Date: Dec. 1993
Title: My First Entry*

My colleagues question my intentions when I spend weeks on the mountain and in the surrounding environs. They call my methods extreme or "unnecessary." In truth, it is more convenient for the geological community to make light of my practices and make a joke of my inquiries about Buttermilk. I spend weeks outdoors not because of obsession or mental illness. I stay on the mountain because I want to see what other people have not yet seen. To do that I have to do what other people do not do. There have been historically inexplicable incidents at Buttermilk. For the last two centuries, we do not have enough evidence to build any sort of reasonable theory to explain what has happened at Buttermilk. Perhaps it is time for an unreasonable theory.

*Most of these entries are taken from my logbook, which I carry with me always.

Date: Jan. 1994
Title: Buttermilk & the Alleged Curse

Before the area was transformed by gold, silver, and coal mines, there was a great deal of tradition woven into this mountain and the surrounding region. I've found dozens of book detailing nicknames from the folklore, the most prevalent being "The Great Mouth." I am not a superstitious person, and I follow a strict scientific method - but I also respect the traditions of other cultures. There were rituals devoted to this mountain. Whatever made indigenous people revere Buttermilk was real, and probably still is today.

*There is more information about the alleged curse in the History section.

Date: Feb. 1994
Title: Beautiful Sparkle

I spent several hours this morning on the north face of the mountain. There is a small patch that sparkles under the snow - from approx 6:14 to 6:47 a.m. the reflection of the sun was brilliant - refracted into a rainbow of colors to the eye but impossible to capture with the minicam. Not unique to this zone, Buttermilk is an unpredictable cornucopia of natural phenomena. Whether or not superstitions have any real basis, there are repeated unusual occurrences that require further study. Predictably, I refute the slogan Andy attributed to me - "Buttermilk is Alive." There is nothing alive or monstrous here - which raises the more interesting question - what exactly is going on at Buttermilk Mountain?

Date: Feb. 1994
Title: Muscovite for Sparkle?

This morning I returned to the sparkling patch on the north side of the mountain and tried to capture the phenomenon with the minicam.

The images do not do justice to the beauty of the light in the snow. THE SPARKLE WAS NOT AN ANOMALY. Upon closer inspection I identified the glittery flaky material as partially melted muscovite. (Muscovite captures the coldest melt in metamorphic rock so it’s common in metamorphosed shales but it’s quickly used up in reactions as the temperature rises.) Given the historical climate data of the region (see reference HERE at the Official Climate Index website) the environment should not be suitable for a reaction of this temperature level. I obtained a sample for lab analysis.

Date: Mar. 1994
Title: Sparkle-patch is a Porous Crystal!

The tiny fibers of sillimanite and potassium feldspar have pushed forward in a pattern that I am not familiar with, although it is impossible to know whether it was "born" imperfect or whether it became imperfect in the past seventy years since its formation. The fibers have reacted with quartz and formed a crystalline lattice that is very robust. The effect is a porous structure with a much higher elasticity than expected from this region. At least one portion of Buttermilk Mountain has a different composition than its neighboring regions.

Date: Aug. 1994
Title: Weather

Before the mountain became a public recreational area, early land prospectors reported "wispy portals opening in the skies surrounding the peak - cone-shaped gusts of debris - windy demons accompanied by sounds." Before skiing, the value of the land was compromised by what the National Weather Report Service lists as "temporal distortions - electromagnetic distortions capable of storming." The prospectors also described the region as "eerie and alien. There is a quality in this fog that gives one the sense of all things paranormal. Superstition is a strong deterrent: that which cannot be explained cannot be sold."

Date: Dec. 1994
Title: Inconclusive Again

If Buttermilk is not Alive, then what the hell is it?

Date: May 1998
Title: Weird

I have to thank landscaper Marc Otten for finding this interesting piece of history*: three years after the Swiss ski industry expert André Roch surveyed the Buttermilk region in the 1930s, a number of Scandinavians from a nearby ashram went missing. There were at least seven members of the community that were never accounted for but the incident was overlooked because America was consumed with the Great Depression and the tense politics of the time. *I found the article and scanned it. CLICK HERE to access the History section.

