Tuckerman's 2010

An addition...

Hey everyone!
So yesterday we went to yellowstone and saw a TON of animals! Lots and LOTS of Bison, and some Elk. We took a long hike and took lots of pictures, but most are on Katie's camera...so they will be uploaded another time. I have some old pictures from hot tub charades, roasting hot dogs and smores around a fire at the base of the mountain, and me goofing around during downtime in clinic. Just in case your wondering, yes, I did wear Pajama pants to clinic, and at times I took care of patients in them...nobody seemed to care! Also, a Bison video part 2,3,4,5,6! Yes, I can be rather sophomoric. I blame the elevation!

Oh boy,
So where to start? I missed a day because I have been having so much fun. The last day of skiing was great. I really enjoyed all the skiing out here. It had been warm, so the snow on the last day was less than perfect, but it was still great skiing. We finished off the ski season at a dive local bar attended mostly by "dirtbags" which is the sort-of endearing term for skibum out here. It was fun, but I am pretty sure we were the only ones that were not completely stoned out of our minds. Katie got nice and liquored up though, it was pretty funny, dirtbags were buying her shots.

So then on Monday after work at the clinic in town, we drove up to Bozeman to go to the MSU museum, which was full of dinosaur fossils that were pretty awesome. We got the oil changed in the t-ruck, walked around downtown a bit, and had a burger. I had a burger that was literally called a "cardiac arrest." It was ginormous...so much for being healthy. On the way home we stopped by Ted Turner's ranch again, and saw some more Buffalo. But as soon as we left, we were driving down the road and Katie spotted a bunch of Big Horned Ram. They even fought a little, it was pretty awesome to watch. A little ways further down the road we saw these crazy moose-like creatures...they were huge...amazing to watch. Those "moose-crossing" signs are no joke! (see video)

picture from April 13

Yesterday we woke up to about 24 inches of new snow outside, so after my last day of work at the clinic in town we rented some snow shoes and went a snow shoeing in a blizzard. It was crazy! We got about two miles into the hike and all of the trail markers were completely covered by snow. We were digging them out at one point. So rather than get lost in the Montana wilderness and get eaten by some angry, hungry, carnivorous animal, we turned back. In any event, we had a great hike, and we would not have gotten ten feet without the snow shoes. Unfortunately all the pictures from the hike are on Katie's camera, for which I have no cord to hook up to my laptop...so those pics will have to wait.

Today I think we plan to check out Yellowstone park a bit, not sure yet...we will see. A HUGE shout-out to Harman, without whom, this trip and awesome adventure would not even be possible, as our cats would be miserable, and maybe die of loneliness. Harman is the best, and I cant wait for Syracuse Saki Bombs!

Katie in the tram-line and at the top of the tram


Pond Skim





So I havent blogged in awhile. Sorry about that. We have had very full days. I will try to keep it short!

Friday night we introduced Katie to hot tub Charades. Very fun, and it is exactly what it sounds like.

Saturday Morning Katie and I made an AMAZING breakfast, after which we bought her some new mittens (as her old ones were blood soaked from the nose bleed on friday). We then road the Tram to the top of the peak (see pictures of Katie in the Tram-line and at the peak). After the morning of skiing I worked the afternoon, but we were released early to see the pond-skim. The mountain built a pond for people to try to ski across...very entertaining, it was like a big festival. Then we started a trip to Ted Turner's Ranch to see a herd of Buffalo, but we met a guy at the gas station with a fly fishing hook well stuck into his finger (see picture). So we called up Dr. Daniels and met him at the clinic after hours to remove the hook from his finger. We then continued our journey to Ted Turner's ranch, saw a few buffalo (not the whole herd, no idea where they were hiding, see pictures anyway). Then we went to this very local steak house where we proceeded to eat the most amazing steaks ever. They were about as rare as possible! When I say rare, I mean that I could still smell the cow on it....delicious! Anyhow, we were pretty much whipped after yesterday.

This morning we woke up and had a leisurely breakfast followed by a brief hot tub episode...fantastic. Fannnnnnntastic....





Harman...if your reading this...go pet the cats and Ill get you some whiskey

Moose tracks

Hey all,
So Katie arrived safely, but on our drive to Big Sky from Bozeman we stopped to help a car on the side of the road. It was a guy who was very drunk, but not at all injured. Unfortunately, that particular stretch of highway had no cell phone service. We drove up the road until we had service, called the police, then drove back and proceeded to wait forever until the police got our statement....so much for being a good Samaritan.
This morning Katie and I got up early enough to have a delicious breakfast and go skiing. We had lunch at the Shedhorn Yurt today, and I think Katie agreed that the food and beer up there just somehow tastes better. We were doing great until Katie learned my strife of skiing with race skis in the powder. She may have a broken nose, but in any case she bled all over half the mountain. There is a picture of her with a Dr. Daniels special nose/cloths pin.
So I am now in clinic and Mitzi is out skiing, and after work we will go settle in to our AMAZING condo thanks to Albert (classmate out here).

