Outdoors
New sport of snowkiting sees surge in popularity
Story by Oriana Turley | November 1, 2007
Montana Kaimin
Imagine yourself at the base of a mountain looking up at a powder field that stretches to the peak of the 8,000-footer you want to summit. But instead of snowshoeing up this monster, you’re going to fly. As you strap on your snowboard (or skis) you grab a hold of a bar that is attached to a 100-foot line, which is then attached to a kite the size of a parachute. You pull the kite into a draft of sky-bound wind and steadily begin to glide uphill.
This is the scene that snowkiting, an up-and-coming sport in Montana, can offer any snow-lover who doesn’t want to hike for their backcountry lines.
Avalanche awareness is crucial to safety
Story by Oriana Turley | October 25, 2007
With the snow beginning to brighten up the mountains and the air acquiring a distinctly winter chill, skiers and snowboarders around the Missoula valley are beginning to gear up for their outdoor adventures.
Whether it’s a day trip into the Rattlesnake or a weekend up Little Saint Joseph Peak to stay in a backcountry cabin, there are a few things every backcountry explorer should know before strapping on skis or snowshoes.
Mardi gras slideshow
Story by
Slideshow from the pub crawl in downtown Missoula.
Experts to discuss Forest Service at UM
Story by James Laber
Throughout its 100 year history, the U.S. Forest Service has overcome obstacles ranging from housing booms demanding more timber to public outcry over logging, but its biggest challenges may lay ahead – including modernization.
“Challenges Facing the U.S. Forest Service: A Critical Review” will be held this Tuesday and Wednesday in the UC Theater. The event is sponsored by the University of Montana’s O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West with support from the Cinnabar Foundation.
In the face of El Niño, local ski areas hope for snowy season
Story by Hannah Heimbuch
Though snow is already dusting Montana’s peaks above-average levels, a possible El Niño winter may yet stand in the way of a perfect ski season.
“We started off fairly active with above-normal precipitation, and a little on the cool side,” said Peter Felsch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Missoula office. “We’re already above normal for this time of year.”
Student hunters face dilemmas
Story by Mike Gerrity
With hunting season now in full swing, some University of Montana students are finding that being a hunter and living on campus can be quite a mess.
UM freshman Lorenzo Sartini said that juggling academics and the pursuit of outdoor game could eventually become a hassle.
UM archer targets achievement despite disabilities
Story by Patrick Cross
Never moving his eyes from the target, Danny Gundlach nocks an arrow to the bow tucked under his right arm, switches the bow to his left hand, and smoothly raises it to a steady aim. He reaches forward to draw back the bowstring, but rather than pinching it with his fingers, he grabs it with the inside corner of his elbow.
That is because Gundlach does not have fingers, or a hand or a forearm for that matter, on his right arm to grab the bowstring with. Yet with a subtle twist of his elbow, he lets fly the arrow and watches it pierce a hay bale 50 feet away.
Bears declare open season on Missoula fruit trees
Story by Patrick Cross
Two weeks ago, a Rattlesnake resident woke up in the middle of the night to the screams of a fawn being beaten to death by a black bear against the side of her house.
When Chuck Jonkel, co-founder and scientific advisor of Missoula’s Great Bear Foundation went to the house to help clean up the partially eaten fawn, he noticed fruited plum and pear trees, grape vines, and a bird feeder in the yard, all of which are attractive to bears.
Where the wild things are
Story by Patrick Cross
“He does not see us yet, the wind is in his face,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service worker Darren Thomas whispered as the 6-point bull elk trotted up the hill. “Stay still and he will come right under us.”
As the elk approached, the UM Wildlife Society members watching from a ridgeline in the National Bison Range stayed still. Soon the bull was close enough that we could smell his musky odor, but by then he could smell us, too, so he immediately spun around and disappeared into the woods.
Wide Open Spaces?
Story by Emma Schmautz
There are some things you just don’t do in Missoula.
You don’t drive a Hummer. You don’t wear Bobcat colors at a Griz game. You don’t shoot the deer in the Oval. And you certainly don’t criticize anything related to saving the great outdoors.
Jerry Ballas understands the taboos, but he’s not afraid to break them.
Like a rock
Story by Patrick Cross
Some well-known words of wisdom for people in high places are “don’t look down.” But whether I wanted to tempt the fates or just break the rules, I looked, and from 600-feet high on Shoshone Spire in the Bitterroot Mountains, there was a lot to look down at.
Superfly: A how-to guide for catching fall fish
Story by Patrick Cross
Reporter Patrick Cross shares his secret recipe for a fall-time delicacy (for the fish that is.) Read on to see the construction of the Tail Gunner Bugger.
Big trout don’t get big just by eating tiny mayflies; much of their protein comes from other fish. Their menu may include small “forage fish,” species like minnows, sculpins and dace, in addition to young fish of their own kind. They also tend to eat more fish in the fall, not only to stockpile nutrition for the oncoming winter but also because of instinctual aggressiveness during fall spawning. Fly fishermen often imitate this fish food using large sinking flies, called streamers, like the Woolly Bugger, the Zonker or the Tail Gunner Bugger, featured in this week’s Kaimin Outdoors.
Surfing Brennan's Wave
Story by Daniel Person
Necessity is the mother of invention, so it’s not uncommon to see Montana thrill seekers finding new ways to up the adrenaline.
Enter Craig McCallum, a University of Montana senior majoring in journalism. Last spring, only about two months after the man-made Brennan’s Wave was completed, McCallum strapped his red surf board to his ankle and hopped into the Clark Fork with the kayakers for whom the wave was built.
Season of Fire
Story by Patrick Cross
Even in the middle of the night, the heat on the southern California fire line was unrelenting. For UM wildlife biology student Kelly Matthews, a seasoned wildfire fighter and member of a U.S. Forest Service Hot Shot crew, working a 16-hour shift in this heat would be no problem, but she had been cutting line for 32 hours. Then, sometime around 3 a.m., a snarling Jack Russell terrier sprung towards her from out of the bushes. Before she could defend herself, the charging canine had already vanished.
Mountain Mayhem
Story by Chandra Johnson
A quick inspection of the merchandise at Tuesday’s Campus Recreation’s biannual used outdoor-gear sale revealed a potpourri of items that any outdoor enthusiast could afford.
Avalanche beacons ran around $30. A set of rock-climbing picks went for $15. For $750, you could have bought a nine-year-old raft, and $4 would’ve fetched a metal thermos, sans handle, complete with a sticker that read, “Wild women, wild water.”
A trail back in time
Story by Alex Strickland
A walk up the M trail on a cloudy winter day in Missoula is more than a quick hike above the clouds; it’s a glimpse far back in time.
