The Mountain Ear - May 2026

My son, David, just completed his second season working at Alta Ski Area. He worked at Alf’s restaurant, which is situated mid mountain and only accessible via chairlift, snowcat, snowmobile, or hiking. Alf’s employees live in dorms in the lower level of the building, and they’re understandably a tight-knit bunch. I visited him for closing weekend and got to be part of the fun when a few members of the crew decided to give out paper plate awards to their colleagues. 

David got the “Stoke” award, which didn’t surprise me. Warm temps and lack of snowfall notwithstanding, he’s told me repeatedly what a great ski season it has been. I sensed that his positive attitude has been a boon to the morale of the Alf’s crew.

What did surprise me was that they had an award for me, “Best Dad.” When I went up to accept it, I heard chants of “Speech! Speech!” And “Tell us a story about David!” So I did.

David started skiing when he was three years old. He was so stoked about skiing that he used to wear his ski boots to bed—over the footies of his blanket sleeper. He wanted to ski any chance he got. We lived in Boise at the time, where our local ski area, Bogus Basin, was open for night skiing until 10 p.m. On one occasion, David’s mom and I conspired for me to get in some kid-free laps after work. I snuck into the house and into my closet without closing any doors in order to be as quiet as possible. I slipped on my ski pants and pulled up the zipper, which I didn’t think would be loud enough to give me away. Until I heard David call to me from another room.

“Daddy, are you going skiing?”

“Yes.”

“Can I come?”

“Go put on your ski clothes.” 

I didn’t get the solo mission I was hoping for, but how could I complain?

We lapped the magic carpet well past the point when I expected him to get cold or tired. At one point, I paused to fiddle with a piece of gear before loading. David didn’t wait for me. I got on as quickly as I could, concerned about the relatively sizable gap between us with no way to close it. At the top, David unloaded on his own like it was no big deal and immediately pointed his skis down the fall line. All French fry, no pizza.

I unloaded and chased for all I was worth, but he had too much of a head start. Towards the end of the bunny hill at Bogus, there’s a little rollover where the slope gets slightly steeper. Beyond that, there’s some safety netting in front of a steep drop off down to the parking lot. My confidence that the netting was sufficient to contain a three-year-old at top speed was not high, so I was understandably a bit concerned.

David accelerated off of the rollover and reached a speed at which his three-year-old legs could no longer keep his skis under control. He tumbled in a cloud of cold smoke. I thought for sure that wreck was going to ruin him on skiing for the next several years. But when I got to him, instead of tears, he had a huge grin on his face.

“Daddy, I goed fast all by myself!”

“You sure did,” I responded, then scooped him up and helped him get his skis back on and get back to the lift. We kept skiing until 9:59, at which point the liftie looked at him and said “OK, buddy, last one.”

You might reasonably infer that David has sustained this all French fry, no pizza level of stoke for the last 18 years. You would be wrong. As a teenager, there were seasons when David only skied with me once or twice or not at all. I was concerned he had lost interest until the summer of 2024, when he told me he wanted to get back into it. But instead of skiing with me every weekend like I hoped, he got a job at Alta and has skied nearly every day for the past two seasons.

In the Buddhist tradition, one of the three inescapable truths is the principle of impermanence. Seasons change. People grow and learn. As we follow the path of enlightenment, we must practice non-attachment in order to accept without suffering the changes we will inevitably experience. If you’re like me, you may approach non-attachment primarily from a perspective of not being too attached to our joy, lest we experience a let down when the moment ends. Indeed, part of what makes joy feel so special is its transient nature.

The yang to the yin here is that difficult circumstances and the painful feelings that may accompany them are likewise impermanent. Being too attached to sorrow or discouragement can lead to feelings of hopelessness, even in the face of good reasons to be hopeful. This hopelessness may prompt us to stop trying, possibly when we are on the cusp of a breakthrough.

When David and I scheduled my visit, we did so with some trepidation. Temperatures have been so warm and snowfall so minimal that we were unsure whether Alta would remain open through the planned closing date. As I drove up the canyon that Friday evening, I was shocked. I have been skiing at Alta for more than 40 years, and I have never seen so little snow in April.

On Saturday, the high traverse was a single-file ribbon of snow—more brown than white in the thinner spots—flanked with dirt on both sides. We had to side step down dirt just to get to the snow on High Rustler. We didn’t let the conditions keep us from finding fun, though. That evening, I found myself sitting in the dining room journaling, soaking up the joy I felt for having had an amazing day with my son and his friends.

After the paper plate awards were all handed out and folks were headed to bed, it started snowing. On Sunday morning, closing day, there was a foot of fresh covering all the dirt. Many regulars had clearly decided the season was done because there were no lift lines to speak of. We skied over 25k vertical feet, with powder turns on every lap. Even my most audacious hopes didn’t allow for how good it actually was.

