Medical - Explore Big Sky

Big Sky’s Locally Owned & Published Newspaper 

Big Sky 

March 18, 2011 

Volume 2 // Issue #6 

dirTBag Ball: 

Wild, Wooly & 

sometimes 

scandalous 

staycation | 320 ranch 

The UncerTain 

FUTUre oF 

Medical 

MarijUana 

Big Sky kids headed to state science fair 

local gear: 

buck Products 

knaPPsacks 

explorebigsky.com 

Photo by troy Paulson


March 18, 2011 

VoluMe 2, Issue 6 

CEO, PUBLISHER & 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Eric Ladd 

COO & SENIOR EDITOR 

Megan Paulson 

CREATIVE DIRECTOR 

Mike Martins 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Emily Stifler 

GRAPHIC DESIGNER 

Kelsey Dzintars 

EDITOR 

Abbie Digel 

SALES DIRECTOR 

Hunter Rothwell 

DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR 

Danielle Chamberlain 

VIDEOGRAPHER 

Brian Niles 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Anne Cantrell, Audrae Coury, Ania Bulis, 

Ethan Gaddy, Kelly Gorham, Crystal 

Hagerman, Sara Hoovler, Jamey Kabish, 

Mike Quist Kautz, Hatton Littman, 

Cindy McGinnis, Brandon Niles, David 

Nolt, Ersin Ozer, Troy Paulson, Nicole 

Rosenleaf-Ritter, Rachel Roth, Scotty 

Savage, Kaela Schommer, Amy Smit, Ennion 

Williams 

edItorIal PolIcy 

Outlaw Partners LLC is the sole owner of 

The Big Sky Weekly. No part of this publication 

may be reprinted without written 

permission from the publisher. The Big 

Sky Weekly reserves the right to edit all 

submitted material for content, corrections 

or length. Printed material reflects 

the opinion of the author and is not necessarily 

the opinion of Outlaw Partners or 

the editors of this publication. No advertisements, 

columns, letters to the editor or 

other information will be published that 

contain discrimination based on sex, age, 

race, religion, creed, nationality, sexual 

preference, or are in bad taste. 

PaPer dIstrIbutIon 

Distributed every other Friday in 

towns across Southwest Montana, 

including Big Sky, Bozeman, West Yellowstone, 

Three Forks and Livingston. 

correctIons 

The Big Sky Weekly runs corrections to 

errors we’ve printed. Please report them 

to emily@theoutlawpartners.com 

outlaW Partners & the 

bIG sKy WeeKly 

P.O. Box 160250 

Big Sky, MT 59716 


(406) 995-2055 

media@theoutlawpartners.com 

© 2011 The Big Sky Weekly 

Unauthorized reproduction 

prohibited 

2 march 18, 2011 


happy spring from the outlaw Partners! spring equinox this year is march 20. 

it’s girl Scout 

cookie Season 

Visit the Girl scouts of montana and 

Wyoming website: gsmw.org to find 

out how to get your samoa cookie 

fix. the girls have dominated sales this 

year, so get them while they last! 

leTTer To 

The ediTor 

ParaMeTerS 

This is a platform for readers to express 

views and share ways they would like 

to effect change. The Weekly will run 

letters, positive or negative, of 250 

words or less that are respectful, ethical, 

state accurate facts and figures, and are 

proofread for grammar and content. We 

reserve the right to edit letters. Please 

include: first and last name, address, 

phone number and title. Send letters to 

emily@theoutlawpartners.com. 

community…4 

local news…7 

regional…8 

montana…12 

explore…14 

collage...17 

youth…23 

sports…24 

real estate…25 

business...27 

big sky Weekly 

Two daisiy girl Scouts learning 

to rock climb at geyser 

Whitewater this fall 

TaBle oF conTenTS 

classifieds…31 

local Gear…33 

Gallery...37 

outdoors…38 

health & 

Wellness…41 

music hunter…43 

events…45 

Fun...47 

back 40…48

Perhaps it’s time to let your body wander along with your mind. 

Let us introduce you to one of our unique properties. 

Live Life Wide Open 

Marilyn Walsh 

Broker 

406.580.4242 

Custom Homes Ski-In Ski-Out Properties Vacant Land 

Big Sky, Montana The Club at Spanish Peaks Yellowstone Club Moonlight Basin Ranch 

Jason Parks 

Broker 

406.580.4758 

Sandy Revisky 

Broker, CRS, GRI 

406.539.6316 

Branif Scott 

Broker 

406.579.9599 

Ania Bulis 

Broker 

406.580.6852 

PureWest Properties.com | info@PureWest Properties.com | 406-995-4009 


Jackie Miller 

Managing Broker 

406.539.5003 

big sky Weekly

4 march 18, 2011 

community 

resort Tax Q+a 

Hello Ms. Smit, 

My wife and I are visiting this week for the great skiing at Big Sky. I read your 

article about the Resort Tax in the “Big Sky Weekly” and have some questions about 

your comment that to have a “resort area, the community must be unincorporated, 

with a population of less than 2,500.” 

My wife and I live in Red Lodge, which is under 2,500 in population but is incorporated, 

in fact, we voted for our resort tax, which has done great things for our town. I 

know that Whitefish, Montana, is incorporated and is over 2,500 in population. Am 

I missing something in the interpretation of the “Resort Tax” law? 

-HR from Red Lodge 

Dear HR, 

When I referred to resort area, I was using the definition contained in Montana 

state law. Montana has two categories for places, which may implement a resort 

tax: communities and areas. 

Big Sky is a resort area because it is unincorporated and has a population of less 

than 2,500. An incorporated town with a population of less than 5,500 is considered 

a resort community. Whitefish, Red Lodge, Virginia City and West Yellowstone 

are Montana’s current resort tax communities. Resort areas in Montana 

with a resort tax are Big Sky, St. Regis, Seeley Lake and Craig. 

The voters in Ennis recently voted against implementing a resort tax in their 

community. Seeley Lake is the one resort area that has not implemented a resort 

tax. 

Thanks so much for your time and interest. If you would like more information, 

please visit the state of Montana’s Official website, mt.gov, and search for the 

term “resort tax”. 

Amy Smit 

Do you have a question about resort tax? Email Amy Smit, Big Sky’s Resort Tax 

Administrative Officer, at amy@bigskyresorttax.com. 

Skiers and Snowboarders 

help fight cancer at Big Sky 

hope on the Slopes event 

The Second 

Annual Big Sky 

Hope on the 

Slopes event took 

place on Saturday, 

March 12 under 

the bright blue 

sky of the Big Sky 

Resort. There 

were 30 skiers 

and snowboarders 

who participated 

in the fight 

against cancer 

by raising over 

$6,300. 

Megan McWalter raised $1,025 to win the K2 Ski – Slay Blade Snowboard valued 

at $550. Power Plex was the Top Fundraising Team -- they raised $3,372. Vertical 

Challenge winners were Luke Arbib with 56,666 feet, Kristen Karr with 51,702 

feet and Mark Bukowski with 46,116 feet. 

“We had hoped for more participants to come out and enjoy the day,” said Cindy 

McGinnis, American Cancer Society staff. “ But we are thankful to all those who 

raised funds to help fight cancer and to all the businesses who provided food or 

prizes. Next year, we hope to double or triple the number of participants.” 

If you are interested in helping with the 2012 Big Sky Hope on the Slopes event, 

please contact Cindy McGinnis at (800) 252-5470 or cindy.mcginnis@cancer.org 


letters 

The chairlift dismount 

lacking style 


The dismount… An under-appreciated and misperceived art form when skiing 

the lifts. People! I assure you that a wave or a nod will no longer cut it when leaving 

the chair. It is time for some BMS (Big Mountain Steeze). 

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

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

with a grab or something! 

And what’s this business with standing up way to early? There are “unload here” 

signs for a reason. Unless you like getting bumped in the rear as a parting farewell... 

If that’s your thing then, by all means, keep it up. It’s your ass on the line. 

So, to all of you ski bums out there, the challenge has been set. The bar has been 

raised. Are there any willing challengers out there? 

- Mike Hawk 

correction and compliment 

In the March 4 edition, in your article THE ONE DOLLAR BILL, your second 

sentence contained a mistake. 1957 was not the first year for the one dollar bill. It 

was the first year the dollar bill appeared as a Federal Reserve Note. It was also the 

first time “In God We Trust” appeared on the dollar bill. Prior to 1957, the dollar 

bills most seen in circulation were series of 1935 Silver Certificates. 

There is no official explanation for the reason one side of the pyramid is dark 

while the other side is lighter on the back of the bill. People have assumed the 

stated intention. 

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

The printing of the one dollar bill by the federal government goes back to the 

Legal Tender Notes that were issued August 1, 1862 and contained the portrait 

of Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln. 

As a side note, the Presidential Seal had the eagle facing the claw holding the 

arrows until President Truman had it changes so that the eagle now faces the claw 

holding the olive branches. 

- Monroe Cameron 

P.S. I like the clean layout of the newspaper. 

gransberg cup results 

The First Annual Gransberg Cup took 

place Saturday, March 12 at Big Sky 

Resort. 

89 competitors ages five through 70-plus 

took place in this event. Racers came 

from Big Sky, Bozeman and as far as New 

Zealand (albeit through the Yellowstone 

Club) to compete. 

top 20 competitors: 

Alexa Coyle 

Henry Hall 

Scott Foster 

Peter Manka 

Denny Holder 

Wesley Robbins 

Jim Robbins 

Percy Amble 

Reece Bell 

Kuka Holder 

Aaron Van Wechel 

Fran Noel 

Nick Matlich 

Tim Cyr 

Chris Linkenbach 

Maci St Cyr 

Beck Trebesch 

Kodi Boersma 

Sam Johnson

BSSeF race Updates 

bsseF racers dominated at discovery 

Over 160 kids from the state of Montana competed at Discovery Mountain 

the weekend of March 5 and 6, including 25 athletes from Big Sky. The Big 

Sky girls filled the podium every day in the J-7, J-6, J-5 and J-4 categories, 

with Alexa Coyle getting the fastest time overall on Sunday. She beat both the 

women and men racers that day. Many of the Big Sky athletes placed in the top 

15 each day. Congrats racers! 

biG sky athletes Who made the Podium: 

saturday, March 5 

J-7 Girls – Kassidy Boersma – 1st 

J-6 Girls – Mazie Schreiner – 2nd 

J-5 Girls – Kuka Holder – 2nd 

J-4 Girls – Alexa Coyle – 1st 

J-7 Boys – Alex Rager- 2nd 

J-7 Boys – Luke Kirchmayr- 3rd 

The Big Sky Ski Education Foundation 

(BSSEF) was founded in 1993 

by a group of parents who wanted to 

provide opportunities for their children 

to become avid skiers and gain 

appreciation for the sport. Originally, 

the organization solely provided 

race programs, but since, they’ve 

added a freeride team, a nordic team 

and a masters program for ages 18 

and above. 

There are 80 participants within the 

competitive, racing-based foundation. 

“We had 50 kids competing in 

all different places last weekend,” 

sunday, March 6 

J-7 Girls – Kassidy Boersma – 1st 

J-6 Girls – Mazie Schreiner – 3rd 

J-5 Girls – Kuka Holder – 3rd 

J-4 Girls – Alexa Coyle – 1st 

BSSeF offers dynamic programs for all ages 

by abbie diGel 

said Eric Becker, President of the 

Board. Becker is a 20 year resident 

of Big Sky, and has been involved 

with BSSEF for two years both on 

the board and as a parent. “We have 

a group of completely dedicated 

parents and volunteers,” Becker 

said. Some of those parents grew 

up within the program, like Jeremy 

Ueland, who is Program Director, 

along with 14 coaches. 

The funding for the foundation 

comes from a mix of sponsors, like 

Lone Peak Physical Therapy and 

Alpine Property Management. 

Tasty Treats Yield Big Bucks 

for ophir 

The annual Ophir School Pie 

Auction, which took place at 

Buck’s T-4 on Saturday, March 

12, brought in more than 

$40,000 this year. The event 

was an “amazing success,” said 

organizer Kimmi Warga. 

“It was great to see so many 

people—including those who do 

not have children at Ophir—at 

our auction. In a recovering 

economy, to make this much money 

is a testament to the community 

and how Big Sky values education,” 

Warga said. “We were touched by all 

the local businesses that contributed 

items for our silent and live auctions 

as well as the raffle.” 

The evening’s theme was Mad Hatter. 

Event attendees dressed in their best 

costumes and hats to make the most 

of the evening. Pies, cakes, student 

artwork and the best Big Sky has to 

offer was up for grabs. 

Ski filmmaker Warren Miller and his 

wife Laurie dropped by the auction 

to bid on a few items. Lone Peak High 

School Students have the option of 

participating in The Warren Miller 

Freedom Foundation’s Young Entrepreneur 

Program, which is popular at 

the school. 

The Ophir School student council, 

teachers, administration and students 

would like to thank Buck’s T-4 and 

everyone who supported the event. 

ophirschooldistrict.org 

Visit explorebigsky.com to read Barb 

Dillon’s letter about the pie auction. 

Other funds come from hosting 

races, program fees, resort tax and 

grant writing. BSSEF also received a 

generous grant from the Yellowstone 

Club Community Foundation, and 

students can apply for merit-based 

scholarships. 

“An individual sport like ski racing 

is invaluable for character development, 

family time, athlete development, 

and learning a lifestyle sport,” 

said Becker. 

New this year is the nordic terrain 

park. Near the Town Center, the park 



is meant to help introduce newcomers 

to the sport, which has been 

growing in popularity in Big Sky, 

thanks to the miles of groomed trails 

at Lone Mountain Ranch. Last week, 

the Ranch hosted the first annual 

Big Sky Nordic Ski Festival. Locals 

showed up and raced down the pristine 

groomed trails for the King and 

Queen of the Mountain race, as well 

as other events throughout the week. 

Check bssef.com for race schedules 

or to get involved. 

Big Sky Freeride Team goes Big at crystal 

Mountain, headed to Targhee, WY 

In the beginning of March, the 

BSSEF Freeride team, along with 

coaches ScotLivingston and Devan 

Backstom, and a few family members, 

spent the weekend in Crystal 

Mountain Ski Area for the second 

stop of the Junior Freeskiing 

World Tour. 

Competition day dawned with a foot 

of fresh snow and foggy, snowy conditions. Big Sky Freeride had three competitors 

at Crystal: Micah Robin, 14, Solomon Amsden, 16, and Joey Manship, 16. 

Robin was the first to compete. His takeoff and air were beautiful, but the backseat 

landing ended in a yard sale. 

Solomon Amsden competed in the 15-17 age group. He skied smoothly to his 

first feature, launched himself upside down and landed his first back flip in 

a competition. The crowd went wild and his support group heaved a sigh of 

relief. But it was short lived, as Amsden headed to a cluster of rocks to launch 

one more trick. He landed hard on hidden rocks that ripped the bottom of his 

skis to shreds. 

Joey Manship had a decent run with a couple of nice hits, but also found the landing 

difficult on the last jump. 

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

march 18, 2011 5

Integrity. 

Vision. 

Craft. 

406-995-2174 

continentalconstruction.com/montana 

RECENT PROJECT 

Chalet 504 at Yellowstone Club 


biG sky 

an Update from 

The Big Sky natural 

resource council 

by crystal haGerman 

The Healthy Forest Initiative program 

is working with Northwest 

Management, a business contracted 

to prepare the final draft of the Big 

Sky Forest Stewardship Plan. Once 

complete, the Council will make 

it available to the public through 

printed and electronic copies, public 

forums and workshops. 

The Council is also working towards 

offering natural resource education, 

being a resource for natural resource/ 

forestry information, and assisting 

with forest related activities that can 

reduce on-the-ground costs such as 

utilizing the woody biomass from 

forest activities, and/or treating forests 

on a landscape level to keep costs 

low, and being more effective with 

actively managing forestlands. 

In January, Council Member Ernie 

Filice coordinated an informational 

conference call with General Electric, 

Nexterra, council members, 

and representatives from Montana 

Department of Natural Resource and 

3/5 - 02:21-02:59 – Fire personnel 

responded to a report of Smoke. No 

hazard was found and crews were cancelled 

while enroute. 

3/5 – 11:05-12:24 - EMS personnel 

responded to Moonlight Ski Patrol. 

Patient received ALS care and was 

transported to Big Sky Medical Clinic. 

3/5 – 12:13-12:56 - EMS personnel 

responded to Big Sky Ski Patrol. 

Patient received BLS care and refused 

transport. 

3/5 – 12:18-13:35 – Fire and EMS 

personnel responded to a Vehicle Accident 

out of district on Hwy 191. Law 

Enforcement controlled the scene and 

patient was transported by AMR. 

3/5 – 12:33-16:04 - EMS personnel responded 

to Big Sky Ski Patrol. Patient 

received ALS care and was transported 

to BDH. 

3/5 – 13:39-17:00 - EMS personnel 

responded to Moonlight Ski Patrol. 

Patient received ALS care and was 

transported to BDH. 



received ALS care and was transported 

to Big Sky Medical Clinic. 

