Wish I Had Said That

"I learned long ago not to be intimidated by an absence of difficulty"
- John Gill

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."-Frederick Douglass

"If my thought dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine"-Bob Dylan

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Sell it Out! (Warning: The Following is Montana-centric)

I have been reading lately.  Thank you, its been a big step for me.  Generally, I read whatever I can get my hands on.  It nice to try and absorb some fresh insights, perspectives and opinions.  Living in this culturally deficient area of the country can deprive one's mind of fresh nutrients for thought.  More and more though, I have noticed a complete lack of content in our precious area publications.  Its not that I expect any type of award-winning writing to come out of our local newspaper.  That is a lost cause.  From the rest we should expect a lot more.

Where are our good independent mags and papers?  Everything out there seems to be run by real estate agents.  No opinions, no viewpoints, no need to offend a potential advertiser.  The majority of the articles seem to be geared toward getting more people to move here, make everybody feel like a local, and in general tell the world how awesome it is to live in Montana.  I am waiting for the day when all my favorite backcountry ski zones can be described in detail and full color, every good fishing-hole a community event, where to bag a deer without trying.  Shoot, pretty soon we will see an article explaining where and how to go cut some firewood.   Wanna know where to go skiing?  Buy a map, go for a hike.  Live and learn.

One of the greatest things about Montana is that it is not like other places.  You can go rock-climbing here all day and not see another party.  There are numerous trails around that do not feel like glorified dog parks.  Backcountry skiing is still an adventure here, not just another sport to buy shiny gear for.  Is this changing?  Slowly but surely, all things do change.  The difference is that we do have a choice in the rates of change and the direction that it is headed.

In places like Big Sky, Montana (just up the road from Bozeman) it seems like change is on an accelerated track.  If there was ever a place that exemplified Montana, Big Sky is not it.  Carving a %1er community out of what was a prime mountain wilderness recovery zone is how its done in other places like Colorado, Tahoo, Whistler, Europe, etc.  So you visited Montana once on the suggestion of Warren Miller and thought it was so amazing you had to move here and promote it to all of your friends.  Damn, are you some kind of outlaw or something?  Thank you.  Everytime I go skiing into the Spanish Peaks I shutter inside.  I move faster to crest the ridge that will block that view.

I just want to read something interesting by a Bozemanite.  Is that so wrong?  There are plenty of former English majors out there who need work.  Lets get them motivated to use that degree.

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4 comments:

  1. Good stuff man! I hear you... but it's not hopeless. Blogs like yours are proof of that. Maybe some day, one of us will find the time, motivation, and $$$ to create a publication read by more than just a few friends. Lots of talk and no action by me (a nursing student who already holds a bachelor’s in English) and many others on this topic over the years.
    And at least the shitrags only publish info on the same 3 backcountry zones. I swear Outside Bozeman recycles articles on a two-year cycle.
    To gauge effectiveness of these ski zone beta giveaways, check how "crowded" those zones are on a typical weekday. Hell, even most weekends. Besides, you and I both know the real day touring goods in Bozeman lie well outside the radar of people who write for these ‘zines.
    The zillions of ski zones in the dozen mountain ranges w/in daytour distance of the ‘zone can support a boatload more tourers. But as with much of our population, most are just too lazy to check it out.

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  2. I'm an advocate of the Big Sky Weekly.
    Seriously.

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  3. Its all fine. I should not indirectly friends in town. BS Weekly could offer an opinion here or there...besides "we're rad".

    I did think up this one recently. "Dammit, we can't build a fence around Montana"- Chet Huntley (OG developer of Big Sky. My response: "Dammit, lets build a fence around our houses and give me a goddamn ski hill of my own." I do appreciate the Montana Pioneer out of Livingston.

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