Water, Water Everywhere but Not a Drop to Drink or Swim In

It is that most glorious time of the year again. The days begin to get longer and warmer, the snow starts to melt, and the hillsides and mountains explode into color and greenery. Bozeman is a veritable smorgasbord of outdoor activities in these all…

The Muddy Low Down – Early Season Biking around Bozeman

Oh, March. You were so promising for an early start to mountain biking season this year! As temperatures soared into the 60s for days at a time with hardly a cloud in the sky – and as Bridger passholders did their best to stay positive as a…

No Spandex Required Bozeman’s Commuter Challenge Is On

We all know that here in Montana we spend a whole lot of time driving. With our expansive state and our wide open spaces, being able to jump in the car and go to the lake or the mountains is one of the perks we enjoy about living in our beautiful Big…

Celebrating Bozeman’s Water Supply

Bozeman is known for its blue-ribbon trout streams and sparkling mountain lakes. These pristine bodies of water are a playground for locals and tourists from all over the world. Moose wade in the shallows, fish dart beneath the surface, and hungry…

Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch

After a long winter with limited insect activity, most people view the famed “Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch” as the first major bug hatch of the season. This hatch draws anglers from far and wide to take advantage of an amazing flurry of insect…

The Y Without Walls

Participation by Bozeman area families and children in Gallatin Valley YMCA (GVY) programs doubled to almost 4,000 in 2012, after almost doubling in 2011. This past year, more than 1,000 Bozeman/Belgrade-area children played on GVY’s youth…

A Completely Biased Review: Bridger Bowl

There is little doubt that Bozeman is a skiers’ paradise; we were after all voted #2 in Powder Magazine’s recent Ski Town Throwdown. If living here for you has nothing to do with skiing then you probably don’t want to read this…

The Coldsmoke Awards

Ten years ago, working on a job site in the heat of mid-August, a discussion about starting a local film festival that would celebrate winter culture and showcase independent filmmakers planted the seed for the Coldsmoke Awards. The initial focus was…

The Heart of The Beartooth

In my heart, mountains have always been sacred places. I know I’m not alone in feeling a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to seek refuge from daily stresses or heavier emotions in the undisturbed silence on a snow-covered peak. My…

What is The Ski Life

My ski life started one cold February morning, just after I had done my morning chores and headed off to school in an old Montana schoolhouse. As soon as we piled off the bus, a smiling teacher rounded us up and declared that we were loading back on…

Loving Bozeman in Four Seasons

An Inner Voice —the sense that my calling and my study lie elsewhere, in the sweet air and under the open sky of the broad world, among my friends and folks, in space and movement and adventure. —Edward Abbey When I am in Montana, I…

You’ll Laugh, You’ll Cry, You’ll Crave Cannoli

As I sit at my kitchen table, watching Brutus the snowstorm transform the view outside my window into a winter wonderland I have two diametrically opposed urges. The first is to grab a coat and snowshoes while running out the door screaming MONTANA…

Got Sidecut? A Ski Chat with the Doctor

Ski Bum – as defined by the online urban dictionary, is “a skier, usually male, in his late 30’s or older, who generally spends the entirety of his life at ski resorts. The rest of his life is spent sharpening skis or purchasing…

Bozeman Winter Recreation

There is no denying that we live in a ski town. Many employers offer powder days along with sick days, and a free bus runs from town up to Bridger Bowl. So, when I moved to Bozeman from out-of-state, people often assumed it was because I was in…

Leading Mother’s In Dance: Dancing for Birth

The dance studio is filled with women in comfy, loose fitting clothes moving in a circle. One by one they draw one card each from two piles. One pile of cards has a single word printed on it such as “Simplicity” or…

Ride at Montana’s Sweet 16

It’s not a secret that Montanans love to ski. And while it’s well known that our state is home to some of the best skiing in the country, what even some of the biggest ski enthusiasts don’t know is just how many ski areas are close…

A Trip to Hellroaring Lake

I snapped the waist on my backpack closed with a sharp click, jumped up and down a few times to test it and then set off walking. The intensity of the mid-afternoon sun was already drawing beads of sweat out of my face.   My worn, leather boots…

Jacks KidCatChat

Jack Thorsen

Saturday September 15th was the big game for the Bobcats as Stephen F. Austin came in to Bobcat Stadium 1-1 and my prediction was they would leave 1-2. Stephen F. Austin is a Division 2 team now and they look good, they have beat teams such as Baylor…

On the River in the Fall

As I look at the calendar and another summer has come and gone, it’s a little hard to imagine that I’ve spent more than two decades pounding the banks of local rivers and streams. But as summer comes to a close and fall begins turning the…

Raising the Ice Barn

Long ago, entire communities would gather together to build a neighbor’s barn. Fellow citizens would contribute what they could in exchange for the knowledge that their neighbors would come to their aid when necessary. Barn raising as a…