3/5 – 18:37-18:58 – EMS personnel responded 

to Station 1. Patient received 

BLS care and refused transport. 

Conservation and Montana Department 

of Environmental Quality. 

They discussed: 

- Where GE and Nexterra stand with 

utilization of woody biomass projects. 

- How Big Sky can determine if there 

is enough woody biomass material 

from private lands to supply a system 

long term and that the system is cost 

effective for the owner and supplier. 

- How Big Sky can determine and 

ensure that a woody biomass system 

would not compromise Big Sky’s precious 

and very important air quality 

for breathing and aesthetics. 

Filice is conducting ongoing conversations 

with Northwest Energy, and 

the Council is looking to have them 

attend the April Council meeting. 

foresthealth.wikispaces.com 

Big Sky Fire department 

A “Heart Saver” CPR class will be offered Sunday 3/20 at 9 a.m. Please call Station 

1 @ 995-2100 to sign up. Future classes will be done as needed, please call 

for details. 

3/5 – 19:39-22:45 – EMS personnel 

responded. Patient received ALS care 

and was transported to BDH. 



received BLS care and was transported 

to BDH. 



received BLS care and was transported 

to BDH. 

3/8 – 20:26-23:30 – Fire personnel responded 

to a Carbon Monoxide Alarm. 

The hazard was mitigated and property 

turned over to homeowners. 

3/8 – 22:19-22:30 – Fire personnel 

responded to a Fire Alarm. No hazard 

found. 


responded to a Fire Alarm at Big Sky 

Resort. Crews were cancelled enroute. 


performed a service call. 

3/11 – 10:33-11:10 - EMS personnel 

responded to Big Sky Ski Patrol. 

Patient received BLS care and refused 

transport. 

3/11 – 22:06-23:15 – EMS personnel 

responded to Big Sky Resort. Patient 

received BLS assessment and refused 

transport.

local neWs 

Penny Wars at ophir, lPhS 

by hatton littman 

Penny Wars is an annual fundraising 

campaign at Ophir School spearheaded 

by the Middle School Student 

Council. This fall, the 12-member 

council voted to send Penny Wars 

funds to the Central Asia Institute 

(CAI), which is based in Bozeman 

and works to build 

schools in remote Pakistan 

and Afghanistan. 

From March 1-11, Big 

Sky’s Penny Wars became 

part of Pennies for Peace 

(P4P), a growing international 

campaign of 

over 11,000 schools and 

organizations that have 

raised over 535 million 

pennies. 

Student Council President 

Trevor House said, “It introduces 

how other people in the world 

don’t have the lives that people in 

Big Sky do. It introduces new ways to 

give to people who aren’t as fortunate 

as people in our school are.” 

Council Treasurer, Bella Butler, and 

Secretary, Dasha Bough, added,” It 

means a lot to those kids because they 

haven’t been given the same opportunities 

that we have. To be given 

this opportunity gives them more 

ophir district awarded for 

anti-Tobacco efforts 

This month, Montana Office of Public 

Instruction Superintendent Denise Juneau 

recognized Ophir School District 

in Big Sky as a Tobacco Free School 

District of Excellence. 

Ophir will be highlighted among a 

growing number of Montana districts 

for exceptional school policy efforts to 

prevent and reduce tobacco use as part 

of the Montana Tobacco Free Excellence 

Initiative. Tobacco Free School 

Districts of Excellence receive official 

recognition, new tobacco free signage 

At the last Ophir School Board 

meeting on February 23 Chair Loren 

Bough awarded 37 Honor Roll 

Certificates to Middle School and 

High School Honor roll students. 

The Facilities committee reported 

on a recommendation to move 

towards a levy in Spring of 2011 to 

address serious safety issues surrounding 

the parking and traffic 

flow near the LPHS entrance. 

Contracts necessary to accept the 

donation of bleacher seating for 

the LPHS Bighorn Football season 

were approved. 

hope for the future. This shows those 

students that there are people who 

care about them and that they are 

appreciated.” 

Traditionally, funds from Penny 

Wars were donated locally to Heart 

of the Valley Animal Shelter. 

This year’s fundraiser 

takes a more global approach 

and also connects the entire 

school with a cause linked to 

our curriculum. In primary 

grades, students are doing a 

reading Around the World 

program; the second grade 

class is sending coats, clothing 

and supplies to children 

in Afghanistan; the sixth 

graders are studying India 

in World Geography and 

the High School students 

study the entire Middle East in their 

Interdisciplinary Block 1 and 2. 

Ophir School District is so pleased 

to receive the support of All Saints 

Fellowship, bringing the world into 

our classrooms. 

Hatton Littman is the film/video 

teacher at Big Sky’s Ophir School and 

Lone Peak High School. She is also 

faculty advisor to the student council. 

to be displayed at schools and events, 

as well as resources and technical assistance 

from OPI. 

The purpose of the Montana Office of 

Public Instruction School Tobacco Use 

Prevention and Education program is 

to help schools educate their students 

on the risks of tobacco. They provide 

technical assistance in the development 

of tobacco free school policies 

and help schools meet the standards of 

the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act. 

ophir School Board Update 

Lastly, the Board approved a motion 

for a May 3 election for one 

trustee position. 

The next regular Ophir School Board 

Meeting will be held on Wednesday, 

March 30 at 3 p.m. in the Ophir 

School/Big Sky Community Library. 

There will also be a Budget Workshop 

on March 30. 

The school calendar for 2011-2012 

school year was approved and is 

available for review on the website 

ophirschooldistrict.org. 



all Saints joins Pennies 4 

Peace campaign 

by audrae coury 

In conjunction with Big Sky schools’ 

penny fundraiser, the Outreach Committee 

of All Saints in Big Sky also 

sponsored a P4P campaign February 

20 - March 21 to fund the Central 

Asia Insitute (CAI). 

The Bozeman-based CAI was cofounded 

by Greg Mortenson, who 

is best known for his New York 

Times bestsellers, Three Cups of Tea 

and Stones into Schools. Through its 

mission “to promote and support 

community-based education, especially 

for girls, in remote regions 

of Pakistan and Afghanistan,” CAI 

has established supported over 170 

schools in both countries. 

According to CAI’s publication, Journey 

of Hope, “P4P is designed to educate 

children about the world beyond 

their experience and show them that 

they can make a positive impact on a 

global scale, one penny at a time.” 

As part of the Big Sky campaigns, 

CAI representative Fozia Naseer will 

present at Ophir and LPHS, and at an 

evening community forum sponsored 

by All Saints at Big Sky Chapel on 

March 21. A lawyer and teacher 

from the Kashmir region of Pakistan, 

27-year-old Naseer did post graduate 

studies at MSU with a CAI scholarship. 

She is currently working with 

scholarship students in CAI’s Azad 

Kashmir program. 

Although the P4P website focuses on 

how to do school-based campaigns, 

many community groups like All 

Saints of Big Sky have joined the effort. 

Audrae Coury was an ESL/EFL 

teacher for over 40 years. She has 

worked with international women students, 

refugees and immigrants. In Big 

Sky since 1993, Coury is on the church 

council, the All Saints in Big Sky Outreach 

Committee, is Secretary of the 

Gallatin Canyon Women’s Club, and is 

an active member of the Arts Council. 

community Forum recap – 

aPec, BSia, Parks 

by danielle chamberlain 

On Thursday, Mar. 10, the Big Sky Chamber hosted a community forum in 

the Big Sky Chapel meeting room. Approximately, 130 people attended the 

hour-and-half meeting, where updates were given on the APEC conference 

at Big Sky Resort, zoning committee, Biggest Skiing In America Campaign, 

Big Sky Town Center and Big Sky Parks and Recreation. 

APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Corporation) holds four annual conferences in 

a different country. The upcoming conference in Big Sky will be the second 

this year, and is expected to bring in approximately 1500 people during May 

7-21. U.S. Senator Baucus (D) was instrumental in bringing APEC to Montana. 

The conference will focus is on mining, trade, and small and medium 

enterprise. 

The Zoning Committee gave general updates on their ongoing work amending 

the current regulation and zoning in Big Sky. 

Representatives from the Biggest Skiing in America gave an update on fund 

allocation for that marketing campaign. 

The Big Sky Town Center announced an idea for an entryway to Big Sky on 

191 that would attract the summer crowd into the business area. 

Big Sky Parks and recreation gave an update about the Madison Valley 

Commission that controls Big Sky’s funds for parks and recreation, and the 

research a Big Sky group has done in an effort to retain those funds locally. 

They are looking into a final decision to create a Big Sky Parks and Recreation 

District, with an option to create a new tax. 

bigskychamber.com 

march 18, 2011 7

eGional 

An artificial climbing boulder by Stronghold Fabrication 

lynn hill Slideshow to Benefit 

Bozeman Boulder initiative 

World-renowned climber 

Lynn Hill will be giving a 

slideshow March 30 at the 

Emerson Theater in Bozeman. 

Famous for making the 

first free ascent of the 3000’ 

Nose (VI 5.14 a/b) on Yosemite’s 

El Capitan, Hill also has 

tales from the sport climbing 

competition circuit in the ‘80s 

in Europe (read: neon spandex), 

and from climbing in places like 

Madagascar and Australia. 

The energetic Bozeman local 

Whit Magro will open for Hill, 

giving a presentation on a new 

route he climbed this winter in 

Patagonia. Magro, Nate Opp and 

Josh Wharton spent five days in 

January climbing the Wave Affect, 

“a mega link up traverse” of 

three of the major peaks on the 

care about Water Quality in the gallatin Watershed? 

attend Greater Gallatin Watershed council’s third annual mini-symposium 

The Greater Gallatin Watershed 

Council (GGWC) will hold its third 

annual Gallatin Stream Team minisymposium 

on Wednesday, March 

23, 6 - 8 p.m. at the Bozeman Public 

Library. Members of the Gallatin 

Watershed are welcome. 

Gallatin Stream Team members 

participating in the GGWC’s volunteer 

stream monitoring program, 

residents of the Gallatin watershed, 

scientists, representatives from the 

Montana Department of Environmental 

Quality (MT DEQ), Gallatin 

Local Water Quality District, Montana 

Watercourse, and other local and 

state agencies will share information 

and experiences from data collected 

from four Bozeman Creek, Bridger 

Creek, Mandeville Creek and Hyalite 

since 2008. 

8 march 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com 

lynn hill, Whit magro slideshows 

at the emerson theater 

march 30 at 6:30 p.m. 

$10 entry fee gets you pizza and 

draft beer 

Patagonian skyline: Desmochada, 

Silla and Fitzroy. 

The evening will support the Bozeman 

Boulder Initiative, which 

is working on the fifth in-town 

artificial climbing boulder. There 

will also be tons of silent auction 

items with good deals from major 

gear companies. Stronghold Fabrication 

will build the structure 

this summer at Rose Park, west 

of the old Town and Country in 

Bozeman. 

e.s. 

Volunteers participating in the Gallatin 

Stream Teams stream-monitoring 

program, under the guidance of 

experts, were 

trained to collect 

water samples 

for three consecutive 

months 

beginning in 

July 2010. A 

goal of the 

program was to 

establish baseline 

data in the 

target streams 

and to make the 

collected data 

available to the Montana Department 

of Environmental Quality and to the 

public. The program was successful, 

and the MT DEQ is using the data. 

Program support is provided by the 

Lynn Hill at Hueco Tanks National Park, Texas 

Gallatin Local Water Quality District, 

Montana Watercourse, MT DEQ, the 

Gallatin Conservation District, and 

Montana Import 

Group and is the 

first step in addressing 

challenges 

to water quality in 

the Gallatin watershed. 

The GGWC and 

the Gallatin Stream 

Teams will continue 

the volunteer water 

quality monitoring 

program in 2011. 

Program goals are to continue to build 

a foundation of data and knowledge. 

Interested residents of the Gallatin 

watershed can contact the GGWC to 

volunteer with a Gallatin Stream Team. 

Since 2004, the Greater Gallatin 

Watershed Council has been working 

to address water issues in the 

Gallatin watershed. The GGWC 

has collaborated with a wide spectrum 

of partners to accomplish our 

mission of promoting conservation 

and enhancing our water resources 

while supporting the traditions of 

community, agriculture and recreation. 

In addition, the GGWC 

is working collaboratively with 

regional watershed groups as a 

member of the Missouri Headwaters 

Partnership to address natural 

resource issues in the headwaters to 

the great Missouri River. GGWC 

Board members are also active in 

the leadership and activities of the 

Montana Watershed Coordination 

Council. greatergallatin.org.

One of Time magazine’s 

most “influential people in 

the world” will deliver the 

keynote address at Senator 

Jon Tester’s next Small Business 

Opportunity Workshop, 

which is March 26 

in Bozeman. U.S. Deputy 

Agriculture Secretary Kathleen 

Merrigan will discuss 

economic opportunities in 

farming and ranching, as 

well as accessing capital and 

foreign markets. 

reGional 

one of the ‘most 

influential people in the 

world’ tokeynote Tester’s 

next jobs workshop 

deputy secretary of agriculture to 

address march 26 small business 

opportunity Workshop in bozeman 

“As I keep up my fight for 

Montana jobs, it’s critical 

to have the nation’s leaders 

hear directly from folks on 

the ground and to open up 

every available resource 

for Montana’s farmers and 

ranchers,” said Tester, the U.S. Senate’s 

only farmer. 

Merrigan is a former teacher and manager 

of the Know Your Farmer, Know 

Your Food effort, which highlights 

the connection between farmers and 

consumers and supports local food 

systems to boost economic opportunities 

in rural America. 

Over the past two years, over a thousand 

of Montana small business owners 

and entrepreneurs have attended 

Tester’s workshops in Great Falls, 

Bozeman, Kalispell and Missoula. 

The Bozeman workshop will be at 

Montana State University, 8 a.m. - 1 

p.m. The event is free and open to the 

public. RSVP at 

tester.senate.gov/workshop. 

Moonlight Basin 

extending winter season 

By April every year, Moonlight’s Headwaters are in prime shape. Chokes of the 

chutes are filled in. The aprons are fat. The wetter spring snow sticks to the rocks 

and makes for hero conditions. The sun is finally shining on the north-facing 

cirque, but the mountain is about to shut down. 

Not this year. In keeping with the theme of Montana’s ski areas for spring 2011, 

Moonlight Basin is extended operations for the winter ski season by two weekends. 

The last official day of operation at Moonlight Basin was April 10, however 

now the resort will reopen on April 16, 17, 23 and 24 (weekends only, weather 

dependent). Big Sky will be open those days, and Bridger Bowl also extended its 

season further into April. 

Moonlight’s ticketing, rentals, retail shops and dining will operate in a limited 

capacity, and all lifts with the exception of the Lone Tree, Pony and Derringer 

will run. Guests who purchase a 2011/12 season pass (pass sale starts March 19) 

can also ski and ride the remainder of this season. 

“Mother Nature has been very generous … throughout the 2010/11 season, and 

we’re thrilled to offer extended skiing and riding as a thank you to our visitors,” 

said Moonlight’s General Manager, Greg Pack. 

e.s. 

Educator workshops are a new addition 

this year. From 9 a.m. to noon, 



Swishes for Wishes 

Help Chi Omega Sorority 

and Montana State University 

basketball players make 

a slam-dunk for children 

with life-threatening medical 

conditions by attending 

Swishes for Wishes 3-on-3 

basketball tournament 

on March 27. The annual 

event, being held to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Montana, will 

take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at MSU’s Shroyer Gym in Bozeman. Team signups 

are available at swishes4wishes.webs.com. 

Big Sky/Bozeman Financial 

advisor ranked among top 

in Montana 

Financial Advisor Scott L. Brown was recently recognized among the top advisors 

in Montana by Barron’s magazine, on the “America’s top 1000 Advisors: Stateby-State” 

list published in the Februrary 21 edition. Brown has residences in Big 

Sky and Bozeman and has been with Merrill Lynch more than five years. 

To achieve this ranking, advisors must have a minimum of seven years’ financial 

services experience and have been employed at their current firm for at least one 

year. Determining measures include: client balances, return on assets, client 

satisfaction/retention, compliance records, and community contribution. 

astronomy day 

A day of astronomy-related events 

for kids, adults and teachers will be 

held in Bozeman on Saturday, April 

2, including a presentation by astronaut 

Richard Arnold, who flew to the 

International Space Station as part of 

NASA’s Teacher in Space program. 

Public events take place at the Museum 

of the Rockies from 1-4 p.m., and 

an evening telescope viewing session 

is scheduled for 7:30-10 p.m., 

weather permitting. All Astronomy 

Day 2011 activities are free. 

At 1:10 p.m., astronaut Richard 

Arnold will speak about his 2009 

mission aboard the space shuttle 

Discovery, with an autograph session 

to follow. NASA Solar System 

Ambassador Shirley Green will 

present “Pluto and New Horizons” 

at 3 p.m. At 4 p.m., Robert Leamon, 

a Living with a Star Discipline 

Scientist, will present about NASA’s 

Solar Dynamics Observatory. 

