Ten Below and Let's Go: A Beautiful Rocky Mountain Morning

Glad I am for friends, skiing and other outdoor activities to keep me from going nuts. As faculty union president at my little college, I interact a lot with our faculty--most of whom are bright, hardworking, and very personable. There are the evil, bullying ones, though... Arrrggghhh!

But how mad at the world can I be on a beautiful morning like this:

Daughter Emily Munday is home on spring break, it's ten below zero, and there's fresh powder: Let's go skiing! Here is Em & RTD (RolyTheDog) on a good run on the Yankee Boy trail:

The Yankee Boy has three steep climbs, three fast downhill runs, flats to skate, and turns in the most "interesting" places: a terrific classic ski trail. Exiting Yankee Boy, you schuss into the Little Nipper trail for a cooldown. And a bit of chocolate (or a biscuit, depending on your species!):

All too soon it's across the old dairy farm meadow and down the trail to the truck:

What's that, Scurrious Squirrel Person (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)? A what near the trail?

Oh! I haven't seen Alces alces for a few weeks, but Moose Person has stepped out to say "Hi" to Emily--an all-too-infrequent visitor:

OK, I'm ready for work and another day of work.

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The Moulton: Montana's finest classic cross country ski trails, just five miles north of Butte America.

Full Moon Ski

Leaving the Montana Tech campus after teaching my evening class yesterday, the almost-full moon was rising in clear sky:

A good night for a moonlight ski--a day or two before the actual full moon, so the moon rises earlier and old folks don't have to stay up so late. Andrea Stierle had suggested a night ski earlier in the day, and I was just pulling on a pair of old wool pants when Don Stierle (Don & Andrea are in this Daily Show clip about Butte at 3:55) called to say, "Pick you up at 8." It was 5 deg F and the temperature was dropping fast in the wake of the setting sun. I finished putting on my layers, fed RTD (RolyTheDog), stood my skis & poles by the gate, and ate a butter sandwhich (good fuel for a night ski!) while waiting.

Skiing by the light of the full moon is one of life's great pleasures. The world changes at night as space pulls in around us, sounds become sharper in the still air, and our mind settles into a calm center that puts the hectic events of work & daylight into proper perspective. We skied out the Neversweat Trail, up a new route through the trees tentatively laid out by by Mike Stickney, and stood out on the edge of Moonlight Flat (on maps it's called Big Flat) looking over our little city of Butte America (aka Funkytown):

Though well below zero, the calm air did not feel cold. We skied back across the flat and dropped down to the Claim Jumper Trail, pausing when Andrea and the dogs detected the strong odor ofa Big Kitty drifting up from the trees. This is in an area where we have several times seen lion tracks over the years, so we kept the dogs close.

It was a fast run back down to the parking lot, and even old RTD broke into a quick trot now and again. Life is good, and though the longer days and blue sky sunshine will soon herald spring, we take deep joy in winter's simple lessons of friendship, nature's cyclic death and rebirth, and schussing along under the moon's soft glow.

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The Moulton: Montana's finest classic cross country ski trails, just 5 miles north of Butte.

The Snow Goes on Forever (and the skiing never ends)

I love March in Butte Montana: America's finest St Paddy's day celebration is just around the corner; there's lots of snow in the mountains; and troutfishing on the Big Hole River and elsewhere is good.

We are into this great weather cycle. The sun goes down, temperatures drop from the 30s deg F to near zero, it clouds up, a little powder snow falls, and the sun shines brightly the next day. Thsi weather also makes for a great local phenomenon called "Pit Fog." Here is a major cloud rising up as the dawning sun heats the valley; silhouetted against the fog is a mining head frame, aka "gallows frame" [view east from my house]:

The fog comes from the relatively warm water of the Berkeley Pit Superfund Site, an abandoned mile-across/1,000+ foot deep open-pit mine that has filled with water to become America's largest toxic lake [this pic is from Vulgare]:

As morning spreads over the Silver Bow Valley, Pit Fog creeps upon the lower Butte area known as The Flats:

By the time breakfast is over, the sun is bright and it's time to ski. View here is looking West to the Pintler Wilderness:

RTD (RolyTheDog) is waiting on me for a change, first tracks!

And away we go:

Daughter Emily is home on spring break from college this week--maybe we'll go fish the river some afternoon. Quork out! [this pic from "LED"]:

The Winters of Butte Montana

The longer, warmer days of March bring abundant clear, blue skies. This makes late winter a pleasure here along the Continental Divide of the Northern Rockies. The snow is nearly gone from Butte America at 6,000 feet. Yet a few miles into the hills in any direction (Butte is in a cul-de-sac of the Continental Divide) and the skiing and snowshoeing are superb.

