium would seat 1,150. With two total gyms and one built for prime-time action, Shipman said Lone Peak High School would be able to bid on hosting tournaments. Edgar said that could bring new people to Big Sky, filling hotels and restaurants.

Aside from big games, Shipman described the limitations of a single gym. Some team is always practicing, he said, forcing tough schedules on student-athletes and parents.

Edgar said the youth basketball season is only six weeks long due to practice constraints, which disappoints her own kids. Pickleball and futsal are open to the public but face limited gym-time.

“One thing the school district really heard when we did the master facility planning… and will be a nice thing for the community is an indoor walking track,” Shipman said, adding that security measures will separate access between students and public. “We’re really trying to open this up to the community as much as we possibly can.”

Tax impact

The bond’s additional tax impact will be $92.40 annually for every million dollars in taxable home value, or $7.70 per month. It folds into the existing 20-year bond which has about 17 years remaining, Shipman said.

“The board wants to be very prudent with taxpayer dollars, and make sure people understand this is really coming from a need in the school community as opposed to, ‘let’s build for the sake of building,’” Edgar said. “We’re acutely aware of rising building cost throughout the country, and rising labor cost here in Big Sky. The goal here is to accurately complete all three phases.”

Shipman pointed out that the school district’s tax impact is decreasing.

“Even though we’re taking on more debt, the impact is going down because the tax footprint of the community is getting much larger,” Shipman said.

“Our hope is to engage the community at a number of different events, either here on campus or one at the center of town, to get information out to the community,” Edgar said.

Montana school districts can only fund new infrastructure with local taxpayer revenue, Shipman said.

MILLION TO ADD A SECOND, LARGER GYMNASIUM

The proposed indoor athletic facility beside Lone Peak High School would triple seating capacity and feature an indoor walking track on its perimeter. COURTESY OF BSSD

THE TEAM THAT RAISED THE BAR SPORTS

BY JACK REANEY

BILLINGS—The Lone Peak High School Big Horns bounced back from their March 9 loss with a strong showing the next morning, but couldn’t hang with the Lustre Christian High School Lions and fell 59-48.

The Lions were undefeated in the regular season, holding the No. 1 rank in all of Class C during that time. Following an upset loss to Big Sandy High School on March 9, the Lions challenged the Big Horns for a spot in the state consolation bracket semifinal.

The Big Horns started cold in the state tournament, losing their first-round match against Broadus High School, but players and coaches expressed hope considering their recent history of winning elimination games during the district and divisional tournaments.

The Lions edged a two-point lead with a buzzerbeating layup to end the first quarter, but the Big Horns responded to take a 15-11 lead early in the second. Junior Juliusz Shipman had a pair of early 3-pointers, and senior captain Max Romney gave the Big Horns an 18-14 lead with a three of his own—his ninth point in the first half.

After Romney’s basket, the Lions finished the second quarter on a 14-2 run, sending the Big Horns to the locker room with an eight-point deficit.

The bleeding continued after halftime and the Big Horns fell further behind. Midway through the third quarter they trailed 38-22. Sophomore Isaac Bedway’s 3-pointer helped make a dent, but

the Lions kept control and held a 42-30 lead to begin the fourth.

It took two minutes for Romney and fellow captain Gus Hammond to get their boys back on track. Romney—who would lead both teams in scoring with 19 points—opened the quarter with a pair from the charity stripe, and Hammond tacked on five more between a forceful layup and a 3-pointer. Suddenly 42-37 with six minutes remaining, the Lions answered by burning three minutes and scoring seven to restore a 12-point advantage.

As the clock ticked closer to a bus ride home, the Big Horns failed to spark a dramatic comeback. Shipman, Romney, Bedway and Hammond added can’t-miss baskets, but Lustre Christian executed on their possessions and foul shots to secure the victory.

Head coach Al Malinowski saw the Lions and their fans cheering in the final seconds. In the locker room after the game, he reminded the Big Horns that it’s a sign of respect when the No. 1 ranked team is excited to beat your program.

“They’re a tough team,” said head coach Al Malinowski. “They go eight deep. Up until yesterday, they were undefeated, the No. 1 team in the state.”

“I saw a team that’s battled all year, that’s had their back against the wall so many times,” he added. “And they keep fighting. I am incredibly proud of this team. It hurts right now…. If you told me Nov. 18 that we’d suffer two losses at the state tournament, I’d say that’s a pretty good season.”

Malinowski hopes his players will quickly recognize that they’ve changed the standard—not just for Lone Peak boys basketball, but for the athletic program and community—by showing they can excel.

“I think we’ll be able to look back and say this was the team that raised the bar for this overall program,” Malinowski said.

He gave credit to seniors for their leadership and said this season will put Lone Peak in a stronger position as they transition into Class B next year. While they don’t expect to dominate, Malinowski said they’ll be prepared to compete.

Freshman Ebe Grabow said the Big Horns will get to work early, get a solid team going, and hopefully earn another shot at state. Bedway said he learned this season to communicate with teammates and hopes to fill the void of leadership that all four seniors will leave.

“We’re going to need certain people to step up,” Bedway said. “We’re gonna play a lot in the summer and work out with each other, learn to play each other, and be ready.”

Not a bad place to go out

Hammond and Romney were emotional in the final moments of their high school careers. From the corner, Hammond splashed the Big Horns’ final points and wiped tears after sending the Lions back to the free throw line. After shaking hands, the captains paused to hug while their teammates walked through a tunnel of high-fives from a few dedicated classmates.

A few minutes later, Hammond’s voice echoed from the locker room.

“BIG HORNS ON THREE, FAMILY ON SIX,” he shouted, and the team answered. Shortly after, the team shared laughter and some walked out with a smile.

“You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone,” Hammond told EBS. “Basketball has been, quite frankly, my only sport. So it’s going to be a big change. Yeah, it hit pretty hard.”

As a freshman, Ebe Grabow made an impact as a starter for Lone Peak football and basketball.

PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ

Senior captain Gus Hammond makes a steal in the second half of the Big Horns' season-ending loss.

PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ

Romney added, “it’s too bad. Put so much into this sport, too bad to go out like that. Every team goes home with a loss except for one. To be one of the top eight teams in the state and just be here, is pretty awesome. I can’t help but feel proud that we’ve done that.”

Both captains agreed they left it all on the court in their second tournament loss.

“We wanted it a lot more today,” Romney said. “We wanted to win. We played much more team basketball today, found the open man, made some nice passes. I think today we just worked a lot harder.”

“We had to get a game under our belt in the state tournament,” Hammond said. “We had to put it all out there. You lose and you go home, and unfortunately we went home. But we left it all out on the court.”

Romney thanked fans for making the long drive from Big Sky, and said he looks forward to helping the team get ready in the offseason before heading off to college.

After speaking with EBS, Romney and Hammond walked back into the gymnasium, now mostly empty as state competition paused for the afternoon.

“Not a bad to place to go out, huh?” Romney said, patting his teammate on the back.

Romney attacked the paint throughout his final game with Lone

Peak. PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ

The Lion defense was strong in the paint on Friday morning.

PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ

CURLING: LPC BESTS BIG SKY ROCK

BIG SKY CURLING LEAGUE CROWNS A FAMILIAR CHAMPION

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—You may question the athleticism required for the Olympic sport of curling. On a winter Friday night in Big Sky, you’ll find evidence to support that argument: beer cans, YETIs and a liberal dose of people standing around.

But watch the right team closely, and you’ll discover power, finesse, communication and maximum exertion—either vigorous, well-practiced sweeping or fierce shouting from competitive throwers. Furthermore, when snowflakes collect and the ice adopts a certain texture, you’ll see grown adults heaving a 40-pound “stone” with all their might. Said conditions took effect on March 3-4, as the Big Sky Curling League, organized by the Big Sky Skating and Hockey Association and Big Sky Community Organization, finished its season with a single-elimination tournament. Near-constant snow increased the surface friction at the Marty Pavelich Ice Rink, forcing players from 20 teams to slide the stones with more than double the typical force needed—the tournament favored brute strength over precision. By the end of the second day, Lone Peak Cannabis and Big Sky Rock had each played three matches in six hours before facing off under the lights and heavy snow.

“That’s Big Sky curling,” said Jeff Trulen, who launched the local league. “But to any seasoned curler, that’s not curling.”

Trulen founded the league about five years ago after signing his kids up for hockey and learning that the rink wasn’t getting a lot of use. To help the BSSHA, he suggested they purchase some curling stones. Trulen’s only background in curling came from the previous winter in Bozeman. The Big Sky Community Organization took over the league this season, but Trulen still enjoys taking care of the ice.

“Ice is the most important part of curling. Without good ice it becomes a ‘huck fest,’” he said.

The object of the game is to place as many stones as possible closer to the target than the opponent’s nearest attempt. Each team throws eight stones per “end” (round of throws) toward the target, and the closer team gains a point for each stone (within the target) closer than the opponent’s best. One team could score as many as eight points per end, or, if all 16 stones missed, neither team would score.

But in Big Sky, many players don’t know the rules when they sign up.

In its first year, Trulen said the league sold out quickly. He thinks it helps shorten winters by providing a Friday night activity with friends, and he compared it to Big Sky’s 22-year-old softball league.

“Curling brings a different dynamic of people to the rink,” said Ryan Blechta, BSSHA President and board member of the BSCO, which absorbed BSSHA in 2022. “Anyone can do it. That’s why it’s so popular… I don’t think it’s ever going away.”

Blechta gave credit to BSSHA volunteers, who have made curling possible through ice care and fundraising since the beginning. Both Blechta and Trulen helped teach curling-ice maintenance to BSCO folks, which Blechta said is the hardest part

due to variable conditions—his team, “Variable Conditions,” made a surprising run to the frozen four.

The Big Sky Curling League had 28 teams this year, the most ever. Trulen said they don’t advertise sign-ups, but every year, the league sells out. His team, “They Probably Cheated,” suffered a firstround playoff loss to the “12-ounce curls,” but he’ll be back.

March Madness

After earning a first-round bye, Big Sky Rock began their quest for a repeat championship at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 4. They won three matches in a row, and captain Scott Altman said they didn’t stop for dinner before they met a familiar foe at 7 p.m.—Lone Peak Cannabis.

One LPC player told EBS they have “the best pregame in the business.” Following a firstround bye of their own, LPC opened Saturday competition at 1 p.m., and had a break during the

2:15 slot before returning to win the quarter- and semifinals by nightfall.

Sources said league organizers tried to postpone the tournament due to weather. Curlers opposed the notion, given their professional and family commitments outside the sport. Heavy snow or shine, LPC and Big Sky Rock were determined to compete for the belt.

Both teams agreed to Zamboni the ice—by shovel and dry mop—after alternating throws, clearing snow and speeding up the ice. Still, players used both feet to push off the hacks (footholds lodged in the ice) and sprawled onto their stomachs. On a typical night, curling requires delicate balance and touch. But, as Trulen said, it was Big Sky curling.

Entering the fourth of six ends, LPC held a 2-1 advantage. To skirt the friction—and perhaps the rules—team captain Charlie Gaillard threw a stone which wobbled like a spinning coin. When asked where he learned that technique, he described, without hesitation, a nonsensical story about his

Both teams shared smiles after a long, arduous playoff tournament. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

Big Sky Rock’s Scott Altman lays out to throw the stone with sufficient force—Big Sky curling in a nutshell. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

travels to Newfoundland. LPC placed one stone closer than Big Sky Rock and extended their lead to 3-1.

In the fifth and penultimate end, Big Sky Rock cut the margin to 3-2. The Big Sky Curling League rested in the balance of inches as the curlers advanced to the sixth end.

With their final stone, Big Sky Rock needed a bullseye to trump LPC’s best, roughly 2 feet from the center of the target.

But LPC had placed a blocker—a stone in front of the target—and it blocked Big Sky Rock’s hopes of keeping the belt.

“We asked to play [LPC] during the season, we didn’t get ‘em,” Altman said. “We played a little friendly, we beat them in the friendly, and when it came to the end, that’s who we wanted to play. We’ll get it back next year though.”

EBS spoke with the three-time champions: Tucker and Drew Vanyo, Charlie Gaillard and Brit Barnes—a former Big Sky resident who commutes from Billings for the sport.

“We all sponsor the team, we all own small businesses, and it’s kind of a cool thing—” Barnes said, before he was interrupted by celebration as his teammates scribbled their name into the center of the bracket.

Gaillard said it means a lot to take the belt back from Big Sky Rock, “because they’re super good.” “We all want it, we’re all homies, super good friends.” Tucker said on LPC’s strengths. Barnes pointed out that it took him two years to get on the team, as he was “vetted appropriately” for his commitment.

In the offseason, Big Sky Rock plans to conduct “lot of dryland training,” Altman said. “Minnesota—no telling where we’ll be.”

His teammate added, “suitcase carries, mostly.”

After a direct prompt by EBS, one LPC curler shouted, “we’re going to Disneyland” and both teams sipped champagne in the snow.

MONTANA STATE FALLS SHORT IN NCAA TOURNAMENT, 77-65

BY ANDREW HOUGHTON SKYLINE SPORTS

GREENSBORO, N.C.—RaeQuan Battle, back straight as a plumb line, rose above Kansas State’s defense for another deadeye jumper.

A year after losing their first-round NCAA Tournament game 97-62 to Texas Tech, the Montana State Bobcats—and especially Battle— left a much stronger impression of themselves at the Big Dance.

Against another 3-seed from the Big 12, though, it wasn’t quite enough in a 77-65 loss to Kansas State at the Coliseum in Greensboro on Friday night.

Battle finished with 27 eye-catching points, catapulting off the floor like a space shuttle headed for orbit to get his jump shot away, but Kansas State answered every Montana State punch down the stretch of a second half in which the Bobcats closed to within single digits multiple times but never got closer than four points.

All-American point guard Markquis Nowell finished with 17 points, 14 assists and six rebounds for Kansas State, while Keyontae Johnson had 18.

It was Nowell who had the biggest responses for the Wildcats, hitting a deep 3 to answer one

from Nick Gazelas midway through the second half and firing a selection of seeing-eye passes through Montana State’s increasingly desperate defense.

It took until there were under three minutes left for Kansas State to completely ice the game, when Nowell answered a Darius Brown II 3-pointer with a laser to Nae’Qwan Tomlin for a dunk to stretch the lead back out to 10 points.

On Montana State’s ensuing possession, Brown lost the ball and intentionally fouled David N’Guessan on the fast break, leading to two points on the free throws and two more on the free possession to make it a 14-point game with 2:15 left.

Montana State opened the game in a two-big lineup with Jubrile Belo and Great Osobor both on the floor, and led 12-10 with 13:42 left in the first half after Battle’s 4-point play.

Kansas State never led by double digits in the first half, and took a 34-28 lead to the locker room.

Great Osobor added 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Montana State.

Kansas State also won its second round game to advance to the Sweet 16. The Wildcats are scheduled to play Michigan State on March 23 at 4:30 p.m. MST.

Curling stones lined up for the first round of tournament play on Friday, as snow began to fall.

PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

RaeQuan Battle skies for a shot against Northern Arizona in February 2022. PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ

Lone Peak Cannabis celebrated their third title on Saturday, March 4.

PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

REGIONAL

BILL TO OPEN MORE WALKUP CAMPSITES IN MONTANA SAILING THROUGH

BY KEILA SZPALLER DAILY MONTANAN

Helping Montanans have a better shot at camping in state parks is a popular idea.

House Bill 440, which would limit the number of reserved campsites at 80% in order to allow more walkups, passed unanimously in committee, and then it passed unanimously in the House. The state senate’s fish and game commission is scheduled to have a hearing on the bill on March 28.

Rep. Steve Gunderson, R-Libby, had said the bill was aimed at creating more availability for Montanans, who sometimes want to go camping spontaneously in the summer. That’s hard to do because reservations fill up fast and well in advance.

If the bill continues to sail toward the governor’s desk and gets a signature, it would affect 12 of the 25 state parks that currently allow camping, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, more people have been venturing outdoors.

A 2022 Montana State Parks visitation report described “explosive” growth in 2020, and it counted 3.4 million visitors to parks in 2021, just shy of the record in 2020 — but still 27.7% over 2019.

As popular destinations in the state, such as Glacier National Park, draw more tourists and fill up, visitors who get turned away are putting pressure on other recreational areas, Gunderson explained during a hearing.