Kids’ activities include face painting, 

sun catchers, star finders and 

solar system jewelry. Telescopes 

will be set up for 

solar observing, and 

exhibits in the main 

lobby will feature 

activities, information 

and give-aways from 

NASA missions and MSU 

researchers. 

grade 4-12 educators can learn about 

lunar and meteorite samples stored 

at the NASA Johnson Space Center 

and become certified to bring these 

samples into their classrooms. The 

workshop is led by NASA education 

specialist Tony Leavitt. “Ice in the 

Solar System” takes place noon -1 

p.m. Designed for teachers of grades 

K-12, it is led by NASA Solar System 

Educator Shirley Greene. CE 

Units are available and pre-registration 

is required. 

Astronomy Day is sponsored by 

the Museum of the Rockies, Montana 

Space Grant Consortium and 

its Space Public Outreach Team 

(SPOT), Project WET Foundation, 

Southwest Montana Astronomical 

Society, and MSU’s Astrobiology 

Biogeocatalysis Research Center, 

Department of Education, Extended 

University, Solar Physics Research 

Group and SPIE. 

eu.montana.edu/astronomyday 

march 18, 2011 9

$200k & under 

$200k - $800k 

$800k - $1M 

10 march 18, 2011 

Realize your Purchasing Power in Big Sky 

Investment opportunity walking 

distance to ski lifts 

Close proximity to Arnold 

Palmer Golf Course 

Brand new ski in/out to Big Sky 

Resort 

Montana 

YOUR HOME IS IN 


Great starter home or incomeproducing 

condo 

Wonderful value near Mountain 

Village 

Moonlight Mountain Home 

WE KNOW BIG SKY 

RYAN 

KULESZA 

Broker 

JEFF 

HELMS 

Broker 

Strong rental property at 

Meadow Village 

Expansive mountains views 

overlooking ski slopes 

Phenomenal ski access to both 

resorts 


TALLIE 

JAMISON 

Associate

These are select samplings from our 

listing portfolio. 

Call 406-995-2244 to discuss any and 

all properties in the Big Sky area. 

$1M - $1.5M 

$1.5M - $2M 

$2M & over 

Luxur y condo on nordic trails 

and river frontage 

Phenomenal ski access in 

Cowboy Heaven 

Historic equestrian estate 

bordering national forest 

Custom home on ski run in 

Diamond Hitch 

Fly fishing retreat with river 

frontage 

Sunrise Ridge condo in 

Yellowstone Club 

Big Sky Sotheby’s 

International Realty 

Commercial building in Town 

Center 

Perfect ski in/out High Camp 

homesite 

Expansive turn-key home in 

Cowboy Heaven 

123 Lone Peak Drive, Suite 5 

Big Sky Town Center adjacent to the Hungry Moose 

www.bigskysir.com 

info@bigskysir.com 

tel 866.995.2244 



march 18, 2011 11

montana 

Medical Marijuana in Montana: 

Just Getting interesting 

by emily stiFler 

As the construction business collapsed, Medical Marijuana exploded in Montana. With recent federal 

raids of 26 pot shops across the state, the State legislature considering regulation and repeal, and almost 

30,000 state-legal green card holders, the industry that has woven quickly into the fabric of the state’s 

culture and economy is in a state of uncertainty. 

the raids 

At approximately 11 a.m., on Monday, March 14, 

federal authorities “smashed through the door” at Big 

Sky Patient Care, a medical marijuana grow operation 

and dispensary in Four Corners, said employee 

Jimmy Gaalswyk. The DEA and FBI agents had a 

sealed search and seizure warrant. Gaalswyk said he 

“was greeted with a silenced rifle and someone in a 

mask telling me to get on the floor. I was placed in 

handcuffs and so were [my co-worker] Zach and the 

receptionist. We were told to be quiet and let them 

do what they were going to do. About an hour later 

were finally released. It took them all day and they 

pretty much trashed the building.They took lights 

and plants.” 

Simultaneously, DEA agents entered a franchise 

location of Big Sky Patient Care in the RJS tower in 

the meadow area of Big Sky. Authorities refused to 

discuss that raid— though presumably they took 

supplies from the business. The business owner, 

John Raddick, formerly of Raddick Construction, 

was out of town and unavailable for comment, and 

the door of the upstairs office was locked the following 

day. Neighboring businesses commented the raid 

was “low key.” 

These raids were part of a larger crackdown in 13 

Montana cities – in total, 26 state-sanctioned medical 

marijuana operations were raided, statewide—authorities 

confiscated marijuana, paraphernalia, computers, 

firearms, cell phones, cash and vehicle titles. 

No federal criminal charges, indictments, informations 

or complaints were immediately filed. 

These were “the culmination of a 18-month multiagency 

investigation into the drug trafficking activities 

of criminal enterprises operating throughout the 

State of Montana,” U.S. Attorney for the District of 

Montana, Michael W. Cotter, announced Tuesday, 

March 15. In addition, Civil Seizure Warrants for 

financial institutions in Bozeman, Helena, and Kalispell 

seeking up to $4,000,000 were executed. 

A press release from Cotter stated, “Search warrants 

and civil seizure warrants were issued based on 

judicial findings that probable cause exists to believe 

that the premises located in thirteen Montana towns 

are involved in criminal enterprises that have violated 

the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) related to marijuana, 

a Schedule I controlled substance.” 

The statement also made clear that individuals with 

illnesses in “clear and unambiguous compliance with 

state law” were not the investigation’s focus. 

Zach Selznick was in charge of inventory at Big Sky 

Patient Care in Four Corners. “I know for a fact we 

don’t buy from out of state,” he said. He said the feds 

“hit some of the more ethical providers, who [work] 

with people that really need it and do keep track of 

every gram and every dollar.” His theory: “They left 

some of the less ethical players out there to paint the 

industry poorly.” 

12 march 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com 

the laW 

Federal law still prohibits buying, 

selling, growing 

and using 

marijuana in any 

capacity, but 

in November 

2004, Montanans 

passed a ballot 

initiative by a 62 percent 

vote, legalizing medically 

prescribed cannabis. 

Since the October 2009 

federally issued “medical 

marijuana memo” that 

stopped prosecution in the 15 

states with legal statutes, the 

industry in Montana grew 

exponentially. 

As of February 2011, Montana had 28,739 

authorized medical marijuana users, 4,833 

caregivers, and 353 associated physicians. 

Gallatin County had 3771 cardholders and 672 

caregivers, and Madison County 375 and 57. All 

this was taxable. 

Montana’s original medical marijuana statute had 

many unclear provisions, according to an April 

2010 article for the Children, Families, Health, and 

Human Services Interim Committee. To deal with 

the law’s ambiguous nature, many Montana cities 

created individual ordinances; several placed moratoriums 

on new businesses, and others used zoning 

restrictions. 

In Big Sky, the Big Sky/Gallatin Canyon Advisory 

Committee included medical marijuana in 

their 2010 list of proposed zone text amendments, 

because it wasn’t clearly addressed in zoning 

regulation. The Committee discussed proposed text 

amendments, but then tabled further discussion 

when the legislature proposed extensive changes for 

2011 to the Medical Marijuana Act. 

Because the town is unincorporated, homeowners 

associations (and the covenants governing them) 

often act as community government. The Meadow 

Village Center added an amendment to its covenants, 

prohibiting medical marijuana businesses and 

consumption. Across the road, Town Center passed 

a resolution that allowed businesses associated with 

medical marijuana only on the second floors of the 

Town Center Commercial Zone, and not in residential 

areas. 

reGulation or rePeal? 

Also on March 14, House Bill 161, which would 

have repealed the medical marijuana law, stalled on 

a 6-6 vote in the 12-person Montana Senate Judiciary 

Committee. In February, the House passed the 

Republican-backed bill 63-37. The bill is slated for a 

three-vote process in the Senate during this legislative 

session. 

Beyond the Senate, a repeal or regulation bill would go 

to Governor Schweitzer for final decision. Montana, 

which has never repealed a voter-passed initiative, 

would be the first state to repeal a medical 

marijuana law. 

While many in the state legislature see outright 

repeal as too harsh, most agree the multi-million 

dollar industry grew beyond the intent of the 2004 

voter initiative that approved the law. 

Committee Chairman, Senator Terry Murphy (R- 

Cardwell), favors reform because he believes in the 

value of marijuana’s medical benefits; however none 

of the reform bills “seem to do the whole job,” he 

stated. “They are either overregulating or not covering 

every area...” 

Supporter of 161, Representative James Knox (R- 

Billings), is also webmaster of Safe Community Safe 

Kids, the Billings-based group backing the repeal. 

He said that group is not affiliated with a particular 

religion, and the majority of their funding has come 

from small internet donations. He watched medical 

marijuana legalization “ruin” California, and he 

doesn’t want to see Montana have a similar “breakdown 

of morals.” 

Other House members described medical marijuana 

as “a totally uncontrolled epidemic by the 

drug trade industry,” and compared it to Mexican 

drug cartels. 

Mike Singer, owner of Belgrade-based Sensible Alternatives, 

said he’d welcome regulation. “It needs 

to happen. It’d be nice to weed out some of the more

shady operators – no pun intended. [Some are] 

interpreting the law more liberally than they 

should.” Singer foresees facilities inspections, 

stricter rules for card acquisition, steep taxes 

and growers’ dues. 

Governor Schweitzer has not stated outright 

his position on a repeal, and a detailed reform 

bill may be difficult to pass through the Senate 

and House. If the repeal doesn’t pass and 

reform is stalled, the status quo could continue. 

community 

A March 5 New York Times article suggested 

this fast-growing business was “central to surviving 

hard times…as the construction industry 

and the second-home market collapsed [in 

the Bozeman area].” Energy companies, gardening 

supply shops, hardware stores and bakeries 

profited, medical marijuana intertwined with 

Montana’s economy, communities and culture. 

Singer partnered his grow operation and 

dispensary with local organic farmers, and 

recently invested $40,000 in a solar array, 

installed by a Bozeman company, Independent 

Power Systems. 

In the immediate Big Sky area, Big Sky Patient 

Care was one of five commercial growers. Others 

include Lone Peak Caregivers, Beartooth 

Coalition, Medicine Ridge Wellness Center 

and the Healing Center of Big Sky. There are 

also a handful of smaller operations, where 

cardholders legally grow up to six plants in 

their own homes. 

Charlie Gaillard, owner of Lone Peak Caregivers 

and Director of the Bozeman Chapter of 

the Montana Medical Growers Association, 

still has rows of 15-gallon containers holding 

bright green leafy marijuana plants growing at 

his facility south of Big Sky. 

“I figure the raids were on people that were 

doing bad things,” Gaillard said Tuesday. 

In Big Sky, the Town Center “took a proactive 

approach,” said Project Manager Ryan 

Hamilton. “We saw potential issues with this 

type of business, so we researched what other 

Western resort towns had done… It was clear it 

was probably going to happen, so we wanted to 

restrict rather than prohibit it.” 

In neighboring West Fork, the property owner 

who rents a space to the Altitude Club said 

that caregiver/storefront is one of the best tenants 

he’s had, “as far as paying for everything 

and being upfront.” 

As medical cannabis has become a legal part 

of Montana communities, repeal groups have 

asked: What about the children? 

Big Sky parent Ty Moline said it’s a topic he’s 

discussed with other parents. “How do you 

address this with your kids? It’s a gray area. We 

say no to drugs, but this is [state] legal. It’s all 

in proper education and presentation.” 

As the plot thickens, no one really knows—or 

will say—where this issue will go in the next 

weeks and months, but everyone, from caregivers 

to federal agents, agree it’s going to be 

interesting. 

bigskytowncenter.com 

Where Big Sky 

Comes Together 

PoocheS on PoT 



one day, bozeman resident rebecca marans’s 

12-pound chihuahua, Jazz, was woozy and staggering 

like she was drunk. marans took Jazz to the vet, 

where she began throwing up. 

“We’re not into that stuff (marijuana).” the doctor 

conducted a pee test and the dog was positive. “after 

she was put on iV she was all right,” said marans. 

cindy moreaux, veterinarian and owner of banfield 

animal hospital in bozeman, weighed in on the increase 

of dogs visiting the hospital after getting into 

their owners medical marijuana. 

“over the last year we’ve seen a dramatic increase 

in what we call ‘Pot-dogs.’ dogs love to find pot, 

they love the flavor and the smell,” said moreaux. 

the problem is that pot ingestion can mimic other 

things, as well, like anti-freeze poisoning. common 

symptoms are dizziness, dilated eyes, a very 

slow heart rate, and colder body temperatures. it’s 

not likely that a dog will die as a result of ingesting 

marijuana but the symptoms could prove fatal when 

combined with other factors. 

For example, a dog with a lowered body temperature 

and slow heart rate that normally spends the 

night outdoors stands a greater risk of exposure. 

moreaux said, “a nightmare would be a dark chocolate 

pot brownie,” due to dogs’ notorious sensitivity 

to cocoa. 

“it’s not that owners aren’t good with pot. it’s that 

the dogs really love it, that’s why they can be 

trained so well to find it,” said moreaux. 

- ethan Gaddy 

march 18, 2011 13

14 march 18, 2011 

exPlore 

The Project WET Foundation is 

going to be in a lot of places at 

once come March 22—or at least 

its books, lessons and other water 

education materials will be. The 

Bozeman-based water education organization 

will have a hand in World 

Water Day festivities in as many as 

110 countries this year through its 

work with the United Nations Human 

Settlement Programme (UN- 

HABITAT), World Water Monitoring 

Day and Nestlé Waters. 

World Water Day—founded as an 

outgrowth of the 1992 United Nations 

Conference on Environment 

and Development in Rio de Janeiro—is 

observed every March 22. 

This year’s main World Water Day 

event will be held in Cape Town, 

South Africa. Project WET Senior 

Vice President John Etgen and 

Project Manager Julia Nelson will 

be there delivering a workshop with 

UN-HABITAT. This year’s theme is 

“Water for cities: responding to the 

urban water challenge.” 

Etgen is passionate about the issue of 

water in urban areas—and how education 

can change lives for the better. 

“Rapid urbanization has put pressure 

on existing water resources,” 

Etgen explains. “In many countries, 

poor urban residents have been 

left with unsanitary and unreliable 

water sources. Water, sanitation and 

hygiene education can play a strategic 

role in promoting positive behavior 

and attitudinal changes.” 

Education around water, sanitation 

and hygiene—often shorthanded as 

WASH in the international develop- 


ment sphere—has become a primary 

vehicle for Project WET’s international 

expansion in the past several 

years. In 2007, Project WET partnered 

with the United States Agency 

for International Development’s 

Africa Education Program to develop 

water education materials for teachers 

and students in cooperation with 

educators and government officials 

on the ground in several African 

countries. 

The resulting materials—the Healthy 

Water, Healthy Habits, Healthy 

People educators’ guide and children’s 

activity booklet, along with 

additional materials such as durable, 

water-resistant posters—have now 

reached more than 23,000 schools, 

239,000 teachers and 10,000,000 

students in sub-Saharan Africa with 

hands-on lessons about proper hand 

washing, disease prevention and 

water source protection. 

“Our methodology relies on investigative, 

hands-on, easy-to-use activities 

that teach about water resources 

and empower change by encouraging 

participants to take action in communities,” 

Etgen says. “Project WET 

works because the activities make 

learning fun.” 

Follow-up impact assessments bear 

out that assertion. Hand washing 

with soap and water—one of the 

most important disease-fighting 

actions that can be taken—has improved 

dramatically in schools using 

the Project WET WASH materials. 

School absence and reported illness 

rates have fallen correspondingly. 

The success of the Africa WASH 

materials has led not only to workshops 

such as the one Etgen is leading 

in South Africa for World Water Day 

but also to opportunities to expand 

the materials geographically and 

linguistically. With materials already 

available in French and Kiswahili in 

addition to English, work is underway 

to translate and customize them 

for use in five countries in Latin 

America and the Caribbean and in 

India. 

teachinG teachers 

about Water 

Still, WASH education is a relatively 

recent addition to the Project 

WET fold. Founded in 1984, Project 

WET—the “WET” stands for “Water 

Education for Teachers”—was for 

many years best known for its Curriculum 

& Activity Guide and the 

U.S.-wide network of Project WET 

organizations that use it to conduct 

water resources 

education training 

for teachers. Hundreds 

of thousands 

of teachers have been 

trained to use Project 

WET materials with 

students in classes 

ranging from science 

to history, covering 

topics such as water 

quality and conservation, 

water chemistry, 

water rights 

and the language of 

water. 

It was that expertise 

that led to Project 

WET’s partnership 


Worldwide Water 

bozeman nonprofit’s water education materials will span 

the globe during upcoming World Water day celebrations. 

by nicole rosenleaF ritter 

with World Water Monitoring Day 

(WWMD), an international education 

and outreach program that 

builds public awareness and involvement 

in protecting water resources 

around the world by engaging 

citizens to conduct basic monitoring 

of their local water bodies. WWMD 

will kick off its annual data collection 

on World Water Day, offering free, 

downloadable lesson plans for teachers 

and other educators developed in 

partnership with Project WET. 

