As predicted, the weak mountain snowpack unloaded on a snowmobiler high marking on Crown Butte near Cooke City two days after Christmas, the Billings Gazette reported.

Luckily, the rider wasn't injured. But the size of the fracture was impressive.

According to the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, the slide broke 2 to 4 feet deep and was 400 feet wide. The rider was near the top of the slide when it released and was caught in the avalanche but not buried.

Great Falls

Members of the Great Falls area Audubon chapter found fewer birds during this year's annual Christmas Bird Count but they chalked that up to the weather: Not the weather the day of the count, but two nasty spells in October and November that may have hurried the birds on their way south.

The Great Falls Tribune reported that about 20 members of the Upper Missouri Breaks Audubon fanned out across the immediate Great Falls area on Dec. 19 and recorded a total of 11,000 birds representing 48 different species.

In a typical year, organizers said counters find an average of 12,500 birds.

Kalispell

The future for a bigger Herron Park, with uninterrupted access to an even larger trail, just got brighter, the Daily Inter Lake reported.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently announced that a $70,000 grant has been secured for the purchase of 40 acres of land adjacent to Herron Park west of Kalispell.

It’s part of a larger effort led by the nonprofit group Foys to Blacktail Trails.

The grant was the largest so far from the state’s Recreational Trails Program. The funds will be disbursed in 2010, allowing for a purchase that will effectively expand Herron Park from 120 to 160 acres.

West Glacier

The Glacier Outdoor Center in West Glacier is unveiling new trails and will host Glacier Nordic Day from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Jan. 2.

The center offers a full-service outdoor gear shop, fully stocked Nordic rental shop, 10 kilometers of groomed trails and a new snowshoe trail.

The festival will offer specials on rentals, free use of trails, free introductory lessons on Nordic skiing, dog skijoring demos, tours of rental cabins and food.

The center is located at 12400 U.S. Highway 2 E.

Whitefish

The third annual Flathead Sled Dog Days races in the Whitefish Range north of Whitefish are scheduled for Jan. 9-10.

Dog mushers from Canada, Utah, Montana, Colorado, Washington and Idaho are scheduled to leave the Olney Trailhead, at mile marker 145.5 across U.S. 93 from the Olney turn-off, on those days at 9:30 a.m.

The public is invited to cheer the mushers as they leave the starting chute and watch them return to the finish line which is the same spot. An awards ceremony will be held on the race site immediately after the last of the race teams finishes.