Sunlight Moments - February 2009

Elk Creekers in the Snow
Viewed from the depths of winter, it may seem strange to learn that during the summer Elk Creekers cannot resist a glacier or snow bank. The phenomenon has roots reaching back into the 1950's when the ranch was started. The Ridgways tried on several occasions to do some skiing in Sunlight Valley. One time we tried to ski down the old dirt road from Dead Indian Pass. We were riding wooden, edgeless skis with strap-in bindings. The road was almost as much dirt as it was snow. Punch, our dachshund, was our wingman keeping us safe from the wild critters (but not from ourselves and our crazy ideas).

Gardner Headwall in the 1970's
Gardner Headwall in the Beartooth Mountains was a favorite spring ski spot--a la Tuckerman's Ravine on Mt. Washington--for folks from around Billings and Red Lodge, Montana. Elk Creekers extended that use into the summer with skiing and some inventive, if simple, snow sliding. This group rounded up a large tarp from the ranch and may have set a new snow speed record.

The Art of Glissading
Whether in the 1960's or the 1990's and whether at Gardner Headwall or in Damnation Basin, all Elk Creekers try their feet at glissading. It is hard to get much edging power out of two boots, but the soft snow helps. The trekkers are in the high mountain snow fields frequently, and they become very proficient glissaders.

We Can't Resist a Cornice
Ranchers and trekkers are always on the lookout for a good cornice in order to test out their jumping styles and abilities. This may seem like unusual behavior, but Hap had the rare opportunity with a group of 1960's backpackers to see a wolf do much the same thing on the cornice at the top of Stinkingwater Peak. Perhaps the wilderness calls all creatures to this bizarre activity.

What Snowjinks will 2009 Bring?
One of our favorite photos from 2008 was of this misdirected experiment with a new snow vehicle. We wonder what the coming summer's Elk Creekers will conjure up to tackle Gardner Headwall and the other snowfields they cross. We are sure they will keep this particular tradition going!