Coordinated by the Water Environment 

Federation the International 

Water Association, WWMD last 

year saw more than 200,000 people 

in 85 countries taking the time to 

test the quality of their local waterways. 

The organizers hope to expand 

participation to one million people in 

100 countries by 2012. 

“Local water monitoring of the kind 

that takes place for World Water 

Educate. Empower. Act. 

educate. empower. act. the mission of 

Project Wet is to reach children, parents, 

educators and communities of the 

world with water education. We invite 

you to join us in educating children 

about the most precious resource on 

the planet — water.

Monitoring Day promotes stewardship of water resources,” 

contends Project WET’s founder, Dennis 

Nelson, who is also the organization’s president and 

CEO. “It is crucial to teach educators and students 

about the relationship between water quality and 

human and environmental health.” 

sustaininG the blue Planet 

Water quality and its importance for human health 

is also a theme behind celebrations that Nestlé 


healthy Water, healthy People! 

celebrate World Water day in montana with run for the rivers, a fun race in a 

beautiful place. 

run for the rivers seeks to increase awareness of local watershed issues, provide 

opportunity to improve waterways southwest montana waterways, and 

develop a self-sustaining program. Proceeds benefit bluewater taskforce, the 

Greater Gallatin Watershed council and montana Watercourse. 

sign up early and receive a free pint glass: 5-7 p.m. on march 21 at montana 

ale Works in bozeman. runfortherivers.com 

Waters is mobilizing with Project WET in 

World Water Day celebrations in 24 countries. 

More than 10,000 children in countries 

where Nestlé Waters has a production site are 

expected to participate in World Water Day 

Water Care Festivals. 

Children from each local community are 

invited to a Nestlé Waters factory or a nearby 

park to engage in Project WET lessons. The 

activities focus on water in nature, water for 

healthy hydration and water for hygiene and 

disease prevention. In addition to organizing 

the events, Nestlé Waters employees are also 

engaged in activities with the children, or 

learn more about water through educational 

programs on World Water Day. 

“The impact of these festivals and the involvement 

of Nestlé Waters employees in reaching local communities 

cannot be underestimated,” Nelson says. 

“The engagement of children, plants and communities 

is central to the creation of meaningful local 

actions and solutions, especially to honor important 

international observations such as World 

Water Day.” 

In all, Project WET’s deep and wide-ranging 

involvement with World Water Day celebrations 

demonstrates the reach that a small, Montana-based 

organization can have in the wider world. And they 

are hoping to show that scope to locals when they 

convene the Sustaining the Blue Planet: Global Water 

Education Conference in Bozeman in September. 

“We are expecting 300-500 people to come to 

Bozeman for the event,” Nelson notes. “Water 

education—whether it happens through celebrations 

such as those surrounding World Water Day, 

in conferences like Sustaining the Blue Planet or in 

individual classrooms with a single teacher—has 

the potential to lead to sustainable, local solutions 

for pressing water issues. That is always our goal at 

Project WET.” 

World Water day: 

worldwaterday.org 

ProJect Wet Foundation: 

projectwet.org 

World Water monitorinG day: 

worldwatermonitoringday.org 

Subscribe now 


Big Sky’s Locally Owned & Published Newspaper 

& 

$75 for 1 year subscription to the Big Sky Weekly 

and Mountain Outlaw Magazine 

MOUNTAIN 

EXPLORING LIFE & LAND IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA 

Credit Cards accepted for subscriptions 

call or email us today 406-995-2055; media@theoutlawpartners.com 


march 18, 2011 15

16 march 18, 2011 


southwest montana’s news · business · video · media network 

hdvideo 



BRING HD VIDEO TO YOUR 

BUSINESS. It’s closer and easier 

than you think. Want to find out how? 

Connect with us via Facebook or Twitter. 

facebook.com/explorebigsky twitter.com/explorebigsky

exPlore 

First annual 


nordic 

Festival 


March 4, 2011 


First annual Big Sky nordic 

Festival huge Success 

by emily stiFler 

King of the Mountain Gunnar Kristiansen 

cranked from the top of the 

Lone Mountain Ranch trail system 

in 15 minutes, 10 seconds. Second 

place was Dan Cantrell, at 15:11. 

Abbie Digel and I brought up the 

rear, with 41:10. 

Between us, the field was made 

of 15 other competitors between 

age seven and 40. Abbie and I 

stopped to take photos and talk to 

race coordinators, LMR employees 

Herb Davis and Chris Nelson. 

When we decided to get serious, we 

descended the 1600’ vertical and 10 

km pretty dang fast. We schussed 

through the S-curves, falling snow 

hitting our teeth as we laughed. 

The King, Kristiansen, is a 27-yearold 

MSU grad originally from 

Hemsedal, Norway. 

“Montana is like Norway on steroids,” 

said Kristiansen, who raced 

for MSU, and was previously one of 

the top nordic junior racers in the 

world. “This race was harder than 

I thought it was going to be, but it 

was super fun,” said Kristiansen. 


He added, “Nordic is one of those 

sports that everyone can compete 

– slow or fast, you still have a good 

time.” 

In addition to this grassroots evening 

race, the first Annual Nordic Fest 

drew 150 total participants and competitors 

to eight other events. The 

weeklong festival accomplished its 

goal of being family and community 

friendly. 

Festival organizer, Katie Smith, says, 

“It’s wonderful that the Big Sky community 

and Lone Mountain Ranch 

could create a fun event for every 

level of skier to enjoy.” 

In addition to the King and Queen of 

the Mountain, the family sprint races 

and Nordic Terrain Park showcased 

the growing enthusiasm for Nordic 

skiing in Big Sky. At the Mad Wolf 

Classic, the week’s culmination, 21 

racers sped down from the top of the 

Lone Moose lift dressed in hilarious 

costumes. Dan Cantrell, not slowed 

down by his pink and purple muumuu, 

led the pack the entire race, 

while a pirate on touring skis found 

his own way down the course. 

march 18, 2011 17

18 march 18, 2011 

Big Sky Resort Village Center 

Meadow Spanish Peaks Club Condo 

Canyon 200 Towering Pine 

BIG SKY COUNTRY. 

WE LIVE HERE. WE WORK HERE. WE PLAY HERE. 



Yellowstone Club Pine Ridge 318 Moonlight Basin Cowboy Heaven Ski Home 30 

THIS 

IS OUR 

WORLD. 

We can help you realize your investment goals by offering unrivaled 

access to qualified people and distinctive properties within Big Sky, 

Montana and around the world. 

Proudly serving buyers and sellers in Big Sky, Yellowstone Club, 

Moonlight Basin, and the Club at Spanish Peaks 

Big Sky Sotheby’s International Realty 

19 Meadow Village Drive, Big Sky, MT 59716 

406.995.2211 

info@bigskysothebysrealty.com 

biskysothebysrealty.com

ProFile 

dr. irving Weissman 

When Dr. Irving Weissman discusses his work, he 

sometimes says only the first part of each word, as 

though there is so much to say he can’t waste time 

uttering the final syllable. It’s indicative of what 

drives him: a belief that medicine should be based 

on science and advanced through constant research; 

and, there is so much yet to be done. 

A world-renowned stem cell researcher, Weissman 

is a pioneer at the forefront of a science that could 

change nearly everything about how we treat illness 

and disease, from heart disease to cancer. The Director 

of Stanford University’s Institute for Stem Cell 

Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Weissman is 

also a member of the elite National Academy of Sciences. 

His colleagues say he stands above even the 

very best scientists. 

Yet, as essential as science is to Weissman, so are 

his roots. The native Montanan and Montana State 

College graduate returns to the state often, giving 

lectures, serving on boards and fly fishing. 

As the immediate past president of the International 

Society for Stem Cell Research, Weissman is immersed 

in one of the greatest ethical debates of this 

age, one that involves science, medicine, politics and 

religion. He is invested in this debate, professionally 

and personally, and the stakes are high. 

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

for cancer. 

He knew nearly 15 years ago he could isolate bloodforming 

stem cells from women with breast cancer. 

Theoretically, these stem cells could be transplanted 

back into a woman after she received a powerful, 

cancer-killing course of chemotherapy. The chemo’s 

side affect was destruction of blood-forming tissues, 

and transplanted stem cells offered a solution to 

regrow those tissues. 

In 1996, for the first time, physicians transplanted 

cancer-free blood-forming stem cells into a breast 

cancer patient after chemotherapy. Her cancer was 

aggressive, and as she was undergoing chemotherapy, 

a burst of cancer cells developed in her chest, indicating 

it had spread. The physicians said it was hopeless. 

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

Except this woman did. The chemotherapy followed 

by the transplant of cells worked. Weissman received 

a report nearly 15 years later that the woman was 

cancer-free. 

The results should have been a medical breakthrough 

and a tale of hope for cancer patients and their 

families. But politics and economics got in the way, 

Weissman said. 

When a company he’d formed to take the new treatment 

into clinical trials was taken over, the new 

company stopped the trials before complete results 

were known. 

National legislation on stem cell use has restricted 

research, and Weissman’s work has made him the 

subject of hateful messages in the blogosphere and at 

least one death threat. 

In 2001, Weissman headed a National Academies 

panel on stem cells. Because embryonic stem cells 

could give rise to adult stem cells, the panel voted 

unanimously to accelerate the federal funding of 

that kind of research. Most embryonic 

stem cells are a few days 

old, derived from embryos artificially 

fertilized in a clinic and 

donated for research. Still, stem 

cell work is controversial, since 

creating an embryonic stem cell 

line for research requires starting 

with cells in an excess blastocyst 

stage embryo from an in vitro fertilization 

clinic. The debates have 

fueled pro-life advocates, who 

view an embryo as a person. 

Weissman feels a responsibility 

to overcome the hurdles, 

because he believes it could 

improve people’s lives. 

Weissman’s journey into understanding 

some of the most 

intricate science about the human 

body began in Montana. His 

grandfather arrived as an immigrant 

at Ellis Island in the early 

1900s and then headed west, settling 

near Great Falls. He worked 

as a junk man and fur trader 

and later owned a second-hand 

auto body parts store, eventually 

also working in steel supply, 

plumbing supply and hardware. 

Weissman’s father took over the 

business. 

Weissman, now 70, said his interest 

in science began when he was 

10 and read a book about the lives 

of scientists, including Robert 

Koch, a German physician who 

developed criteria to establish a 

causal relationship between a microbe and disease. 

“How do you know something causes a disease? 

This discovery by Koch dramatically changed 

things…Seeing that connection between science and 

disease—I wanted to be able to do that.” 

About five years later, Weissman began working in 

scientist Ernst Eichwald’s Great Falls laboratory, in 

Deaconess Hospital. Weissman remembers encountering 

a toddler with leukemia in a room near the 

lab. 

“That combination, working in the lab, watching 

this poor 18-month-old child die because there was 

no therapy, all added up to plenty of motivation... 

Not only to do research, but to take the research as 

far as possible [and] apply it to medicine.” 

While Weissman wasn’t in the top 10 percent of 

his class in Great Falls, he won a grand prize in the 

1957 Montana State Science Fair his senior year, and 

published two papers before graduating high school. 

He attended Dartmouth for two years, but “wasn’t 

learning or doing science [there],” and he hated the 

East’s “traditionalism.” So, Weissman enrolled at 

what was then Montana State College in Bozeman, 

where he met “some of the greatest scientists and 

teachers—often better than I had at Dartmouth.” 

As a Montana State undergraduate, Weissman 

learned to read others’ research experiments thoroughly 

and evaluate their methods and analyses. 



Dr. Irving Weissman is an innovator in one of medicine’s most exciting and 

controversial disciplines. One key to his success stems from his Montana 

roots. MSU photo by Kelly Gorham. 

Weissman will speak at msu Friday, march 25, 

as part of the kopriva science seminar series. 

more information about the event is available 

here: montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview. 

php?article=9533 

Geneticist Palmer “Dave” Skaar’s courses “[analyzed] 

the great genetics experiments of the day, 

and he related them to problems in both evolution 

and population biology.” 

“You also have to have the desire to look at medical 

issues, from fundamental science where you’re 

asking questions, devising experiments to answer 

the questions, and then the whole deal of making it 

real,” Weissman said. 

In fall of 1960, he entered a special five-year research 

and medicine program at Stanford, allowing 

him—in conjunction with his coursework at Dartmouth 

and Montana State—to receive a bachelor’s of 

science in pre-medicine from Montana State College 

in 1961. Weissman earned his M.D. at Stanford in 

1965, and he’s been there since. 

His Montana background was crucial to his success. 

“One of the things about growing up in Montana, 

compared to the East, is that you’re less constrained 

by tradition and convention, so you can think creatively…You 

are more likely to question authority. 

And that’s a good thing.” 

Weissman’s colleagues also note his path illustrates 

his love of learning and desire for knowledge. 

“Irv exhibits a deep and burning intellectual curiosity. 

That is fundamental to good scientists,” said Leroy 

Hood, a long-time friend. Hood is also from Montana 

and is co-founder of the Institute for Systems Biology 

in Seattle, which pioneers systems approaches to 

biology and medicine. Continued on p.21 

march 18, 2011 19

20 march 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

ProFile 

Continued from p. 19 

Though he would rather be conducting 

research or fly-fishing, Weissman’s 

work also demands involvement in 

politics and economics. His methodical 

reasoning, calm demeanor and ability 

to communicate scientific relevance 

to a lay audience have been assets as he 

testifies at hearings and debates about 

stem cells, including hearings before 

the U.S. Congress. 

Still, Weissman says politics and economics 

are often the most frustrating 

aspects of his job. 

In 2001, President George W. Bush 

limited federal funding for embryonic 

stem cell research to the stem cell lines 

then in existence, arguing that extracting 

the stem cell destroys the embryo 

and its potential for life. President 

Barack Obama lifted the ban last year, 

only to be reversed in August 2010 by 

a federal judge, who said an expansion 

of embryonic stem cell research 

violated a ban on federal money used 

to destroy embryos. An appeals court 

lifted the resulting temporary injunction 

barring the federal government 

from funding that research, but the 

implications of the judge’s ruling were 

still being determined. Weissman said 

he hoped it would be overturned. 

“(President) Bush, and (Sam) Brownback 

in the (U.S.) Senate, and (Dave) 

Weldon in the (U.S.) House, and the 

Catholic Church, and the Pope—who 

I eventually met—all opposed this 

kind of stem cell research, some 

equating it to murder,” Weissman 

said. “And I said, ‘Well, which of 

these diseases do you think we 

shouldn’t pursue just as hard as we 

can? Stopping stem cell research stops 

an important path to understand and 

treat these diseases.’” 

In a response to the ban, Weissman 

was important 

in the 

writing and 

passage of 

California’s 

Proposition 

71, which 

protected 

the research 

as a state right and allocated $3 billion 

in state funds over 10 years. The 

measure put California at the forefront 

nationally of the field of stem cell 

research. 

Weissman recognizes communication 

about stem cells can be polarizing, 

weighed down by people’s 

perceptions. 

“I realized that if I said … to people 

who weren’t even in the field, ‘Draw 

an embryo,’ inevitably they’d draw 

a fetus. So I’d say, ‘How can we talk 

to each other?’ If I say ‘embryo,’ and 

I know it’s some cells that are in a 

dish, and you think of a human fetus, 

Full Service Flyshop & Guide Service 

montanaflyfishing.com | (406) 995-2290 

1/2 mile past Big Sky turnoff on HWY 191 

then already it’s been polarized and 

politicized, and whatever religious or 

political group got to you first might 

have influenced your way.” 

In addition to membership in the 

National Academy of Sciences, one 

of the highest honors for a scientist 

or engineer, Weissman has received 

numerous awards. Among them are 

California Scientist of the Year (2002), 

“Working in the lab, watching this poor 

18-month-old child die because there 

was no therapy, all added up to plenty 

of motivation... not only to do research, 

but to take the research as far as possible 

[and] apply it to medicine.” 

Big Sky’s only year 

round Fly Shop 

Montana Outfitter #235 

Winter Trips Available 

and the leadinginternational 

award 

in microbiology, 

the 

Robert Koch 

Prize (2008). 

“Irv stands 

above most scientists,” said George 

Carlson, Director of the McLaughlin 

Research Institute in Great Falls, of 

which Weissman is a board member. 

Throughout his career, Weissman has 

returned often to Montana, sometimes 

to lecture or to raise funds for the 

McLaughlin Research Institute. 

Carlson believes Montana is important 

for another reason. “He knows 

where he came from, and I think 

things like the work ethic play a big 

role in his success…And, of course, 

he loves to fish.” 

In fact, it doesn’t take long for fishing 

This is how Big Sky gets 

into hot water. 

Nordic Hot Tub 

We service what we sell! 

Spa sales to fit your budget 

Pool and spa care after the sale 

Custom maintenance plans 



to come up in a conversation with 

Weissman. One anecdote involves his 

17-year-old daughter, Rachel. 

