This has been a long time in the making. I have grappled with the idea of my blog since the day I started it back in 2012. Obviously, there are positives and negatives involved with such a pursuit, and inevitable "selling out" the State of Montana so to speak is a large part of that. Ultimately, I have decided that the fulfillment for my efforts (which currently equal nothing) are very dis-proportionally outweighed by the free information provided to folks with minimal effort. This fact was brought to light thanks to the huge influx in out of state travel and folks looking for recreation opportunities in Montana as a result of Covid-19 and no jobs. I noticed my traffic go up dramatically from its typical amount. I started to notice out of state plates at all my favorite trail heads and decided enough is enough. We are spoiled in Montana, and have been my whole adult life, but I feel times have changed and we need to be much more aware of the effect we and our social media presence may have on some of our favorite areas.
Prior to this point there have not been enough people doing this stuff in Montana to really be worried about it, but I think all of us, myself included, need to start being very responsible and aware now. For me, initially, I started the Blog back in 2012 in hopes of finding like-minded riding partners, which was a success initially. Lately that is no longer the case and I find myself regretting putting in the time and effort, and exposing Montana just to continue touring solo. I also justified doing trip reports and exposing areas of Montana to the greater general public by telling myself that I was not adding to access information that was not already on the internet. If a person wanted to find out where I was or what I was doing they could simply google it and find someone else's information already online. This is in fact true and for the most part I struck to this plan and do not feel like I exposed anything that was not already on the internet. But now I realize that the more content that is on the internet, the easier it becomes to find. I also think it would be hypocritical of me to not admit to myself, or accept that a part of me wanted some form of self-gratification, sadly that want to show people what I was doing. This part of the equation was more easily look past by saying I was doing it for other reasons, and for the most part I think I was, but I'd be lying if a little part of me didn't want to be recognized, as I think all people on social media have to admit to themselves. Although I think this was a very minor part of why I did it I still have to accept it, and really at the end of the day, I truly, deeply do love the act of writing and shooting photos and putting together pieces to get people stoked on back country skiing and hopefully promote preservation and respect of these wild places we get to recreate in. I also love this previously under promoted state and I absolutely love showing the beauty it has to offer.
Most tourist go to Glacier Park and Yellowstone not realizing you can go to any mountain range and hike all day witnessing incredible beauty likely seeing no one the entire time in Montana. It is this realization which has as of late become apparently clear that Montana does not need to be promoted anymore, it seems the secret is out. I think we all have a responsibility to protect our wild areas in an era of geocaching and hash tagging. People need to really think about their audience and tag very responsibly. I obviously am 100 % in support of sharing information, even after this post, but in a controlled setting to people you trust as opposed to a wide open audience you know nothing about for anyone to read. I am also a huge fan of leaving some of the exploration work to the party involved. If you have not noticed I have left almost all access and approach information out of my write ups for quite a few years now. The exploration and route-finding part of these adventures is part of what makes them feel so wild and special. We need to realize our posts have a huge effect and I started to realize this a few years ago. If people see that an objective such as a couloir "is in" it may turn the focus of numerous parties to an area that was not even on their radar that weekend. We have to accept the fact that our photos might strike ideas in people that would not have crossed their minds without seeing the image. Many people already identified this during the Covid lock down when many outdoor folks quit posting to prevent "FOMO" or people going out and taking unneeded risks while we needed our first responders available. In addition, I think It takes away from the art of what we do somewhat. Being able to have an intimate knowledge of the snow pack, particular ranges weather patterns, and reading forecast as well as knowing what days something will "be in" is a skill that takes numerous trips and numerous years to perfect. To just sound the alarm that something "is in" not only takes away from the art, but potentially might get people into situations they are not trained enough for, like knowing when a wall may shed into a couloir you have never been in before, or currently numerous parties in a couloir and maintaining safe climbing and riding protocols. We are not used to it here and not until recently have I had to start thinking about the "what if someone is up there and triggers something on us scenario." Once people all see that an objective is in, all of a sudden the dynamic changes when you have 3 to 4 parties in one area, and not knowing them or their skill set adds a very large unknown risk factor into your day. This year I risked walking under a large cornice thinking that no one in their right mind would get on top of that and put us in danger. 5 minutes later a paraglider literally flew off that cornice not knowing what was below it. Shame on me for taking the risk without factoring in all the risks, including the new risks I was not used too or aware of. I am used to seeing no one all winter. If no one was up there, I was alright assuming that risk that day. I now need to assume if I see people they WILL walk on the cornice. You have to assume the worst to maximize your safety factor.
In addition I think all of us Montanans need to think responsibly about the influx of population in our state and also the influx of novices to intermediate people getting into outdoor recreation, all of which may not have the skill set (that takes years to develop) to be going to these areas, but ignorantly go because they see a picture online, especially if there is detailed approach information. I think that the change I have seen in the past 10 years has been substantial, and honestly the Covid-19 craze has pushed me over the edge. So, with that being said, it has been real, but this will be my last blog post under my old "chatty" format. I have falling in love with shooting photos and will still be actively posting my outings visually on this web site and instagram @mtn_prospector with photos, and ramblings when it seems fit. From here on out I will not be providing any descriptive approach information and I have gone back to all prior trip reports and removed all of the descriptive route information if not all text. I have already reduced most descriptive terminology on my posts for the past couple of years for the same reason. I am removing descriptive text from past posts to try and keep the "search" for adventure, and actual search....and adventure...not a "gimmie". The lack of fulfillment for my efforts just isn't worth the potential sellout anymore. I feel I owe it to my fellow outdoor enthusiasts and to the great state of Montana, which I love so much, to eliminate much of this information. I have really enjoyed this project, and I hope some of you have as well. The information that was previously on this blog will be gone to public searches, but it is not lost. I have created a duplicate of the old blog which will remain private and be for invite only. If for some reason you would like access the old posts on this site or other information feel free to reach out to me at burton1061@hotmail.com and I can add you to the read list. So after over 8 years of documenting adventures it is with a heavy heart, I say farewell to the old format and move on.
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