The Story Behind the "M"

The "M" is 620 feet above the Missoula Valley floor. It is 125' feet long and 100' feet wide. University of Montana forestry students cut the switchbacks into the side of the hill in the early 1900's. The first "M" was assembled out of whitewashed rocks in 1909, and given a fresh coat of paint by freshmen every year, until 1968, when all those rocks were cemented together with concrete.

Photo by Nelson Kenter, kenterphotography.com

Posts Tagged ‘Bruce Auchly’

Trying Times

BRUCE AUCHLY - This month may be the discontent of our winter, as we keen to hike, hear meadowlarks, smell the earth after a rain. But life does go on in February, even if we don’t notice it.... more

Winter’s Tale

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Right now, it’s too late for hunting, too early for fishing and I’m too old for winter mountain climbing.... more

Big Game Hunters Need to Be Bear Aware on Front

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Grizzly bear sign on the Rocky Mountain Front has led to a Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife biologist to remind hunters to be bear aware.... more

Bird Hunters Need to be Bear Aware

By BRUCE AUCHLY - With the Oct. 12 opening of pheasant season, bird hunters around western Montana should be prepared for an encounter with a grizzly bear.... more

An Essay on a Bird Feeder

By BRUCE AUCHLY - All animals that spend at least part of their lives in Montana have three strategies for coping with winter: leave, go to sleep or tough it out.... more

Feeling Strong?

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Technology gives us some advantages over wildlife. But when it comes to strength, agility and speed never bet against the animals.... more

Too Much Water?

By BRUCE AUCHLY - This year when winter ends, and yes someday it will, talk will turn from snowfall and ice depth to snowmelt, runoff and flooding.... more

Bird Hunter Shoots, Kills Charging Grizzly Near Front

By BRUCE AUCHLY - A pheasant hunter shot and killed a grizzly bear Nov. 4 near Pendroy along the Rocky Mountain Front that charged him.... more

Snake Season

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Not a hunting season, but a season to admire Montana’s snakes for what they are: a vital cog in the natural world.... more

That First Gun

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Just the other week, I gave my granddaughter and grandson their first firearms; a .22 rifle and .410 shotgun.... more

Is Spring Early or Late?

By BRUCE AUCHLY - The warm weather of February and early March could lead one to believe in an early spring, which feels nice but is not necessarily a good thing.... more

Winter Survival is For the Birds

By BRUCE AUCHLY -At this time of year, If we humans go outside we dress for the weather.Birds that do not migrate, have evolved some ingenious ways to dress for the weather, to stay alive.... more

That Thing Called Elk Hunting

By BRUCE AUCHLY- To those who don’t hunt, it can be hard to understand the strength and depth of the passion known as Elk Hunting.... more

Elk Harvest at Augusta Check Station Best in 20 Years

By BRUCE AUCHLY-Hunters on a portion of the Rocky Mountain Front this fall took home more elk than any year in the past 20.... more

Remember: Hunting is Fun

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Somehow we have forgotten that hunting today is about being outdoors, perhaps companionship, enjoying nature.... more

Five Region 4 Districts With Deer Hunting Changes in November

By BRUCE AUCHLY-Deer hunters need to be aware of changes taking place this month in five hunting districts in Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 4, north central Montana.... more

Elk, Mule Harvest Down, Whitetails Up On Rocky Mountain Front

Elk and mule deer taken by hunters remain below average on the Rocky Mountain Front, but the white-tailed deer harvest is up at the end of the second weekend of the 2015 general big game season.... more

Elk, Mule Deer Below Average Opener on Rocky Mountain Front

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Hunters hit the Rocky Mountain Front for the opening weekend of Montana’s general big game season, taking home fewer elk and mule deer compared to the past five years.... more

The Effects of Fire on Animals

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Summer’s fires are over, right? Or so we hope. To fish and wildlife fires can bring dire short-term and beneficial long-term consequences.... more

Reports of Swimmer’s Itch Prompts Fish, Wildlife and Parks Advisory

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Reports of swimmer’s itch in reservoirs on the Rocky Mountain Front have prompted Fish, Wildlife and Parks to issue an advisory. What is swimmer's itch anyway?... more

Amphibians in the Spring

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Among the many harbingers of spring are frogs peeping. Boreal frogs are heard everywhere in the spring and early summer. ... more

Believe It, Spring is Here

By BRUCE AUCHLY - If your world collapses absent skiing, or snowmobiling, I’ll attend your pity party. That’s because spring is here, and the signs surround us. ... more

Archery Season in Montana: Technology’s Role

By BRUCE AUCHLY-Let’s be clear. Advances in gear, archery equipment and clothing are wonderful. They are also not the culprit. The problem is not technology but what it does to us. ... more

What Do Ants Taste Like?

By BRUCE AUCHLY-So does an ant taste like a bitter, or lemony, crunchy morsel to a rainbow trout? Nobody knows, and the trout I’ve talked to, don’t answer.... more

It’s Hot Outside: How Animals Cope With the Heat

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Tales and Trails is a twice monthly natural history column. This week's topic: How animals cope with hot weather. If they don’t stay cool, they die.... more

Time to Catch a Rainbow

By BRUCE AUCHLY - Want a fishing tip? Rainbow trout are spawning. Run, don’t walk, to your closest reservoir and start fishing near shore for a rainbow trout. ... more