Highway Trivia!
Trivia:
Did you know that during World War II there was Chromium mining up here? See if you can spot evidence of those old mines at the Mae West Curve (about mile marker 39) and across the Rock Creek valley on the Hellroaring Plateau.
Did you know that the Ski Camp was originally located on the Gardner Headwall? In 1950, Camp operators installed their portable ski tow here at Gardner and only in later years moved it to the Twin Lakes Headwall, possibly because it gave them more terrain to ski.
Did you know that the first recorded traverse across the Beartooth Plateau was in 1882? General Philip Sheridan took 129 soldiers, 104 horses and 157 mules, and marked a route across these mountains to Cooke City. The following year, a packer named E.E. Van Dyke modified the trail by establishing a route off the Beartooth Plateau into the Rock Creek Drainage. Their object was to get at the gold fields around Cooke City.
Did you know that the 3rd switchback of the Beartooth Highway sits on an underground glacier? During construction, crews ran into a block of ice that was “extremely hard and clear as glass.” They used jackhammers to drill holes for dynamite that would blast an 8-foot to 10-foot layer of ice from the “tip of the buried glacier” so they could finish the road.
Ever wonder how much snow it takes to close the Highway? Because of the constant high winds on the Plateau, as little as three inches of snow can mean drifts three feet deep in places. Think about the drifts you’ve seen this year: how much snow do you think it took to create them?
Did you know that fish fossils have been found in Beartooth Butte? Partway down from its 10,500’ summit, within the dark red zone of rocks, geologists have found fish fossils as old as 400 million years. That means that once upon a time, Beartooth Butte was at the bottom of a lake or river!
Have you ever wondered where the name Beartooth comes from? As it turns out, it depends on who you ask. Early promotional materials claim that a rock formation atop Beartooth Butte is the “Bear’s Tooth.” These days, however, you’ll see a sign indicating that a spire jutting up like a fang near Thunder Mountain is that famous “Tooth.” We may never know for sure, because the name “Beartooth” is a translation of a Crow Indian word: “na piet say,” and so far, we haven’t found any record of what exactly those early Crow were referring to. What do you think?
