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Winter 2009-10

Features

  • Activities: Backcountry Skiing

    Feeling the Burn

    Skiing in a foreign landscape. The forest, once too thick to ski through, had thinned and opened itself up, granting us the opportunity to explore its altered terrain. Standing on top of the ridgeline, we look down at the…
  • Activities: Mountaineering

    Gallatin to the Ganges

    After one very early morning phone call to cancel our ice-climbing plans (too warm for ice), Conrad Anker and I agreed to meet at a coffee shop and head out to some rock instead. At just a little past 8:30 on a crisp fall…
  • Activities: Backcountry Skiing

    Yurts So Good

    Comfy digs and steep lines at the Bell Lake Yurt.It’s not hard to understand why most people don't take ski-camping trips in the winter. It can be uncomfortable: alternately sweating and freezing, then more freezing. It…

Departments

  • ski rack, snowmobile rack
    Gear: Do-It-Yourself

    Snowmobile Ski Rack

    I recently started skiing Bozeman's backcountry via snowmobile. Sort of a dream come true, but because my buddy and I share the snow machine and we're new to this, we've had to do a lot of experimenting. Packing our skis…
  • Places: Cities & Towns

    Seasons of Change

    Every year West Yellowstone welcomes winter visitors from throughout the county and around the world. They will come, as they do each winter, to see timeless wonders of nature, such as Old Faithful geyser, the Grand Canyon…
  • Culture: Face-Off

    Bozeman Vs. Bellingham

    A scant 90 miles north of Seattle and 21 miles south of the Canadian border, Bellingham, Washington is home to about 75,000. Let’s see how this west-coast hamlet hangs with a real Rocky Mountain town.All-Encompassing-Race…
  • Activities: Road Biking

    Winter Bike Commuting

    Bike commuting in winter definitely takes commitment. Sure, spring, summer, and fall can all have their wet and cold days, but most of the time it's dry, the days are longer, and the temperature is above freezing (usually…
  • Culture: Around the Bozone

    Honoring the Exiles

    A community needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings. You, the people, must give it this soul. -Pope John Paul IIOf all the stories that stream into Outside Bozeman's editorial inbox each season, the…
  • Culture: People

    Remembering the White Knight

    This past October marked the 10th anniversary of Alex Lowe's passing, after a tragic avalanche in the Himalayas in 1999. A Bozeman local, Lowe was known throughout the climbing community and the world for his extraordinary…
  • rendezvous ski race west yellowstone
    Activities: Nordic Skiing

    Ski The Season

    West Yellowstone has long been famous as a hub for cross-country skiing and hosts two awesome events every year that draw skiers from all over. Closing out the winter tourist season is the 31st annual Rendezvous Ski Race,…
  • Places: Cities & Towns

    Snowmobiling the Park

    Last February, a motley crew of four couples from the Gold Coast of Florida convinced me that taking a snowmobile tour into Old Faithful was a good idea. I'd been living in Bozeman for nearly 10 years and never been on a…
  • Places: Mountains

    Go Spew It on the Mountain

    An ode to a dedicated belayer. Hyalite… the Wild Rockies… land of frozen falls, bristling buttes, U-shaped valleys of glacial grace. We are headed deep into the heart of it, in search of solid, vertical water—also known as…
  • Activities: Miscellaneous

    Dogs in Paradise

    I'm standing in chaos. Twenty-some Alaskan Huskies lurch and leap amid a morass of trucks, trailers, sleds, and riggings. Kennel doors open and close; rope, webbing, and harnesses line the ground; blankets and duffel bags…
  • Culture: The New West

    Money For Nothing

    "There's Nothing Here." That was the 2009 tagline for the state's Travel Montana advertising campaign to attract tourists. "Nothing but grizzlies and wolves and bison and trout," one of the magazine ads continues, "Nothing…
  • Culture: Dogs

    The Snow Atop McKinley

    I feel a snort. A wet misting of doggie mucus slightly scented with Eukanuba and a deer carcass that McKinley happened upon on the trail the day before. As I was unresponsive to the canine hydrating-facial-mist, my aging…
  • Gear: Do-It-Yourself

    Split It

    For years I sat in humble awe on the chairlift, content to be carried to the tops of runs. Content to sip coffee and eat overpriced french fries in lodges with noisy tourists. At some point, all that chair-gazing awakened…
  • Culture: Conservation

    Winter Vittles

    Now it's a little easier to support the valley’s farmers in the dead of winter. Starting January 17, 2010, the Emerson Center hosts a winter farmers’ market every Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm. Through March, the winter…
  • Culture: Food & Drink

    Lucky Duck

    Well, you've driven miles and miles to spend a long weekend freezing your ass off, growing more and more irritated with your buddies as you sit humbly waiting for at least a few ducks to fly by so that you might have the…
  • Bridger Bowl, Schlasman's, Bozeman
    Activities: Alpine Skiing

