All posts by pocket@dmin

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History of the M

by Kira Stoops

The M Trail in all its glory.

The whitewashed M at the mouth of Bridger Canyon seems to symbolize Bozeman itself, welcoming travelers from a western perch at 7,000 feet and looming peacefully over the entire town. Technically, however, the huge letter stands for Montana State University, and was bought by the hard labor of the enterprising class of 1918.

In the fall of 1915, MSU sophomores pledged to create a monument to the university. Drawing up a proposal and wrangling a U.S. Forest Service permit, the students earned a day off of class, and 60 young men trudged up Mount Baldy to kickstart the project. In one day, they carefully drew outlines for the 240’ x 160’ letter, pried rocks from the hillside, and carried them by hand to fill in the site. When the snows cleared in spring of ’16, they returned to whitewash their masterpiece.


The M Trail is repainted yearly.

From then on, whitewashing the M became a ritual for MSU freshmen. An honorary society of seven senior men called the Septemviri was established in ’20 to safeguard campus traditions. Alongside a sophomore unit called the Fangs, the two societies prohibited freshman from dating until the M had received its annual coat of lime.

A women’s counterpart to the Fangs emerged, the Spurs, and eventually the two groups joined into one: the Fangs and Spurs. (This past year, they changed names once more to the more descriptive and humdrum “Student Alumni Association”.) Over time, the Fangs and Spurs, alongside various athletic groups, gradually accepted the responsibility for the upkeep of the M, returning annually to re-lime the letter and collect trash along its two approach trails.

Still, by the late 90s, the M needed more than another coat of paint. Led by the late Torlief Aasheim (former director of Montana Cooperative Extension Service and graduate of ’37), university employees, alumni, and community members organized a major restoration of the landmark. They raised $100,000, promptly redesigning and paving the trail’s parking lot, replacing fallen rock, and repairing and improving the trails.


The M Trail offers spectacular views of the valley only a few miles away from the city.

Since then, a new tradition launched at the renovated M. In honor of the first football game of the season in 2007, the Spurs and Fangs lit candles outlining the M, letting the symbol glow into the night.  The candle ceremony seems to honor a caption from the 1918 MSU yearbook: “May the ‘M’ stand long as a symbol of our loyalty to Montana State and a reminder of what a united class can accomplish.”

Want to learn more about the M Trail? Visit Outside Bozeman’s guide to the trail.

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Working for the Winter

by David Tucker

College is expensive and employment options are limited for students. Don’t panic. Look no further than Bozeman’s most abundant resource: the mountains, and more specifically, Bridger Bowl.  

Less than 20 miles from campus, Bridger Bowl offers something for everyone. Whether you are new to skiing and snowboarding, or think you have what it takes to instruct, something will suit your strengths and interests. But don’t take it from us—let current MSU students and Bridger employees be your guides.
Of all the jobs at a ski area, the most competitive is probably that of instructor, so if you want to teach, take Grace Benge’s advice and apply early. Grace is a freshman at MSU working part-time at Bridger on weekends. “The best perk is the free ski pass,” says Grace, “but the lively social scene is also nice. I made new friends and definitely plan on coming back.” While free skiing with new friends sounds nice, it’s not all fun and games. “You’ll be tired, so don’t plan on working after skiing. Manage your time and get classwork done before instructing.”
Another tough day at the office.
If you’ve skied Pierre’s Knob at all this year, you probably remember the red-hatted dancing machine, Caitlin Marquez. Caitlin is a sophomore at MSU and spreads cheer everyday by showing off her moves while she bumps chairs as a lift operator. “Positive attitude always” is her mantra, which she tries to stick to no matter if it’s -20 or pouring rain. “I don’t know where life’s going to take me, but for now, it’s pretty cool working here at Bridger Bowl.”
While many jobs at the resort involve spending time outside in the cold, there are also great indoor options. Take it from Dylan Lien, an MSU freshman who works in kitchen of the Saddle Peak Lodge. “We get a free ski pass, a shift meal, and free drinks.” Free skiing and free food? Doesn’t get much better than that. If you do decide to work at Bridger, heed Dylan’s advice and take the employee bus— that’s free also.
Working hard to ski hard.
It may not seem like it now, but next year is looming on the horizon. As you think about what classes to take, and what major to pursue, don’t forget to plan on winter employment. Check out Bridger’s employment options at bridgerbowl.com/employment and we’ll see you on the mountain.

David Tucker is a snowboard instructor at Bridger Bowl and an assistant editor at Outside Media Group, publishers of the MSU Pocket Guide.

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Becoming a Leader

By Carmen McSpadden
Leadership can be an intimidating concept when you’re still trying out majors or formulating a career path. Yet, with a small and supportive class environment, the literary shoulders of giants to stand on, and local leaders as mentors and role models, a whole generation of MSU students are coming into their own—and empowered by an MSU certificate program that rewards students who think for themselves and do the things that they dream of doing.
The MSU Leadership Fellows certificate program (LF) does just this, adding value to all MSU degrees. The program incorporates self-study, service work, and experiential education to empower students to become positive agents of change. Every semester, the students’ “Personal Leadership Plans” tell the story further.

Innovative MSU programs tap into students’ potential to lead.
One student fellow supplemented her study of books by leaders such as Rudy Giuliani, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton with an initiative to make the MSU campus smoke-free. Two students grew their non-profit Tias y Tios organization by enlisting other students to help support the children of Spanish speakers new to the area. A Sustained Dialogue chapter, designed to air out contentious issues, emerged when several students identified a need and worked to make it a reality. These are just a few examples of how students are merging their interests with a new understanding of themselves as leaders.

Montana State University student Michael Edwards talks during a presentation by MSU Leadership students.
Becoming an MSU Leadership Fellow during your undergraduate or graduate education is a straightforward process. Take the three-credit “Leadership Foundations” seminar, the three-credit Leadership Capstone seminar (recommended for senior or junior year), and 12 leadership electives from a list of over 150 approved courses. Easily tailored to fit any major, LF recently added a one-credit “Leadership Exploration” class for first-year students.
To get involved in the MSU Leadership Fellows Program, contact Carmen McSpadden at cmcspadden.montana.edu or visit montana.edu/lf.
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A Guide to Filming Action Sports

By Duncan Williamson


Do you ogle your friends’ YouTube videos? Dream about being a powder-ripping star? With the accessibility of inexpensive cameras suitable for shooting action sports, it seems that everyone these days has a YouTube account, hoping to impress their friends and get millions of views. You may be asking, how do you separate yourself from the pack? Here’s a quick guide to getting ahead in the oversaturated world of amateur action-sports cinematography.



Step 1: the Right Camera
Any one of a dozen different cameras will suffice in the quest to become the next great action-sports filmmaker. But the right one for you is harder to find. First off, consider cost-effectiveness. Don’t go spending thousands of dollars on a camera with features you’ll never use and that will leave you too broke to actually get out and film. The perfect camera will match your budget and fit your skills at making videos. GoPro is the most popular choice, with a wide selection of options, ranging from $200 to $400 – can’t really go wrong here. GoPro even has a omplete package that will do, and go, wherever you need. 

If you’re on a tight budget, the Contour Roam is the way to go. With a few different trim levels, it can do most of the necessary technical things you will need as a beginner. The best part about the Contour is you can find it for discounted prices. 

In the end, it is up to you, but my suggestion would be a Contour for the beginning action filmmaker, and a GoPro for the next Red Bull athlete. 



Now Let’s Make A Movie
So you have a good camera and you want to go out and make a badass video. First make sure you have the essential accessories. Extra battery packs are always a good idea, especially for those long days on the slopes. The most avoidable problem is running out of battery life before you get the best trick of the day. Second, you need camera mounts. One of the best ways to ruin a video is with shaky, badly focused or directed shots. Also, make sure you have the right attachments for your camera. Both the GoPro and the Contour make a whole slew of mounts and attachments to get every shot you could imagine

Now let’s shoot. As YouTube videos attest, the first-person view is popular. With a simple chest or helmet mount, you can capture awesome footage that will make you feel like you’re right there doing it when you watch it. Don’t stick too much to one type of shot. Get creative with the mounts. Find cool angles and interesting ways to capture the action. And don’t be afraid to poach ideas from other videos – copying styles you like is good practice and will teach you what you like and don’t like, which is integral to developing your own unique style.


Time to Edit
Once you’ve completed a killer day filming, its time to put a video together. You can do this with simple programs like iMovie for Mac, and Windows Movie Maker for PC. The first step is finding an epic song that fits your footage – play around with different songs and styles until you have something that matches the pace and tone of the day. Once you have a song picked, start editing. Make sure you cut to the music, or in other words, make it fit. This will make awesome shots look even better when they go along with the music. Don’t forget to play with editing and vary the speeds of shots or transitions. If you’re new to editing, don’t get fancy – just make a simple, clean-cut video. Get creative after you’ve got some experience under your belt. 
Photo by Ryan Krueger

After all this is done, you should now have a YouTube-worthy video to show off to your friends. The best thing about this is that with a very low budget you can make awesome videos and progress your skills as both a filmmaker and an athlete.

Who knows? Maybe you’ll whip up a video worthy of the Coldsmoke Awards or the Backcountry Film Festival. Get your gear, set your plans, and get out there!

Resources:

GoPro YouTube Page

Duncan Williamson’s pages:
YouTube
Vimeo
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Keeping the Resolutions

2014 has arrived, and chances are you’ve made a resolution or two for the coming year. Whether it be better grades, losing weight, or finding better relationships, it’s a great time to make those changes you’ve been putting off until now. Problem is, though, many fail to keep those resolutions. Fear not; we’ve compiled a few tips for keeping those resolutions as you head into the new semester.

The “drinking more than everyone else” resolution should be reconsidered.

Don’t expect to completely reinvent yourself.

“New year, new me” is a delightfully overused Facebook status this time of year, but that attitude alone sets you up for failure. It’s all too easy to make the mistake of taking on too many resolutions; and it can create a domino effect when one does not work out. So instead of resolving to attain a 4.0 GPA, lose 50 pounds, get a better job, save a thousand dollars, and discover the fate of the Amelia Earhart; choose one or two and give them your all.

Set goals that can be gauged.
“Do better in school” is certainly an admirable resolution, but also incredibly vague. How can your success be gauged? Instead, set a specific goal to attain. Try to choose a goal that can be achieved with incremental success along the way, so if the goal is to improve grades; keep track of your individual assignments along the way to keep your eye on the prize.

“I passed Econ!”

Keep the resolutions reasonable.
Ambition certainly isn’t a bad thing; it’s what keeps our world moving forward. Sometimes, though, we overestimate ourselves as we set our resolutions, and feel the sting of failure when they don’t work out. Carefully consider what you think is within your power to accomplish. Instead of shooting for bench-pressing 400 pounds by the end of the year when you have yet to break 200, pick a goal inbetween. Besides, if you surpass what you expected to do, soldier forward and you might just accomplish what you never thought you could.

Slow and steady for reaching those resolutions, don’t go overboard.

With all of that in mind, here are some helpful articles for common New Years resolutions:

Weight Loss
Shedding Those Winter Pounds
Working Out for Credit
Avoiding the “Freshman 15″

Improving Grades
Senior Advice

Frugal Use of Money
Frugal Fun

Jobs/Careers
Start Now for a Future Career
Bozeman-Area Careers

Do you have any tips for keeping resolutions? Let us know in the comment section.

Around the Bozone

The Bridger Bowl Cloud

by Christine Rogel

Why Bridger gets so much snow.

Every so often, a blue light flashes on top of the Baxter Hotel, alerting anyone within view of the tallest building in Bozeman that snow is falling at Bridger Bowl. The light—a repurposed airport runway strobe that flashes for 24 hours when the ski area receives at least two inches of snow—was installed in 1988 and played an important role before the era of the Internet. It’s related to an isolated weather phenomenon affectionately called the BBC, or Bridger Bowl Cloud,which descends like a blanket over the east-central Bridger Mountains and leaves behind a prodigious amount of snow.

“Because of the BBC, we’d get these isolated snowstorms and get a Screen-Shot-2013-12-10-at-2.03.07-PMbunch of snow in the mountains, but nothing was going on in town, so people wouldn’t know,” says Doug Wales, marketing director for Bridger Bowl. “So in the ‘olden days,’ the flashing blue light is how people would become aware it was snowing at Bridger.”

According to Eric Knoff, an avalanche specialist with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, the BBC is a “sneaker” and can drop up to 36 inches of snow at Bridger, while only one or two inches end up in town. Don’t be fooled by the clouds pouring over the ridgeline and seeping into the valley—the true BBC is the one that drops loads of snow,” says Knoff.

It’s hard to predict when the mysterious cloud and its revered powder-pouring abilities will occur, but January tends to be a good month for the cloud. During some seasons, the BBC appears half a dozen times, and during others only once or twice, according to Knoff. Last season, despite the thick cloud that frequently obstructed the view of the mountains from town, there was only one cycle of the BBC, when a white blanket fell over the mountain and the Bridgers saw 30 inches of snow in just a few days. It’s times like these, says Knoff, laughing, that “Big Sky has BBC envy.”

The BBC’s beloved snow load is actually not caused by a cloud at all, but rather a weather event called “upslope precipitation,” says Megan Vandenheuvel, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Great Falls. The snow starts to fall when a cold, moist northwestern air flow moves through the canyon and is forced upward by the unique geography of the mountains, creating precipitation in the higher elevations.

Regardless of how it forms or what it’s called, the BBC and its isolated snow showers are, at least in part, responsible for the current location of Bridger Bowl. The weather pattern was considered when the ski area moved from its lower elevation at Bear Canyon in the mid-1950s. It’s a unique phenomenon related to the particular geography of the mountains, and interest in the “cloud” is representative of the enthusiasm locals have for the landscape and the outdoors.

 
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Start Now for a Future Career

by Erin McCormick
What do Boeing, Micron Technology, the USDA, the Peace Corps, and Montana Fish,Wildlife & Parks all have in common? Probably more than you think, especially when you consider that each regularly recruits MSU students for internships and full-time employment. The recruiting season for employers starts as early as the beginning of September for May positions. This means students need to plan to attend early recruiting events by preparing their resumes in advance, researching organizations, and watching for open positions.
As the experts on campus for career-related information, MSU’s Career, Internship & Student Employment Services team stays updated on what employers are looking for by keeping in regular contact with hiring authorities. Our office also hosts several career fairs each year to connect these employers with qualified students, in addition to offering free coaching and advising services, resume critiques, practice job interviews, and job-search assistance. We also have an exclusive job-search portal (mycatcareers.com) which offers one-stop searches and applications for full-time jobs, student employment, internships, and volunteer experiences. Students can also sign up for interviews and receive advance notice of which employers will attend upcoming career fairs.
Planning early and gaining experience pays off with employers. Employers report that they’re looking for students who have built their resumes while in school by holding leadership positions in clubs and activities, working, doing internships, and even conducting research. In fact, most employers indicate that internship experience is the number one reason they will offer a new college graduate a position with their organization.

Even in a tough economy, employers say they are hiring. But students need to be well versed in their abilities to be competitive. Generally speaking, MSU students are highly qualified for jobs due to their work ethic, trustworthiness, and academic training. By planning ahead, gaining valuable internship and work experience, and putting together a competitive application package, students can get the jobs they want when the time comes.

Erin McCormick is the assistant director of the Career, Internship & Student Employment Services department at MSU. For questions or assistance, call 994-4353 or visit here. 

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Pet Perfect

by Patrick Hessman

If you’ve moved into your own apartment or house, you may be looking at the opportunity to have an animal friend in your life again. That year in the dorms without pets was terrible, wasn’t it? Don’t just go out and grab any animal, though; each pet has pros and cons of its own. Here is a handy guide for commonly accepted pets in most apartments, so you can bring an animal friend into your life.

Dogs

Let’s get this out of the way now: Most apartments and many houses forbid dogs. Dogs may be the animal that was expertly bred to be the perfect pet, but most landlords don’t appreciate the mess and noise they make. On top of that, dogs need outdoor space you may not have available, and many require daily exercise you may not be able to easily provide. Yet if you do brave the search to find a dog-friendly rental here, it will all be worth it to have man’s best friend in your life. If you do plan to get a dog, consider adopting. There are many dogs out there who need a home, and will love you just the same. Also, be sure to clean up after your pooch—no one likes stepping in the presents they leave behind.

Cats
Unfortunately, for many of the same reasons they prohibit dogs, most landlords are not cat-friendly. They tend to dislike cats for the smell they leave and their kitty trails of destruction. In fact, it’s probably easier to find a dog-friendly apartment in Bozeman than a cat-friendly one. Yet still, they’re out there, so there’s still the possibility of having your own meme generator in your college years. You might just adopt the next Grumpy Cat pictured below.

Birds
Now we’re getting into the rental-friendly domain of the pet kingdom. Birds can often be negotiated on rental leases because they are primarily cage animals. This is a lot more appealing to a landlord than a free-roaming poop machine. They make nice scenery and can come to be affectionate eventually; but also consider bird calls can be as shrill and annoying as their singing can be beautiful—don’t say I didn’t warn you when Paulie starts shrieking at 2am the night before a major exam.

Birds also claim the “Most Stylish Pet” award.


Reptiles, Fish, and Amphibians
Even if you’re staying in the residence halls, reptiles and fish are an option. Since a tank is even more contained than a cage, most landlords will be okay with a scaly/slimy friend joining your new home. They may all be interesting animals to watch and always look cool, but unlike mammalian and bird pets, these animals will never come to be loving or affectionate. Reptiles also can carry salmonella, so be sure to buy from a reputable pet store.

Who says reptiles can’t be cute too?

Something else to consider about reptiles would be their long lifespan: If you plan to travel after graduating, you may have a lizard or turtle that still has decades to live, so be prepared to make accommodations.

Pocket Pets

In many ways, these small mammals are the compromise of pets that are both contained yet still loving. A trip to PetSmart presents you with hamsters, gerbils, chinchillas, mice, and my personal favorite, rats. These animals always make a cute conversation piece and rats in particular come to be very loyal and loving animals. They often take some time to acclimate to you though, as rodents haven’t been as thoroughly domesticated as dogs or cats have, but even wild rodents have shown some pet-like tendencies.



Why are people afraid of these things again?
The downside to many small-mammal pets is their short lifespans; they won’t be with you as long as a dog or cat will. As a rat owner, I can attest to the heartbreak that comes from having such a dear friend for such a short time, but they’re worth every minute you have with them.

Few people deny the wonderful effect pets bring to your life. Just make sure to do the research beforehand, and always clear a new addition with your roommates and landlord. Little else is more heartwarming than an animal that thinks you’re the entire world.