Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M 19 G regory Felzien, 26, of Bellbrook, Ohio, was a mountain lion researcher, conducting indpendent research for the Wildlife Research Institute at the University of Idaho. Mountain lions are few in Yellowstone, but Fel- zien knew there were between 20 to 35 of the big cats in the northern part of the park, and had been tracking one large, radio-collared male in particular. On February 22, 1992, Felzien was snowshoeing in a deep drainage near the base of Mount Norris, wondering where his big cougar was. Whether he knew what was coming and tried to run away, or whether he was buried by surprise, we will never know. The avalanche-one hundred yards long, ten yards wide, and five feet deep-was upon him before he knew it. He must have made valiant last efforts to escape it, but Felzien was dead. Seven rescue workers found his body not ompletely covered by snow. Eerily, his mother had dreamed only two nights earlier that her son would be killed in an avalanche. Avalanche! In 1885, U.S. Geological survey parties were exploring the park. On september 5, one party put out into yellowstone lake in an old sailboat. The group of four set sail on an unusually warm day. M.D. Scott took the seat near the mast to handle the oars, while one man sat in the bow managing the sail and two other men sat in the stern. The sun was out and no threatening clouds were present. Suddenly, the party back on the beach heard a crashing thunderclap that stampeded their horses. The four men in the boat were ren- dered unconscious by a bolt of lightning that knocked down the mast of their boat. One man gradually awoke, and looking around, saw that scott was bent over his knees dead; the "bolt from the blue" had struck him in the head, causing a long burn mark. a long, dark streak ran the entire length of scott's body, showing where the lightning had run, and a hole in the bottom of the boat showed where it had exited the craft. Fortunately, the boat was close to shore and drifted in. on June 21, 2005, an incident at Old Faith- ful was particularly dramatic because it involved so many people. More than two hundred park visitors had gath- erered that day around 3:15pm to watch an impending eruption of the famous geyser, when a "very intense, fast-moving storm cell" suddenly rolled in. Lightning struck about 15 yards in front of the famous geyser's boardwalk, causing pande- monium in the crowd. A 12-year-old from Ten- nessee was the most seriously injured, but 10 other people were hurt. Lightning! # 7 # 8 CONTINUED

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