I call it the 'White Rabbit'

Submitted by jimurl on Thu, 02/06/2020 - 11:23
Forums
Madison, Gallatin, Absaroka Mountain Ranges
Hello Everybody, Yes, Montanaice still exists. I went out to the back 40, inflated the tires, changed the oil, adjusted the distributor cap, put some new fuel in 'er, and what do ya know: the 1967 Ford Truck of a website turned over and kicked up! It belched some black smoke into the error logs files, but after software upgrades, she's runnin' fine. Yes, I still ice climb, too. Occasionally. See the White Rabbit photo above, it's hometown Livingston. Also a couple times with my oldest and best buds, Kris and Joe.

The Dark Side

Date
Persons
Pat Callis, et al
Approach Length
Length:2miles
Rock rating
5.10b

The broad, black-stained East face of Frog rock rises above Bozeman Pass area in a nice setting. Looking down, you see the highway and RailRoad; looking to the N, you can see the Bangtails, Bridgers, and Bridger Canyon.

Mill Creek: E. Dam to E. Fork of Mill Creek

Trail Run Length
Length:10miles
Vertical Gain
2500

Mill creek provides some interesting topography in the Absarokas!

I took this run ,with Debbie and Devin driving shuttle. The route begins at East Dam creek trailhead along the main Mill Creek Road. The trail climbs the drainage for a while, then gets onto logging roads taking it to the east, upcanyon. Grind up logging roads, through some areas burned on 2007 (many of which are recovering beautifully, and some of which still have the scorched earth look).Eventually, gain trails on the ridgelines to 8500 feet, heading north now,  where you get spectacular views of the surrounding Mill Creek peaks. 

Further East, Pyramid Peak and the high broad ridge connecting to it dominate the view.Mt. Cowen and Wallace also stand out in the panorama.

Don't botch the descent into E. Mill Creek. I left the ridge to drop into E. Mill where the GPS map showed a trail, but there was none. better,  I would recommend continuing to the south and west around the peak the peak that I dropped off to the east of/ Didn't work out so we,l Mixed areas of burned standing trees, blown-down burned trees, steep sidehilling, and thick brush (lower down, around 7000ft. , where it hadn't burned.). The GPS showed my painstakingly slow approach to the creek.

Urban Organic

We live in a small house next to a large, empty lot. We own the empty lot, too. there used to be a house there, I've heard, years ago, but it had no foundation, and rotted into the ground. Eventually, it was condemned and demolished and replaced with, well, Kentucky blugrass. Who says that the last crop that ranchers around here grow is 'Houses'?

Talk minus Action = Zero

Marc Twight said this years ago. I know what he means by it; but I don't think he realizes that it doesn't quite mean what he thinks.

What he meant was, if you blather on and on about how rad you can climb, but then don't follow through with action, well, the talk doesn't mean much, does it?

But let's look at this algebraically. Let's 'solve for Talk' in the lingo.

TALK - ACTION = 0

add action to both sides of the equation:

TALK - ACTION + ACTION = 0 + ACTION

Less is More! Is less more?

I have always been a fan of this saying. Simplify! Less is More!

But, kind of Orwellian, isn't it? Less ISN'T more, how can it be? I can see where less A means more B. Less Ice equals more rock. Less aid equals more free. Less work equals more play. But less A can't be more A, not at the same time.

It's a mathematical quandry, like trying to say A>B , but also A<B.

The Hogsback

Trail Run Length
Length:7miles
Vertical Gain
1500

The Hogsback is a run in Paradise Valley along a low narrow ridge that is cetnrally located in the valley- giving great views in all directions. The ridge is a popular launch spot for paragliders and hang gliders, and is accessed via a kind access easement across ranch prioperty. Once on the ridge, it is possible to continue to a 1 mi. x 1 mi. section of state land, drop off to the left, and intersect divide road. Loop back and follow the road for a different return journey, or return along the ridge for more steeple-chase style.

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