Heavenly Hyalite Highlights

With so many incredible rivers to float in SW Montana, we sometimes neglect what lies in our own backyard here in Bozeman. About 20 minutes south of town is an unbeleivable beautiful Hyalite Reservoir. It also happens to be one of the few remaining places in the lower 48 to catch Arctic Grayling.

Last night a couple of friends of mine and I decided against driving to the Upper Madison to chase down salmonflies due to a late start, no shuttle, and of course $4.09 a gallon doesn't help the cause either.

So we decided to head up to Hyalite to see if we could wrangle up a few cutties. We managed to catch a few on dries, but the highlight of the evening was this 16 1/5 inch Grayling that Jeremy caught on a chronomid. It's always a treat to see one of these gorgeous fish. This one let us see its monsterous dorsal fin in all it's glory.

Hyalite Canyon Access

There's currently a local debate over the new Gallatin National Forest travel plan to restrict access to Hyalite Canyon near Bozeman. Essentially, the plan calls to close the gate on the road from January 1st through May 15th, beginning in 2008.

I've actually gotten my truck stuck in the snow up there overnight between those dates, but that's my own fault. Hyalite Canyon contains some of the finest ice climbing in the world, and some great backcountry skiing routes that would only be accessible by snowmobile or skins if the road is closed. At Powderfin, we think the road should be left open all year in order to access these amazing areas of our local wilderness.

For more information on the issue, check out the following links for articles and forums:

Climbing Magazine

MontanaIce.com

Alpinist.com