The idea with the bill is the remaining 20% of campsites that can’t be reserved ahead of time will be open to walkups.

That way, locals who might not want to plan a weekend trip in their near-backyard months ahead of time have a better shot at a lastminute getaway—although the bill does not ban nonresidents from walkups either.

At least one neighboring state has a different way of giving its residents a leg up, although Montana might not be able to follow suit.

Gary Schoene with Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, said most sites require reservations in his state, and Wyoming residents can reserve a site up to 120 days in advance. However, he said nonresidents have to wait one more week, 113 days before their trip.

The change started about three years ago, partly in response to Covid-19 and the huge increase in demand for campsites, including when Colorado closed down and its residents

turned to Wyoming to go camping, Schoene said.

“We still get a ton of Colorado people up at our southern parks, but we’re getting a lot of Wyoming people now too,” Schoene said.

Some sites still are available on a first come, first served basis, however. Schoene said some people like “hunting” a campsite, and then some campers also don’t know if they’ll have a weekend off until the day before, so the system accommodates them, too.

At the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, Craig Quintana said campsite reservations were “a hot topic” at the legislature roughly two years ago. Basically, legislators wanted to figure out how to give Idahoans priority.

He said Idaho mulled giving residents the same priority Wyoming does, but federal law stopped the state in its tracks.

That’s because the majority of state parks have been developed in whole or in part with money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which does not allow residents to get ahead in line, Quintana said.

Instead, Idaho settled on essentially doubling the cost of camping for nonresidents, Quintana said. Regardless, the parks are busy.

“During the peak season at popular parks, we are booked fairly solid,” Quintana said.

However, he also said a savvy person can work the reservation system so it sends an alert when there’s a cancellation and a site opens up.

“So they should never lose heart,” Quintana said.

In Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Greg Lemon said the Treasure State is also restricted by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which would prohibit the state from discriminating against nonresidents.

Montana has used Land and Water Conservation Fund grants for a variety of projects, such as swimming pools, skateparks, trailheads and playground renovations. In 2021, FWP used $1.34 million from that fund for the Somers Beach acquisition on Flathead Lake for a new state park, according to a project list from the agency.

Montana campsites cost $4 to $34 depending on the season and amenities, but cabins, yurts and tipis cost more for nonresidents who don’t buy a park pass, according to FWP. Those passes cost $35 for seven days.

In Montana, residents can get a break, too. Those who pay the $9 state parks fee with their annual vehicle registration don’t need to buy passes.

The bill also notes that campers who have multi-day reservations but don’t arrive by 10 a.m. on the second day of their reservation will have their booking canceled and the site open to others on a first come, first served basis.

PHOTO BY CRISTOFER MAXIMILIAN

A&E ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

MAKING ‘SNOW STYLE’ HAPPEN KB FASHION PRODUCTIONS TO PRODUCE ITS SECOND ANNUAL FASHION PREVIEW SHOW FOR THE U.S. SKI AND SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME IN BIG SKY

BY JULIA BARTON

Kathy Benharris has been in the fashion industry for decades, so when she rode her first chairlift, naturally her first thought was: “Oh my God, it's a vertical runway.”

Benharris’ fashion styling and production company KB Fashion Productions will run with this idea of highlighting “snow style” for the second year as a part of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame induction ceremony being held at Big Sky Resort. The 2024 Fashion Preview Show will take place at the Summit Hotel Friday, March 24 and Saturday, March 25.

Friday’s fashion show—sponsored by Gorsuch, Ltd., a luxury ski apparel brand based out of Colorado—will have an alpine ski focus, Benharris explained, featuring 2024 brand samples from a number of high-end brands that have yet to be seen by consumers.

“Friday is a traditional runway show,” Benharris explained. “It is upscale, luxe brands that are very fashion forward, high end, marquee brands… And you're going to see over 60 looks.”

The brands include Bogner, Alps & Meters, Fera, CB Sports, Skea and many others that will explore the intersection of high fashion and snow sports. Benharris believes that clothing can be technically advanced while also coming in bright colors and stylish cuts with a feminine flair. Friday’s show will present up-scaled brands that are doing just that with their 2024 snow apparel lines.

“I am definitely trying to develop an American snow style Fashion Week for the Hall of Fame,” Benharris said.

Saturday’s show turns the focus away from the luxury brands to snowboarding and free skiing inspired styles.

“I'm trying to make snow style happen,” Benharris said. “To me, snow style is anything anybody wears when they go out to play in the snow. Whether they're skiing, riding or sitting on a cafeteria tray sliding, I don't care—you're my person if you go out to play in the snow.”

The second night’s fashion show will be a “party.” Benharris is breaking up the runway into three separate stages and spreading them across the Summit Hotel Terrace. There will be a DJ and a variety of looks from brands such as Bogner Fire & Ice, Boarding 4 Breast Cancer, 686, Helly Hansen, Burton, Dakine, ThirtyTwo, Roxy, The North Face and Jones Snowboards, among others.

Saturday’s show is sponsored by OOSC, a colorful, retro-inspired brand based out of the United Kingdom that makes their products with recycled plastics. Benharris plans to highlight sustainability at the second show, including other brands with sustainable production practices.

“I am actually including some looks from Big Sky Thrift,” Benharris said, adding that she will also include belts from Jelt, a local brand that makes their product from recycled plastic bottles. “What is more sustainable than reusing and repurposing some great stuff that somebody loved already?”

Benharris explained that beyond showcasing sustainability and styles that will be released for 2024, she hopes to inspire people to wear gear that they feel confident in while spending time out in the snow.

“If we put you in a suit that makes you feel like ‘yeah, I look good in this,’ you're gonna have a much better day,” she said. “You're gonna ski better, you're gonna smile more. Confidence is a superpower and ultimately as a stylist I am trying to find things that help people feel confident. ”

Between the two shows, Benharris is sure that there is something for everyone—lovers of high-end luxury and freeski steeze alike.

Both the Friday and Saturday shows are free and open to the public.

Benharris is looking for behind-the-scenes volunteers to help models change between different looks on Friday night. Email kathy@kbfashionproductions.com if you are interested in volunteering.

For more information about the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame induction at Big Sky Resort, head to its website skihall.com/induction/schedule/

A group of models take the 2024 sample looks for the show out into the snow. PHOTO BY KATHY BENHARRIS

A model wears a fashionable Skea set during a fitting prior to the Friday Fashion Preview Show. PHOTO BY KATHY BENHARRIS

Big Sandy

25,000± acre ranch near Big Sandy, MT. 18,124± acres deeded and over 8,000± acres BLM and State lease the ranch is a 650 cow calf pair and had 5,000± tillable acres plus a 30+ year outfitting history for trophy mule deer and big horn sheep hunts.

Big Sky

Incredible views of Lone Peak, Mountain Village and Andesite. This home has been partially renovated and would be perfect for a new owner to complete the renovation to their own specifications. Ski accessable with local knowledge.

Unregulated trapping, deforestation, and destruction of dams due to unwanted flooding have continued to affect the beaver population.

6 SIOUX

ZY BROWN RANCH RD

$17,450,000 | #368590

BIG SKY EVENTS CALENDAR

THURSDAY, MARCH 23

U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame events

Big Sky Resort, All Day

Screening: March Madness

The Waypoint, 4 p.m.

ARTventure Afterschool Program

BASE, 4:30 p.m.

Community Meeting: Traffic Calming

BASE, 5:30 p.m.

Drop-In Hockey

Marty Pavelich Ice Rink, 8 p.m.

Live Music: StiLlGoNe Tips Up, 9:45 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 24

U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame events

Big Sky Resort, All Day

Aprés Ski: DJ Pete Butta

Big Sky Resort, 12 p.m.

Aprés Ski: DJs Take A Chance and Jenn N’ Juice Big Sky Resort, 3 p.m.

Screening: March Madness

The Waypoint, 4 p.m.

Open Pottery Studio

BASE, 5 p.m.

Performance: Jitro Czech Girls Choir

Big Sky Resort’s Enchanted Forest 7:30 and 8:15 p.m.

Live Music: Eric Holder Band Tips Up, 9:45 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 25

U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame events

Big Sky Resort, All Day

Ski/Board with Local Nonprofit Leaders

Big Sky Resort, 10 a.m.

Aprés Ski: DJ Pete Butta

Big Sky Resort, 3 p.m.

St. Joseph’s Mass Big Sky Chapel, 5 p.m.

Live Music: Amanda Stewart featuring Annie Clements Montage Big Sky, 7 p.m.

Performance: Jitro Czech Girls Choir WMPAC, 7:30 p.m.

Bozeman Symphony: Poulenc’s Gloria & A Funk World Premier Wilson Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.

Live Music: Marcedes Carroll

The Waypoint, 8 p.m.

Live Music: DJ Moe Jazz Tips Up, 10 p.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 26

U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame events

Big Sky Resort, All Day

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

All Saints in Big Sky Big Sky Chapel, 10 a.m.

Bozeman Symphony: “Poulenc’s Gloria & A Funk World Premiere” Wilson Auditorium, 2:30 p.m.

Aprés Ski: DJ Pete Butta Big Sky Resort, 3 p.m.

Open Pottery Studio

BASE, 4 p.m.

Screening: March Madness

The Waypoint, 4 p.m.

Big Sky Christian Fellowship Service

Big Sky Chapel, 4:30 p.m.

MONDAY, MARCH 27

Competitive Video Games The Waypoint, 7 p.m.

Live Music: Amanda Stewart Montage Big Sky, 7 p.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 28

Live Music: Kylie Spence Montage Big Sky, 7 p.m.

Screening: 2023 Fly Fishing Film Tour with GRTF The Waypoint, 7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29

Big Sky Chamber Quarterly Member Meet Up Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, 4 p.m.

Big Sky School District Bond Information Session Ophir Elementary School Library, 6:30 p.m. Trivia The Waypoint, 7 p.m.

Live Music: Brendan Nolan Tips Up, 9:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 30

ARTventure Afterschool Program BASE, 4:30 p.m.

Drop-In Hockey Marty Pavelich Ice Rink, 8 p.m.

Live Music: Matt Wallin & His Nervous Breakdown Tips Up, 9:45 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 31

Après Ski: DJ Tanner Big Sky Resort, 12 p.m.

Aprés Ski: DJs Take A Chance and Jenn N’ Juice Big Sky Resort, 3 p.m.

Open Pottery Studio BASE, 5 p.m.

43rd Annual PTO Pie Auction Montage Big Sky, 5:30 p.m.

Concerts on the Big Screen The Waypoint, 8 p.m.

Live Music: Brice Ash The Waypoint, 8 p.m.

Live Music: Lost Ox Tips Up, 10 p.m.

SATURDAY, APRIL 1

Samuel Adams Air and Après Big Air Showcase Big Sky Resort, 12 p.m.

St. Joseph’s Mass Big Sky Chapel, 5 p.m.

Screening: March Madness Final Four The Waypoint, Time TBA

Live Music: Amanda Stewart featuring Annie Clements Montage Big Sky, 7 p.m.

Samuel Adams Air and Après Main Event Big Sky Resort, 7:30 p.m.

Live Music: Lost Ox Tips Up, 10 p.m.

SUNDAY, APRIL 2

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

All Saints in Big Sky Big Sky Chapel, 10 a.m.

Après Ski: DJ Tanner Big Sky Resort, 3 p.m.

Open Pottery Studio BASE, 4 p.m.

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

MONDAY, APRIL 3

Competitive Video Games The Waypoint, 7 p.m.

Live Music: Amanda Stewart Montage Big Sky, 7 p.m.

TUESDAY, APRIL 4

Small Business Virtual Roundtable

Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, 3 p.m.

American Legion Post 99 monthly meeting Buck’s T-4, 6 p.m.

Live Music: Kylie Spence Montage Big Sky, 7 p.m.

Screening: “The Fourth Phase” The Waypoint, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5

Eggs & Issues

Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, 8:30 a.m.

Big Sky School District Bond Information Session BASE, 6:30 p.m.

Trivia

The Waypoint, 7 p.m.

Live Music: Mathew Wayne Tips Up, 9:30 p.m.

FEATURED EVENT:

BUILDING COMMUNITY - SKI/BOARD WITH LOCAL NONPROFIT LEADERS

On March 25, leaders from various nonprofit organizations in the Big Sky area will spend a day on the mountain skiing and snowboarding with community members to share ideas and forge new connections.

PLATINUM BORN

Thursday, Friday & Saturday March 23, 24 & 25

ARMENTA

Thursday, Friday & Saturday March 30, 31 & April 1

46838 GALLATIN RD, GALLATIN GATEWAY

COMMERCIAL SALE | BUSINESS W/ASSIGNABLE LEASE

Unique opportunity to own an established business in Big Sky, MT. This turnkey operation includes all furniture, fixtures and equipment, all recipes, methods and systems, the business name, logos and website, extensive training and an existing, leased space. The business is fully licensed as a retail and wholesale food manufacturing and catering bakery with high efficiency and high growth potential. $750,000 #366500 KIRK DIGE 406-580-5475

181 CANDLELIGHT MEADOWS DR, BIG SKY

This Firelight Chalet End Loft condo features a functional, open floor plan that is ideal for any buyer. Original owner and very lightly used, fireplace has never had a fire. Being sold furnished and turnkey, located just down the road from Big Sky’s popular and growing Town Center.

Why Choose ERA?

Dan is more than an ERA agent; he cares like family and always advises on the right questions to ask and truly wants the best for who he is representing. I love hearing the history of not just the homes, but roads and neighborhoods and how things have changed throughout the years. I’ve had the pleasure to work with Dan for the last 5 years and I’ve always felt taken care of. Thank you so much for looking out for me and helping me find the right home.”

- Maria M.

ERABigSky.com

223 Town Center Avenue, Unit A1, Big Sky

Monday – Saturday 10am to 6pm | Sunday 12pm to 5pm

bellecose.com

406-995-3444

36 Center Lane, Big Sky, MT

Robyn Erlenbush, CRB, Broker/Owner

Each office independently owned and operated.

Dan Delzer 406-580-4326

MAGGIE BIGGERSTAFF 406-580-6244

BY MIRA BRODY

BUSINESS

MAKING IT IN BIG SKY: BIG SKY RESORT MINISTRIES

BIG SKY—Brad Lartigue, Resort and Collegiate Chaplain Minister for Big Sky Resort Ministries, has roots that run deep in the community, work he believes is an extension of the local church community. His three-year term as an outdoor minister with Yellowstone National Park and Big Sky turned into decades and by this coming fall, Lartigue will have been a part of the Big Sky community for 33 years.

In addition to leading Outdoor Church worship services on Lone Mountain, Lartigue is the original founding board member of Big Sky Chapel, “paid his dues” working in the Big Sky Ski Rental Shop for 12 years, has volunteered with Big Sky Ski Patrol for seven years, was on the committee that made the BASE Community Center a reality, is chaplain for the Big Sky Fire Department (that’s after serving as an EMT/Firefighter for 15 years), is a part-time school bus driver and custodian at Big Sky School District and offers swim lessons through his program, Lartigue Aquaman Swim School. He’s also an Ironman triathlete and much of his work is featured in a book titled Servants on the Slopes by author Skip Schwarz. When it comes to his drive for mentoring, Lartigue is inspired by the passage Luke 2:52 that states, “Jesus grew in Wisdom, Stature, and in favor with God and Mankind.”

“How we chose to live our lives based on these four areas of growth will determine how well-rounded of a person we choose,” Lartigue said. “I am able to feel [God’s] pleasure when I pursue a healthy balance in all these aspects of living life to the fullest … [and] live life abundantly under our adventurous and amazing Big Sky!"

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

Explore Big Sky: I’d like to start with a little background information on you, when did you come to Big Sky?