“She is a great caster…If I float…with 

her down the Bitterroot or the Missouri 

... usually I sit in back and she 

sits in front. And so you’re looking 

for the spot where the trout might be. 

And you cast your fly. Inevitably now, 

I see the spot, I do the cast, and hers 

lands just in front of mine.” 

Weissman remembers every discovery 

he’s ever made, from his early 

experiments as a 16-year-old boy, to 

breakthrough research performed as 

an adult. “The big celebration is the 

moment you see it, and usually you’re 

alone. It’s incredible, to see a piece of 

data coming from a thought you had, 

an experiment you designed.” 

More important than discovery, is its 

application, Weissman said. 

“If this translation doesn’t happen, or 

is delayed for 4-8 years while somebody 

dithers about the philosophy 

of it, or the political reality of it, 

some people will die who had a short 

window of opportunity… I’m really 

cognizant of that.” 

This article was adapted from a story 

originally written by Anne Cantrell 

and published in “Mountains and 

Minds,” MSU’s flagship magazine. 

Spa covers and custom lifts 

Lots of accessories for your spa 

Special orders available 

www.BigSkyHotTubs.com 

(406) 995-4892 • NordicHotTub@aol.com 

47520 Gallatin Rd. • Big Sky, MT 59716 

march 18, 2011 21

Morningstar learning center’s 

Dance and Wine Tasting at Buck’s T-4 

Sponsors: 

Merrill Lynch 

Big Sky Western Bank 

Big Sky Furniture 

Blue Ribbon Builders 

Big Sky Build 

American Bank 

The Agency Insurance Division 

Mail & More 

Big Sky Weekly- Outlaw Partners 

22 march 18, 2011 

RIVER RUN SITE 

Saturday April 2, 7:00 p.m. 

Jeni Fleming and band 

will perform for the event 

Ticket price includes entry, wine tasting and hors d’oeurves. Tickets are $35 in advance, & on sale at 

Big Sky Home Owners Association, Meadow Village Country Market and Big Sky Western Bank in Big 

Sky. Or by contacting Morningstar, 995-2565 or mlcbigsky@gmail.com. 

Natalie’s Estates Winery 

Buck’s T-4 

Lone Peak Lookout 

American Land Title 

Hammond Property Management 

Donors for Raffle 

and Auction: 

Kokoro, Private Sushi Chef 

East Slope Outdoors 


RIVER RUN 

MORNINGSTAR LEARNING CENTER SPONSORS & DONORS: 

320 Ranch 

Geyser Whitewater 

La Luna 

Meadow Village Country Market 

Big Sky Home Owners Association 

Wrap Shack 

Wolff Creek Massage 

Half Moon Saloon 

By Word of Mouth 

Lone Peak Brewery 

Big Sky Health & Fitness 

A T Y E L L O W S T O N E C L U B 

Fly Fishing · Horses · Skiing 

RIVER RUN 

A T Y E L L O W S T O N E C L U B 

Fly Fishing · Horses · Skiing 

Natalie’s Estates Winery 

will be featuring their fabulous wines 

Music Villa 

Think Big Sky Rentals 

Ryan Turner Photography 

Blue Moon Bakery 

Moonlight Basin 

Big Sky Resort 

Greg Hodge 

Carole Sisson Designs 

AriO Jewelry 

Simms Fishing 

Black Tie Rentals 

Big Sky Private Chef 

Big Sky Landscape 

Big Sky Coffee and Tea 

Montana Backcountry Adventures 

Chelsea Noggle Artwork 

Lone Mountain Sports 

The Cabin 

Conoco/ Lone Perk 

Dragonfly Interiors 

Anderson Enterprises 

Paulie’s Hot Dogs 

Available for purchase: 

The Ditch 

The Bowl 

Yeti Dog 

Mark Ganoom 

JuJu Skirts 

Pat Branting 

Eye in the Sky Photography 

Rainbow Ranch 

Gallatin Alpine Sports 


7-acre estate featuring skiing, 

fly fishing & horses onsite 

Contact 

sales@riverrunatyc.com 

www.riverrunatyc.com 

Big Sky, Montana

youth 

Spanish legends 

el Puma contra los conquistadores 

by kaela schommer 

summary: 

A small jungle tribe sees a puma hit by an arrow. The tribe 

realizes the arrow came from a group of Spanish conquerors 

coming to take over their tribe. They nurse the puma 

back to health. In turn, she rallies her puma friends to help 

defeat the conquerors. This legend comes from connections 

to our readings and Kaela’s research. 

Había una vez un pequeño pueblo que estaba rodeado 

por una selva enorme. Vivía una tribu en medio de la 

selva debajo de un árbol tan enorme como una montaña 

encumbrada. Un día la gente en la tribu oyó un chillido 

fuerte desde la parte superior de los árboles. Era un chillido 

tan fuerte que podría hacer un bebé llorando. 

Después de mucho confuso la tribu vi que el chillido era 

de un puma. El puma se inicia cada seguido más grande 

que dio cuenta de que el puma estaba cayendo hacía ellos 

desde los árboles después de ser golpeada por algo. 

La gente corrió a ver lo que golpeó el puma y si el puma 

estaba bien. Vieron una flecha se clavó en el costado 

‘nerdy’ not the case: 

15 Ophir and LPHS students are traveling 

to Missoula on March 31 for the 

statewide science fair. The students 

have already competed in the Ophir 

School science fair and the Regional 

Science and Engineering Fair in Butte 

this month. 

This is the third year the Ophir School 

District has participated in the science 

fair thanks to their Middle School 

Science teacher Sue Barton, who 

helped introduce the program to the 

school. Also, this is the first year a 

LPHS student has made it to the state 

competition. 

del puma. Nana, una mujer mayor de la tribu se 

puso a cantar. El puma cayó en un sueño apacible 

y Nana cogió suavemente la flecha del lado del 

puma. 

La tribu aprendió que los conquistadores Españoles 

dispararon el puma. Los hombres de 

la tribu comenzaron a combatir a los españoles 

mientras que Nana ayuda el puma recuperar su 

fuerza. 

El puma y sus amigos ayudaron a la lucha contra 

los hombres. La batalla duró tres días, hasta el 

puma y sus amigos fuertes capturaron el jefe de 

los españoles. Después de tres días el pueblo 

ganó la batalla. 

La gente ya no tienen miedo a los pumas ni los 

Españoles. Vivía en paz en sus bosques durante 

los próximos años con la ayuda de los pumas. 

The fair “teaches [the students] that 

science can be fun,” said Barton. “They 

can turn something their interested in 

into something that can be tested.” 

There were 450 different projects at 

the regional fair, and the Ophir kids 

performed well. Six out of seven of 

all of Barton’s students are headed 

to states, and there are a total of 14 

middle schoolers going. 

At most schools, Barton said: “ Science 

is nerdy, but ‘nerdy’ is not the case 

here. Every middle schooler at Ophir 

did a project.” a.d. 



ophir students head to state science fair 

Dakota Perry and James Ramirez present their project “Evaporation and Crystal 

Growth.” They are headed to the state competition on March 31 in Missoula. 

lone Peak high school’s spanish 3 students spent a large part 

of second quarter reading native legends from around the 

spanish-speaking world, and realizing related themes. “students 

then chose an area or peoples they were interested in, 

did some research, and wrote their own legends,” says spanish 

teacher cassie kapes. the story below is by sophomore 

kaela schommer. 

results from the regional science and engineering Fair 

Fifth Grade 

Anna Alvin “Does Voice Affect Plant 

Growth?” - First place, silver medal 

Helen Sacchi “Hail and Pollution” - First 

place, bronze medal 

Ethan Schumacher and Harrison 

Schreiner”Recco, Avy Dog, or Beacon?” - 

Second place 

Holden Samuels and Rhett Leuzinger-- 

”Avalanche Beacons: 1,2,or 3 Antennas?” 

- First place/ silver medal 

Howie Robin and Kaleb Gale--”Is the Rule 

of Thumb Correct?” Third place 

Katie Pearl Hoffman “Video Games and 

Hand-Eye Coordination” - Second place/ 

special award 

Kuka Holder and Blair Johnsen “Product 

Labeling” Second place 

sixth Grade 

Dasha Bough “The Effects of Nitrogen and 

Phosphorus on Brassica and Camelina” 

- First place, gold medal, Top ten science 

projects, Best of Show Biological Science 

and other special awards 

Bella Butler--”Endorphins and Skiing” - 

First place/gold medal 

Evynn Gibbs-Cook and Bianca Godoy 

“The Placebo Effect” - First place/gold 

medal 

Dakota Perry and James Ramirez “Evaporation 

and Crystal Growth” - First place/ 

gold medal, special award 

Garrett Cronin “Truss Joints” - Third place 

seventh Grade 

Griffin Schumacher and Chris Goode 

“Natural vs. Abstract” - First place/gold 

medal 

Frances Cronin “Priming, Gender Stereotype, 

and School Performance” - First 

place/gold medal 

Chase Samuels and Charlie Johnson 

“What Ski JumpWorks Best?” - Second 

place 

eighth Grade 

Rachid Schultz and Ben Michel “Are Solar 

Furnaces Effective?” - First place/gold 

medal 

Simeon Goode “Man vs. Computer”- 

First place/silver medal 

Ashlay Ruddick and Gage Lindell ”What 

Is Most Effective for the Tesla Turbine?” - 

First place/ gold medal 

Gabby Michel and Haven Fry “Can Cockroaches 

Be Habituated?”- Second place 

Trevor House and Harry Child “Does 

Gender Affect Frustration?”- Second place 

Anthony Savoy and Griffin House “Hovercrafts” 

- Second place 

Kirra Austin and Molly Sharr “The Stroop 

Effect” - Second place 

ninth Grade 

Anna Middleton “Phytoremediation in 

Native Aquatic Plants” - First Place/gold 

medal 

march 18, 2011 23

24 march 18, 2011 

sPorts 

Over 3 decades 

building in 

Montana 

Settle down critics 

by brandon niles 

Inevitably, each NBA season, commentators 

will dissect every game 

played by the league’s top teams. 

After a surprise loss or an off night, 

there’s always a new headline announcing 

doom and gloom: 

Are the Lakers still tops in the west? 

Are the Heat done? 

Is this the end for the Celtics? 

I’m here to tell the critics writing 

these premature prognostications 

to relax. Settle down everyone. It’s 

going to be okay. 


Giving you the most 

value possible, 

with dedication, 

communication 

and design insight, 

we focus on cost 

effectiveness, 

building the most 

efficient way 

possible. 

145 Center Lane, Unit L 

Meadow Village 


406-995-4579 

BlueRibbonBuilders.com 

The Lakers have 

been a little 

inconsistent all 

season, and this 

has prompted 

headlines indicating 

they’re not 

favorites to win 

a title. However, 

they’ll still be 

hosting at least 

one home playoff 

series, and they 

essentially have 

the same roster 

that won them the 

last two championships. Additionally, 

they’ve shown when they really 

want to play, they’re tough to beat. 

While they do seem to be snoozing 

a bit during the regular season, let’s 

wait until playoff time. 

The Celtics traded away Kendrick 

Perkins for a backup wing player, 

which hurts them as a team. However, 

they’re still one of the best 

teams in the league and are as tough 

defensively as anyone. There’s no 

reason to think the Celtics won’t 

be legitimate contenders, so long as 

On Saturday, March 5, 45 competitors 

converged on Moonlight Basin, 

bringing high energy to the fifth 

annual Huck-A-Berry Jam. Ranging 

in age from seven to 33, skiers and 

snowboarders competed head-tohead, 

highlighting the rail features 

and textbook jumps in the Zero Gravity 

Terrain Park. One skier hailed 

from Florence, Montana, over four 

hours away. 

This year, Huck-A-Berry returned 

to its slopestyle roots, thanks to 

feedback from competitors, sponsors 

and Moonlight staff. The course was 

broken into three zones, with one 

judge per zone. The first zone had 

two c-boxes and the choice to hit a 35foot 

jump or a rail line. Zone two was 


huck-a-Berry jam 

by ersin ozer 

their four-man core of Rondo, Garnett, 

Pierce and Allen stay healthy. 

The Heat have been under excessive 

scrutiny all season. After signing 

Lebron James and Chris Bosh, 

they’ve had unreasonable expectations. 

Now, as they’ve struggled to 

beat good teams, commentators have 

been harsh. 

Chill out! It 

takes time to 

develop team 

chemistry, 

and the core 

players need 

time to develop 

talent. 

The Heat are 

a contender 

this year and will host a playoff 

series. The Heat are going to be 

fine, and whether they win a title 

this year or not, they’ll be perennial 

contenders for the next several 

years—they have three super stars in 

their mid-twenties, in the first years 

of their contracts. 

The bottom line is, it’s not playoff 

time yet, and none of these elite 

a classic 45-foot jump and a rail line 

to the side. The complex rail features 

in zone three included a wall ride, a 

hitching post and a hip that could be 

doubled as a tree-bonk. 

At the start-gate, skiers and riders 

strategized and cheered each other on. 

Music blasted from big speakers, and 

people riding the Six Shooter chairlift 

danced and hooted. 

First place winners in each division 

walked away with skateboards, 

helmets, gloves, and cool swag from 

Mountjoy Snowboards, Union Realm 

Unlimited, Cutbird Skateboards, 

Bern and Pow, as well as local Big Sky 

restaurants. 

moonlightbasin.com 

teams are worried whether they’ll 

get a playoff series. All teams have 

bad nights, but we don’t need to 

scrutinize every sub-par game they 

put up. There are 82 games in an 

NBA season, and the fact that all 

three of these teams remain high 

up in the overall standings proves 

they’re legitimate title contenders. 

“the bottom line is, it’s not playoff 

time yet, and none of these elite 

teams are worried whether they’ll 

get a playoff series. all teams 

have bad nights, but we don’t 

need to scrutinize every sub-par 

game they put up.” 

Lighten up 

everyone and 

enjoy watching 

three great 

teams with 

bona fide super 

stars entertain 

us for a few 

more months. 

Brandon Niles has done online freelance 

writing about the NFL since 

2007. His articles range from NFL 

news to team-specific commentary. 

A Communication Studies graduate 

student at the University of North 

Carolina Greensboro, Niles is also an 

avid Miami Dolphins fan, which has 

led to his becoming an avid Scotch 

whisky fan over the past decade.

eal estate 

Selling Property in 

a Buyer’s Market 

by Jason Parks, braniF scott and ania bulis 

With so many properties for sale and 

so many eager sellers willing to strike 

a deal, what does it take to make a 

property trade hands, while others 

remain stagnant on the real estate 

market? Although there is no magic 

bullet, there are some measures sellers 

can take to put their home at the 

forefront of the pack: 

1) Pricing real estate correctly ultimately 

has the greatest impact on 

whether or not your property garners 

interest from buyers and realtors 

alike. Sellers often price properties 

higher because they fear having to 

negotiate with buyers, only to lower 

their asking price over the course of 

the listing. Had the property been 

priced realistically from the onset, 

chances are it would have sold and 

the seller would have avoided chasing 

a downward market. 

2) Pricing aside, buyers are often looking 

for means to offset ownership cost. 

In a second home market, one obvious 

method is rental income. When 

selling a rental property, have rental 

numbers handy (both gross and net) 

for potential buyers to review. Historical 

rental revenue gives buyers a sense 

of comfort, even if they have no intention 

of actually renting it. 

3) Maintenance is often overlooked in 

a second home market. While preservation 

and non-critical repairs are frequently 

deferred, they will no doubt 

creep up during inspection. Perform 

inspections when listing a property 

for sale, especially if it’s summer or 

fall. Winter snowfall prevents inspectors 

from giving opinions on roofs, 

drainage and foundations. Inspections 

done in advance can prevent buyers 

from requesting a withholding at 

closing, and can also allow sellers to 

mitigate and repair critical items prior 

to the listing. 

4) Presentation is crucial. A clutterfree 

and clean home is a necessity. 

Highlighting the features or amenities 

of a property is also beneficial. 

For example, if a property has great 

ski access, make certain that is apparent 

and accessible. This may entail 

additional grooming or shoveling, 

but is worth the effort. Alternatively, 

wooded home sites often benefit 

from having a viewing platform or 

trees thinned. Buyers sometimes 

have a difficult time visualizing the 

highlights and assets of a property, 

and removing the guesswork has a 

positive impact. 

5) Last, but not least, be amenable to 

creative structures and solutions. In 

the last year, Big Sky had an uptick 

in sales involving both seller financing 

and trades. Trades provide two 

sellers the opportunity to liquidate 

properties, with one party upgrading 

and the other trading into a smaller, 

less expensive property. This is one 

way to diminish debt and/or reduce 

exposure, as well as free up capital, 

depending on one’s financial picture. 

There are a few factors that sellers 

cannot control, location being the 

most obvious. Some properties simply 

have the benefit of a great view, 

ski access or a perfectly situated home 

site. Others have the good fortune of 

being considered a “scarcity,” despite 

the fact that inventory levels remain 

elevated. Nonetheless, even the most 

ideally positioned property benefits 

from appropriate pricing and will 

stand out to buyers and their realtors 

with some of these suggestions 

implemented. 