Skiing along the trails at The Moulton, just five miles north of Butte, you can witness the drama of the hunt, written in the snow by the tracks of a snowshoe hare and a fox. The fox crosses the hare's track, and then follows it keeping downwind and above its prey:

Though one bright sunny day after another lulls us into a false sense that "spring is in the air," there are yet a few major snowstorms to come:

After all, it is still winter, and will be until the lilacs bloom in late May! and even they sometimes get bit with by the not-so-dull teeth of Old Man Winter:

Still, we Buttians (Buttites? Butticians? Butties?) love our little city in the mountains of Montana, year around:

It's a social place--after 15-minutes at the Quarry Brew Pub you'll be chatting away with your new best friends:

An maybe they invite you on a little cross country tour:

Those of you in warmer climes probably find the prospect of a 6-month winter oppressive. But for winter sports lovers, it is the very stuff of life. Even for non-outdoorspeople, social interactions more than compensate for the "frightful" weather outside. How do you know if newcomers to Butte will "make" it? The two best predictors seems to be any combination of a love of winter sport and a desire to make friends & socialize. Here's to good friends and good skiing! Quork out [this photo from "photobucket"]:

Mid-winter Yellowstone National Park

Despite having a paper and faculty union contract revisions to finish, we headed to Chico Hot Springs for a weekend at a rental house with some of the gang. Pleasant soaks, skiing in the Park, hang-time with good friends: It was worth having to pull an "all nighter" Sunday to finish my work.

Nice views from the porch, too:

Saturday breakfast and some of us skied the Blacktail Trail and others hiked the Mammoth Terrace. There was more of a crowd than I'm used to seeing on ski trails near Butte America:

But Don can always find a little untouched snow for a tele turn or two:

A short hike got us out on a rocky point for lunch, and it seemed very remote:

The lichens were spectacular at this spot:




And we were treated to a tiny carnival of snow fleas:

They could have went swimming in this icy little pool:

Shadows were getting longer, telling us it was time to turn back:

On the way back, there were some fresh mystery turds on the ski track. Laid so elegantly, a bit large for weasel/ermine, maybe an anal retentive pine marten:

Ewe, a sheep:

And of course lots of elk and buffalo. A herd of that ilk on a lush swale:

And a few in places less traveled by:

We stopped for a visit in the Lamar Valley to watch 6 wolves. They were more than a half-mile away and small through binoculars, but these three dedicated wolf watchers shared their good scopes and told us about the old alpha male with the broken and healed leg that still led the pack. We paused several times as the long howls sifted through the crisp clear air:

Back at the house, we were greeted by our own two wolves, RTD the old wolf:

And Lazarus the wolf pup, a rescued dog from an abandoned busload of huskies:

Two restful nights, long soothing soaks, and all too soon it was time to go. Oops! Andrea did not quite make the run to the porch for my camera's timer:

EcoRover Goes to Boston

I'm a homebody, and don't like to wander too far from the good elk hunting, backpacking, cross country skiing, and trout fishing in my backyard. But Mrs. EcoRover & I weren't about to miss daughter Emily swimming at her conference championship, either, as well as a chance to see friends Andy & Sarah Wilson and their daughter Emily from New Hampshire. So off we went.

Mostly, we sat and cheered in the morning, drank a pint or two for lunch, then cheered some more for the evening finals. But we did get out to a few sites, like the New England Aquarium:


With its amazing jellies:


Cute penquins:

Show-off of an octopus:

And hard working snails:

Looking at fish for two hours builds up an appetite for fish at our favorite spot, The Barking Crab:

Best oysters in Boston:

After a hearty lunch of oysters, crabcakes, and pints, it's time for a walk. For a little city, Butte America has great architecture, but I am partial to the grand old train stations found in cities; here, South Station:

You can't walk far above or below ground in Boston without taking in some of the great street performers:

For the girls, there was a little shopping time, which I find for the birds:

We also visited the Museum of Science, took in an IMAX show, and were totally enthralled by the butterfly house. Sorry for all the pics--these are only a few of what I shot:







And even in the big city of Boston, you can find a little wildlife. No, seriously. Like the infamous Charles River white geese, seen here from the Boston University bridge:

Alas, here we are back in Butte, missing oysters and seeing daughter Emily. Guess we'll head to Chico Hot Springs/Yellowstone National Park this weekend and drown our sorrows.