Brad Lartigue: I landed in Big Sky in the Fall of 1990 after completing my masters at a theological seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. I am originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana and would often tell native Montanans that I’m still in Louisiana Territory as Montana was carved out of the Louisiana Purchase. Academically, I was an “honors student” being groomed for a career in the medical field and two summer trips changed my life course. In 1980, I volunteered with Operation Crossroads West Indies on the island of Montserrat in conjunction with Boys Scouts of England. The following summer of 1981, I was commissioned to my first missions experience on the Big Island of Hawaii ministering in the resort community of Waikoloa. I thought God was setting me up to minister in an island community, but then a three-year opportunity to live and minister at Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico in the southern Rocky Mountains, threw me for another loop. I was [then] commissioned as a full-time Resort/Outdoor Recreation Minister to supervise and direct college students to minister with employees in Yellowstone

There is no question in

National Park in the summers, and I would be doing the same in Big Sky during the winters. The commitment was initially a three-year term which lasted for 21 years as a paid staff member. I will have been a part of our community for 33 years this upcoming Fall of ’23.

EBS: Tell me about the history of Big Sky Resort Ministries: When was it established? How and when did you become involved?

BL: Big Sky Resort Ministries was initially established in 1980 by Pastor Bill Reilly from Gardiner, Montana and the first resort minister was Sue Brunke-Hascall. They were in search of creating a year-round minister position that would encompass a summer outreach to Yellowstone employees and park rangers. The Director of Missions for southwest Montana was searching for a more full-time recreation minister to serve in this capacity and little did I know that I would be that person. When the position was de-funded in 2011, I felt God leading me to stay and re-create “Big Sky Resort Ministries” as an official 501(c)(3) non-profit.

EBS: What kind of services do you offer the Big Sky Community?

BL: I prefer to see myself as an extension of God’s plan to love Him and His people, and my community; to also help support and strengthen our faith community. I’ve done that by being an extension of our local church community with conducting Outdoor Church worship services at our local ski resort during the winter season.

EBS: Do you have a team or partners that support your work?

BL: My local church community at Big Sky Christian Fellowship has been an amazing support over the years,

as well as our entire spiritual community at Big Sky Chapel. I also have a small team of directors for my nonprofit that is mostly funded by a handful of individual donors and seasonal guests. I also could not do this without the partnership of Big Sky Ski Resort executives like Taylor Middleton, Barb Rooney, Mike Unruh and past others like Meg O’Leary, Brian and Mary Wheeler, Brandon Bang and Glennis Indreland. None of this would be possible if it weren’t for my long-time friend and our first general manager, John Kircher, whose life/ legacy we recently celebrated!

EBS: You worked as a ski patroller—where do you find that your skillset as a patroller overlaps with your work as a Minister?

BL: I am no longer an active ski patroller, but sometimes still feel a part of them, as “we look out for our own” and many whom I worked with are still actively on patrol. I was and continue to be the spiritual advisor/ chaplain when called upon or needed. My most indelible experience over my time here was when we lost one of our very own, Erika Pankow. It was early in my time here, but we all pulled together to get through that huge loss and grief as a staff and to also celebrate her life with a memorable Celebration of Life service that brought our staff and her family together.

EBS: Do you think worshipping in a setting like Lone Mountain provides an experience that people may not find inside of a traditional church?

BL: There is no question in my mind that Lone Mountain was created to provide this backdrop and grandeur of panoramic views specifically for this unique Outdoor Worship service.

EBS: Is there anything else you’d like to tell the Big Sky community?

BL: On a spiritual level, if you love God, you will love people and it starts here with us. Also, Eternity doesn’t start when we die, “Eternity Starts Now” among each person we meet and want to share time with in Eternity. On a community level, I need to applaud what we created when we saw our dream of building Big Sky Chapel as a banner of heaven under one roof. I would also like to applaud what we’ve created when the BASE [community center] was created. I am additionally ready to be a catalyst and active community member to help make our dream of building an indoor aquatics center [as a part] of BASE a reality as well. My life story of how I survived a near-drowning in the Caribbean Ocean to becoming an endurance Ironman triathlete, among other adventures can be found in Servants on the Slopes by Skip Schwarz. It’s the reason why I am passionate about the sport of swimming!

Outdoor Worship on the slopes is held every Sunday at 1:30 p.m., located below the Powder Seeker chairlift and at 3 p.m. at the top Six Shooter chairlift. This 2023 Easter Sunrise Service is on April 9 from 7-7:30 a.m. on Andesite Mountain, chairlift access begins at 6:30 a.m. Skis, Snowboards, and foot traffic are all welcomed.

Brad Lartigue has a storied life here in Big Sky, and most notably leads outdoor worship services under the watchful eye of Lone Mountain each Sunday. PHOTO COURTESY OF BRAD LARTIGUE

my mind that Lone Mountain was created to provide this backdrop and grandeur of panoramic views specifically for this unique Outdoor Worship service.

– Resort and Collegiate Chaplain Minister, Big Sky Resort Ministries

OPINION

A LA CARTE

20 YEARS OF DAVE’S SUSHI

BY RACHEL HERGETT EBS COLUMNIST

On a wall near the entrance of Dave’s Sushi in Bozeman, a framed article proclaims the restaurant has “a decade of embracing community” under its belt.

“I never in my wildest dreams imagined it would be as successful as it is,” founder Dave Weiss states in the piece.

That article (which I wrote for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle) is now a decade old and, according to co-owner Aaron Parker, is how the staff knew the restaurant was turning 20 on Feb. 20. It is still successful.

Dave’s Sushi is still based out of an old house on North Bozeman Avenue where Weiss started it in 2003, modeling the laid-back atmosphere after restaurants he had visited in Hawaii.

“It’s cool seeing what Dave’s Sushi has become, what we do out of this little house,” said Tony Kaber, who has worked for Parker for the last year.

In the past decade since Parker and co. took over the day-to-day, Dave’s has expanded twice. The first expansion added a seating area and expanded the kitchen and prep areas. The second enclosed the patio to make the space usable in any weather. They also bought a property next door. Initial ideas include creating a dedicated space for to-go orders to create better flow at the entrance and a commissary-type kitchen that would serve Dave’s and the group’s other two restaurants, Jam and Revelry.

“The restaurant has grown, but I think its personality has remained intact,” said Jordan Albertsen, a manager who worked his way up through the ranks over the last seven years.

Unlike Parker, I can’t say Dave’s was the first place I really had sushi. Sushi grade fish wasn’t available in southwest Montana when I was a kid, but the women in my family kept their kitchens stocked with rice and nori—the seaweed used for making sushi rolls. Fillings included cucumbers, pickled daikon, a rehydrated gourd known as kanpyo (my favorite) or an Americanized concoction of cooked spinach, deli ham and egg (not my favorite). I sought out the more fish-centered stuff when I traveled to visit family on the West Coast. I had a favorite sushi restaurant when I lived in London, a hip conveyor belt place called Yo! Sushi.

Today, restaurants serving sushi or related dishes such as poke bowls are everywhere. Big Sky has a couple. Bozeman has about a dozen. Most grocery stores offer some form of ready-made rolls or bowls. But 20 years ago, Dave’s was an anomaly. Flying fresh fish inland was a novel concept (and our local airport still doesn’t have cold storage for shipments). And the sushi Weiss and his staff served was a revelation. The restaurant expanded my idea of what sushi could be, incorporating new flavors and ingredients on the whims of the ever-expanding line of sushi rollers.

“It’s not traditional,” Parker said. “I feel like every roll has its own expression.”

My current favorite is the Twin Fin, which features tempura shrimp on the inside and raw tombo (albacore tuna) with dollops of cilantro aioli on top. This too has changed over the years, as the menu is updated. Retired rolls still live on a secret menu— accessible if you write a sushi haiku or perform a fish dance for the staff and customers. While the haiku is expected to contain three lines of five, seven and five syllables, the fish dance is open to interpretation.

Dave’s has retained a sort of choose-your-ownadventure attitude. Traditional rolls are on the menu alongside specialty rolls. If the idea of raw fish makes you squeamish, there are still plenty of options, including fried fish and fried chicken. Or sit at the bar and talk to the chefs, who will whip

up something new. For years, my grandmother and I were regulars at the bar, where she would watch them concoct my standard order—a chef’s choice (chirashi) bowl. I’ve been served tempura cheese balls, fried shrimp heads, quail eggs, lotus root, gochujang poke and so much more.

When I asked Parker what he would most like people to know about Dave’s 20-years-in, he simply said “We’re still here.”

“We’re just getting started,” Albertsen quipped.

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

Dave's Sushi offers a variety of colorful dishes with unexpected flavor elements to please the palette. PHOTO BY RACHEL HERGETT

Beloved Bozeman staple Dave's Sushi turned 20 this year. PHOTO BY RACHEL HERGETT

OPINION

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE STICKY SITUATION

BY PAUL SWENSON EBS COLUMNIST

It’s that time of the year when the snow on the ski hill or in the backcountry becomes “grabby” or “sticky.” I decided to write this column after I got the jerks skiing between sun and shade. You all know that feeling when your skis jump out from under you on the fast icy shady spots only to suddenly slow down in the sunny spots. Let’s take a look at water, snow and the reason snow is slippery. Then, how to remedy a herky-jerky day on the slopes.

To begin with, snow is just solid water and water is a simple molecule with really interesting behavior. You probably learned in chemistry that Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO), or Hydrogen Hydroxide, are the appropriate names for water. Scary sounding chemical name for H2O, or HOH. Water is a bent molecule that has an electrical property called polarity. Even though in totality it is neutral, the hydrogen ends have a positive charge, and the oxygen sitting at the vertex of the angle has a negative charge. This polarity gives water many of its unique characteristics: A universal solvent, strong adhesion, and cohesion which lead to a very strong surface tension. It is this surface tension that wants to draw a drop of water into a spherical shape, and the adhesion that holds a drop of water on your fingertip.

It is also this adhesion, defined as the attraction between dissimilar materials, that can slow down your skis.

So why is snow or ice slippery in the first place? Many of us are under the common misconception that when we ski or ice-skate that we put enough pressure on the snow, or ice, that it melts and a thin layer of water forms and that’s what makes it slick. That would be such a cool and easy explanation, but to lower the melting temperature of snow down by 1 degree Fahrenheit it takes 900 pounds per square inch. Now I am a big person, but I would need to weigh in at 260,000 pounds to put that amount of pressure on the base of my

skis! But the answer is called a premelt layer. A premelt layer is a disorganized layer of water molecules that sits at the interface between ice crystals and the air that surrounds them. They are not part of the lattice structure of the ice, but not thick enough to form droplets. The layer is only a couple molecules thick, but that is enough to make ice slippery. These molecules at the surface transition from the ice surface into a vapor state, then return to the ice crystal. They are free to move, translate, or rotate under stress.

So as long as the snow is “dry” this premelt layer creates a slippery layer that skis can glide across, as long as the skis do not attract the water molecules. With the addition of humidity, or warming from the sun to the melting point of the snow’s surface, the premelt layer can become thick enough to create water droplets which coalesce under the stress created by a ski. This is when the snow gets sticky. So how to combat this problem? Find a surface that repels water—a hydrophilic surface. Chemicals that are non-polar are hydrophilic. The first skis made in the Norse countries were made of wood. To keep them from soaking up water, pine tar, resin, or animal fats were applied to their surfaces. Luckily for those first skiers, these materials are non-polar by nature, creating good gliding surfaces for them even hundreds of years ago.

Today, skiers and ski shops use ski waxes. These waxes come in a variety of chemical formulations, but the majority are hydrocarbon based. Hydrocarbons are chemicals made of hydrogen and carbon. They come in short chains, like propane, butane, gasoline, as well as longer chains like oils and waxes. The longer the chains, the harder the waxes. Then with the addition of some other side chain chemicals, such as chlorine or fluorine, a more hydrophilic wax can be made.

Fluorinated waxes are still around, but they are extremely harmful to the people applying the waxes, the racers who scrape and brush their bases, and the environment itself in and around the ski hill. There is a proposed ban on these types of waxes by the International Ski Federation, International Biathlon Union, U.S. Ski and Snowboard, International Orienteering

Federation and the International Olympic Committee, but these bans keep getting postponed. In the application of these waxes, if one does not wear the appropriate filtering apparatus, PFOAs and PFAS and other PFCs are inhaled and incorporated into the person’s tissues. They are “forever” chemicals that are not biodegradable, found in the soil and runoff at ski hills, and are proven carcinogens. Even regular hydrocarbon waxes produce nasty byproducts.

So this spring, I would encourage all of you that wax your own skis, or work in a shop, to get a high quality respirator with an organic fumes filter. Save your lungs.

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

Water droplets on a ski base before waxing. PHOTO BY PAUL SWENSON

Water droplets on the same ski base after applying glide wax. PHOTO BY PAUL SWENSON

Recrystallized snow in glazed ski track seconds after ski passed over it. PHOTO BY PAUL SWENSON

WILDLIFE CROSSINGS DON’T HAVE TO BE SO PRICEY

BY BENJAMIN ALVA POLLEY EBS COLUMNIST

An elk saunters onto a highway in that ecotone between night and day. A car’s high beams breach the rise. The brights blind the elk. The driver barely has time to react as the brakes lock and the tires screech to a halting stop after the vehicle slams into a dark shape. Blood, guts, and gore paint the windshield before it spiderwebs in cracks.

People drive cars at high velocities during the crepuscular dawn and dusk when animals like to move. Humans are also moving to and from home. Hopefully, the person behind the wheel lives. No guarantees. The wildlife most likely dies, but they don’t have to. Wildlife crossings can save lives and dollars sooner than later.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced that it had released $59.9 billion in Fiscal Year 2023 for 12 critical programs to accompany Biden’s infrastructure law to improve safety for people and wildlife on busy roadways. That money is just starting to be distributed to all 50 states. In Montana, where wildlife and vehicles have a violent track record, wildlife crossings such as bridges and underpasses are one of the obvious targets for using this money. While the norm for wildlife crossings in the country has been to build these structures with concrete and rebar over many months, newer material is the smart answer to save lives—human and animal.

According to Western Transportation Institute, one to two million collisions happen yearly between vehicles and large mammals, resulting in approximately 29,000 human injuries and an estimated 200 fatalities. The cost generated

is around $8 billion. Wildlife vehicle collisions threaten 22 threatened or endangered species, including Canada lynxes, flying squirrels, grizzly bears, salamanders, wolves, and wolverines. In Montana alone, wildlife-vehicle collisions between 2008-2017 for deer, elk, and moose cost over $120 million annually. According to State Farm Insurance, Montana ranks No. 2 in the nation in the chances that a vehicle may crash into a large animal.

The first two wildlife bridges built in North America were built over the Trans-Canada highway in 1996, connecting habitats in Banff National Park for $1.5 million each. The tradeoff investment for building over or underpasses and fencing around highways to funnel wildlife to those crossings saves money in the long term. Since 1996, wildlife crossings—which connect areas of habitat fragmented by highways and interstates and reduce barriers affecting sensitive species—have reduced accidents by 87%. In Montana, between 2004-2012, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) pioneered wildlife bridges and created 41 crossings in 56 miles along Highway 93. Reservation biologists have counted 25 species using 40 wildlife underpasses and one overpass in this section.

“The goal of the crossing structure is coexistence,” said CSKT wildlife biologist Payton Adams. “To achieve coexistence with humans and wildlife, we have to make an effort to understand and implement the things that wildlife need to continue their survival.”

North America's wildlife overpasses are usually concrete and can bear the load of enough soil for growing plants and spanning highways. In the past, these structures were only built when new or expanded highway projects were scheduled and were far from cost or time effective; the highway department had to close sections of the road for six months to create a concrete structure reinforced

with steel. With this new law, they can add these wildlife crossings more easily. The permanent structures are expensive and slow to build. But they don’t have to be.

To save money and time, Montana could use fiber-reinforced polymer FRP plastic for bridges, materials first designed and used for bridges in the Netherlands. A team of workers offsite creates the composite out of crude oil, natural gas, chlorine, nitrogen, glass, and recycled plastic. These bridges are customizable, have high structural integrity, are lightweight, and can be shipped on trailers. Cranes can drop the new structure as overpasses in a mere half day.

“It’s cost-effective and swift,” said WTI’s road ecology program manager Rob Ament. “It only takes four to six hours to install once you build it.”

We’re not seeing adoption of this technology because traditions are hard to break, he said.

“Innovation is hard, right? It’s risky. It’s much easier to say we’ll keep using concrete bridges because we’ve been building them forever. They know how they perform. Trying new materials is difficult.”

Human and animal lives are being lost every few days—and we have the money to fix this problem. Nature is nomadic and needs room to grow and roam more than ever because of an ever-changing climate, compounded by the rapid development of landscapes, whether for industry, highways, or subdivisions. Critters are forced to move in ways they’ve never been before, and bridges or crossings can save the lives of animals and people.

