Football

My facebook news feed has been blowing up with sadness and happiness as a result of today's football outcomes. So, in honor of football, and being all into sports and stuff, here are some photos I took of the University of Montana vs. Weber State game. 

Climbing Aint Easy, Kids.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take photos of one of Missoula's climbing power couples, Michelle Felix and Mackenzie Moore. They each attempted their respective projects in Kootenai Canyon, and although neither sent, they both walked away with more beta and more stoke.

It was chili, there was snow on the ground, and they were prepared to send. Michelle's stoke even seemed to wear off on to the police officer that pulled her over. Going 86 in a 70 and let off with a warning... she must be contagious.

Michelle's project is Venus Fly Trap, a 5.12d/5.13a sport line on the second buttress. It's gently overhanging and the holds are small; many are sloping, making them even more difficult to grab and hold on to. It's a good looking climb on beautiful Bitterroot granite/mylonite. She finished it after taking a few falls, but thinks that she can get it next time around.

Mackenzie's project is Sick Man, a very overhanging 5.12d/5.13a sport line in the Sick Bay cave. It's long, sends the climber horizontal on a couple occasions, and relentless. It climbs near the right side of the cave and slowly traverses left towards the center where it tops out on the crest of the cave. Mackenzie hurt his finger while climbing and wanted to rest for a competition he plans to climb in over the weekend.

Here are some of the photos taken during the climbs.

Remember kids, climbing ain't easy.






All Photos copyrighted. ©Elliott Natz

How to Make a Didgeridoo: With Dave Hobbs

Hobbs sands down the face on the Didgeridoo, Thor, to get the correct texture for a smooth look.

Hobbs sands in the finer sections of Thor's face trying to achieve the right texture.

Hobbs separates the freshly but pieces on Thor so he can begin carving out the center.

Hobbes carves out the inside of Thor. He uses a grinder with a chainsaw attachment to takes the larger chunks out then smooths the inside later with a few different grinder attachments and a circular sander.

Hobbs pours spar varnish down the center of the didgeridoos to seal the inside from moisture. The specific didgeridoo that he is holding here is called the "Squidge."

Hobbs paints spar varnish on the outside of another didgeridoo.

Hobbs preps a didgeridoo for an internal application of spar varnish.

Hobbs takes a break at the end of an evening of didgeridoo making.

Dave Hobbs and Brian Martens play a jam session of some of the didgeridoos that Hobbs has made.

Hobbs jams on Thor in the tunnel underneath Orange Street. The acoustics in the tunnel make the didgeridoos louder and allow for more echoing. 

Old, Decaying, and Colorful.

An old building stands boarded up in the ghost town of Southern Cross, Mont. Southern Cross used to be a mining town during the mining boom in the late 1800's. The Gold used to "float to the top of the soil."

Poems and curse words cover this door frame inside of an old shed in the ghost town of Southern Cross, Mont.

What is left of an old fuse box on the side of a one the few buildings left in the ghost town of Southern Cross, Mont.

A Christy Brick Company brick lies amongst rubble left over from the Kirkville mill in Kirkville, Mont.  The mill, which was considered the largest building in Montana when it was built, was burned in 1967 by the United States Forest Service for safety reasons. 

A decaying piece of mining equipment sits in what is thought to be the old kiln room, where the ore was melted down. Behind the equipment the smoke stacks can be seen. 

An ore shaft filled with brick from the decaying floor above. 

Decaying sections of the mill. This entire area used to be inside a large red building. 

A crack in the ceiling of the shaft leaks mineral-filled water from the floor above.