PHOTOS
While
many
radio
stations
just
post pictures of their DJ's at station events,
the centerpiece of the Eagle operation is our transmitter location on
Lone Peak - the highest transmitting site in the Great Northwest - and
the spectacular terrain surrounding Big Sky, MT!
Lone Peak Transmitter Site
 This
photograph was taken from the air, looking toward the bowl on Lone
Mountain at Big Sky Resort.
At the summit you can see the upper tram building, home to KBZM's
Harris
transmitter. KBZM has a 60 ft.,
solid steel tower anchored to the 16" thick concrete walls.
In the lower right you can see a set of snowcat tracks leading to the
lower tram terminal. The tram is
our only access to Lone Peak outside of a chopper.
Check
out
the
latest
shot
of Lone
Peak
from Big Sky Resort's webcam!
Lower
Tram Building
 This
shot was taken from the tram looking back at the lower terminal.
The tram was opened in 1995 and built with the aid of 3,000 helicopter
flights and hundreds of specialized high altitude workers.
Your tram ride from bottom to top is a little over a half mile long and
covers 1,450 vertical feet with two cabins in alternating directions.
P.S. Don't lean on the cabin doors!
Lone Peak
Summit
 Just
a short hike up from the tram building at the top of Lone Peak is the
summit at 11,166 ft. AMSL.
Big Sky Resort General Manager Taylor Middleton was quoted in a New
York Times article a few years back describing the degree of difficulty
skiing off the peak as a "high pucker factor."
From
the summit you can see three states and on the clearest of days
the Grand Tetons are visible to the south.
From
Behind the Mountain
 This
photograph
was
taken
from
the
air,
from
the
backside of the mountain looking toward Andesite Mountain at the resort after a huge dump of snow in May of 2003..yes, in the
month of May!
Notice how complete the snowfall coverage is on the backside of the
mountain...an avalanche waiting to happen!
The tram building is visible just over the peak, as is the airplane's
wing at the top of the picture.
The Last 1,200 Feet
 View of
the Lone Peak summit from the enormous rock glacier in the bowl. This photo was taken in early September before
snowfall locked in the mountain for winter.
KBZM's tower, attached to the tram building, can be seen appx. 1,200
feet up the sheer rock face from our vantage point on the
glacier. The most accomplished skiers rocket down this cliff via
the "Big Coulior" (right) during ski season, part of that high pucker
factor we referred to above.
The radio station has two antennas on the tower: a four bay for normal
operations and a two bay for backup, along with an STL (studio to
transmitter link) receiving dish.
Lone Peak
Rock Glacier
 A
view of the rock glacier itself looking toward Lone Peak. We had
arranged a tour of the glacier by the Montana Outdoor Science
School. They estimate you'd hit ice perhaps 20 feet below the
surface.
From ground level like this you get an idea of how massive the glacial
rock field and "bulge" in the bowl really is. From this
perspective and from the summit as well, the top of the mountain looks
like a huge pile of shale rock.
In winter the rock glacier forms the base for the Upper Morningstar ski
run at Big Sky Resort.
Glacier
Movement
 Lone
Peak
gives
a
whole
new meaning to the word "rockpile." In this
picture - which looks like it could have been taken on another planet -
you can see the mountain is bathed in shale rock.
The slow downward movement of the glacier underneath eventually causes
tension on the electrical runs up the mountain, and the main power line
to the transmitter has had to be spliced more than once.
You can see visual evidence of glacial movement from the occasional
shale rocks seen here, sitting perpendicular to the rest of the pile.
Madison
Mountain Range
 This
picture was snapped high above Ted Turner's ranch near Bozeman, looking
toward
the spectacular Spanish Peaks in the Madison Range.
The range extends 80 miles from West Yellowstone to Bozeman and is
flanked by the Madison River to the west and Gallatin to the east.
Although each of the peaks in this photo top 10,000 feet, the highest
point in the Madisons is Hilgard Peak at 11,316 ft., situated at the
southern end of the range, not far from Quake Lake, which was created
after the
1959 Yellowstone Earthquake, a 7.5 magnitude shaker that caused a
huge landslide and dammed up the Madison River.
The Sphinx
 The
Sphinx is a pretty amazing peak in the Madison Range, located just
south of Big Sky's Lone Peak.
The Sphinx borders the Madison Valley and is visible for miles on the
drive between Ennis and West Yellowstone. One of the more
striking mountains in the whole region, the Sphinx offers a fun and not
too technical gully route up the west face.
The Sphinx rises to a summit of 10,876 feet, well over a mile higher
than the Madison Valley floor below.
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