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

Bison jam near Madison Junction. Earlier this winter more than a dozen bison were killed outside West Yellowstone when a semi struck a herd on the road. PHOTO BY JACOB W. FRANK

ROAD TRIP SHOWDOWN MONTANA

BY LESLIE KILGORE EBS CONTRIBUTOR

NEIHART—When walking into the base lodge at Showdown Montana, it immediately feels like you’ve gone back in time to skiing’s past. The walls are filled with photos and memorabilia of staff, local residents, former ski patrol, and the family who still owns and operates the mountain today.

“We don’t have any of the amenities here that Big Sky has,” one local says to me after asking where I’m from. “But we do have lots of powder.”

Lots of powder is an understatement. In the 48 hours that we visited the small resort, located in the Little Belt mountains in Neihart—three hours north of Big Sky—it snowed over 55 inches and was still coming down hard when we left their rowdy bar at the base to head home post-après.

Showdown is known to many Montanans as the local, no frills, fresh-tracks-for-days, never-a linein-sight kind of ski area, but it’s also known for its community-focused culture, friendly staff and the family who owns the mountain. It’s beloved by locals.

Purchased in 2020 by General Manager Kate Boedecker and her daughter Avery Patrick along with Patrick’s husband, Shawn, Showdown is one of the only ski resorts in the country owned and operated by a mother-daughter team. Boedecker’s dad, George Willet, owned the resort for more than 48 years and now holds a consultant role for his daughter and granddaughter. Both the owners were present at the base area greeting familiar faces and welcoming newcomers to their resort both days we skied.

While my daughter grabbed some of the free oatmeal provided to visitors under a sign that says “All Day Every Day Made with Love. Thank you for being here,” I checked out the ski area's shop filled with vintage-inspired hoodies, beanies, blankets, stickers and more, all with the iconic Showdown branding. From the amount of logo wear I saw worn around the mountain, it’s apparent that people are proud to be a part of what Showdown represents to an ever-changing ski culture.

After skiing waist-deep powder, we rested our weary legs at Bob’s Bar Dining and Motel in Neihart. Bob’s is one of those special places that’s more of a community gathering spot where staff, locals, dogs and tourists all mingle, dance to the juke box, play pool and catch up on their epic powder lines from the day. In business since 1946 when Neihart was ending its era as one off the biggest silver mining towns in the country, Bob’s is an experience in itself.

For breakfast, we stopped at the Inconvenience Store, which other than Bob’s is the only business in Niehart. A co-op run by several of the 45 full-time residents, the Inconvenient Store serves coffee starting at 6 a.m. and has enough provisions and snacks for a day of adventures. We were also offered homemade muffins at no charge from the group of old-timers who meet there every morning for coffee talk and to greet visitors and neighbors alike.

The last night of our three-day weekend we soaked at the Spa Hot Springs in White Sulphur Springs, 35 miles from Showdown. With three pools that are drained nightly, the owners claim that the high concentration of sulfur, magnesium and lithium make the water some of the cleanest around, which is why no chemicals are used in their pools. With an adjoining no-frills motel, it’s also an option for lodging. The pools are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and are free to lodging guests.

The Edith Hotel, which was purchased by Showdown in 2022, is also an option for lodging and offers ski and stay packages throughout the season. Gutted and completely remodeled last summer, the Edith highlights an eclectic style with Montana art, Western décor, and modern touches throughout. Inspired by the collection of art, antiques and furniture on display at the Bair Family Art Museum in Martinsdale, the love for Montana culture and history so apparent at Showdown also inspired the unique vibe at The Edith.

There are several options for dining and drinking in White Sulphur, including Bar 47, 2 Bassett Brewery, The Jawbone, Stockman Steakhouse, Stageline Pizza and Strand Theater where pizza and movies are offered most weekends.

While the ranching culture it is known for still exists, it’s apparent White Sulphur is in a transition. Local ranchers gather in town amongst Bozeman, Helena and Billings visitors dining and drinking cocktails after a day of skiing or soaking. And it somehow still works here, where all can meet, chat, drink whiskey and eat prime cut steaks together in one small Montana town. Showdown, Niehart and White Sulphur truly represent what most longtime skier’s savor about Western ski culture: untouched powder, downhome people and nostalgic traditions.

“Our snow is great and always consistent, we are lucky that way,” Boedecker said. “But it’s the people who make Showdown what it is—our staff, our season pass holders, and the Montana families who come here to learn to ski. We have something special, and we want to continue that for generations to come.”

Showdown has had a memorable winter so far, including one 55 inch dump. PHOTO BY LESLIE KILGORE

It's the small things that make Showdown a great family ski hill.

PHOTO BY LESLIE KILGORE

The snow was so deep it was almost difficult to ski. PHOTO BY LESLIE KILGORE

Bob's Bar is a happening spot in Neihart. PHOTO BY LESLIE KILGORE

SKI TIPS WITH DAN EGAN

BIG SKY RESORT HOSTS US SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

INDUCTION CELEBRATION

BY DAN EGAN EBS COLUMNIST

Fans of skiing and snowboarding take notice, the who’s who of the industry is invading Big Sky March 22-25th. The resort will be a blaze with the biggest names in the winter sports from Olympians, world champion skiers and snowboarders, ski movie icons and industry innovators.

One of the unique aspects of the winter sports industry is getting to meet and ski with the heroes of the sport. Whether it's on a chairlift, sitting at the bar or grabbing a coffee between runs, our legends are approachable and accessible for storytelling, insight, reliving an Olympic or X Games moment or, more importantly, inspiring the next generation. And if you take advantage of this special week of celebration you won’t be disappointed.

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is in Ishpeming, Mich., which is the birthplace of the first ski competition held in the United States over a century ago. The hall is dedicated exclusively to skiing and snowboarding in America and provides the ultimate and lasting recognition for those American skiers and snowboarders who excelled nationally and internationally as competitors or contributors to the advancement of their sport in all its forms. Its Honor Roll of over 430 honored members reflects the richness and diversity of American

snowsport from the early pioneer ski jumpers and organizers to more recent stars like Scot Schmidt, Glen Plake, Tommy Moe, Picabo Street, Jonny Moseley, Ross Powers, Jake and Donna Burton Carpenter and many more.

The museum was established in Ishpeming in 1954 and has accumulated an outstanding collection of skiing material, both artifacts and archives, which preserves and reflects the great skiing tradition and heritage of skiing in the United States. The building’s architecture represents both the Nordic and alpine traditions of ski sport and contains over 15,000 square feet of exhibits.

If you visit, you can discover the story of the ancient Birkebeiners, see Sun Valley's first snow groomer and learn about the historic 10th Mountain Division and its contribution both in wartime and peacetime to the development of skiing.

Every year the induction ceremony is hosted by a different resort, over the last several years, it has been hosted in Stowe, Vermont; Park City, Utah; Sun Valley, Idaho; and this year here in Big Sky. The event boasts 11 parties and gatherings across five days and features on snow tours, fashion shows, and back-to-back evenings of inductions honoring the Hall of Fame Classes of 2021 and 2022.

The Class of 2021 which will be inducted on Friday March 24th features, Gwen Allard, a pioneer of adaptive skiing; Herman Dupré, a snowmaking visionary; Sven Coomer, ski boot design legend; retail renegades Renie and Dave Gorsuch; ski movie star Mike Hattrup; freestyle

legend Alan Schoenberger; Olympic champion Bode Miller; and groundbreaking mountaineer Jan Reynolds.

Saturday will see the Class of 2022 inducted. This class is equally amazing, with snowboarding legend Tina Basich; Ski Racing Magazine founder Gary Black; Olympic snowboarding medalist Shannon Dunn-Downing; stuntman John Eaves; resort executive Rusty Gregory; freeski pioneer Kent Kreitler; the father of freestyle snowboarding Terry Kidwell; Olympic coach Phil McNichol; and record-breaking speed skier CJ Mueller.

Women take center stage this year. Gwen Allard forged adaptive skiing across America, and Jan Reynold broke mountaineer records around the world climbing the highest summits. Plus this year marks the first-ever induction of female snowboarder athletes: Shannon Dunn-Downing and Tina Basich, both icons and pioneers of

Tina Basich dominated the snowboard competition circuit. COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Shannon Dunn-Downing was the first American, male or female, to win an Olympic snowboarding medal. COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

OPINION

women’s snowboarding. Both experienced the challenges of being competitors early on in the male-dominated sport, competing together from 1991-1996 on the World Cup Tour. Together, these two women made it their goal to be the agents of change for women in the sport.

These many other ski and snowboard luminaries will be throughout the resort all week long, there are free events and parties as well as fashion shows and so much more. Happening alongside of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame Induction Celebration is the International Ski History Association Annual Awards Banquet on Wednesday March 22nd.

And consider this of the 430 honored members of the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame showcased in the Museum tucked away in the “UP” of Michigan, only 135 honored members are alive today. It’s a small, elite group of groundbreaking individuals and many of them and their families and friends will be here in Big Sky this weekend, so don’t miss this rare opportunity to join in the celebration and embrace the industry’s biggest names.

Extreme Skiing Pioneer, Dan Egan coaches and guides at Big Sky Resort during the winter. His 2022/23 steeps camps at Big Sky Resort run March 1-3, and March 8-10. His book, “Thirty Years in a White Haze” was released 2021 and his newest book, “All-Terrain Skiing II” was released this November and comes with a free app which you can download from Google and Apple App Stores. His books and worldwide ski camps are available at www.Dan-Egan.com

WRITERS ON THE RANGE

TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT THOSE BIG, BAD WOLVES

BY STORY WARREN

The return of wolves to the West has always been contentious, and the deaths last fall of more than 40 cattle in western Colorado really alarmed ranchers. But here’s the true story: Wolves did not kill those cattle found dead near Meeker.

After months of investigation, the state agency, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, found no evidence of wolves in the area at all.

Yet when the news of the cattle deaths went public last October, the agency issued a press release stating it was “investigating a report of dead domestic cow calves on White River National Forest lands near Meeker that show damage consistent with wolf depredation.”

A month later, the agency’s Northwest regional manager testified before the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission that though some of the cattle had injuries that appeared to come from wolves, he added: “It’s perplexing; it’s confusing; it’s frustrating, trying to figure out exactly what occurred in this incident.” The story of wolves as the culprits, however, made national headlines.

Wolves are coming back to the state naturally and because in 2020, the public passed Prop 114, mandating restoration of wolves by the end of this year. Through a Colorado Open Records Act request, the Humane Society of the United States obtained documents and photos about the livestock deaths, and shared them with Carter Niemeyer, an expert on wolf-livestock conflict. He is also a member of the state’s Technical Working Group on wolf restoration.

In his Feb. 14 report, Niemeyer found that “the evidence at Meeker is inconsistent with wolf attacks.” Niemeyer and veterinarians concluded that the cattle more likely died from “brisket disease,” which commonly afflicts cattle living at high altitudes.

Misunderstandings like this one, which lasted weeks, aren’t helpful. Do wolves ever come into conflict with livestock? Yes, but it is relatively rare. In the Northern Rockies where wolves are established, they account for less than 1% of cattle losses. Disease, birthing problems, weather and theft take nine times as many cattle than all predators combined, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In Washington state, which is home to at least 33 wolf packs after nearly 15 years of wolf recovery, more than 80% of the packs have no conflict with livestock in an average year.

Overall, the threat of wolves to the livestock industry is negligible. For the few livestock producers who are impacted by wolves, it is, of course, economically painful and time consuming.

But options exist for ranchers to safeguard their livestock. Old-fashioned riding the range to drive off wolf packs, cleaning up carcasses so they don’t attract wolves, penning up livestock at night, installing scare devices, and using guard dogs are all deterrents that can work.

Unfortunately, data from the United States Department of Agriculture suggest that few livestock owners use these effective, non-lethal mitigation measures.

But many livestock producers across the west—in southern Alberta, the Big Wood River Drainage of Idaho, the Tom Miner Basin and Blackfoot Valley of Montana and elsewhere—do use a variety of these deterrents, which make it possible for their herds to live alongside both wolves and grizzly bears.

To its credit, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has produced a resource guide for livestock producers. To do an even better job as wolves integrate into western Colorado, the state must improve the way it investigates livestock deaths.

These investigations must be timely and transparent— as in other Western states such as Washington—and without scapegoating. The Colorado legislature could do its part, too, by providing funding for a trained, rapid-response team that would immediately investigate livestock injuries and deaths.

According to Niemeyer, authorities must respond as if they were investigating a crime scene—checking out dead livestock within 24 hours to prevent losing evidence from tissue decomposition or scavengers. Only when a cause is determined, based on evidence, should information be made public. If wolf recovery is going to be successful for both wolves and people, everyone involved—livestock producers, wolf advocates, agencies—must work together. What happened in Meeker has been a valuable lesson in what not to do.

Story Warren is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. She is a program manager in wildlife protection for the Humane Society of the United States.

Jan Reynolds and her ski mountaineering partner were the first two athletes sponsored by the North Face. COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

LET’S

The alpha male (712) of Yellowstone National Park's Canyon pack howls in the Lower Geyser Basin. PHOTO BY JIM PEACO

ENJOYING THE RIDE SETTING UP THE NEXT GENERATION

MIKE WINTER EBS CONTRIBUTOR

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Building generational wealth can seem like a foreign concept. Many people won’t begin thinking about building generational wealth until the next generation comes along. As a new parent myself, I can relate.

New parents have become so inundated with changing diapers and trying to sleep that they put these bigger, longer-term goals on the back burner. In other cases, people save and invest so much during their lifetime that generational wealth sneaks up on them, and they are left searching for the appropriate estate and legacy strategies, or worse, not adopting any wealth transition strategies at all.

Currently, Baby Boomers hold roughly $70.56 trillion in wealth, outpacing Gen X’s, and Millennials by roughly two, and 10 times respectively. Intuitively this makes sense, however, Millennials have a net worth of a quarter of the size of what Baby boomers had at the same age. That begs the question, what do Baby Boomers know that Millennials don’t? And what happens when these Millennials inherit that wealth?

Recent studies indicate that 78% of investors are concerned about transferring assets smoothly, but only 36% said they’ve had discussions with their heirs regarding their wishes. This could be why roughly 70% of wealthy families squander that wealth on the next generation, and 90% deplete their wealth by the generation after that. This lack of formal

planning and breakdown in communication can be costly and damaging to the relationships of your surviving heirs. Moreover, the lack of financial education can increase the risks of depleting that wealth significantly.

Maybe it’s time we talk about building durable generational wealth. To do that I like to use the acronym G.I.F.T.

Gather – Gather assets. Earning income is a far cry from saving that money. If you have a consistent stream of income, make sure you pay yourself first. Discretionary income can be used to buy investments and not just consumer goods. Having a budget, a financial plan, and saving before spending will build the foundation of generational wealth.

Invest – Invest in a variety of assets. Once you have established an emergency fund, invest in areas like the stock and bond markets, real estate, and even your personal development. Using the assets that you have gathered over time to generate growth or income allows those assets which you have saved to keep up with, and hopefully outpace inflation. Take advantage of compound interest as well as tax-advantaged vehicles like employer-sponsored retirement plans, IRAs, 529s, etc. Using these types of accounts not only allows you to invest but also protects your money, at least partly, from the effects of income taxes.

Formalize – Meet with your financial advisor, CPA, and/or Attorney to formalize how you would like assets to be distributed to your heirs. Properly list beneficiaries on retirement accounts, place Transfer on Death instructions on taxable accounts, have an appropriate Power of Attorney in place if necessary, and have enough life insurance to cover your debts and loss of income in the event of your passing.

Teach – Teach your heirs about the value of money. Educate them about budgeting, saving, investing, and planning. If you do not possess the time or background to educate your heirs, lean on your financial advisor to involve your children in future conversations. By sharing what we do and don’t know about finances with our children, we can help them share in our successes and avoid our past failures.

The truth is that building generational wealth must be durable and long-lasting, otherwise, there is nothing generational about it at all. No matter where you are in your journey, it’s never too late to start. Last, but not least, continue to set your sites on your goals and enjoy the ride.

Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network is not a legal or tax advisor. Be sure to consult your own tax advisor and investment professional before taking any action that may involve tax consequences.

Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network did not assist in the preparation of this report, and its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network or its affiliates. The material has been prepared or is distributed solely for information purposes and is not a solicitation or an offer to buy any security or instrument or to participate in any trading strategy Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network and Shore to Summit Wealth Management are not legal or tax advisors. You should consult with your attorney, accountant and/or estate planner before taking any action.

Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), Member SIPC. Shore to Summit Wealth Management is a separate entity from WFAFN.  Shore to Summit Wealth Management is located at 105 E. Oak Street, Unit 1A Bozeman, MT 59715 # 406219-2900

BIG SKY BEATS

BIG SKY BEATS: SPRING SKIING

BY JULIA BARTON

Ski season is coming to a close in a few weeks, but the end of the season is arguably one of the most fun times to ski. Sunshine, blue sky, soft snow turns, friends and après ski are a surefire recipe for a spring day well-spent. Conditions at Big Sky Resort check off most of that list, but to help with the latter, EBS has compiled a list of songs that are sure to keep the good vibes rolling after a bluebird day on the mountain. (Did you know that ABBA has an entire album of their top hits recorded in Spanish? I can’t explain why, but they provide tenfold the après energy of their English counterparts.)

1. “Dame! Dame! Dame!” by ABBA

2. “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire

3. “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry

4. “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John

5. “Hooked On A Feeling” by Blue Swede

6. “Hey Ya!” by Outkast

7. “Take on Me” by a-ha

8. “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen

9. “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra

10. “La Reina Del Baile” by ABBA

BACK 40

SNOW GUNS FOR CHANGE

BY GABRIELLE GASSER MOUNTAIN OUTLAW CONTRIBUTOR

A version of this story first ran in the Winter 2021/22 issue of Mountain Outlaw magazine.

When the snow guns roared to life at Arizona Snowbowl resort in December of 2012, the small ski area made history for two reasons: it was the first time Snowbowl ever made its own snow and it was the first time in the U.S. that snow was made entirely with treated wastewater.

After the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added snowmaking as a viable water-reuse option in 2012, Snowbowl seized the opportunity. It had to. Located on an extinct volcano in Arizona’s San Francisco Peaks, Snowbowl had no viable water source, according to J.R. Murray, chief planning officer at Mountain Capital Partners, which manages Snowbowl.

“We chose reclaimed water because it was a known source at the time and Flagstaff already had a [water] treatment facility that met the highest standards,” said Murray, who served as Snowbowl’s general manager for 30 years.

“Otherwise, we were going to have to drill speculative wells.”

A coalition of environmental groups and Native tribes that considered the mountain sacred argued that snowmaking would contaminate it. They filed suit and, in 2018, a judge ruled in favor of Snowbowl’s upgrade plans, which included the snowmaking initiative. Today, Snowbowl receives 1.5 million gallons of water per day from the Rio de Flag Water Reclamation Plant to manufacture snow on 150 skiable acres.

“The snowmaking totally stabilized the business and provided predictability to the skiers and snowboarders and the community,” said Murray, attributing 650 winter jobs and a $35 million increase in Flagstaff’s annual economic impact to the snowmaking system. “It's just been the difference between a hit-and-miss ski area and now a very successful ski area.”

In the Mountain West, saving water and recharging the water supply by making snow with reclaimed wastewater could be the key to saving the ski season.

According to the June 2021 Greater Yellowstone Climate Assessment that analyzed climate data for the Greater Yellowstone Area, including Big Sky, regional snowpack is declining, the average temperature is rising and more precipitation is on the way. While increased precipitation sounds like a positive thing, in this case it isn’t.

“The problem is it's getting warmer, and that means there is less snow in winter and more evaporation in summer,” said Dr. Cathy Whitlock, professor emerita of Earth Sciences at Montana State University and co-lead author on the assessment. “Snow is the reservoir of water that we depend on in this region. Keeping that snowpack on as long as possible is what gives us reliable supplies of water at the end of the summer.”

The assessment also noted that since 1950, annual snowfall has declined by about 25 percent, meaning that each year 23 fewer inches of snow is falling. Not only does this decrease bode ill for water supply in the Mountain West, it also threatens the recreational opportunities that many travel here to enjoy, namely skiing.

Nine years after Snowbowl tapped into making snow with reclaimed wastewater, fewer than a

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

AS CLIMATE CHANGE RAVAGES THE MOUNTAIN WEST, SKI INDUSTRY MAVERICKS ARE LOOKING TO BOOST DISAPPEARING SNOWPACK BY MAKING SNOW WITH RECYCLED WASTEWATER.

Snowbowl uses low-energy, computerized fan guns for snowmaking. PHOTO COURTESY OF ARIZONA SNOWBOWL

dozen ski resorts worldwide are following suit. One happens to be the world’s only private residential ski and golf resort.

Tucked away near Big Sky, Montana, the exclusive Yellowstone Club is also looking to make snow with treated wastewater.

The effort began in 2011 when local nonprofit Gallatin River Task Force conducted a pilot study to test the concept. The study expanded to include the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and formed the basis for the club’s current project.

The project will use 25 million gallons of “highly treated wastewater,” according to Yellowstone Club Environmental Manager Rich Chandler, to make an 18-inch snow base over 55 skiable acres at the club. Most of the wastewater will be sourced from Big Sky’s water and sewer district, and about 20 percent will come from the club’s own plant.

Chandler says artificial snow can remain on the ground 19 days longer than natural snowpack due to its greater density, meaning precious runoff is extended further into the summer. “The need to recycle water within our watershed is such an important part of how we manage our land today,” Chandler said. “And combining the reclaimed wastewater component with snowmaking seems to be a phenomenal statement of overall recycling within the environment.”

In 2016, the task force convened the Sustainable Water Solutions Forum, bringing together stakeholders that met regularly over two-anda-half years to discuss the challenges of water availability in Big Sky. To expand wastewaterreuse options, the group identified snowmaking with recycled wastewater as one solution that became part of the Big Sky Area Sustainable Watershed Stewardship Plan, published in 2018.

Three years later, in June of 2021, the Yellowstone Club obtained a Montana DEQ permit to make snow with reclaimed wastewater. The permit stipulates that the club must continually monitor the project to discern if and how melting snow is impacting the river. Leading up to its decision, the DEQ received an outpouring of support for the initiative from environmental groups, individuals and businesses in the Big Sky area, according to Jon Kenning, DEQ’s water protection bureau chief.

“This proposal is the first permit of its kind in Montana,” Kenning said. “It has the potential to provide increased protection for streams while also providing a necessary function for the Yellowstone Club.”

As part of the permitting process, the DEQ completed an environmental assessment of the snowmaking project, concluding that impacts to water quality, wildlife and plant life, among other resources considered, would be insignificant. But not everyone was on board.

Bozeman-based Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, along with the Gallatin Wildlife Association, filed a lawsuit in August of 2021 against DEQ, asserting that the agency’s environmental assessment did not analyze the impacts of pharmaceuticals in the water.

“There are more than 4,000 prescription medications used for human and animal health that find their way into the environment,” said Clint Nagel, president of the GWA, pointing to information from the U.S. Geological Survey. “The cumulative effect on wildlife and fish over time can affect their health and behavior; of

course much of that is dependent upon amount and species.”

Currently, the EPA has no standards for the acceptable level of pharmaceuticals in water, according to Kenning. “Research is still being conducted to better understand this emerging contaminant,” he said.

As of November 2021, when Mountain Outlaw went to print, no litigation timeline had been set and parties involved would not speculate on the outcome.

Chandler says the Yellowstone Club’s snowmaking effort is endorsed by conservation organizations including Trout Unlimited, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Gallatin River Task Force, and American Rivers. “It's a great project and the right thing to do for our community and the environment,” he said.

The Greater Yellowstone Climate Assessment concluded that the ski industry and associated economies “will be threatened by the continued loss of snowpack as the [Greater Yellowstone Area] snow season becomes shorter and more uncertain.”

Charles Wolf Drimal, a fierce advocate for wild waters in the American West, is coauthor of the assessment and has spent a lifetime working in conservation and environmental policy. He says the Yellowstone Club’s snowmaking project will decrease nutrient loading in area waters, and will create a store of water in colder months that will augment stream flows in the spring and summer.

“We’re in a time of climate crisis,” said Drimal, the Waters Conservation Coordinator of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. “The Gallatin [River] has experienced consecutive algal blooms and we need innovative solutions. This project is an innovative solution to addressing a couple of interests that folks in the region have and that is, one: climate adaptation, and two: nutrient loading to one of the most iconic rivers in the region.”

The final piece to get the Yellowstone Club’s project off the ground will be obtaining a stormwater permit from the DEQ. According to

Chandler, the goal is to have the project up and running by fall of 2022.

In the wake of the club’s innovative measure, the task force will conduct a new study to assess the viability of snowmaking with treated wastewater at adjacent Big Sky Resort and Spanish Peaks Mountain Club. The hope is that these ski industry leaders will follow in the Yellowstone Club’s footsteps and help address climate change concerns in the region.

“Water is a limited resource. Reusing treated wastewater to make snow is a model that addresses challenges from climate change and interests in recreation simultaneously,” Drimal said. “I'm an avid skier and I have a stake in this, not just as a conservationist … I want to see the future of a sport that I love—and [which] has given me mental, physical, spiritual health and bliss in my life—I want to see that for myself and for my grandchildren.”

Gabrielle Gasser was the Associate Editor for the Winter 2021/22 issue of Mountain Outlaw magazine.

Rich Chandler, environmental manager at the Yellowstone Club, collects water samples during the snowmaking pilot study in 2011. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE YELLOWSTONE CLUB

PHOTO BY NATE TELLSTROM/YELLOWSTONE CLUB

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Listed By Michael Pitcairn

PEAK SKIS SHOWROOM

U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

CLASSES OF 2021, 2022 INDUCTION CEREMONY

BIG SKY RESORT, MARCH 24-25, 2023

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR WELCOME TO THE BIG SHOW

BY JASON BACAJ

This winter has been something special in Big Sky. We saw almost 6 feet of natural snow in the months of October and November, leading the resort to open early and Troy Nedved, resort general manager, to proclaim that it was the best early season he’s ever seen in his 26 years. Snowfall has continued apace, with a number of storms dropping feet upon feet of the fun stuff on our mountains throughout the season.

What better way to mark the suddenly looming end of the lift-served season—time flies when you’re skiing pow every week—than by celebrating 18 of the best skiers and snowboarders in American history?

Big Sky gets that chance on Friday and Saturday when the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame inducts the classes of 2021 and 2022 at Big Sky Resort. The event is historic, as it marks the firstever induction of female snowboard athletes, with Shannon Dunn-Downing and Tina Basich.

So, we here at Explore Big Sky felt like getting in on the fun by producing this special section recognizing each of the 18 inductees. Each and every one of them has had a uniquely momentous career.

Beyond the sport-defining exploits of DunnDowning (the first American to win an Olympic snowboarding medal) and Basich (who dominated halfpipe competitions and progressed the sport with spins), there’s Sven Coomer, who invented

the modern ski boot; Jan Reynolds, who was the first athlete sponsored by the North Face; Herman Kress Dupré, who built up Seven Springs Resort outside Pittsburgh, where my friends and I skied in high school (and who also considerably improved man-made snow); and Kent Kreitler, who started the off-axis revolution and pioneered freeskiing in Alaska.

And that’s just a small taste of the many accomplishments of merely a third of the people entering the Hall of Fame. If you’re passionate about snowsports and the benefits of making the power of the mountains accessible to as many people as possible, I highly recommend sitting down with this section and leafing through these wildly impressive people’s careers and accomplishments.

BODE MILLER INDUCTED TO HALL OF FAME MILLER REFLECTS ON HIS CAREER, FAMILY AND NEW LIFE IN BIG SKY

“I think the Hall of Fame is kind of putting a bow on the whole thing, right?” Miller said.

He’s excited that induction will be here in Big Sky, where he can help create a positive experience as he hosts a tour of the Spanish Peaks Club and a party for Peak skis—the ski manufacturer he co-founded in 2021.

Miller keeps ties with the East Coast through the Turtle Ridge Foundation, which raises awareness and donates money to organizations focused on youth and adaptive athletes. He founded Turtle Ridge with his family in 2005, the same year he started the BodeFest Ski Challenge, a fundraiser at Cannon to support TRF’s benefactors. Miller and his 10-year-old son made a quick trip to New Hampshire for BodeFest after speaking with EBS on March 15.

BY JACK REANEY

Bode Miller, a world-champion alpine racer and familiar face around town, will be inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame on Friday, March 24 in Big Sky.

Born in 1977, Miller grew up in Franconia, New Hampshire and learned to ski at nearby Cannon Mountain before attending Carrabassett Valley Academy to train at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. He made his Olympic debut in 1998 and returned to the following four, winning one gold, three silver and two bronze medals. He also earned five World Championship medals, 33 World Cup victories and two World Cup overall globes.

When asked about his induction, Miller told Explore Big Sky it feels like his career is far behind him since retiring in 2017.

He said skiers don’t focus much on the Hall of Fame. But it’s a chance to celebrate the whole process, Miller said, and recognize family members, coaches and community members who supported him and don’t always get credit, especially from early years. Little conversations, little bits of support and encouragement helped him balance success on a knife-edge, he said.

“It’s an opportunity for the local community to unify, come together, and have fun,” Miller said.

‘Never an automaton’

As a racer, he’s most proud of winning all five disciplines—slalom, giant slalom, super G, downhill and combined—in just 16 days during the 2004-05 World Cup season, one of two men ever to do so. He’s also the only male skier to win five or more times in each event, according to the Hall of Fame.

He said sweeping against single-event specialists was his most difficult feat of raw skiing. He’s also proud of his approach: his discipline, his stubbornness, and his ability to deal with pressure.

“And I definitely was able to maintain my love for the sport,” Miller said. “I think a lot of people start off one way and ultimately are pushed into treating the sport or the competitions a different way. And that kind of sucks a bit of the fun out of it, I think. That's something I was proud of. I really loved it all the way ‘til the end.”

When asked how his unique style represented the United States, Miller said it’s impossible for one person to represent such a diverse country, but he was authentic to himself.

“I think that's what being an American really is, on a bigger scale, right?” he said. “I was different enough that it was pretty clear to most people... Not just in the way that I skied, but the way that I approached competition, the way that I approached all sorts of things. And of course, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, you know, sometimes you get in [trouble] for that. But I also think that's kind of an American quality. We don't typically toe the company line as often.”

He was an individual, “never an automaton,” like many Austrians who are “stamped out of a mold” from what they say to how they ski, Miller said. He was proud to be different.

He still enjoys skiing. He recently cruised with his 74-year-old father. He gets out with his eight kids and his wife, Morgan, all of whom are at different levels of learning the sport.

“I don't really feel compelled to go out and go hard all the time. I've done that plenty,” he said.

When asked about his favorite local terrain, Miller raved about the Lone Peak Tram: "In North America and the world in general... it’s some of the coolest terrain.”

An innovator with a full plate

Peak Ski Company began selling skis this winter. Miller said it's much bigger than it looks from the surface as they work to build quality skis, make their business model sustainable and process feedback. Next, he'll begin chipping away at some of the bigger projects tied to Peak.

Projects include giving the U.S. Ski Team an edge with American-made race skis, and educating consumers on things like sliding-track bindings.

Miller tinkered with the mount-point on his Peaks, drilling four sets of holes within a centimeter and a half and testing each. He likes track bindings, as the user doesn’t need to commit to a single mount or drill multiple holes. But track bindings aren’t wellunderstood.

Miller, 45, is a five-time Olympian and won six medals. COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARDHALL OF FAME

He said his son was afraid of the dentist. Bode told him the dentist was scary 100 years ago, but in recent decades, “it might not be pleasant, but it's no worse than anything else, really. I mean, you might get a poke from a needle, but generally they numb you up.”

Miller shared that story with EBS to show “the longevity of a misinformed rumor,” and concluded that in the last five or six years, track bindings have become “as good as any other binding on the planet.”

His kids are aged 15, 10, 7, 4, 3, 3 and 1. Miller also counts their daughter who passed away and would be 6. EBS asked if there are any lessons from his skiing career that he’d like to share with his kids. Miller said he mostly tries to lead by example, and practices patience.