Date: Feb. 2001
Title: Fake Explanations Have Got Me Revved Up Again

I've been so distracted putting together my book proposal that I haven't been doing much investigation in the field. Luckily there are enough nimwits in the world to keep me needed. New news, a band of pseudo-scientists and conspiracy theorists have suggested that snowwaves - freakishly large waves of wind and debris - up to 10 m (40 feet) high - are very rare, but do occur at Buttermilk. So I spent the past two weeks in the field. After measuring wind speeds within a forty-degree temp. range and 40 percent humidity sway in some areas, I can fully discredit their measurement. The angle of the mountain is too steep, their snowwaves would crumple on themselves by their own weight. Nice try, mythmakers!

Date: Mar. 2001
Title: Satellite

The only way to study the shifting terrain properly is to monitor the mountain via satellite for the duration of the "incident" season. I am positive that I've witnessed a tree shift about eight feet on the face of the mountain during the season change, but because the weather makes for a huge margin of error, I will not report it. Again, and again and again we hit this wall of frustration - the lack of funding for a noncommercial phenomenon!

Date: Sept. 2002
Title: Insecurities and Evolution

There are times when I ask myself why do I persist to stay on this damn mountain and push these damn laptop buttons when I can't feel the tips of my fingers? Why do I keep talking about Buttermilk and driving these questions back into the air? Am I just a cheap parlor magician looking for magic? But I remind myself that I know what I believe in - evolution. I do not trust people who are content without explanation. In order to evolve we must ask ourselves WHY? If we don't ask ourselves WHY we will not evolve. There have been over a dozen unresolved disappearances at Buttermilk Mountain and I want to know WHY.

Date: Nov. 2002
Title: Kick Those Doubts in the Ass

I am not a cheap parlor magician. I think of Buttermilk as mysterious, not mystical. I am not looking for magic out here, I am looking for things that are unusual. I am not interested in myth or ghosts - I leave that to fantasy books. I am interested in reality, and real explanation. When it’s real, it allows people to be curious about discovering something new.

Date: Oct. 2004
Title: Strange Interference

I keep an old-fashioned compass that was given to me by my older brother who passed away over a decade ago. It’s beat up but it works sure as snow and right as rain. I've never had a problem with interpreting its direction. This morning at 7:52 it was spinning around and around like a top. Sure it may be electromagnetic distortion - I understand, but why so violently? At Buttermilk, these incidents seem to be the norm more than the exception.

Date: Oct. 2004
Title: Stats Returned

I got the reports back from Katie who works for the radio station - she was able to obtain them but they are very difficult to understand. The gist of it is, her station keeps aware of the ambient electromagnetic levels to prevent spikes of distortion of their programming. These readings are related to weather fluctuations as well. The reports show electromagnetic anomalies and atmospheric aberrations all around Buttermilk - but we knew that to be the case before. What is more difficult is discerning a pattern.

Date: Nov. 2004
Time: Curious Formation

The weather has been terrible at night, in particular near the rim at 39'12'17.48 w. elev. 2411 there - there is a ridge underneath heaps of snow and heavy wind-blown sediment - discovered some gorgeous cross-bedding. I tried to capture a photograph but even with flash it is too far. With a large lighting rig and a few ten thousand dollars it could be done!

Date: Nov. 2004
Title: Why No Exposure?

My frustrations about the lack of response I am getting to my findings and to this website are growing. Why hasn't Buttermilk Mountain gotten the same level of celebrity as the Bermuda Triangle? Why haven't these disappearances been as thoroughly investigated? I hate to use the word conspiracy, but Ben Beale may be right...

Date: Oct. 2007
Title: Popularity Rising?

I'm seeing the kids in the area wearing BIA T-shirts and yelling things about the mountain. I'm not the most "plugged-in" person to the youth culture, but I get the sense that the mountain is hip again. I am always wary about kids who speak heaps about a subject when they haven't done any reading or research about it. How is it that one of you will write Buttermilk all over your clothes and your gear and not even pick up my newsletter to learn what it’s all about? It’s nonsense.

Date: Dec. 2007
Title: Buttermilk Is Alive

I am still feeling bittersweet about the phrase I coined in 1989, "Buttermilk Is Alive." It was a joke among geologists and now it’s a catch phrase that detracts from the credibility of the mountain. The theory that Buttermilk Mountain is a hibernating monster is silly. It starts with delinquent kids spreading folklore about the mountain rather than studying the history and questioning for themselves.