Ania Bulis, Branif Scott and Jason 

Parks are all Brokers with The Signature 

Group at Christie’s Great Estates | 

PureWest in Big Sky. 

realestateofbigksy.com 

JEWELRY - ART - ARTIFACTS 

NATIVE AMERICAN 



& WESTERN ACCENTS 

for you and your home 

I N T H E M O U N TA I N M A L L B I G S KY, M O N TA N A 4 0 6 - 9 9 5 - 3 2 1 0 

Early Spring Fishing Trips 

AVAILABLE NOW 

Try our 1/2 Day Walk Wades on the Gallatin 

River or float trips on the Madison or 

Yellowstone Rivers. Now is the time to enjoy 

some springtime fly-fishing with the best 

guides in Big Sky. 

FLY SHOP: (406)-995-2975 or 

406-581-7537 

This ad good for 10% off any guided trip. 

Expires: 4/15/11 

march 18, 2011 25

ig sky Weekly

usiness 

Banking Safety: 

Paper versus electronic 

by Jamey kabish 

I am asked quite often about the 

safety and security of banking online. 

Many people in Big Sky have eagerly 

adopted electronic banking features, 

but some are still concerned about 

online safety of their identity. What 

are the facts? According to identitytheft.com, 

an estimated 70 percent of 

all bank-related fraud stems from papers 

with account numbers and other 

personal information on them falling 

into the wrong hands. What can you 

do to keep your information safe? 

To evaluate your options, consider 

the lifecycle of paper versus electronic 

information. Most Big Sky 

residents have a mailbox key and 

thus, controlled access. What if you 

misplace your statement and someone 

gets his hands on it? It’s easy to 

forget to shred papers, and dumpster 

diving is an easy way for thieves to 

gather information. 

Emailed statements offer multiple 

layers of security. How it works: 

bank customers receive emailed 

notification that their bank statement 

is available through the bank’s 

website. This notification is generic 

– no personal information is included. 

Customers can then log into the 

secure online banking system with 

a previously established user name 

AUTHENTIC THAI 

& ASIAN CUISINE 

Try our specials- 

available nightly 

and password. Printing information 

is often unnecessary. Once logged in, 

current and previous statements are 

available. 

The key to maintaining eStatement 

security is keeping the spyware, 

Trojan, and anti-virus software on 

your home computer up to date. 

Reputable security software makes it 

very difficult for your computer to be 

compromised. Additional steps are 

to: download personal information 

only as required; password protect 

your computer; password protect 

key files; create difficult passwords 

using numbers and symbols; and 

shred any printed papers. 

What if you are traveling? Most 

banks authenticate the computer 

their customers use. Log into your 

account from a computer you don’t 

regularly use, and you’ll be required 

to enter information proving 

your identity before accessing your 

account. 

Jamey Kabisch is Branch President 

at First Security Bank in Big Sky. If 

you’d like to know more about online 

banking, the friendly staff at First 

Security is available to answer your 

questions. (406) 993-3350 

995-2728 

Takeout available 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. nightly 3090 Pine Drive #2, Big Sky 

Please call early to place your takeout order so we may best accomodate 

FOR SALE BY OWNER 

2605 Little Coyote Rd. Meadow Village 

Tax return preparation 

Tax planning 

Payroll Services 

Bookkeeping 

Financial Statement preparation 

Business Consulting 

Business Valuation 

WAYNE NEIL, JR. CPA 

DOUG NEIL CPA 

JAKE NEIL CPA 

Celebrating 40 years of business serving 

Montana and the Gallatin Valley! 

1184 North 15th Ave. Ste. 1, Bozeman, MT 59715 

Phone (406) 587-9239 Fax (406) 586-4737 



Recently built. 2800 sq ft. 3 BD 3BA plus large loft. 2 car heated 

garage, finest fixtures and finishes, custom cabinets, beautiful 

Alder floors, & stacked stone fireplace. Make this a must 

see. Minutes to golf, world class fly fishing & hiking trails in 

summer. Out your door, access to cross country trails in winter. 

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

Motivated seller asking $689,000 

Possible owner financing. 

Call Mike’s cell 239-273-4809 for a showing or go to 

www.2605LittleCoyote.com for more information and photos. 

Buyer agents welcome at 4% 

march 18, 2011 27

usiness directory 

PILATES 

YOGA 

MASSAGE 

PERSONAL TRAINING 

HEALTH COUNSELING 

BIG BURRITOS. 

BIG TASTE. 

SMALL PRICES. 

TACOS • WRAPS • BOWLS 

KIDS MENU • BEER • MARGS 

EVERYTHING MADE FRESH EVERY DAY! 

DINE IN • TAKE OUT • WEROLLEMFAT.COM 

WINTER HOURS START DECEMBER 6 

OPEN DAILY 11-8 


FIND US ON FACEBOOK!! 

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

Business Profile 

of the Week: 

yellowstone snowmobile 

adventures 

by hunter rothWell 

Over the past few years, the National Park Service has implemented new rules 

regulating winter park use. Winter visitors in Yellowstone are required to have 

a professional guide employed by an authorized Licensed Concessionaire, and 

Two Top Snowmobile Rental in West Yellowstone has been the guide service 

of choice since the late 1960s, when proprietor David McCray’s father started 

the business. 

McCray and his wife Jamie, who are always present in the shop, work full-time 

to ensure all their guests have a fantastic experience. “Our business is serious 

stuff, and people have the potential to hurt themselves,” said McCray. “We are 

serious when we need to be, but try to keep it very light.” 

The snowmobiles at Two Top are complete with hand and seat warmers, as 

well as fresh, clean gear needed to stay comfortable on a Yellowstone adventure. 

Two Top is named for the world famous snowmobiling destination, Two 

Top Mountain, which is in view out the rental shop’s front door. 

McCray, who has been at the shop his entire life, is proud of his experienced 

and friendly guide staff, who are also park naturalists or fishing guides. They 

know the best places to view elk, bison, eagles, coyotes, foxes and other park 

spectacles. Guides like Two Top veteran Mickey Wooten, originally from 

Memphis, TN and a summer fishing guide for Madison River Outfitters, has 

Big Sky Meadow Village 

Across from the Post Office 

406-995-3113 

Monday - Saturday: 10-5 

Sunday: 11-5 

horse of a different color 

Live with the things you Love

more interesting park facts than one can retain in a daylong tour; as an added 

bonus he points out the best fishing spots when the season is open. 

The geysers, multi-colored hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles are a true 

wonder in the winter. All Two Top guides have a plethora of information on the 

park’s history, geology, geothermal activity and folklore. 

While experienced snowmobilers may have difficulty considering a Yellowstone 

trip (due to the park regulated 35 MPH speed limit and the designated 

trails), when guides aren’t looking, it’s possible to sneak in a quick fish tail or a 

mean burnout. 

The power of seeing one of the most unique areas on our planet by snowmobile 

is a trip less than 1 percent of Americans will experience. Two Top Snowmobile 

Rentals offers complete snowmobile lodging packages. Make a reservation 

before the snow melts. 

twotopsnowmobile.com 

Balance your Life 

hand printed in Big Sky, mt 

406.995.2940 : pahaonline.com 


To schedule a class call 406-581-2442 or email delilah2104@gmail.com 

*on orders of 18+ garments for new clients 

NOW OFFERING FREE SCREEN SETUP 

Home Life Auto 

The Agency Insurance Division 

Protecting Your Assets 

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

DO YOU 

KNOW 

WHERE 

YOUR 

FOOD 

COMES 

FROM? 

Delilah Price Eakman, RYT® 

Certified Integrative Relaxation Facilitator 

Certified Restorative Yoga Trainer 

Offering: 

Amrit Yoga - a gentle yoga suitable for all levels 

Relax and Renew® Restorative Yoga 

Integrative Relaxation (Yoga Nidra) 

Senior Yoga 

Prenatal Yoga 

Reiki (Ray Key) Provider 

Straight from the 

source to your table 

Learn more and order online at 

bigskylocalfood.com | 406-579-7094 

explorebigsky.com march 18, 2011 29

30 march 18, 2011 explorebigsky.com

Big SkY WeeklY 

hoMe oF The 

10 

claSSiFiedS! 

$ 

$15 WiTh PhoTo 

each ad can 

be up to 4 lines 

(Maximum of 

30 words). 

additional lines 

are $5 per line, 

Maximum of 8 

words per line. 

email classifieds and/or 

advertising requests to: 


(406) 995-2055 

helP WanTed 

Snow business looking for shovelers 

and equipment operators for 

immediate openings. Following 

required: Valid License, Vehicle, 

Winter Apparel, Texting Capabilities, 

Drug Testing. Pay weekly. 

Work in Big Sky/ Private Club. 

Contact Bob at 406-581-4331. 

Delzer Diversified. 

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

Local BS home builder seeks 

outgoing energetic person to assist 

with office and admin duties. 

MS Office and blueprint exp 

preferred. Salary DOE. Please 

send cover letter and resume to 

bigskyjob23@yahoo.com or fax 

406-995-2125.” 

For renT 

Office Spaces across from the Post 

Office. Professional Image. AC 

with shared conference room and 

kitchenette. Value priced flat fee 

with no extra charges. Call Debbie 

at 581-5785. 

Office space in the Jefferson 

Building in West Fork Meadows 

Great space with reception area 

and 3 seperate rooms. $500.00 per 

month. For more information call 

406-580-5191 

For Sale 

Rossignol HC500 Snowboard 

Bindings, gray/white, Men’s/ M. 

Never been used. $20 OBO. 605- 

431-2178 

loST 

LOST! Silver Medallion in the 

shape of an eagle. It is about the 

size of a quarter. It has super high 

sentimental value to the ten year 

old owner! It could be anywhere 

in Big Sky. REWARD! 995.3377 

Thank you! 



SerViceS 

Pilates/Yoga fusion class EVERY 

Sunday at 9:00 am @ BENTLEY 

BODIES studio in Big Sky. Increase 

strength, flexibility & balance. 

All fitness levels welcome. 

WWW.BENTLEYBODIES.NET 

406.570.9154 

WanT To adVerTiSe? 

Contact Outlaw Partners at 

(406) 995-2055 or 


march 18, 2011 31

Exclusively 

Yellowstone Club, 

Uniquely Big Sky 

9 AmAzing 

P ro P e rt i e s 

Protected by 65 acres of dedicated 

open space 

1.7 - 4.8 acre parcels 

11,000+ sq ft. Locati-designed 

Custom Residence 


D i r e c t ski Access to 

Y e l l ow s to n e club, big skY 

r e s o rt & moonlight bAsin 

Private development within Yellowstone Club 

Situated on the saddle between Yellowstone 

Club and Big Sky Resort 

Year-round private & public amenities 

Custom Residence 486 

P i c t u r e D: lot 486 

Lot Size: 1.77 acres 

Square Footage: 10,372 sq. ft. 

Heated Livable: 12,207 sq. ft. 

Garage & Storage: 1,835 sq. ft. 

Bedrooms: 4 +2 bunkrooms 

Bathrooms: 7 + 3 powder rooms 

Garage: 3 car & storage 

Finished Space 

Lower Level: 5,138 sq. ft. 

Main Level: 5,234 sq. ft. 

Total: 10,372 sq. ft. 

Storage Space 

Lower Level: 382 sq. ft. 

Main Level: 1,435 sq. ft. 

Total: 1,835 sq. ft. 

To view videos and learn more about Lone View Ridge properties, visit 

LoneViewRidge.com or YellowstoneClub.com. 

For direct questions or sales inquiries, email sales@loneviewridge.com

local Gear 

Alex Buck shows off his work in the knappsackery 

Buck Products 

Grassroots bozeman company makes 

simple, custom, rolltop “backsacks” 

by kelsey dzintars 

Alex Buck began sewing in the summer of 

2008, when he and his wife, Allie, received 

a sewing machine as a wedding present. He 

started out with a few simple patterns to learn 

the skill, and it didn’t take him long to start 

dreaming up possibilities. 

Originally from Portland, Maine, Buck always 

enjoyed making and building things from 

scraps of wood and objects he found in his 

barn. In fall of 2005, he moved to Bozeman 

to ski and attend MSU. By the end of that 

year, he found a niche in sculpture. The need 

for something simple and durable to haul his 

sculpture supplies around campus led him to 

make his first knapsack. 

Tired of overly complicated, technical backpacks 

on the market, he started with a simple 

river duffel bag design. Buck has since refined 

his design, but kept it simple - one large 

pocket with no zippers, a roll top with a clasp 

snap closure, and two smaller pockets inside. 

Attention and demand for the “knappsacks” 

grew quickly. He settled on CORDURA® 

brand 1000-denier nylon and lined the bags 

with water repellent Packcloth, making his 

packs robust and long lasting. Buck realized 

with the range of colors available, this could 

be a useful, custom product for hauling everyday 

life essentials. 

Now, Buck has a full-time operation and his 

own “knappsackery,” located in the Bozeman 

Seed Building. He estimates he has sold several 

hundred custom bags since 2009, producing 

batches of about five sacks at a time. Having 

his design, equipment and materials further 

dialed, he spends about and hour-and-a-half 

to two hours on each handmade knapsack. 

In addition to his original knappsack, 

Buck now has a new design: the notyet-titled 

Buck Product sack. This 

design is slightly bigger, with easy 

Velcro closures and pockets on the 

outside, and the option to fold or roll 

the top. He also makes custom padded 

laptop cases that fit inside both packs. 

Occasionally, he makes fanny packs 

by request, and he plans to make a 

smaller pack for kids, inspired by his 

own two-year-old son. 

Buck’s sales are almost entirely viral, having 

sold custom knappsacks in Maine, New 

York, Boston and California all through email 

communication. He is currently working 

on a collaboration with Rogues Gallery in 

Portland, Maine to produce unique, organic 

knappsacks for their store. In Montana, he’s 

sold packs through Girls Outdoors and Second 

Wind Sports in Bozeman, and he plans 

to add a few more local vendors. 

Although sales and production have taken 

off for Buck Products, Buck plans to keep his 

business small, “sticking to simplicity and 

classic design, all while creating highly useful 

daily haul bags.” 

buckproducts.com 

Padded laptop sleeve fits easily inside 

any Buck Product knappsack 


March 18, 2011 


The new Buck Product bag 

design with multiple closures 

to get your own knappsack, email 

alex at akbuckbuck@gmail.com. 

stock knappsack (ships asaP): $65 

custom knappsack: $75 

computer sleeves: $35 

(all prices include shipping) 

colors: purple, orange, mint green, 

forest green, camo, navy, pink, 

royal blue and a few hidden gems 


march 18, 2011 33

34 march 18, 2011 

Purify ionize AlkAlize 

VitAlize energize 

liVing WAter tAstes Pure And refreshing 

Offering Living Water 

with the revolutionary 

Direct Disk Ionization 

Technology for drinking water 

Yellowstone living 

water store 

47250 Gallatin Road Unit 1 (South 

of the Exxon) Big Sky, Montana 

YellowstoneLivingWater.com 


Sleek, stainless steel, easily installs 

to your existing faucet For a healthy 

body, healthy home and healthy life 


Or drop in for a drink at our new store! 

For more information call: 

faith 406.581.0616 

Also other natural organic 

alternatives for Big Sky Homes 

Environmental Purity

a Staycation 

for any Season 

by abbie diGel 

stay·ca·tion noun \ˈstā-ˈkā-shən\ vacation spent at 

home or nearby 

The sound of pool balls cracking against each other, 

followed by a high five and cheers of excitement, 

echoes from the dining cabin at 320 Ranch. A line 

of snowmobiles is parked outside of the cabin, and 

a warm glow lights the evening. Inside, Chef Nick 

Mehmke and his staff are boiling lobster, grilling 

local steaks and keeping wine glasses full. 

“It’s a quick getaway, far enough 

that it feels like a weekend away, but 

close enough so it’s not time consuming,” 

said General Manager John 

Richardson. “People really gravitate 

toward that. With less families 

travelling since the recession, more 

people aren’t able to get away like 

they could in the past.” 

320 offers $15 all-you-can eat prime 

rib on Mondays, an extensive wine 

list and a saloon menu featuring Wild 

Boar Mac and Cheese and Cowboy 

Pie, all served by friendly staff. 

Promotional deals and consistent 

low prices differentiate 320 from 

other ranch vacations in Montana, 

and Richardson says they want to 

make the property as accessible as 

possible. “We want guests to have 

that ranch experience, where everything 

is larger than life.” 

Over a plate of heaping eggs, cheesy 

hash browns, and sausage links at breakfast, General 

Manager John Richardson, points to a large 

family sitting at a table in the corner. They came 

from Bozeman just for the night. 320’s local market 

includes a four-hour radius, including Helena, 

Butte and Jackson. 

“There’s still a misconception that we’re private 

and only accommodate our on-ranch guests, but 

we are open to the public; everything we do is a la 

carte,” Richardson said. 