    Paradise Lost

    From the time of the proposed boundary expansion at Bridger Bowl to the moment I first arrived at the Schlasman’s lift line, I was nothing but ecstatic. But in the minutes leading up to my first ride, I began to waver. It…
  • Culture: Food & Drink

    Booze Beat

    Jack Frost nipping at your nose? Frostbite nipping at your toes? Nothing beats back the cold like a Thermos full of hot, delicious liquid. Especially if it’s boozy. Whether you're curled up next to the fireplace or charging…
  • Activities: Fishing

    The Pig Pen Leech

    A winter fly.I designed this streamer pattern several years ago for fishing stillwaters for trout. Every part of this fly, the marabou tail and the bunny fur body, has a ton of movement and makes the fly look alive,…
  • Culture: Lingo & Etiquette

    Spot the Gaper

    Know them, spot them, avoid them. Bozeman-area skiers and snowboarders have plenty of hazards to deal with on the hill: rocks, ice, tree wells, unmarked cliffs, poor visibility, half-stoned trust-funders poaching your line…
  • Training: Photography

    Blinded By the Light

    Winter in Montana can present some unique challenges when taking photos outdoors. Every situation is unique but there are some general guidelines that will help you take consistent photos during the long winter months.How…
  • Activities: Miscellaneous

    Rifle Segregation

    I’m not a gun nut. I’m a regular nut who owns guns, but only to hunt, not to defend my home and family, join the militia or fight the forces of tyranny.Gun nuts don’t scare or intimidate me. Instead, I’m learning a few…
  • kinesio tape
    Training: Injury Prevention

    Caught on Tape

    If you watched any of the 2008 Beijing Olympics or the 2009 world track and field championships, you probably couldn't help but notice that dozens of those celestial bodies were adorned with brightly colored athletic tape…

Gear Reviews

  • Gear: Apparel

    Review: Point Success Jacket

    Few things make a Bozemanite as giddy as a brand-new winter fleece. It’s our security blanket, a grown-up version of the Woobie from the movie Mr. Mom—except that we’re not giving it up for anything. This definitely holds…

  • Merrell Alloy Jacket

    I enjoy inclement weather. Most people stay inside when the cold front hits, but in my opinion, that's the best time for a run or a bike ride. Merrell's Alloy jacket is built for people just like me. With its wind-blocking…
  • Gear: Misc

    Review: Atlas Run Snowshoe

    Does your running routine screech to a stop once winter sets in? Do icy pavement and drab urban environs lack a certain romance, driving you to you opt for other activities—all the while ruing your diminishing fitness level…
  • Gear: Equipment

    Talus ColdAvengerPro Mask

    Whether you’re hooking up your sled dog team, putting on your running shoes, or clamping on your ski boots, Missoula’s Talus Outdoor Technologies ColdAvengerPro mask is a must for those who are fearless in frigid temps.…
  • Gear: Equipment

    Review: Jetboil Flash

    This might just be my new favorite piece of gear. With a burner and cooking vessel combined into one compact design, the Jetboil Flash is easy to use and store, enabling me to break for a meal and then throw it back in my…
  • Gear: Equipment

    Review: Gear of the Century

    Every so often, the stars align, fickle Fortuna deigns to smile upon us, and we somehow score the ski gear of our dreams. Praise the snow gods! After years of fumbling around on skinny sticks, ill-fitting boots, and…

Additional Articles

  • Activities: Mountaineering

    Anker's Greatest Hits

    “In life, you only get one chance,” Anker told me, referring to first impressions, experiences in life, and on-sighting routes. Here are a few of Anker's attempts to make the most of it.1992: East buttress, Middle Triple…

Book Reviews

  • Culture: Books

    Book: The Sled Book

    As soon as snow covers the ground, you can count on Bozemanites rushing to their favorite spots for some sweet sledding action. Before you hit the hills or after the adrenaline wears off, The Sled Book: Notes Concerning…
  • Culture: Books

    Book: Downhill in Montana

    Montana is known for its big skies and even bigger skiing, but how did it all start? Downhill in Montana: Early Day Skiing in the Treasure State and Yellowstone National Park (Pictorial Histories, $25) features hundreds of…
  • Culture: Books

    Book: Two Planks and a Passion

    Meticulously researched, Two Planks and a Passion: The Dramatic History of Skiing (Continuum, $30) might just be the definitive text on the development of skiing, period. Starting with skiing as it began thousands of years…
  • Culture: Books

    Book: Where Law Ends

    Blending fact and fiction, Kevin Emmet Foley tells the dramatic and engaging story of the infamous Montana vigilantes who doled out their own brand of justice in the gold-mining camps around Virginia City in the late 1860s…
Outside Bozeman Stack Winter 2009-10

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