“Honestly, I don't really presume to be able to tell them much,” he said. “I think your community does a lot of the parenting just because [kids] interact with other parents who they actually do listen to, usually, and other kids and their teachers and coaches... I do try to teach them basic respect and understanding and some fundamental stuff.”

Two Millers are enrolled in Ophir Elementary School, one is in Discovery Academy, and four haven’t started school.

A big name in a small town

Miller joked that everybody is equally famous back in N.H., and people don’t blow things out of proportion—he’s seen as a person who got good at skiing and had some success. He couldn’t spend much time at home throughout his career but added that it hasn’t changed much across four decades.

He’s lived in Austin, Park City, San Diego—on his boat—and Orange County, Calif. His sister

attended Montana State, so he poked around Bozeman, Bridger Bowl and Big Sky in the late 1990s. He returned to Big Sky for U.S. Ski Team fundraisers and Yellowstone Club events. Three years ago, the Millers made Big Sky home.

Bode praised the community for seeking an amazing outdoor lifestyle, and for having smalltown accountability.

“It's [a lot of] good people who help out when they can, take care of your kids when they can,” Miller said. “It's kind of like extended family, which I love because that's how I grew up as well.”

He’s not here for the transient population and interloping tourists, he said, or small-town rumors and jibber jabber.

“But again, I grew up with that, so it's not unusual to me. And I think, in general, it's been awesome.”

He’s met great people, most of whom connect with skiing in a different way than he did. He said the fanfare has mellowed out since his athletic prime, and in Big Sky, locals relax about the fame he carries once they get to know him.

“I don't need to, you know, leverage [my skiing success],” he said. “I can I have sort of credibility outside of just being a ski racer as well.”

Miller helped revolutionize the sport by racing with shaped skis in the mid-1990s. He encouraged K2 designers to develop the K2 Four, which he rode before turning pro. COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Before retiring from the sport in 2017, Miller became the oldest alpine skier to win an Olympic medal by taking bronze in Super-G at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

THE BOOT WHISPERER SVEN

His achievements include a two-piece, four-buckle overlap design that won hundreds of World Cup events as well as the three-piece cabriolet, popular from World Cup downhill tracks to terrain parks. He added touches like the power strap and the removable liner, pioneered on-site custom insoles and silicone injected liners, and brought on-site custom fitting and after-market expertise to the masses.

Coomer was born in Sydney, Australia to a Swedish mother and an Australian father. At 16, he competed in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics in the pentathlon, and didn’t ski until 1960 in Åre, Sweden, where he studied design and mechanical engineering in university. He was “immediately smitten” with the sport.

COURTESY OF THE U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

As a prolific boot whisperer for half a century, Sven Coomer made plastic perform without pain, birthed custom insoles, silicone liners and other designs that still resonate today.

Ski boots remain perhaps the most critical piece of gear—even if the recent explosion of ski shapes has hogged all the headlines. And Coomer is the most influential boot designer of the modern era.

Coomer arrived in the U.S. in the mid-1960s and was soon recruited by Skiing magazine to participate in its inaugural ski and boot tests.

“Over six weeks, I found that testing equipment, analyzing and problem-solving, were my true calling,” recalls Coomer, who was soon spending summers at the magazine’s New York City offices to write up the test results and various technical articles.

In 1968, Coomer’s transformative ideas led him to get hired at Nordica. Coomer soon moved to Italy, where the Nordica factory was making the transition from leather to plastic boots. Leather was comfortable, but would break down after two

SKIING THE EAST HERMAN KRESS DUPRÉ

Dupré was a master tinkerer who elevated the Seven Springs experience and revolutionized manmade snow. When he took over Seven Springs in 1955, he transformed it from a small, private hunting and fishing club into a 5,000-acre, fourseason resort, which today includes a 10-story hotel. He was dedicated to the resort, snowmaking, nature and to his wife and their nine daughters.

Dupré was born in 1932 to Bavarian immigrants just 30 minutes away from Seven Springs in Ligonier, Penn. He returned home at 22, leaving a Coast Guard career to take over the family business when his father died.

The operation was tiny at the time. Within a year, Herman managed to secure a liquor license in a dry county, installed a Poma lift, and opened Seven Springs to the public.

COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

If you’re a Mid-Atlantic skier you’ve probably heard of Herman Kress Dupré and Seven Springs Resort, the ski area his family founded some 75 years ago in wooded hills an hour’s drive from Pittsburgh.

Wherever you’re from, it’s almost certain that you’ve enjoyed making turns on the smooth surface provided by Dupré’s HKD Snowmaking systems, which are used by an estimated 750 resorts around the world.

Dupré’s father had bought the original 2.5 acres at Seven Springs for $13 in a tax sale, and the son followed his father’s thriftiness and creativity.

One Dupré family rule was that everyone would work. The nine daughters waited tables, checked tickets, and taught skiing and tennis.

Looking to bolster the resort’s 135 inches of natural snowfall, Dupré began tinkering with snowmaking in the late 1960s. With a chemistry degree from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, his first humble efforts involved garden hoses, golf course sprinklers, and a compressor he’d found in a salvage yard.

weeks of hard skiing. Plastic was clearly the future, but most models were painful and cut too low to provide the leverage needed to power fiberglass skis. With Coomer’s detailed analysis and resulting design scheme, Nordica was able to reinforce its boots and stabilize the ankle.

Nordica soon achieved an astounding 30% market share. Coomer continued to innovate and developed the still beloved two-piece Grand Prix race boot. A few years later, he debuted the cabriolet Comp-3, which made the basis of the Raichle Flexon, which is still sold today under K2’s Full Tilt banner.

In 1976, Coomer partnered with Dr. Chris Smith and Dennis Brown to create Superfeet custommolded insoles. He moved to California and opened the Footloose Sports retail store. More advances followed, including the Skithotic, the first molded footbed that could be created in a ski shop.

In the 1980s, Coomer continued to work with various brands, including San Marco (now Head), and Koflach (now Atomic). He introduced the Silicone Personalization System, the first custom liners that didn’t require hazardous materials or bulky injection equipment.

In 1999, he began development of the flexible sole I-Flex system with partner Hans Martin Heierling, which was the basis for the Atomic Redster race boot, worn today by World Cup champions Mikaela Shiffrin and Marcel Hirscher.

Dupré eventually secured 34 patents to further advance the science of forcing water and pressurized air through a snow gun.

In 1991, he launched the game-changing tower snow gun, and the company that eventually became HKD was born. The 30-foot HKD tower was the first gun to mix air and water externally, producing dramatic savings on the power bill.

The modern ski resort business would not exist today without snowmaking, and HKD is in play at many of the country’s premier resorts from coast to coast, including Boyne and Crystal in Michigan and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

In 2001, Dupré was honored with the Sherman Adams Award from the National Ski Areas Association for lifetime achievement. In 2013, SKI named the Duprés one of the country’s “Five First Families of American Skiing.”

The Duprés sold Seven Springs in 2006 to the Nuttings of West Virginia. The Nuttings acquired nearby ski areas Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain, then sold all three to Vail Resorts for $118 million in 2021.

Herman Dupré passed away on April 25, 2020, leaving his wife, Mary, nine daughters (Denise, Laura, Rosi, Anni, Jan, Heidi, Gretl, Michele, and Renee) and 29 grandchildren.

RENAISSANCE MAN JOHN EAVES

Eaves entered the freestyle scene in the mid-1970s with a strong pedigree. Both his mother, two-time Olympian Rhoda Wertele, and his aunt, Rhona Wertele, dominated alpine racing in the 1940s and ‘50s. Besides his freestyle success in the late 1970s, the “Eaveman” carved a unique path as a stuntman, composer, musician, filmmaker and coach.

Born in Montreal in 1953, Eaves made his first turns on Mt. Royal before he could walk, then nurtured his talents in the Laurentians, racing while also pursuing a love of music.

Ideally equipped with training as a gymnast and diver, he found his own vibe in freestyle skiing. He was first drawn by watching K2’s “The Performers” movie and by following the exploits of early stars like Wayne Wong and others.

Best known as a “godfather of aerials” who pioneered new methods for off-snow training, he was a true all-rounder, winning multiple mogul titles with a natural, attacking stance.

COURTESY OF THE U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

The true testament to John Eaves’ diverse talents is that despite winning 42 international freestyle titles and thrice being crowned Skiing’s Freestyle Skier of the Year, he is best known for skiing through a bobsled track in the 1981 James Bond classic, “For Your Eyes Only.”

“John’s powerful yet graceful style was emulated in years to come by Scot Schmidt and Glen Plake, among many others,” Chris Davenport said.

Looking to bolster his ballet routine, each fall Eaves composed and performed the arrangements that would accompany his ballet runs. Skiing to his own music further sparked Eaves’ passion for ballet, and he won multiple titles in that discipline as well.

Early in his career, Eaves traveled down to Vermont to meet Willy Bogner, ex-alpine star and head of the eponymous skiwear company.

This began many decades of collaboration with Bogner, who enlisted Eaves as the lead performer in multiple Fire+Ice productions. Eaves’ oftenhilarious roles ranged from him hanging from a chairlift and then straddling pine trees on the way down to nail-biting descents.

Bogner also introduced Eaves to the Bond crew, and he became particularly close to director John Glen. Eaves was brought on as stuntman for Roger Moore, who just happened to injure his ankle during the bobsled shoot. With the star sidelined, the Bond franchise focused for three weeks on Eaves’ epic bobsled run. Eaves went on to ski four other Olympic tracks, believing that holding an edge on pure ice at 60 mph is the ideal training for ski racers.

Later, Eaves served as a stuntman for Jackie Chan, Leslie Nielsen, and Morgan Freeman. Eaves was also an exceptional snowboarder, paraglider, hang glider, cliff jumper, and windsurfer.

Eaves worked with Ethel Kennedy and Maria Shriver to raise money for the Special Olympics via the Bogner films being shown in the U.S. Just after 9/11 in November 2001, the Bogner tour’s New York City stop raised money for the children who lost their parents in the attack.

A FAMILY-RUN RETAIL EMPIRE DAVE AND RENIE GORSUCH

with a glittering array of antiques, furnishings, fine china, silver, and collectibles. Over the decades, this unique shopping experience usually included one of Dave Gorsuch’s Bernese mountain dogs wandering amidst smartly merchandised wares.

The elegant, upscale approach is particularly notable given the relatively humble roots of the founders. Dave grew up in hardscrabble Climax, Colo., located at 11,300 feet near the summit of Fremont Pass, between Copper Mountain and Leadville. His father worked at the Climax Molybdenum Mine, and with friends installed a rope tow there. They added lights for night skiing, which proved popular with the Tenth Mountain Division troops training nearby at Camp Hale. Meanwhile out East, Renie Cox was tearing up the slopes at tiny Snow Ridge in upstate New York.

“That was it,” Renie recalled. “If we were going to mount bindings, we were going to charge for it.”

They rented an abandoned Standard gas station with an apartment above the garage. They attended their first Ski Industries America show in 1962.

So began the quest for quality that would establish Gorsuch as a globally venerated retail brand, a business that regularly achieved $50 million in annual sales. Dave and Renie opened the flagship Vail store in 1966, and soon became the first U.S. retailers to make regular buying trips to Europe.

COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Any skier or rider who’s visited the flagship Gorsuch store in Vail knows this iconic mountain lifestyle retailer offers an experience like no other.

Gorsuch delivers the expected expertise and service in hardgoods backed by an extraordinary collection of luxury apparel. It then overwhelms the senses

Dave and Renie met at the 1954 Junior Nationals in Jackson Hole, fell in love, competed in the 1960 Olympics at Squaw Valley (Renie finished ninth in slalom, Dave was 14th in GS and downhill), and then married. They eventually moved to Gunnison, Colo.

Renie taught school and paid the bills, while Dave attended and won NCAA championships for Western State College. Ski friends flocked to their apartment because the couple could mount bindings. Skis leaned precariously on every wall of their home, it wasn’t long before some fell and destroyed one of the newlyweds’ set of Tiffany candlesticks.

Gorsuch was named the Ski Retailer of the Year in 1969 (and again in 2003) by the SIA. In 1976, they started their signature catalog, which reached a peak circulation of 3.5 million. The operation expanded to 10 more storefronts.

For a quarter century, Dave and Renie donated equipment for thousands of kids to take up skiing around the U.S. They supported various nonprofits in the Vail Valley, including the Vail Mountain School, the Vail Valley Medical Center, the Steadman Hawkins Foundation, the Jimmie Heuga Foundation, and Ski Club Vail.

Dave passed away on June 26, 2021, but Renie can still be found on the floor of the Vail store and elsewhere, always keeping tabs on the family business.

THE MAN BEHIND THE VOICE PETER GRAVES

Through more than four decades and hundreds of Olympic, World Cup and World Championship events, Graves’ inimitable voice has become synonymous with the sport, from calling the closest cross-country ski race in Olympic history to serving as the stadium announcer at the dramatic, post-9/11 Olympic opening ceremony in Salt Lake City.

Besides his background as an announcer, Graves served as a U.S. Cross Country Ski Team coach and development director, and led the Harvard Nordic ski team from 2002-08. He also owned and managed an international cross country ski travel company, directed cross-country events for Special Olympics International, and served as the Nordic editor for Ski Racing and Ski Trax.

Born in Vermont in 1952, Graves joined the Mt. Anthony Union High School ski team, eventually earning a spot on the Eastern junior national Nordic team. After graduating in 1970, Graves attended Fort Lewis College in Colorado and competed on the cross-country squad.

on hand in Lake Placid with Bill Fleming to call the closest duel in the discipline’s history, when Thomas Wassberg of Sweden nipped Finn Juha Mieto by a hundredth of a second in the 15K.

Graves covered the 1984 and 1988 Olympics for ESPN’s SportsCenter and was the primary television announcer for the U.S. Ski Team from 1986-1990. Segueing into stadium announcing, Graves learned to build a rapport with on-site fans and strategies for covering a lengthy list of competitors.

He learned to moderate his voice in the 1990s and diligently followed a pre-race routine: Plenty of Ricola and water, humming the scales for a vocal warmup, and meditating on the goals for the day.

COURTESY OF THE U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Peter Graves has delivered insight, drama and color on the world’s biggest stages in skiing since 1977.

Intending to work his way up into a large mainstream media market, he initially served as the news director at a Durango radio station and a reporter for an Albuquerque TV station.

Graves’ stadium career began in 1977, when he called the internationally acclaimed American Birkebeiner ski race in Wisconsin. In 1980, he was

THE QUIET REVOLUTIONARY

MIKE HATTRUP

Of the three skiers who changed the world in “Blizzard of Aahhh’s,” Hattrup was the quiet one. Rock stars Glen Plake and Scot Schmidt parlayed their growing fame as professional skiers into decades of big mountain prominence, but Hattrup broke his own trail, helping develop the products that allowed others to experience the mountains.

When the “Aahhh’s” crew arrived in Chamonix with the idea of exporting the extreme freedom of the Alps to slope-locked skiers back in U.S., the stars aligned—particularly at the summit of the famed Aiguille du Midi cable car, which accessed terrain unlike anything in the U.S. Hattrup grabbed his fair share of footage with strong, quick, and balanced attack lines.

His experience in that historic filming trip led him to later guide on Mt. Rainier and becoming just the seventh American Mountain Guides Associationcertified ski guide in 2000.

COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Mike Hattrup first opened eyes in Hall of Famer Greg Stump’s seminal 1988 film “Blizzard of Aahhh’s.”

He then spent three decades opening the minds of winter enthusiasts by filming, guiding and developing products that allowed people to safely access big mountains and the backcountry.

Hattrup has worked with more than a half-dozen companies to develop, market and sell gear. For these diverse contributions, in 2006 Powder magazine named Hattrup as one of the “Most Influential 48 Skiers of Our Time.”

Born in Seattle, Hattrup started skiing at Alpental. He truly dedicated himself to the sport when he realized he could take winters off while studying at the University of Washington. He spent those winters in several iconic Western ski towns as part of a moguls-bashing group that dubbed itself the Goon Squad.

Outside of skiing, Graves has been active in a wide range of sports, and has called thousands of events. During the 1990s, he was an expert commentator and host for international mountain biking on multiple outlets and won an announcer of the year award. He served as stadium announcer for every World Mountain Biking Championship from 1991-2007 and handled on-site cycling announcing at the 2004 and 2016 Olympics, as well as in Tokyo in 2021.

