AAC Lost Horse Event in September

image source: American Alpine Club

Here's something to put on your calendar. We received this announcement from Kevin Brumbach, the Montana Section Chair of the American Alpine Club.

photo: American Alpine Club

Hey Everybody! As summer begins to wind down, and the joyful fall weather sets in, climbing temps become perfect! So let's all meet up for a fantastic weekend of climbing and get to know all the amazing AAC members. Here's the plan: WHERE: Lost Horse Canyon WHEN: Sept 22-23 WHO: Free for AAC members, $10 for non-members (if you want dinner and drinks provided) WHAT: Do some fantastic granitic face and splitter crack climbing. Share the day's war stories while feasting and imbibing around the fire at night. Make new and rekindle old climbing partnerships. Wake up Sunday morning and repeat! The Montana AAC Section will provide Dinner and refreshments for Saturday night for all those folks who RSVP by Sept 19, 2012!!! We will also make sure camping is available and general stoke is always high!!! Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, and hope to see you all in Lost Horse!

Blodgett Access Fund Volunteer Days

image source: Access Fund

Access Fund comes to Blodgett: Come on down and help out!

The Jeep Conservation Team is the Access Fund's "on-the-road" team of climbing area stewards. They're traveling around the US, 10 months a year, assessing climbing area conservation and stewardship needs, working with locals to address these needs, training best management practices and motivating volunteers.

This time around the Conservation Team is in your area, working alongside the Bitterroot Climbers Coalition and the Montana Conservation Corps to work on a variety of improvements in Blodgett Canyon. The Conservation Team should be in our area now, having arrived Wednesday, August 22. They will be staying through Monday, August 27.

This is a great opportunity for western Montana climbers to partner with an outstanding organization. Please consider volunteering your time to help improve and protect one of our most significant local climbing resources.

For information contact Jimmy Pinjuv. Email us at millcreeknorthrim at gmail if you need his phone number.

Lil Smokies Meet Steve Martin

Sparkered front and center on standup bass.
Lil' Smokies

One of the great parts of belonging to a group like climbing is hearing about the interests and activities of others in the community. But no matter what you did last week, it's probably a safe bet you didn't hang out with Steve Martin in a tour bus, and then play a set in the band that opened for him at Osprey field. Not unless you're Scott Parker.

A lot of people know Scotty as a V-double-digit bouldering, 5.13 crushing climber. Or at least as that "tall guy" who warms up on red problems at Freestone. For those who don't know, he's also the bass player and a vocalist in the excellent Missoula-based bluegrass band, Lil' Smokies. Thanks to a swell of support from their fans, Lil' Smokies received the most votes in a recent contest and earned the honor of opening for Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers at last Friday evening's concert.

The crowd was awesome and the Lil' Smokies killed it! Well worth hearing them play any time you have the chance. The band that followed was pretty good too... Way cool, Scotty!!

Steve Martin (white pants) and the Steep Canyon Rangers.

(Cameras weren't allowed, so we had to go with these images from the smart phone.)

Cool clouds, no rain.