This means guests can pick and choose from various 

seasonal activities like trail rides, Western 

style barbecues, fly fishing on the 

Gallatin (right on the property), and 

rafting. In the winter, their popular 

sleigh ride is always a hit for families, 

as well as dog sledding and nordic 

skiing. New this year, 320 introduced 

free shuttle rides to and from 

their restaurant, as well as free rides 

for guests up to the ski hill and to 

other nearby restaurants. 

“overall, it’s all about being present in a simple, quiet setting. 

richardson says, “coming here has a therapeutic 

effect on people.” - General manager John richardson 

This hospitality is a throwback to the time when 

Dr. Caroline McGill, the first woman doctor in 

Montana, purchased the property and used it as a 

resting place for patients. McGill worked and died 

there, and as she aged, she donated most of the 

items from the ranch to the McGill Museum in 

Bozeman (now Museum of the Rockies). 

The 320 team is made up of 20 winter staff, and 50 in 

summer. Providing staff housing creates “an informal, 

professional and relaxed environment,” says Richardson. 

“We want guests to feel like they are coming to a 

relative’s home they haven’t seen in awhile.” 



After breakfast, Richardson meets 

320 staff members, and they pile 

into a car and head up to Big Sky 

Resort for an employee ski day. “We 

have our own little family here. We 

dine together, play together—it’s 

fun. Everybody lives and works 

here. Our free time and work time 

meld together.” 

The staff is currently gearing up for 

the summer months, where they’ll 

host a $10 Monday night pig roast. 

They also are busy hosting 50-70 

wedding events, yearly. The ranch 

offers offering multiple venues for 

events, including their banquet 

hall, 1800 square foot tent, and 

pastures along the river. The ranch 

is also a popular place to book family 

reunions and corporate groups. 

But most importantly, “We love our community 

support, and we want to offer incredible meals to 

our friends in Big Sky and West Yellowstone,” says 

Karen Macklin, Director of Food and Beverage. 

“We’re a little over 10 minutes out of Big Sky, and 

just over a half hour out of West Yellowstone. It’s 

easy to come down and join us for dinner any night 

of the week.” 

Overall, it’s all about being present in a simple, 

quiet setting. Richardson says, “Coming here has a 

therapeutic effect on people.” 

320ranch.com 

march 18, 2011 35

Big Sky’s 

36 march 18, 2011 



LARGEST GROCERY 

SELECTION 

• Fresh, Hand-Cut Meats 

• Deli & Snacks 

• Gourmet Items 

• Beer & Wine 

Affordable prices 

Delivery available 

Call us 406-995-4636 

Open Daily from 6:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Located in the Meadow Village Center 

next to Lone Peak Brewery

Gallery 

c. jack Waller, jr. 

C. Jack Waller, Jr. has worked with architectural 

design, construction and furniture 

making since the late 1960s. He moved to 

Montana in 1969 and began “tree working,” 

creating works of art using original 

tree rather than processed wood. Based out 

of Virginia City, Waller works mostly with 

contorted lodgepole pine. His art involves 

the use of traditional and primitive tools 

that he uses to build pieces such as toolboxes, 

chairs, tables and other sculptural works. He 

describes tree art as “slow, quiet, thoughtful 

and very experimental.” 

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, 

but I was born in Independence, Missouri. I 

moved to California in the late ‘40s. When 

I was out in the Bay Area, I worked as a remodeling 

contractor and made furniture on 

the side, with driftwood. 

When I first moved to Montana in 1989, I 

lived near Phillipsburg, up by Georgetown 

Lake. That’s where I really started working 

with trees, making furniture, sculpture, and 

architectural details. 

I moved to Virginia City in 1995. I like small 

town living. My wife, daughter, and I have 

an old log home we’ve been working on for 

seven years – all kinds of improvements. 

I try to use the most unusual trees and those 

are usually the contorted lodgepole. Their 

shapes, and life stories, fascinate me. 

It’s pretty much all hand work, because the 

trees are so irregularly shaped, I rarely use 

woodworking machines with them. The 

processes of selecting trees, joining, and assembling 

them into a chair, for example, feel 

very sculptural to me. 

There are recurring shapes in the pine tree 

trunks. I call them motifs, or runes. Certain 

shapes lend themselves to use, for example, 

as a chair arm, or a table leg. 

It’s like I’m collaborating with nature. The 

trees have already a big part of the work, so 

my job is to preserve and enhance that, and 

combine it into a piece of functional art. 

I almost always harvest standing dead trees. 

They’re already cured, so I can use them 

sooner. Every now and then I’ve taken a 

truly remarkable living tree, but I feel guilty. 

I’m 68 now, so I’ve been working with wood 

for over 50 years. It’s been on the job training. 

I’ve centered my adult life around poetry, 

in the original meaning of the term, which 

is making. 

Tree art is one of my poetic practices. The 

other two are folk music and creative writing. 

Artist to me means poet, and poet means 

maker,” says Waller. “It’s essential to me to 

consider each piece of tree art as a poem.” 

jackwallertreeart.com 



creiGhton block Gallery oPens neW location in biG sky 

in addition to its Virginia city location, creighton block Gallery is opening 

another gallery in big sky. to kick off the opening, the gallery will host a “meet 

the artist” reception featuring “tree artist” c. Jack Waller, Jr. Gallery owners 

colin mathews and Paula craver invite the public to join the celebration and 

view some of Waller’s unique pieces. 

the Gallery’s big sky location will be at 33 lone Peak drive. the event will be 

saturday, march 26 from 4-7 p.m., and will feature music, hors d’oeuvres and 

refreshments, as well as a presentation by Waller about tree art and his works. 

“if there’s one word i would choose to describe myself, it would be poet,” 

says Waller. in the show at big sky, that will be an essential part of “meet 

the artist” night. 

march 18, 2011 37

38 march 18, 2011 

outdoors 

Fishing report 

spring’s First hatch 

by ennion Williams 

The nice weather the past couple 

of weeks has provided excellent 

fishing on the Madison and Gallatin 

rivers. The “upper” Madison River 

closed on March 1 from Earthquake 

Lake to McAtee Bridge. Fishing is 

open and very good between Hebgen 

and Earthquake Lakes, and the 

fish haven’t started to spawn. The 

“lower” Madison and the Bear Trap 

area will fish well now on through 

spring. When the weather is nice, 

this section is great for an early 

season float. 

Visiting anglers interested in fly 

fishing should stop into one of the 

local fly shops for up to the minute 

information. The shops can offer 

advice on fly patterns that work this 

time of year, and also have guided 

trips available—a great way to ensure 

a productive day. 

Most of the fishing now is subsurface. 

Rigging your rod with two 

nymphs separated about 18 inches 

apart with a split shot and strike indicator 

will produce the best results. 

A fierce competitor training for the 2010 

Bartender’s Cup Drinking Slalom. 


Remember, the fish are holding in 

the deeper, slower water and will be 

anxious to take your fly if presented 

properly. A drag free drift of your fly 

line is important. 

With daylight savings, the days will 

get longer and fishing will be productive 

longer into the afternoon. 

With longer, warmer days the river’s 

temperature will rise, too. As water 

temperatures reach 42 - 44 degrees, 

the first hatches of the spring will 

be the blue winged olive or spring 

baetis, and the Skwala Stonefly. 

Blue Winged Olives or BWOs will 

start to emerge on the Gallatin, 

Madison, Big Hole, Missouri and 

Yellowstone as well as the Henry’s 

Fork just over the boarder in Idaho. 

Look for them midday and into the 

afternoon. Trout will hold in smooth 

slicks and soft pockets and take these 

flies off the surface. Be prepared 

with small parachute-style dry flies 

and any of the numerous variations 

of the pheasant tail nymph. 

Rainbow Trout will start their annual spawning period in March. 

The Skawala Stonefly is a brownish 

olive medium-sized stonefly which 

will be on several of the western 

Montana rivers like the Bitterroot, 

Clarks Fork and Rock Creek. 

Emergences of this stonefly will 

occur throughout the day and make 

spectacular early season fishing, well 

worth the drive to the Missoula area. 

Larger fish in the rivers will key 

on this first big meal of the spring. 

Carry plenty of brown stonefly 

nymphs in size 10 and 12, as well as 

down-winged stonefly dry patterns 

in olive. 

Deep in Beaverhead County’s Pioneer 

Mountains, a strange and seductive 

display takes place each early spring. 

As the light powder turns to creamed 

corn and the still, icy creeks turn to 

muddy torrents, the mountainsides 

blur with a cornucopia of color: hot 

pink, neon green, periwinkle, purple, 

silver and gold. 

A closer, more intimate view 

reveals the colors’ origin: bikinis, 

loincloths, windbreakers, and 

cheaply made cardboard robot suits. 

These are the colors of champions. 

These are the uniforms of Maverick 

Mountain’s annual Bartender’s Cup. 

This year’s Cup takes place on 

Sunday, March 27. Intrepid competitors 

will battle for the coveted 

Cup throughout three events: the 

drinking slalom, the boardercross, 

and, of course, the bikini run. 

Three-person teams comprised of 


Photo by ennion Williams 

Be on the lookout for mid-day midge 

hatches on the Gallatin and Lower 

Madison. Right now, nymph fishing 

is very productive with small 

nymphs like pheasant tails and any 

small red pattern. Using a brown or 

black stonefly nymph as a lead fly 

will help get your rig to the bottom 

of the river, which is where the fish 

are holding now. Enjoy the river! 

Ennion Williams is a professional 

Fishing Guide and Outfitter in Big 

Sky. If you would like to contact him, 

he can be reached at (406) 579-7094 

or at ennion3@yahoo.com. 

Maverick Mountain’s 

Bartender’s cup 

Slalom 

by daVid nolt 

one skier, one snowboarder and 

one bikinier (gender neutral) will 

hit the White Thunder in style for 

their chances at eternal glory and a 

cash prize. The $100 team entry fee 

includes a lift ticket. 

The weekend’s events get rolling on 

Saturday, March 26 with live music 

in the Maverick lodge following a 

day of skiing. Then, just down the 

road at the Grasshopper Inn and 

Restaurant, cut a rug to the reggae 

“Jawaiian” stylings of Landlocked 

at 10:30 p.m. 

For more information on events and 

weekend skiing/soaking/lodging 

packages, search Bartender’s Bash 

on Facebook. 

Maverick is now only open Saturdays 

and Sundays until the end of 

the season (sigh), which is April 2.

outdoors 

“The epic 24 hour race…that thing is crazy.” 

Founder of the Equinox Challenge, Sam Newbury, wants everyone to know it 

doesn’t have to be crazy. With three-hour, six-hour, 12 and 24-hour divisions for 

solo skiers and relay teams, there are options. 

“Skiing as part of a team makes it fun and super chill,” he says. “Some folks show up 

and ski 20 km, some ski 300 km. Choose your challenge.” 

The 2011 Equinox Ski Challenge is March 19-20 at the Rendezvous Ski Trails in 

West Yellowstone. The event is a springtime celebration, a season finale, an opportunity 

for cross-country skiers to challenge themselves to new levels and a fundraiser 

for West Yellowstone Ski Education Foundation (WYSEF) and the West Yellowstone 

Food Bank. 

Big Sky Ski Education Foundation coach, Dan Cantrell, is organizing Equinox this 

year. Cantrell was drawn to the event because, “It’s a different kind of ski race. 

There’s really none other race I know of that operates this way.” Cantrell says Equinox 

has grown every year, and should have a good turnout to celebrate spring 2011. 

The goal this year is to raise enough money to bring the non-profit youth leadership 

program, Manaia, to the West Yellowstone Ski Education Foundation. The event also 

benefits the West Yellowstone Food Bank, and participants are encouraged to bring 

food donations. 

equinoxskichallenge.com 

manaia.org 

e.s. 



celebrate Spring at the equinox Ski challenge 

West yellowstone, march 19-20 

WhaT iS The SPring eQUinox? 

a passage, a word, a rock climb, a sign 

Twice a year, the sun crosses the plane of the earth’s equator, making night 

and day about equal length all over the earth (12 hours each). In the Northern 

Hemisphere, the spring, or vernal, equinox occurs March 20 or 21. 

Origin: 

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin equinoxium, for Latin aequinoctium 

the time of equal days and nights (aequi- equi- + noct- (stem of nox) 

night + (-ium) -dictionary.com 

Vernal Equinox is also the name of an awesome and difficult rock climb established 

in 2009, on the South Side of Skyline Buttress in Gallatin Canyon. 

It’s not in any of the guidebooks, but it’s right next to Dockins’ Layback and 

Be Cool. This is one of the best places to climb in spring, because it gets sun. 

The vernal equinox is also known as the first point of Aries. When devised 

2,000 years ago, the spring equinox occurred at the beginning of the zodiac’s 

Aries. Because the equinoxes move westward, this point is now at the beginning 

of Pisces. 

Crust Cruising: A euphoric phenomena 

allowing skate skiers to travel 

over large open areas. Determined 

solely by Mother Nature. 

Periodically throughout the spring, 

ideal crust cruising conditions present 

themselves. To the experienced, it 

is an addiction. The uninitiated question 

the daybreak departure, but soon 

are enlightened. Follow these rules 

and hope to find yourself at the right 

place, at the right time. 

1 

Locate suitable terrain. Look for 

wide-open areas with lots of sun 

exposure. Around West Yellowstone, 

Montana popular crust cruising spots 

include Hebgen Lake, Big Horn Pass, 

Fawn Pass, and the meadows near the 

Rendezvous Ski Trails. 

2 

Wait for a window of perfect 

weather. Warm spring days 

with little to no snowfall are a great 

start. It needs to be warm enough to 

slightly melt the top layer of snow. 

The thermometer must drop below 

equinox core values: 

community, camaraderie and Personal challenge 

sign up solo, or with a team of up to eight people. raceday 

registration is $90/adult and $60/junior. registration is 

free for kids under 12 participating in the 24-minute kids’ 

race. 

Volunteer for part of a day or the whole weekend. discounted 

event rates apply to volunteers, and discounts 

are available for racers who also volunteer at the race 

or who bring someone along to volunteer for them. 

Wear a costume! (all racers in costume receive an extra 

raffle ticket; best costume wins four.) 

don’t miss the Potluck and Party – 6 p.m. saturday, 

march 19, and the all-night bonfire at the start/finish line. 

the park is closed, so it’s a quiet weekend in West. sometimes 

the roads are dry and so it’s a good road biking 

weekend, as well. 

crust cruising: a skate skiers’ secret 

by sara hooVler 

freezing overnight. Get up early and 

be rewarded. Skate skiers can literally 

ski anywhere by staying on top 

of the hard crust that has formed. 

After spending a season confined to 

groomed trails, skiers will soar across 

the surface in all directions. Keep 

your eyes open for views of wildlife 

and tracks. Look for birds, bears, otters, 

wolves, coyotes, bison, sandhill 

cranes and trumpeter swans that 

show off in the spring. 

3 

Know when to quit. The caveat 

of crust cruising is the end time. 

Get off the snow before it softens up, 

or posthole all the way home. 

Crust cruising is almost impossible to 

predict. Watch the weather, consult 

your favorite Nordic shop, and get 

a good night’s sleep. One perfect 

morning sailing over hills and flying 

through miles of terrain will keep the 

storage wax away. 

march 18, 2011 39

T H E W E S T M A Y B E W I L D , 

N E W M E N U ! F e a t u r i n g 

40 march 18, 2011 


but it’s not uncivilized 


• Roasted Locally Grown Organic Beets, Arugula, Amalthea Dairy Chevre, Orange Supremes, Fine Herb Vinaigrette 

• Asian Barbecue Glazed grilled Quail, Braised Greens, Fingerling Potato, Blood Orange Gastrique 

• Braised Szechuan Spiced Rubbed Bison Short-ribs, Parsnip Potato puree, Broccolini, Braising Jus 

COUPLES GETAWAY 

DINE AND STAY PACKAGE 

$125 per person 

(minimum package is 2 people) 

Price includes: 

- Riverside Room 

- 4 Course Dinner 

- $30 Wine Credit 

- Continental Breakfast 

*limited space available, reservations required 

Offer good through April 15th, 2011 

RAINBOW RANCH RESTAURANT 

Open 6 days a week, Tuesday - Sunday • Dining room hours 5:30-9:30 p.m. 

800-937-4132 • 406-995-4132 • Five miles south of Big Sky entrance on Hwy 191 

Reservations recommended • www.rainbowranchbigsky.com

health & Wellness 

Vitamin d 

by rachel roth 

As we sunned ourselves on a lift ride 

up Lone Peak, I covered my nose in 

sunscreen and offered it to my friend. 

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

my vitamin D.” 

It’s commonly known that we get 

vitamin D from the sun. But what do 

we need it for, how much do we need, 

and how do we ensure we’re getting 

enough? 

Why do I need Vitamin d? 

The short answer is for your bones. 

Vitamin D is vital in helping the 

body absorb calcium, thereby allowing 

bone growth, maintaining bone 

density and preventing osteoporosis. 

In addition, it has been found to 

reduce fatigue and muscle weakness 

and help protect against cancer, cardiovascular 

disease, and autoimmune 

diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis 

and multiple sclerosis. 

how does it work? 

