Cattle ranching in high country

The cattle ranching operation here is unusual in this one sense.  To the best of my knowledge, no one else is maintaining their herd of cattle, and going through calving season, at this high an elevation.  All of the other cattle operations I am aware of in this part of the country have a winter range at much lower elevation.  So they truck their whole herd down to lower pastures in the valleys for the winter, calve there,  then bring the whole herd back up to high elevations for summer grazing.  This operation has never worked that way.  Ever since Andy Anderson moved up to the Tom Miner Basin from the Mill Creek drainage, they have had no pastures at lower elevations.  And the early calving season is to try to get the calves born, and big enough to ward off predators by the time the grizzly come out of hibernation. The cost- calving in very cold, snowy, tough conditions.

High country calving: