Around the 307
News, commentary, and other items of interest from the greater Wyoming landscape.
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From the week of February 4th, 2024, here are a handful of Wyoming news items we think you’ll find of interest:
Sunday, February 4th, a party of five skiers were near the top of the Banana Couloir at 10,800 feet on Prospectors Mountain in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) when they triggered and were caught by an avalanche. Three of the skiers managed to self-arrest using ice axes. The fourth skier was carried about 500 feet before stopping and was uninjured. Unfortunately, the fifth skier was swept 1,500 feet down the couloir and sustained serious injuries. You can read the GTNP news release here. The Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center avalanche advisory was issued as “considerable” at the time of the incident.
The Banana Couloir on Prospectors Mountain (it’s the mile-long gully to the left on this photo). At center is “V-Notch Gully” flanked to the right by the north shoulder of Prospectors Mountain. [Photo credit tenthousandtoofar.com.] In last week’s Around the 307 news post, you may recall we provided a story about a black bear racing across a ski-run at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR). Well, this week at JHMR we have a young bull moose on the loose racing down the mountain alongside bewildered skiers. Read the full story from Cowboy State Daily here. And, check out the Youtube video at this link.
[Photo credit Cowboy State Daily Staff.] Thursday, February 8th, the Star Valley Independent published an article setting the stage for the upcoming Wyoming Legislature’s 2024 Budget Session. You can read the SVR story here. Monday, February 12th will mark the first day of legislative proceedings for the 2024 Budget Session and you can watch the day’s events live on the Wyoming Legislature’s YouTube channel.
The Wyoming State Capitol. [Photo courtesy of HDR © 2019 Dan Schwalm.] Lastly, at the start of this month, the Wyoming Migration Initiative shared a film from Platte Basin Timelapse called “Under the Wire”. The film follows four ranches on the southern Wyoming/Colorado border and showcases how landowners, conservation districts, and others can work together to reduce barriers to animals on the move. It’s a beautifully made film and definitely worth watching—I hope you’ll take the time to enjoy it! [Click on the photo below to watch the film on Vimeo.]
[Click on the photo above to access the film on Vimeo.] That’s all for now cowpokes! Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week!
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