Wild & Scenic
6
Wild & Scenic
| Winter
2012
What really strikes you is just how different it looks and feels. Beneath a thick blanket of white, mountains seem a little less vertical, trees shorter, and raging creeks hidden away. It is, in a word, softer.
Winter in the Last Best Place shapes the people here—makes them tougher, friendlier, and more appreciative of a sunny day. It shaped the landscape—the entire western half of the state was carved by glaciers some untold millennia ago, and melting snow does its best to dig a bit deeper into valleys across the state each spring. It shapes the agriculture, storing water high in the mountains that comes in pretty handy when the sun is up past 10 p.m. in July.
And, thankfully, it shapes the Montana experience. From angling under the ice to zipping down the slopes, winter is better in Montana, and Montana is better in winter.
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Environmentally Friendly Montana Skiing
6
Wild & Scenic
| Winter
2012
Montana is blessed with some of the finest skiing in the nation, offering dry, consistent snow and long winters. With fifteen downhill ski areas in Montana (and endless backcountry), there’s no lack of opportunity for all levels of skiing, from green runs to double black diamond steeps.
Green is a word with many connotations, from money to envy to environmentally sound business. How well does the ski industry perform when measured against “green” standards?
Despite some extremely snowy winters lately, scientists are generally in agreement that climate change will mean warmer temperatures, shorter winters, and ironically, more green (grass) and less of the white stuff. Fortunately, some Montana ski areas are joining in the effort to protect our longest, coldest season.
The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA, ...
6
Wild & Scenic
| Winter
2012
The horse had been overtrained, always expected to perform. He was tense, not unlike Type A people. To get him out of this mode for weeks Catherine Nelson put her hands all over his body until he trusted her. She encouraged him to hold his head down in a relaxed manner and breathe. He became softer, yet still sensitive and aware. The two approaches she uses to work with horses are TTOUCH, developed by Linda Tellington-Jones, and Pat Parelli’s highly structured natural horsemanship program.
Catherine says, “The methods are similar and different. TTOUCH involves a lot of hands-on bodywork: with the ears, tail, legs, inside the mouth, all over the horse’s body to help the horse come into balance physically, mentally, and emotionally. The Parelli method focuses on relationship and trust between horse and rider. Both programs involve groundwork techniques and riding as well as kind...
Montana's Comeback Kid
6
Wild & Scenic
| Winter
2012
Prior to the mid-1800s, the diminutive Swift Fox, like the bison and wolf, abundantly roamed the short grass prairies east of the Rockies in Montana, heading north into Canada and south through the 10 states that make up the Great Plains. Admired across Native American communities for its hunting abilities and speed, the one thing the fox couldn’t outrun or out-maneuver was westward expansion.
By the early 1900s, this elusive nocturnal canine vanished from 80% of its historic range. Weighing in around five pounds and standing 12 inches tall the Swift Fox depends on short and mixed-grass prairies to detect and evade predators. Over 45% of its natural habitat was lost to the plow, the cow, and environmental events such as fire and climate change. Intense trapping in the late 1800s and the use of poison to rid the plains of its wolf and prairie dog populations took care of the rest. ...
6
Wild & Scenic
| Fall
2011
by Phil Knight
Sprawling over 3.35 million acres, eight counties and over a dozen mountain...
6
Wild & Scenic
| Fall
2011
by Kathryn Socie
“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long...
6
Wild & Scenic
| Summer
2011 (All day)
Moose, like sharks, get a bad rap. Not generally fierce or mean, they docilely mind their own...
10 not-to-be missed bike rides in Montana
6
Wild & Scenic
| Summer
2011 (All day)
Carving out the 10 best of anything in Montana is a daunting task, for Montana is home to it all....
6
Wild & Scenic
| Summer
2011 (All day)
Considered by many to be the most beautiful valley in Montana, the Bitterroot Valley is dominated...
6
Wild & Scenic
| Summer
2011 (All day)
Henry Winkler is best known for his critically acclaimed starring role as the leather-jacketed...
6
Wild & Scenic
| Spring
2011
It was the kind of Montana morning that might make you want to crawl back into bed: gray sky, icy...
6
Wild & Scenic
| Spring
2011
Sculpted into jagged peaks by glaciers, then scoured over millions of years by wind, rain, and...
6
Wild & Scenic
| Spring
2011
Nothing inspires like the high country, standing with a sweaty sheen and a silly smile after...
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