Missoula Magazine Monthly Articles

The Burditt kids gather in 1958 at the igloo made every winter at 1000 Washburn Ave. in Missoula. From left are Bette Jeanne Burditt (Brush), Barbara Jo Burditt, Billy Burditt and Bonnie Burditt (Donahue).

Photograph courtesy of Bonnie Burditt Donahue

by sherry devlin
photos by tom bauer and linda thompson

Just when you’d imagine us all heading indoors and out of sight, out comes Missoula for the winter. Bundled from head to toe, babies in tow, bright-eyed and brimming with good cheer.

Winter comes calling with a calendar filled with activities both out-of-doors and in. We offer the smallest of starter lists, hoping to get you up and on your way. For more detailed listings, we suggest going online to Missoulian.com and to Missoula.com, where we provide an ever-refreshed calendar of events.

Photo: The annual Race to the Sky Sled Dog Race is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11. The starting line is a great spot for spectators to get in on the action. LINDA THOMPSON

Read more: snow much fun

Irresistible Eclairs

by greg patent
photos by kurt wilson

Why beat around the bush? Chocolate éclairs have it all if you’re going for broke with dessert. Forget sinful, decadent and all those silly adjectives designed to make us feel guilty when we eat something rich and joyful. How can you enjoy something if that demon “guilt” is taking up precious space in your brain? And how often are you going to wrap your mouth around a chocolate éclair anyway?

Read more: Missoula Cooks

Winter's Bugs

by bob meseroll       
photos by kurt wilson

I’m old school.
Just check out my wardrobe, or the radio station I listen to in my car.
And as far as that dang designated hitter goes, don’t get me started.

Read more: On The Fly

Cool Montana Reads

by barbara theroux
photo by kurt wilson

It is a gray, rainy day as I think about the books coming out from November to January. This list has books to consider giving as a gift or books to consider reading by a cozy fire. There are books to make you think and books to entertain and books to take you to other places, so let’s begin.

Read more: Montana Reads

fireside drinks

by jenna cederberg
photo by michael gallacher

Before accepting the possibility that the chills have done you in yet again, consider what a hot drink and fireplace might do to remedy the wintertime blues.

In western Montana, a winter nightcap is often best enjoyed by a fire, and lucky for us, the fireside drink options right outside our back doors are absolutely heartwarming.

Read more: Thirsty Missoula

Celebrating 50 years

by chelsi moy
photos by linda thompson and michael gallacher

Slim Gore-Tex snow pants eventually replaced one-piece neon snowsuits, jeans and wool pants with suspenders.

Ski ticket prices spiked as skiers flocked to the slopes. Skis got fatter and shorter, snowboards entered the scene and boots reverted from rear entry to buckling in the front.

Despite the many changes in the ski business over the past half century, much is still the same at Missoula’s backyard ski area.

Read more: Happy Birthday Snowbowl

Robin Selvig’s heart, sense of humor leave impression on his players

by bill speltz     
photos by josh parker and tom bauer

There’s a photo floating around on Facebook of Robin Selvig lying horizontally in the arms of his former players, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Taken this summer during a Montana Lady Griz reunion weekend, it’s worth a thousand words. It speaks of the special bond between Selvig and his Lady Griz and the fun-loving nature of the University of Montana’s 34-year basketball coach.

Read more: Endearing Qualities

by joe nickell
photos by michael gallacher and linda thompson

Like many of her fellow art school graduates, CarolLynn Lapotka arrived in adulthood unsure of how to transform her passions into a profession.

From her youngest years, she knew that creativity was in her blood. At the same time, she was strongly motivated by environmental concerns and the kind of pragmatism that comes from growing up on a family farm in Wisconsin.

“As a kid, we didn’t have a lot of money,” she says. “So I always wanted to try to figure out the next business idea to better my life and have a steady source of income. In general, I just have a creative mind and I need some place to put some of this energy. I’m constantly thinking of new stuff and crazy ideas all the time.”

Read more: Making it Work at the Made Fair

by kim briggeman

“Slowly I plodded through the snow, really feeling warm, yet not knowing that my feet were freezing all the time. The intense cold acting on the trees made them give reports like pistol shots in all directions. The timber wolves were howling dismally and altogether it was not a very pleasant situation.” Charles Schafft, “Sketch of a Life,” 1887

Photo: Gustav Sohon was with the Mullan expedition when he drew this previously unpublished sketch of Cantonment Wright at the mouth of the Blackfoot River in the winter of 1861-62. (Courtesy of National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. NAA INV 08541200).

Read more: A Frontier Survivor

by rob chaney
photos by tom bauer

Soaring along the jagged ridge of the Ninemile Divide, an automated voice announced the words most pilots dread to hear: “Pull up! Terrain!”

Photo: Neptune Aviation’s BAe-146 retardant jet makes a test water drop in 2010.  Neptune hopes to make the jet its next generation of firefighting airplane.

Read more: Aerial Firefighting

by rob chaney

If you got the same thing for a Christmas present every year, how long would it take to get annoying?

And yet we let tradition dominate holiday dining. Every December, most of us pull a repeat of Thanksgiving with the turkey and potatoes. For an entree that’s uninteresting the other 363 days of the year, the big bird rules the family reunion menu.

Read more: A Non-traditional Dinner

by jamie kelly
illustrations by ken barnedt

To plan for your night under the stars this winter, download the free astronomy software Stellarium at stellarium.com. Also, try Google Sky Map for Android or Star Walk for iPhone/iPad. To see the astronomical friendliness of the weather, visit cleardarksky.com.

Photo: Constellations in the winter sky looking north in the Northern Hemisphere.

Read more: Seeing is Believing

by gwen florio     
photos by linda thompson and michael gallacher

You’ve seen these deranged people.

When you’re inching along on the ice, bracing yourself against nearby buildings or vehicles, they cruise past, surefooted in sneakers on the same frozen surface that you know for a fact will land you in traction.

Or maybe you’re driving, fishtailing through an intersection, when somebody zips effortlessly through. On a bicycle.

Read more: Survival Guide: Running & Biking in Missoula's Winter