Graves now lives in East Thetford, Vermont. He has two children, Willy, who competed on the U.S. Nordic Combined Team, and Katie, who raced for the Putney School, and one grandchild.

Mogul skiing also led him to Stump. Hattrup would appear in five Stump films and three Warren Miller productions.

In 1988, Hattrup entered the hardgoods world as a product manager at K2. It was the beginning of a career in which he would build a rare skill set: Athlete, certified guide, marketer, sales executive, product manager and innovator, and ultimately director.

Hattrup birthed the K2 Backside division, producing skis, skins, probes, shovels, and packs. Over his career, he’s helped lead innovation at K2, Kästle, and Fischer, and aided efforts at apparel companies Marmot and Outdoor Research.

In 2021, he joined Black Diamond’s ski division as its business unit director. He knew, from experience, the different fit, function and performance needs of backcountry versus freeride apparel; that placing holes in the tips and tails of K2 Backside skis allows them to be repurposed for a backcountry evacuation sled. The centimeter marks on probe poles—a K2 innovation—are invaluable for accurate snowpack study.

Hattrup says the “Aahh’s” ski action is child’s play compared to what big mountain skiers do today, but the movie knocked down the ski adventure door. He still gets stopped on the street by strangers quoting lines from the movie, people who say they quit their jobs to move to the mountains.

THE ‘PIONEER’ SKI MOUNTAINEER, AUTHOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER JAN REYNOLDS

“When I was in my 20s, all I wanted to do was train hard, climb hard and ski hard with those who wanted to do it at the level I was doing it at,” Reynolds said. “I had nothing to prove—I was just having my own demented kind of fun.”

Reynolds often took lightweight telemark or Nordic ski gear on her expeditions. There weren’t very many people ski mountaineering big objectives in the 1980s; fewer were “free-heelers” and even fewer were women. That left Reynolds to blaze her own trail.

“I’m often called ‘the pioneer’ because I was doing expeditions with all men,” Reynolds said. “There weren’t really any women doing what we were doing at that time.”

partner. She explained that companies weren’t open to giving her leadership because she was a woman, so she continued on her own trips, funding them through writing and photography. She cataloged stories on her expeditions and provided imagery to be published alongside her written work.

Reynolds was forced to take a break from her expeditions when a back injury briefly left her unable to walk.

“I really was grounded,” she said. “It gave me a lot of time to think. I wish everyone had time to really think about what it is they want to do with the short time we have on this planet. I could still write and I had to work.”

JULIA BARTON

By 1989, Jan Reynolds had NCAA Nordic skiing championships, an Olympic appearance, multiple first ascents, a world record, and various magazine covers and TV interviews under her belt. Reynolds was pushing the boundaries of free-heeled skiing in some of the world’s harshest environments in any way she could.

Not only that, but she published a dozen books between 1990 and 2013 about the cultures she encountered while adventuring. This month, she’ll be inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame at Big Sky Resort.

Talking to Reynolds, now 67 years old, is like peeking into the fountain of youth—she asked my advice on backcountry ski spots to explore while she’s in Big Sky and had to take a break during our call to wax a pair of skis for a friend. She doesn’t believe in limits, whether they’re set by age, gender or expectations. In fact, she rarely sought out first ascents or world records, but rather went on adventures she wanted to go on and realized the gravity of her accomplishments afterward.

In 1980, Reynolds skied China’s 24,757-foot Muztagata on an expedition sponsored by National Geographic. When she returned, NatGeo informed her that she had set the women’s high altitude skiing world record for the descent, a record she held for eight years.

Reynolds spoke fondly of other women who followed her footsteps into the male-dominated world of professional snow sports, noting her respect for the late Hilaree Nelson, an inspirational ski mountaineer and mother who died in 2022 on an expedition in Nepal.

“[Being inducted to the Ski Hall of Fame] is not gonna change me one way or the other,” Reynolds said. “It means I’m able to bring up others… I want to bring up those that might not have as much representation: women and free-heelers.”

During her heyday, Reynolds was the it girl for outdoor adventure sports. Esquire magazine named her the athlete of the decade in 1984 and she was featured on some of the largest magazine covers and on television talk shows in the U.S.

Reynolds ticked off most of her early objectives with her partner Ned Gillette by her side. In 1982, the North Face approached the pair and offered to sponsor their expeditions and gear. They became the first professional athletes employed by the brand, something other outdoor companies weren’t yet doing, according to Reynolds. North Face now sponsors 87 athletes, and Nelson was the team captain at the time of her death.

“I was one of the first two athletes hired by the North Face when women weren’t really noticed,” Reynolds said, noting that she was offered equal pay to her partner. “We kind of put mountaineering on the map in the U.S. It was really cool to move backcountry skiing forward.”

In the mid ‘80s when she and Gillette split, the brand dropped Reynolds and kept her former

The injury led her to write longer stories about the cultures of Indigenous people she spent time with on her travels. She published the first two books in her “Vanishing Cultures” children’s book series, “Himalaya” and “Sahara” in 1991, and continued the series after her recovery with five more books. Throughout the following three decades she continued her pursuits—athletic and journalistic explorations in Morocco, the Himalayas, the Amazon, Bulgaria, the Alps and beyond, while publishing numerous books including “The Glass Summit,” her 2013 autobiography—while simultaneously becoming a mother.

She’s still an avid adventurer, skiing frequently around her home in Stowe, Vermont, and through her nonprofit, GOOD FUN-D, continues to travel and write about Indigenous cultures around the world. She interacts with teachers and students through her social media, and is beginning to release free books to help break down the barriers for American children to learn about other cultures. Currently, she’s working on a book about a water tribe in Indonesia.

“I try to stay fit, keep up my strength and keep having fun,” Reynolds said. “A lot of it is to be able to get my work done. To do the work I want to do, I have to be strong and nimble. I’m living the same life, I’m still out there doing things and I do what I can do at my age.”

To stay up-to-date on Reynolds’ projects, she recommends following her Instagram @janreynoldsauthor.

an Reynolds has more than a lifetime's worth of achievements, and is still adding to the list. COURTESY OF JAN REYNOLDS

Jan Reynolds has taken many trips to the Himalayas during her career. She was part of the first group to circumnavigate Everest and even attempted to summit the world's tallest peak via hot air balloon. COURTESY OF JAN REYNOLDS

Jan Reynolds excelled in nearly any outdoor sport, as emphasized in this Outside Magazine cover photo. COURTESY OF JAN REYNOLDS

A COMET GLITTERING ACROSS THE NIGHT SKY ALAN SCHOENBERGER

accomplished skier, gymnast, figure skater and barrel jumper.

The idea of merging dance with skiing was always in the back of Schoenberger’s mind, and he found his first stage on the just-then emerging international freestyle circuit. With his mimecharacter “Puppet” and highly choreographed performances set to Johann Sebastian Bach rather than rock ’n’ roll, Schoenberger transformed ballet and defined the discipline for three seasons. He was hardly a one-trick pony: He also claimed second place in the combined (aerials, moguls and ballet) at the 1975 World Hot Dog Championships in Italy.

Another chance to perform came in 1975, when Schoenberger was hired to ski and dance on an early, primitive revolving carpet on the booming national ski show circuit.

COURTESY U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Alan Schoenberger’s path to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame—outdoors as a freestyle champion, then indoors as a matchless stage performer, instructor, educator and coach—was shaped first and foremost by his parents.

He inherited a love of dance from his mother, Eunice, a schoolteacher and dance aficionado. His father, Francis, was an IBM engineer and an

Thus began a never-ending quest to perfect the indoor revolving carpet, or ski bed. This exercise includes varying its pitch, roll, and speed; finding the ideal carpet type and color; aligning complex music scores and lighting; and even creating specialty skis.

There were notable supporters along the way— like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak—whose early colleagues were able to coach Schoenberger on the basics of controlling his ski bed via computer.

His mom’s influence also emerged, and Schoenberger sought counsel from the famed Manhattan dancer and choreographer, Merce Cunningham. Her encouragement would lead to an

GROWING THE SPORT GWEN ALLARD

way, she was a model of perseverance in rallying the entire ski industry around adaptive sport.

Her career was multi-faceted, but her primary contributions came in the field of adaptive sport, where her tireless promotion of the discipline and development of programs and standards led to its broad acceptance.

Growing up in upstate New York, she gained an early passion for the outdoors from her father. In 1964, a lifelong passion was ignited when Allard was invited to start teaching skiing at nearby Maple Ski Ridge.

By the 1970s, Allard focused more on adaptive skiing, seeking mentorship from Bruce Gavett, an early pioneer in the field. Soon enough, she founded the Gore Mountain Adaptive Program.

astounding 1,250 live performances for his madcap, poignant show, complete with juggling and circus hijinks and reaching thousands of skiers and nonskiers alike.

The performances included tours, extended-run productions, and residencies, with an eight-year run in Stowe. The publication Snow Country noted that Schoenberger had created “a genre in which he is the sole and inspired practitioner,” calling him “a comet glittering across the night sky of the imagination.”

Ultimately settling in Park City, Schoenberger continued his ski teaching evolution, partnering with Ellen Post Foster in publishing a half-dozen books and videos. They also created The Turning Point Foundation, a nonprofit supporting junior ski racers in need.

He established SkiStudioParkCity to further merge his original training methods with the everevolving ski simulator. He most enjoys working with young skiers, where he can nurture the ideal carve-first technique. In 2007, Morgan Gowen came to him as a middle-of-the-pack but openeyed 11-year-old competing in the Intermountain Division. She signed on to train six days a week with Schoenberger, and to focus entirely on fundamentals. Several months later, she was the J4 Division Champion.

That helped open the flood gates, and out of a cramped, 550-square-foot space in Park City, Schoenberger has a long line of racers and recreational skiers seeking his counsel.

COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

A pioneering snowsports educator, Gwen Allard spent a half century focusing on helping others learn how to ski, with a particular focus on adaptive skiers.

She was one of the first to embrace adaptive education and went on to become a well-respected leader within the Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors for her innovative teaching methodology and communication skills. Along the

As she began her engagement with adaptive sport, she realized that the development of standardized, professional teaching methods was vital. After earning her PSIA Level 3 in 1974, she then went on to become executive director of PSIA-Eastern in 1975, where she also founded the PSIA-E Foundation.

Her experience became essential to the ski industry in 1990 with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. With her knowledge, she was able to provide strong counsel on how to best manage new protocols to truly provide a great experience for adaptive snowsport enthusiasts.

One of her most noted accomplishments was the development of the Adaptive Sports Foundation at New York’s Ski Windham. Starting with a fledgling program in 1983, she grew it to become an epicenter for adaptive sport. In 2005, the foundation opened the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center.

In the 1980s she also began working with what’s now Move United, leading to PSIA/AASI recognition of adaptive sport. By 1987, PSIA/ AASI and its divisions were training and certifying adaptive teachers.

One of her crowning achievements involved the Double H Ranch in New York. She had been invited in 1997 by Charlie Woods and Paul Newman to investigate how they might make use of an abandoned ski area on their property. Calling on her industry network, Allard generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in donated equipment, put together a staff and volunteer team to make the ranch a thriving success for adaptive sport.

Double H Ranch was the proving ground for a PSIA-AASI program that ultimately reached 70 organizations nationwide impacting over 10,000 adaptive instructors and 20,000 adaptive students.

In recognition of her contributions to the adaptive community in New York state, Allard was honored by President George W. Bush, Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

'PRETTY GOOD FOR A GIRL' TINA BASICH

competition. She led her sport to higher levels with public-facing initiatives, including co-founding Boarding for Breast Cancer.

Growing up in the mid-1980s, she latched onto snowboarding in the sport’s early days. Only a few Tahoe-area resorts allowed snowboarding, but that didn’t stop Basich and her crew from riding every chance they could.

She was one of only a few female competitors when she took part in her first contest at age 17, earning the first of many podium finishes. A year later at the 1987 World Championships in Breckenridge, she was offered a sponsorship from the Kemper snowboarding team. It opened up opportunities for exposure with team photoshoots and travel expenses to compete across the country.

As was typical for the time in the ‘80s, she competed in all events (even moguls and giant slalom), but found her true love in the air. In the early days, she was dominant in halfpipe, winning or placing at nearly every competition she entered, claiming two U.S. halfpipe championships.

COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Tina Basich helped put women’s snowboarding on the map on her way to becoming one of the most influential pioneers and ambassadors in snowboarding and action sports.

She won X Games and U.S. Open titles, and was the first woman to land a backside 720 in

In a time when snowboarding was building its image as a popular new sport, Basich became its poster child. She led her sport to higher levels by taking every opportunity that came her way.

By 1994, with several titles under her belt, she launched her first pro model with Kemper Snowboards. The same year Shannon DunnDowning, her friend and snowboarding peer, also released her pro model with Sims. It forced the

THE PROLIFIC WORDSMITH GARY BLACK

He gained global respect for his insightful sport coverage, focus on athletes and his role with the International Ski Federation, using his editorial voice to push for positive change in the sport.

Black was born in 1941 into a newspaper family, and followed his father’s footsteps at the Baltimore Sun before a financial career in San Francisco. As a young man he traveled the world, hopscotching countries, including a stint on the ski patrol in Portillo, Chile.

His passion for skiing came from his mother, Catherine, an avid outdoorswoman. Black never took to racing, but spent weekends on the slopes teaching skiing at Maryland’s Oregon Ridge during college.

industry to notice that there was, indeed, a need for women’s-specific equipment.

Basich and Dunn also designed the Prom and Tuesday outerwear brands, bringing technical women’s apparel to the snowboard world.

Her most memorable career moment was at the 1998 Winter X Games where she shocked the snowboarding scene by landing the first 720 backside rotation, which opened a new era of progression.

After breaking her leg in 1999, she downshifted her competitive career and focused on riding powder. She pioneered big mountain riding, making first descents in Alaska and leading film crews to the biggest lines any snowboarder was doing at the time.

In 2003 HarperCollins published her autobiography, "Pretty Good for a Girl," telling her story of perseverance and the challenges of rising in a male-dominated sport.

From feature stories to cover shots, in media around the globe, she told the story of snowboarding from a woman’s perspective. She appeared on national television from MTV to NBC, and even the silver screen. Her all-girls action sports show GKA on Fuel ran 40 episodes.

Over the nearly four decades since she first strapped into a snowboard, Basich has remained a relevant and vital pioneer in snowboarding.

COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

A lifelong adventurer and newspaperman, Gary Black’s more than three-decade stewardship of Ski Racing International magazine began in 1984 and played a pivotal role in the growth of the sport of ski racing internationally.

He brought that love of skiing to his own family, taking the kids every weekend to Wisp where he was easily the strongest skier on the ski patrol. During school holidays, the family packed the car for drives up to Sugarbush in Vermont, which would later become his home.

In 1984, he followed his love for ski racing and acquired Ski Racing International. His passion for the sport, combined with his vast knowledge on media publishing, helped enrich the magazine. In its heyday, Ski Racing published 20 editions each year including the annual Redbook, a yearbook on the sport.

Growing up a journalist, Black saw the need to establish global credibility for his new acquisition. He focused on building relationships with the global sport community, forging alliances with World Cup founder Serge Lang and the Association of International Ski Journalists. He established a formidable presence with Ski Racing at the 1985 FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in Italy to build the magazine’s brand.

What most drove him, though, were the people in the sport. An affable and friendly character with a distinctive laugh that often echoed through press centers, he became a friend to all.

He served a key role as a trustee of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation. He eventually made Sun Valley his home, serving on the board of the Sun Valley Ski Education foundation and was instrumental in starting the Sun Valley Ski Academy. But the affiliation with which he took special pride was his more than 50 years as a member of Austria’s Ski Club Arlberg.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard recognized Black in 2003 with its John Clair Award for his support of the U.S. Ski Team. In 2005, he was acknowledged with the Russell Wilder Award for contribution to youth. In 2008, he received the Julius Blegen Award, the highest honor for service to sport. In 2017 he received lifetime achievement awards from the AIJS international journalists’ association and the International Skiing History Association.

A SNOWBOARDING PIONEER: SHANNON DUNN-DOWNING

Burton. She also co-founded Boarding for Breast Cancer.