Wow... Today I discovered a new chairlift!!! It's amazing. I have been out here for two weeks, and I am just now finding new chairlifts and new trails. This morning I saw a patient who had a twisted knee, and it turned out he had an undiscovered torn ACL in his OPPOSITE knee. I found it when I went to compare his knees. Ironic.
So I skied alone this afternoon, but I really enjoyed it anyway. There were lots of HUGE groomed trails that were totally empty. They were the largest cut out ski trails I have ever seen. I also rode the lift with a Swedish Geneticist, he was pretty funny. Apparently there is a genetics conference in town. Anyhow, tomorrow Dr. Daniels is hosting a "Scotch Tasting" at 730pm. I guess he really likes scotch, and collects different kinds. I probably wont drink too much though, as I have to get to Bozeman at 11pm to get MITZI THE CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!
No new pictures or videos.

Hey everyone,
Excellent Easter Weekend. I got some amazing skiing in on Easter Sunday. Thick powder...well you saw some pictures. Today was even better. We had first tracks off the Tram...unheard of. It was closed for the early part of the morning due to 60 m/h winds, but as soon as they opened it we hopped on. People are different out here though...some guy in the tram started smoking a bowl of weed, as if it were nothing. And actually, its not the first time I rode up a chairlift with someone who just decides to light up...very different world. They have no hesitations out here...you would think it were legal!!!
I ended up taking yesterday off of skiing and working the entire day. It is pretty slow now that the spring break season is over. People just kind of trickle in, especially in the afternoon. After work I made a bunch of pasta which turned out delicious, and we watched the basketball game. We would have hit the hot tub, but it was 930, and we were all wayyyy too tired.
I didnt stop to take pictures today because the skiing was so amazing. Sorry 'bout that. T-minus 2 days till the arrival of Mitzi!!! yeahhhhh!!!

Hey everyone!
AMAZING Easter morning! We got up at 530 AM and rode the lift to a sunrise Easter service on top of the hill. It was nice, but very cold. Afterward we had an warm breakfast in the lodge, only to reload the lift at 9AM. We got up the tram (like a gondola to the peak) and had some of the first tracks in about 18 inches of powder. We skied un-tracked powder all morning. At 1130 AM we went into a "yurt" for a bison bratwurst with sauerkraut and a delicious amber on tap. This was a little tent right on the side of the mountain....amazing. This morning's skiing was amazing...and I am so happy I got the skis I did, because it made it 3 times more enjoyable.

Hey everyone,
So we skied yellowstone ski club today. For reference, Justin Timberlake, Cindy Crawford, Bill Gates, and Ted Turner all ski at this private millionaires ski club. It was amazing. They never even gave us a ski pass, they only asked our names when we entered. When we told them who we were, the replied "Oh, we have been expecting you." The snow and terrain was wonderful. There were "warming huts" filled with every kind of food and drink you could imagine, all at no charge. We didn't spend a dime the entire day. There were trails with untouched powder, and glades of trees that had their lower branches trimmed to make tree skiing easier. The bathrooms in this place were stocked with packets of aspirin, tylenol, mylanta, mouthwash, glasses cleaner, sun screen...etc. The lodge had leather couches and poker tables. Apparently to be part of this club you have to own land and have a HUGE bank account.
This place is similar to what I would imagine heaven to be like. I will add pictures tomorrow. UNREAL!!!

By the way...MY new skis= AMAZING!!!!

Hey all,
So yesterday was a good day. The skiing sucked because I was using my ginormous stiff GS skis. I really wasnt enjoying it at all given the conditions out here. So I found a new pair of skis for cheap. They are scott crusades 179 cm. A lil' short, but I think they will do just fine. I am excited to get to the mountain this AM and use 'em.
Yesterday I had a really great patient. It was my first patient of the day, and he had injured his knee two days ago. It was the first time I was really able to feel the laxity of the ACL. The "anterior drawer test," and the "Lachman test" were both really easy to illicit on physical exam. It was so obvious that he had torn his ACL, The rest of the patients were just ok. I had a couple upper respiratory infections, a bimaleolar fracture, and an acromial clavicular joint seperation. Anyhow, check ya on the flippity flop.