Go outside and be kind.

-Mark

Spring Fling and Picnic

Our annual kickoff to the summer season is days away! Join one of the planned outings to look at wildflowers, tag a Rattlesnake summit, or paddle some whitewater, and then join us at Fort Missoula's Meadowlark Pavilion (it's also OK to skip the outings and just come for the food). Picnic begins at 6:00 p.m. The club will provide food and beverages, but we ask for a $5 donation to help defray the costs. We will be raffling off some cool items donated by local businesses and club members. This event is for club members only, so if you're a newsletter subscriber but not yet a member, we hope this will give you an incentive to make it official. We would love to see you there!

Officer Election - Results

Each spring, the Rocky Mountaineers hold elections for our club officers. The voting is now complete for this year's elections, and our current officers will all remain in their roles for another term. These results are scheduled to be accepted by the board and the new terms begin at our annual meeting on May 18.

All of our current officers will have reached term limits next year, so we will be in need of some new leaders to volunteer. We encourage anyone with an interest in helping guide the club into the future to join us at our annual meeting or any future business meeting.

22nd Annual Kercher Glacier Classic - August 27-30

We are very excited to once again be putting together plans for the signature event of The Rocky Mountaineers: The Kercher Glacier Classic!  

We began this event in 2005. Our idea was to have one weekend every summer where we would basecamp around Glacier and have several hikes and climbs each day.  In the evenings, meet back in camp and tell stories of the day's adventures,  make new friends, reacquaint yourself with old ones. What began as a small gathering of eight attendees has since grown to usually host between 30-40. We have held it in various locations around the park but have recently
settled on private campgrounds in the St. Mary area due to the ability to easily reserve for a large group, as well as its proximity to a high concentration of possible adventures.

In 2021 the Glacier Classic was renamed the Kercher Glacier Classic in honor of our dear friend and club member Bryan Kercher. Bryan tragically lost his life in a mountaineering accident in the spring of 2021. He loved Glacier National Park as much or more than anyone we ever knew. What better way to celebrate his contagious smile, energy, and spirit than to share some adventures in this magnificent place!

Want to join in on the fun?  Here is what you need to do:
Our basecamp this year will once again be the Divide Creek Campground in St. Mary.  First, RSVP to Forest (email below) so we know you are coming. For camping, you then need to book directly with Veronica at Divide Creek Campground. She has reserved a number of sites (and a group site) for our group. Make your reservation ASAP as this is a busy time for them and after a while, she will need to sell to the general public. Nothing due at reservation time but PLEASE, be sure to cancel your reservation if something changes and you aren’t going to make it (the Club will be on the hook for your uncancelled no-show reservation!)
Divide Creek Campground- Veronica Kempfert- vkempfert1@gmail.com or 406-239-4454
More trips and details will be added as the event gets closer.  Stay tuned and check out our online calendar for updates.
Organizer: Forest Dean- mtnear1@gmail.com

TRM Gear Closet

Our exclusive for members Gear Closet continues to grow. This gear is for you to use at no charge. If you’d like to check something out, send an email to Mark.

A complete listing of all the gear we currently have available can be found on our website.

Upcoming Trips and Activities

Spring Fling and Picnic - Saturday, 9 May - Fort Missoula
• Several trips to choose from during the day (see calendar)
• 6:00pm- BBQ @ Fort Missoula's Meadowlark Shelter. Food, Beer, and Drinks!
• Raffle Prizes!  (Climbing Gear and TRM Swag)
• Lawn Games!

Kercher Glacier Classic - 27-30 August - Divide Creek Campground

Trail Work Weekend - 10-13 September - Great Burn Wilderness

Please visit our event calendar for details on these and other outings!

TRM Merchandise

We have merchandise available for purchase at our presentations, quarterly business meetings, and special events. Please contact Elizabeth at heyartemisoutside@gmail.com if you’d like to purchase something for local pickup.

Beanie $25	Pint Glass $10	Keychain $5
T-Shirt $20	Trucker Hat $20	Buff $5

Ongoing Call for Photos, Videos, and Presenters

If you have some photos or videos you'd like to share that we can use for social media, event promotion, sponsor videos and our newsletter please email Elizabeth at heyartemisoutside@gmail.com or upload to this google photo/video link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/173AgLc4wrkYofvWA

If you are interested in presenting at a future Rocky Mountaineers monthly meeting or know of someone who would be, please contact Mark. We will begin filling our calendar for Fall 2026 soon.

Club Officers

President- Mark Albrecht
Vice President – Francis Horton
Secretary- Carson Ramsden
Treasurer- Tom Statz
Website- Kyle O'Connor
Archivist- Julie Kahl
Social Media and Video Production – Elizabeth Smith