She grew up around sport in the suburbs of Chicago, learning to ski when she was 3. A family move to Steamboat Springs, Colo. when she was 9 changed her trajectory. In 1988, the first winter the Steamboat resort allowed snowboarding, her brother Sean taught her the emerging new sport.

The very next day, she bought a snowboard and never skied again.

Inspired by her brother, she entered her first halfpipe contest that first season. It became her new love. In 1990, at just 17, she scored her first podium in a pro event.

She attended Colorado University in Boulder. But as her snowboarding progressed, she decided to make that her career.

COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

A dominant force in snowboard competition, Shannon Dunn-Downing won an International Snowboard Federation World Championship title, back-to-back U.S. Open crowns and gold at the first X Games.

She was the first American—male or female—to win an Olympic snowboard medal in the 1998 debut in Nagano. A pioneer in her sport, she developed women’s pro snowboards with Sims and

Between 1992-94, Dunn-Downing dominated the halfpipe discipline. And she did it not just to collect her own trophies, but to make a statement about creating a market niche for women. She partnered with her friend and fellow athlete, Tina Basich.

Her first pro model, the S. Dunn Sunflower Board, was released in 1994 by Sims, the same year Basich had a pro model with Kemper. With the help of marketing director Gaylene Nagel, and her pro board went on to record sales—outpacing men’s pro boards at the time. It was Sims’ number one selling board that year.

In 1995, she switched to Burton snowboards where her new Dolphin 144 pro model again reached record heights in sales. Burton is re-releasing her original Dolphin pro model in May 2023.

As an athlete, she was a pacesetter during the formative growth of competitive snowboarding worldwide. She won back-to-back U.S. Open halfpipe titles and was the 1993 ISF world halfpipe champion. In 1997, she became the first X Games female gold medalist in halfpipe.

She was a headline athlete going into snowboarding’s 1998 Olympic debut in Nagano. In the halfpipe, she made history as the first American to win an Olympic medal when she earned bronze. Four years later, she took fifth at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

She was a true leader of progression in the halfpipe, from pioneering back-to-back 540s, a Mctwist, to an inverted frontside 720.

Together with Basich, Dunn-Downing designed and helped market the all-female outwear brand, Prom. Their work resulted in the fit, function, and women’s-specific style to influence an entire generation of women to start snowboarding.

Looking back today, Dunn-Downing is still amazed that a sport that resembled art and a means of expression has grown to become so popular. She credits her longtime friendship with Basich as a key help in navigating through such an exciting time for snowboarding.

LEADING INTO NEW FRONTIERS ALAN ‘RUSTY’ GREGORY

Gregory’s leadership skills and entrepreneurial vision are regarded for touching the full breadth of skiing and snowboarding in America. He built his career under the watchful eye of the legendary Dave McCoy, before ushering the sport into a new, modern era.

Growing up, Gregory played baseball and football, and developed a passion for surfing. When his surfing friends would head up to Mammoth Mountain every winter, he was always too busy to tag along. After a career as a University of Washington linebacker, he got hooked on skiing.

After looking at professional football, he stopped by Mammoth Mountain in 1978 for a season as a lift operator, but stayed for a career. His natural talent and vibrant personality stood out to Mammoth’s owner. By 1995, he was Mammoth’s CEO.

He was named a senior strategic advisor for Alterra, helping to develop the Ikon Pass and leading the charge to ensure that each Alterra resort kept its individuality. He was named CEO in 2018 and retired from the role in 2022.

Along the way, Gregory was known for his engagement with community and industry. In 2000, he joined the board of the National Ski Areas Association, during a period when original resort owners and operators were turning resorts over to the next generation.

Gregory led NSAA from 2005-09, representing the sport on Capitol Hill on numerous legislative hearings including the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest and Public Lands.

COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Southern California surfer and team sports star Alan “Rusty” Gregory left a football career to work at Mammoth Mountain in 1978, moving up from liftie to CEO and owner. He went on to head up Alterra Mountain Company and played a pivotal role in its early growth and development of the Ikon pass.

In 1996, Gregory was at the helm as Intrawest acquired shares of the company. In 2005, Mammoth was acquired by the Starwood Group, which saw him become board chair, one of five majority shareholders and remaining as CEO.

Gregory also led Mammoth’s efforts in 2014-15 to acquire Big Bear Mountain Resort leading to the development of Mammoth Resorts and the debut of the Calif4nia Pass. Just two years later, he crafted the deal that brought Mammoth Resorts into the fold with KSL Capital Partners and Aspen Skiing Company to form the new Alterra Mountain Company.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1995 named him to the California Travel and Tourism Commission. Gregory eventually served as chief financial officer and vice chair for the nonprofit. Gregory was also a longtime board member of the California Ski Industry Association, receiving its 2018 Award of Excellence.

A longtime trustee of the Yosemite Conservancy, Gregory served as its vice chair, working with the National Park Service to educate the next generation.

In his own community, he was a founding board member of Mammoth Lakes Housing, a local workforce housing initiative formed in 2003. He has also been a longtime trustee of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team foundation.

PROGRESSING THE SPORT KENT KREITLER

legendary Shane McConkey and Michael Jaquet, founder of Freeze Magazine. The trio led Boulder to become the brief epicenter of freeskiing as Kreitler and McConkey pushed one another to go bigger, and Jaquet documented their growth.

Kreitler is recognized as the first skier to style tricks with grabs, and the first to land off-axis 360s and 720s, now a mainstay in many contemporary skiing disciplines, including the Olympics.

Kreitler broke out in 1993 when he won the U.S. Extreme Skiing Championships at Crested Butte, Colo., a seminal event with then rare television coverage that launched freeskiing into prominence. Kreitler became its first big star, moving to Tahoe and launching his film career. During that career, he pioneered big mountain zones around Valdez and Cordova in Alaska, bagging numerous first descents along the way.

BY JASON BACAJ

If you’ve watched any freeskiing event in recent years, you’ve witnessed Kent Kreitler’s influence. Grabs, off-axis spins and landing backwards—all are elements that the Sun Valley resident pioneered in the sport’s formative days in the 1990s.

Kreitler was both a successful competitor and a big mountain skier whose career started with photoshoots and early extreme contests that later landed him roles filming.

The freeski pioneer’s trajectory began with a family move to Sun Valley when he was 10, where he got hooked on skiing. He discovered his passion for big mountains when he attended Colorado University in Boulder. While there, Kreitler roomed with the

“Heli time was a lot cheaper back then,” Kreitler told EBS. “We weren’t on huge budgets, but we’d make it work and we’d go out and just explore, man. It was fun.”

On film, Kreitler was one of the rare athletes who worked with multiple production companies, starring in films by Nick Nixon, Warren Miller, Teton Gravity Research and Matchstick Productions.

He was also an early ski design innovator of both twin-tip and fat skis. In particular, he helped created the K2 Poacher—the first fat-waisted twintip park ski. Plus, Kreitler had four separate promodel skis from K2 and Blizzard, a Spyder clothing line and a signature goggle from Zeal Optics after a long career with Smith.

After 15 years of professionally sending it and pushing freeskiing progress, Kreitler felt burned out.

“A lot of what I did was quite dangerous,” Kreitler said. “I kind of aged out of it to where I just didn’t want to be putting myself in those risks all the time.”

Sponsorship dollars dwindled, younger athletes were coming to the fore, and he wanted to sample what else life had. He moved to San Francisco to live in a city, did a yoga teaching course, rehabbed his body, bought property in Panama and started surfing. Within a few years, Kreitler was recharged and ready to jump back into ski town life.

“We are so lucky to live in these mountain town communities, but it’s good to check out for a while,” he said.

Kreitler moved back to Sun Valley after his hiatus in the city. These days, he's working in real estate in Idaho and also developing the Panama property. Nothing has been built on it just yet, but the project's design includes an off-grid community and a hotel.

And he still loves skiing. Kreitler said that he can be found searching for and skiing powder most winter days and watching the sport continue to progress through the likes of fellow Idaho resident “Crazy” Karl Fostvedt, who won the first-ever Kings and Queens of Corbet’s competition in Jackson Hole in 2018.

“I’m still fanatical about skiing,” Kreitler said. “I just want to ski pow. And this season, there’s so much shoulder country off of the ski area… I don’t know if it’s possible for anyone to come close to skiing as much pow as a couple of my friends and I do.”

Kent Kreitler. COURTESY OF THE U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Kreitler landed the first magazine photo of a skier styling tricks with grabs. COURTESY OF THE U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Kreitler pioneered big mountain lines in Alaska during his film career. COURTESY OF THE U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

THE FATHER OF FREESTYLE SNOWBOARDING TERRY KIDWELL

He grew up in Tahoe City, Calif., first gravitating to the fledgling sport of snowboarding in 1977 when he rode a friend’s adapted-to-snow waterski. The board really didn’t turn. They built a jump as a solution, a simple innovation that became the blueprint for Kidwell’s career.

Kidwell and his friends quickly graduated to Winterstick boards. With limited access to lifts, they crafted a halfpipe at the local trash dump, using the free-spirited creativity of skateboarding for the future of snowboarding.

As snowboarding equipment continued to advance in the early ‘80s, along with the sport’s acceptance at lift-served resorts, Kidwell and his Tahoe City halfpipe crew followed suit. As the sport headed into pipes, Kidwell’s natural athletic talent and creative style made him an early force that was tough to beat.

COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Known as “The Father of Freestyle,” Terry Kidwell’s innovative vision in the 1970s and ‘80s pioneered the early evolution of the sport, creating elements of freestyle competition, enabling him to dominate as a four-time halfpipe and three-time overall world champion. His passion led to defining the terrain, the equipment and the style that characterizes the sport today.

Kidwell was one of the first snowboarders featured by Warren Miller in 1984. An ‘80s Tom Sims film session of Kidwell flying off Soda Springs’ Wine Rock is considered the most published photo in snowboarding history.

Up to that point, snowboards were only designed for powder turns or racing. Kidwell was looking for something more akin to a skateboard.

Kidwell and Sims joined forces to create the first snowboard designed to be ridden in either direction, opening up an entirely new world of skate-inspired riding. Their prototype featured an upturned tail, setting a wider stance and using a

COACHING UP A RISING TIDE

In his tenure from 2002-08, seven different athletes gained podium finishes, with the men’s team twice finishing second in the Nations’ Cup standings. His athletes amassed 98 World Cup podiums with nine Olympic and World Championship medals.

As part of a non-skiing family in Connecticut, McNichol was an unlikely candidate to rise to success within international ski racing. His first skis were hand-me-downs from a friend’s brother.

He never intended to make a career in skiing, but a chance trip out West changed his pathway. On a stopover in Flagstaff, Ariz., it snowed. He borrowed skis and went to Arizona Snowbowl for his first powder experience. He decided to stay, attending Northern Arizona University and coaching the college ski team. He coached the Park City Ski Team from 1993-97, where he caught the eye of U.S. Ski Team coaches.

unique binding. It became the world’s first signature model freestyle snowboard, the Terry Kidwell Roundtail 1550FE Pro, released in 1985. Its design remains state-of-the-art decades later. Sims reissued the board in 2014.

From that point forward, Kidwell’s influence was undeniable.

His legendary session at the Donner Quarterpipe included the first documented McTwists, handplants and other skate-driven tricks like Kidwell’s still-revered method air.

Kidwell helped usher snowboarding into the national consciousness in 1987 as a star of a Wrigley Juicy Fruit gum commercial airing on primetime network television. His Andrecht handplant blew minds and the closing shot of his signature method air added the punctuation.

Long before the X Games, Kidwell dominated the competition scene, winning the halfpipe World Championships four times in a row from 1984-87. He was second to Sims in the inaugural Mount Baker Banked Slalom in 1985 and won the 1985 Sierra Snowboarding Championships. At the 1986 World Snowboard Classic, he won halfpipe, giant slalom and slalom. In 1987 he took overall, slalom and moguls (yes, moguls) at the North American Championships in British Columbia. He also won the halfpipe as it made its U.S. Open debut in 1988. His singular influence led him to receive the TransWorld Snowboarding Lifetime Achievement Award.

COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

Phil McNichol led the men’s U.S. Alpine Ski Team during its most successful period in history, helping boost athletes like Bode Miller, Daron Rahlves, Ted Ligety and others to success at the World Cup, World Championships and Olympics.

McNichol joined the U.S. Ski Team staff in 1997, first as a development coach then advancing to the Europa Cup team. After the 2002 Olympics, alpine director Jesse Hunt tabbed him to head the men’s team.

In five years as a development coach, he produced international results at every level. In his six years at the helm of the men’s national alpine team, he assembled a team of coaches who led the U.S. men to their greatest sustained period in history. That stretch saw 42 World Cup victories and 98 podium finishes, six World Cup titles including two overall,

four World Championship titles and the first Olympic gold medal in a dozen years.

Coming into McNichols’ first season, both Rahlves and Miller brought proven success and in 2002-03, the pair had 13 World Cup podiums and four wins combined. The team finished third in the Nations’ Cup.

During that time, McNichols was craftily building a culture based on team success. While it may have been Rahlves and Miller carrying the heavy freight, McNichols found ways to carry that spirit through the entire team roster. Every athlete and coach would don flame-design shirts to celebrate any podium finish. It was contagious.

In 2005, Miller went into the Bormio, Italy speed run and swept downhill and super G gold at World Championships, partnering with Rahlves for a onetwo downhill finish.

A year later, young Ligety—whom McNichol had coached on the Park City Ski Team—broke through with an unexpected Olympic gold in alpine combined. Soon, other athletes were cracking the World Cup downhill podium.

Part of McNichol’s success as a coach was his skill as an enterprising business leader. He forged business partnerships with companies designed to support his athletes, including a relationship with the Trentino region, which sponsored an on-snow training center in northern Italy for the team.

SPEED DEMON CJ MUELLER

Mueller (nicknamed Crazy John, or CJ) was a pioneering voice for the sport, helping it in its formative years and boosting it into the 1992 Olympics.

The Colorado native didn’t get into skiing until the ninth grade when he joined a friend on a trip to Ski Cooper in Leadville.

He tried college at the Colorado School of Mines, but what he really wanted to do was live in a ski town and connect with the mountain. Within a year of moving to Breckenridge in 1970, he earned the Crazy John moniker. He soon became the skier in Breck, skiing every day, organizing a town racing series and later U.S. Ski Association events. His ‘70s-vintage rock and roll air band (with guitars made of skis) became legendary.

COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD

HALL OF FAME

One of the dominant Americans in the pioneering days of speed skiing of the 1980s and early ‘90s, John “CJ” Mueller was the first man internationally to break 130 mph on skis and eclipsed three world records.

In his career, he won three events including a U.S. World Cup, was the fastest American from 198792 and a top-10 finisher in his sport’s Olympic demonstration event at the age of 40.

Mueller first tried alpine racing and competed in the downhill in the U.S. Alpine Championships at nearly 30. A 1981 knee injury curtailed his traditional racing career.

In February of 1981, a community exchange program led him to Val d’Isere, France where he met a speed skier who encouraged him to join her at nearby Les Arcs where they were testing a new speed skiing run. He clocked 103 mph in his first competition.

The American speed skiing standard was 124 mph, set in 1978.

In the 1987 speed skiing season, Mueller won the opener at 100 mph. Two weeks later he clocked a personal best of 125 mph in France, setting the stage for his 1987 world record 131.74 mph at Les Arcs.

Mueller connected with SWIX as a service technician, helping with World Cup support and shop clinics to support himself. He became known for his innovative ski preparation focussed on speed.

At Les Arcs in April, 1988, Mueller hit 136.31 mph as the fastest American, finishing fifth behind Swiss Michael Prufer, who set a record of 139.02 mph.

His best World Cup season came in 1990 when he won at Willamette Pass, Ore. and was named USSA’s Speed Skiing Athlete of the Year. In a 13-year speed skiing career, he recorded 29 top-10 finishes with 11 podiums and three victories. He missed the 1990 World Cup title by a thousandth of a second in the final.

During half-century skiing at Breckenridge, he became legend on the mountain. He has one run named after him (C.J.’s on Peak 7) and helped name a dozen more. Mueller was also a leader in supporting other athletes through the Breckenridge Elite Athletes Foundation. He was inducted into the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2014.