Vitamin D is formed in the skin 

when ultraviolet light (UVB type), 

strikes bare skin. Enormous quantities 

are rapidly made in the skin if the 

sun is high in the sky and your skin is 

not covered by clothes, sun block, or 

behind a window. If you let your skin 

see enough sun that it begins to turn 

pink, you can make between 10,000 

- 50,000 units (more than 100x the 

amount given by physicians). It is 

then transported to the liver where 

it can be stored for later or sent to the 

kidney, where it is turned on and sent 

throughout the body to balance the 

amount of calcium in the bones with 

the calcium in the blood. 

Widespread deficiency 

According to several studies, 40-100 

percent of U.S. and European elderly 

men and women are deficient, and 

over 50 percent of postmenopausal 

women taking medication for osteoporosis 

did not have enough vitamin 

D for their treatment to be effective. 

Your vitamin D should be above 20 

ng/ml, and ideally above 50. Many 

people are not in the sun regularly, 

and vitamin D is not abundant in our 

usual food choices. 

Where can I get Vitamin d? 

diet: It is hard to get enough vitamin 

D from your diet. Fortified foods such 

as milk, yogurt, some orange juices 

and cereals contain it, as do fatty fish 

such as sardines, salmon, tuna and 

mackerel, and egg yolks and shitake 

mushrooms. 

supplements: Many doctors prescribe 

vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol). 

Over the counter cod liver oil or 

vitamin D3 works, as well. It’s possible 

to take too much vitamin D, so 

consult with your doctor regarding 

the recommended amount. 

sunshine: Sunlight interacts with 

our skin to make our bodies synthesize 

vitamin D. This is a natural way 

to obtain vitamin D, and it’s impossible 

to overdose, regardless of how 

much sun you get, due to various 

protective mechanisms the skin 

employs. However, due to the risks 

of melanoma and other skin cancers 

which sunlight can pose, you have to 

weigh the risks and not get too much 

sun exposure. 

There are many different ways to get 

vitamin D. A balanced diet including 

fish, eggs and milk products, 15 minutes 

of sunshine daily, and a vitamin 

D supplement, if recommended by 

your doctor, should insure you get 

enough. Use sunscreen, but get outside 

and enjoy – it’s good for you. 

Rachel Roth spent the month of March 

doing a elective at the Medical Clinic 

of Big Sky. Rachel attends medical 

school at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner 

College of Medicine, and will be pursuing 

a career in Family Practice when 

she graduates this spring. 

FOR SOME, WE’RE THE MOST POPULAR 

APRÉS SKI PLACE IN TOWN. 

A day on the slopes can cause aches and 

pains. Fear not. We’re here with a full line 

of pain relievers, ointments, wraps, and ice 

packs so you’ll be ready to go again come 

morning. You’ll also find relief for coughs, 

colds, and sore throats to make your days 

and nights more enjoyable. Find us across 

from the Big Sky Chapel. 

Hours: Monday-Friday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm; 

Closed 2:00-2:30 pm for lunch 

Meadow Village Center | 36 Center Ln, Suite 2 

406-993-9390 | www.bozemandeaconess.org/pharmacy 



march 18, 2011 41

42 march 18, 2011 

Creighton Block Gallery in Big Sky presents 

Creighton Block Gallery is the 

place to come for the works of 

world-class artists and artisans. 

For more information, please visit 

creightonblockgallery.com. 

33 Lone Peak Drive (Town Center) • Big Sky, MT 59716 • 406-993-9400 Colin Mathews and Paula Craver, Owners 


“Tree Artist” C. Jack Waller, Jr. 

Saturday, 

March 26 th 2011 

4 p.m. – 7 p.m. 

Big Sky Town Center 

33 Lone Peak Drive 


Come enjoy music, hors d’oeuvres, 

refreshments and striking works of 

art created from and inspired by 

Montana forests. 


C. Jack Waller, Jr. is an accomplished “tree 

artist.” “Tree working” involves creating works of 

art using the original trees rather than processed 

wood. He uses traditional and primitive tools to 

build pieces such as tool boxes, chairs, tables and 

other sculptural works.

music hunter 

The Queen 

of rockabilly 

by hunter rothWell 

Although most people under 45 

have probably never heard of Wanda 

Jackson, this music sensation is the 

undisputed Queen of Rockabilly, 

whose popularity was at its zenith in 

the ‘50s and ‘60s. As teenager in the 

mid-’50s, Jackson became the first 

woman to perform unadulterated 

rock and roll. Discovered by country 

star Hank 

Thompson, she 

was still a petite 

high schooler 

when she recorded 

with his band, the Brazos Valley 

Boys. Her tough, gravelly voice, 

complemented by her glamorous appearance, 

was an immediate hit with 

young lovers of what was then hardedged 

music. In 2009, Wanda Jackson 

was inducted into the Rock and Roll 

Hall of Fame for her influence in the 

evolution of popular music. 

At 73, is Jackson too old to rock out? 

In January 2011, Jackson released 

“the Party ain’t over,” an album 

produced and backed on lead guitar 

by Jack White of the White Stripes 

and Raconteurs. “He wasn’t wanting 

to change my style of singing at 

at 73, is Jackson 

too old to rock out? 

all,” said the Queen, herself. “He 

just wanted me to have new, fresher 

material.” 

On this album Jackson and White 

breathe life into classic songs, old and 

new. There is the hard driving “Nervous 

Breakdown,” an Eddie Cochran 

hit during the infancy of rock and 

roll. White adds 

ska sounds to the 

Andrew’s Sisters’ 

1940s-era “Rum 

and Coca Cola.” 

Even more modern hits like Amy 

Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No 

Good” and Bob Dylan’s “Thunder on 

the Mountain” get the retro throwback 

treatment, with great success. 

Jack White knows what he’s doing. 

“He’s just such a cool guy that I found 

myself wanting to please him,” Jackson 

said. “I wanted to do it his way.” 

Perhaps it’s unusual: a rock album 

by a woman who’s old enough to tell 

you she dated Elvis Presley back in 

1955. But Jackson and White have 

chemistry in the “The Party Ain’t 

Over,” and it’s 40 minutes of pure 

fun and timeless sound. 

the club at mountain lake 

2, 3 and 4 Bedroom Condominium Suites 

Inspiring & Unobstructed Lone Mountain 

& Lake Views 

Convenient & Comfortable Floor Plans 

Elevator Access & Convenient Garage Parking 

Prices starting in the upper $400,000s! 

WINTER 

& 

COMPANY 

REAL ESTATE 

406-581-2033 

Shawna Winter 


Big Sky’s Newest Development 

Improved Offering $962,000 

cowboy heaven luxury suite a bldg. i 

Supurb Ski-In/Ski-Out 

Breathtaking Spanish Peak Views 

Convenient One Level Living w/ Elevator 

Luxurious Interior Finishes 

www.MTwinter.com Shawna@MTwinter.com 

Winter & Co. Welcomes 

Aimee Gerharter 

406-599-4448 aimee@MTwinter.com 

explorebigsky.com march 18, 2011 43

44 march 18, 2011 

Aprés Ski 

HEADQUARTERS 

March Music 

Wed. 2nd : Open Mic Night 

Sat. 5th : Kayli Smith 5:00-7:00 

Sat. 5th : Bottom of the Barrel 9:30 

Wed 9th: Open Mic Night 

Sat. 12th : Kent Johnson 5:00-7:00 


Fri. 18th : One Leaf Clover 9:30 

Sat. 19th : Big Water 5:00-7:00 

Wed 23rd: Open Mic Night 

Sat. 26th: Hairy Dog Show 5:00-7:00 


OPEN DAILY AT 11:30 A.M. 

LUNCH & DINNER 

• Daily drink specials 

• Live Music 

• 12 HDTVs 

• Amazing Food 

• 100 beers 

• 100 wines 

OPEN MIC/LADIES NIGHT* - EVERY WEDNESDAY 8:30 P.M. - CLOSE 

*½ price drinks for ladies 

HAPPY HOUR* - MONDAY-FRIDAY 3:00-5:00 PM 

*½ price well drinks and pints 

LOCATED IN THE BIG SKY 

TOWN CENTER 

big sky, montana 

406-995-3830

eVents 

Big SkY 

More Than lighTS 

@ the Half Moon Saloon 

March 18 

9:30 pm 

$5 cover, free shuttle 

dirT Bag Ball 


Featuring The Dirty Shame with 

Bottom of the Barrel 

March 19 

9 p.m. 

$10 Cover, Free Shuttle 

Big WaTer 

Live at Choppers 

March 19 

5 p.m. 

on The SnoW BBQ 

Madison Village Base Area 

Free event for Moonlight and BSIA 

Pass Holders 

March 20 

12 – 3 p.m. 

T. PePPer BUrrUSS – 

head aThleTic Trainer, 

green BaY PackerS 

Big Sky Resort 

March 20 

7 – 9 p.m. 

(406) 995- 5745 

Planning an eVenT? let us know! email abbie@theoutlawpartners.com and 

we’ll spread the word. check explorebigsky.com for an extended calendar. 

YelloWSTone’S hoT 

SPring BiologY 

Big Sky Amphitheater- Yellowstone 

Conference Center 

March 21, 28 

8 – 9:15 p.m. 

(406) 995-5806 

MUSik liVeS here 


March 26 

9:30 pm 

creighTon Block 

gallerY’S “MeeT The 

arTiST” recePTion 

C. Jack Waller, Jr. 

March 26 

4 - 7 p.m. 

creightonblockgallery.com 

diSneY’S naTUre earTh 

Big Sky Amphitheater- Yellowstone 

Conference Center 

March 31 

7:30- 9 p.m. 

WaTer and SeWer 

diSTricT Board 

MeeTing 

March 31 

8 a.m. 

995-2660 

The elusive greg Stump 

In the March 4 Weekly, I reported legendary ski filmmaker Greg Stump would 

be reemerging from L.A. and the internet ether to show an early edit of his new 

film, “The “Legend of Aaahhh’s” here in Bozeman. As of March 11, the show was 

postponed until fall. 

That same week, following a phone interview with Stump, a hand-labeled DVD 

arrived in my mailbox. Part documentary and part autobiography, the majority 

of the film is a retrospective on “The Blizzard of Aaahhh’s.” In typical Stump 

fashion, it is also a memorable collection of characters, from Mike Hattrup locked 

in a car trunk, to an interview with the guy who played a parking lot valet in Ferris 

Bueller’s Day Off, to Klaus Obermeyer doing a Bavarian yodel. There are also 

thoughtful interviews with nearly every major ski filmmaker of the last 50 years. 

Watching the progression of both film and ski technology unfold in Stump’s 

movie is remarkable. If “The Legend of Aaahhh’s” is ever released, it will be of 

interest to any skier who has grown up watching ski movies. It also will be proof 

that even jaw-dropping footage is ultimately less memorable than the characters 

who make it. 

- Mike Quist Kautz 

BozeMan 

connecTing The geMS 

Bozeman REI 

March 24 

6:30 p.m. 

railroad earTh 

@ the Emerson 

March 24 

7 p.m. 

koPriVa Science 

SeMinar SerieS 

Dr. Iring Weissman, Stem Cell 

Research 

MSU Procrastinator Theater 

4 p.m. 

March 25 

SWiSheS For WiSheS 

3-on-3 Basketball Tournament 

MSU’s Shroyer Gym 

March 27 

9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

montana.wish.org 

Virginia ciTY 

WinTer chaUTaUQUa 

The Elling House 

March 19 

6: 30 p.m. 

Want an amazing true 

ski-in/ski-out rental 

property for your ski 

vacation? 



gardiner 

eleMenTarY School 

PlaY: Pinocchio 

Gardiner School Multi Purpose 

Room 

March 18 

7 p.m. 

YelloWSTone Federal 

crediT Union oPen 

hoUSe and annUal 

MeeTing 

March 23 

11 a.m. – 2 p.m. 

liVe MUSic and dinner 

FeaTUring There and 

Back again 

Tumbleweed Bookstore 

March 18 

6 - 9 p.m. 

lUnaFeST FilM FeSTiVal 

Mammoth Community Center 

april 7 

6:30 p.m. 

WeST 

YelloWSTone 

eQUinox Ski 

challenge 

March 19 – 20 

equinoxskichallenge.com 

Call 888.898.4938 

Visit us online eastwestbigsky.com 

march 18, 2011 45

46 march 18, 2011 


big sky Weekly

Fun 

PeoPle on 

The STreeT 

What is your FaVorite 

hot sauce? 

Ben Toews 

yelloWstone club 

“Blaire’s After Death Sauce” 

Blake Majors 

GallatIn rIVer GuIdes, bIG sKy 

“Maudies Hot Sauce from Austin, TX” 

Charlie Wolcott 

FranconIa, neW haMPshIre 

“Bucanero Bonacco Sauce, found at Half Moon Bay 

in Roatan, Honduras.” 

Tyler Genge, 

choPPers, bIG sKy 

“Cholula hot sauce is the best!” 

Sita the puppy relaxes at Lone Peak Brewery 



march 18, 2011 47

48 march 18, 2011 

Noun: wild or rough terrain 

adjacent to a developed area 

Origin: shortened form of 

“back 40 acres” 

a Brief history of 

the dirtbag Ball 

by scotty saVaGe 

Big Sky Ski Patrol’s Dirtbag Ball, and 

its accompanying wild, wooly—and 

sometimes scandalous—festivities have 

been going on more than three decades. 

Here, Scotty Savage, a Dirtbag expert 

himself, interviews “Father Dirtbag,” 

patrol veteran Jon “Yunce” Ueland. 

Yunce has attended every Dirtbag 

Powder 8 competition in the event’s 

32-year history, and more than 25 

Dirtbag Balls. 

yunce, take us back to the beginning 

– when was the inaugural 

dirtbag ball? 

The first Dirtbag Ball was in the 

spring of 1979 at Buck’s T4. Patrollers 

David Stutzman and Mike Meyers 

hatched the idea to host a party at 

Buck’s as a fundraiser. The patrol used 

the money to buy rescue equipment, 

gear for the pa- 

trol shacks, and 

to pay for our 

end-of-the-year 

celebration. 

has there been 

a dirtbag ball 

every year? 

The patrol and 

management 

weren’t getting 

along so well 

in 1982, so we 

thought that might be the last one because 

most of the patrol might not be 

back the next year. The Bridger Bowl 

patrol called us and asked if they 

could have a Dirtbag Ball, since ours 

might be ending, so that’s how theirs 

got started. In true Dirtbag fashion, 

we didn’t keep our word and had one 

the next year anyway. So yes, there’s 

been a Dirtbag every year. 

dirtbag (noun): a dirty, unkempt, 

or contemptible person; a general 

term for an uncouth person 

who lacks class; an award consisting 

of a bag of dirt, given to a 

person who does something stupid 

in the course of their employment; 

a big sky local skier who 

plays hard on lone mountain 

every day, whose skis are worth 

more than their car, and who 

often has colorful stories about 

their evening escapades. 


how did the name “dirtbag” 

come about? 

Terry Onslow and Hambone (Hamilton 

George Strayer III) used to work 

as patrollers in Stowe, Vermont. The 

Stowe patrol gave a yearly award for 

the patroller who did the dumbest 

thing at work – a bag of dirt. The 

award became known as the Dirtbag 

award. Since the term also described 

the locals who lived to ski and party 

every day, it was a great fit for a 

party. 

a dirtbag King and Queen are 

crowned each year – how are they 

chosen? 

Someone needs to ski hard every 

day, and it helps if they are having 

fun at night too. For years you had 

to live in Big 

Sky and be a skier 

(not a snowboarder), 

but 

unfortunately 

that’s changed. 

To vote, all 

the patrollers 

go into a small 

room just before 

midnight at the 

Dirtbag Ball 

and yell for the 

candidates they 

want. Whoever 

gets the loudest yells becomes the 

new King and Queen. 

tell me about the dirtbag 8’s. 

That started sometime in the ‘80s, 

back when powder 8 competitions 

were all the rage. Only ours wasn’t 

quite as serious. You get judged on 

skiing, but costume and attitude 

For the big sky Weekly, the back 40 is a resource: a 

place where we can delve into subjects and ask experts 

to share their knowledge. topics include regional 

history, profiles of local artists and musicians, snow and 

avalanche education, how-to pieces for traditional or 

outdoor skills, and science. 

are just as important. You’re also 

allowed to bribe the judges. 

any particularly fond memories 

of the 8’s? 

People are there to have fun, and a lot 

of the costumes are memorable. John 

Kircher (former general manager of 


maybe, if your ski jacket has more duct tape than fabric showing 

and if you haven’t missed a day all year, you might have what it 

takes to achieve immortality by being crowned the next dirtbag 

king or Queen. if not, odds are you’ll still have a really good time. 

Big Sky Resort) frequently attended 

the Dirtbag festivities and used to 

ski in the 8’s. One year, he dressed 

up as the pope and his partner (Scott 

Bowen, former mountain manager) 

dressed up as a priest. They had a really 

good time that year.

Medical - Explore Big Sky

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?