JIM VAILE RECEIVES AATA ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

This year's recipient has a B.S. from SUNY at Stony Brook and a Ph.D. from the Unveristy of Colorado. From 1970 to 1982 he was a paleontologist / stratigrapher at the U.S. Geological Survey. From 1982 to 1989 he belonged to the Geological Society of America as a terrestrial program coordintor and developed a curiosity about the significance of the curse Native Americans had placed on Buttermilk Mountain. Shortly thereafter Jim retreated from the geological community to pursue independent research challenging the inconsistencies between accounts, statements, and scientific calculations around the mountain. After twelve years of observation and becoming somewhat of a recluse, Jim reemerged onto the Colorado scene in 2003 with "indisputable evidence that something is amiss at Buttermilk." Though his immersive fieldwork methods remain controversial to say the least, his passion for geology and postive effect on the community are undeniable. Jim is a fellow of GSA, the AAAS, a board member of The Paleontological Society, and has made several contributions to the Glossary of Geology.

BUTTERMILK TIMELINE

Buttermilk Mountain stands in a region of Aspen, Colorado in which human dissapearances, geological aberrations, and inexplicable weather anomalies have occured regularly for over two hundred years.

1827
Spirits of Coots Canyon
by Whitfield Wall

Whitfield Wall was a pioneering tradesman with an itch for exploration and expansion. By merging the rum and brandy trade with the fur trade and servicing smaller towns, his scouts explored the outskirts of the more populated trade routes. Most early accounts of the Buttermilk region (then called Coots Canyon) and its inhabitants come from Wall's memoirs. He took extensive notations of landscape, especially of mountain geography, and he described the area near Buttermilk as "foreboding...smelling of misfortune and doom." His book is detailed but is not considered an historical account because he mixed his landscape accounts with memoirs of lewd interactions with the locals. The book was first printed on a lithographic press in 1827.


1840s
The Alleged Curse The mountains of the area not only held great natural resources, but also held distinct spiritual meaning. There are several accounts online of an alleged curse placed upon the mountain by people indigenous to the area. There is no definitive historical record to validate this, but we all know that history is made by Men and written by Morons. A little thoughtwork and elbow grease with the sources of this time period explain a lot.
www.pearlstreetpublishing.com
www.postindependent.com
www.angelfire.com/co4/grumpynam/colorado/crystal.html
http://www.gj125.com


1900s
In the Face of Darkness
by Michael Wilson

As a child, my other would sign to me this age-old hymn.

Cold the north wind doth blow
All the hills covered in snow
Hush, sweet child, don't utter a peep
Or the angry mountain will wake from his sleep

I never questioned its meaning. I didn't have to. The words floated into the ether like snow powder on the wind as she sang night after night. That changed two winters ago when my wife Shery was taken on the mountain. You knew Sherry, and you knew me. She was the one taht brought warm buns to our weekly meetings. Elsibeth, she accompanied you to Emmitsburg the night your husband passed! She had not slept a wink in four days! And I, I was a friend to all the locals. I was considered bounteous and kindhearted. yet when I blamed the mountain for her fate, I was cast out to live a life of solitude. To spend day after day alone in my dwelling holding the trinkets she left behind between my fingers and wondering why, if it weremy transgressions that offended the beast, it didn't take me instead. I accept that my sweet Sherry is gone forever. I only ask you know, in the face of darkness, to accept why I must stay here. If I frighten your children, it is only for their own safety. it is only to keep the fires of Hell from spreading. Rest my soul, I will never let that happen.


1913
Record Blizzard blankets Colorado
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=1913+colorado+storm&um=1&ie=UTF- 8&sa=N&tab=wi
Hundreds displaced, record number of residents in the Buttermilk region unaccounted for.


1933
Roch vs. Rock
Among many experts hired by the Aspen area for developing ski trails plans, which were interrupted by the second World War, Swiss ski industry expert André Roch surveyed Buttermilk Mountain and the surrounding region. At the time the expert’s decision to develop the Buttermilk region was mixed, for UN-documented reasons. Roch famously once said "Remember, my friend, the avalanche does not know that you are an expert!" Though Roch was not referring specifically to Buttermilk, I believe that he represented a voice of dissension among profit mongers. The press spun it to be political, but it was a safety issue.

Full article text
Tensions have escalated across undeveloped regions of Aspen as politics and economics clash. Esteemed Swiss expert on avalanches and snow safety André Roch was asked to contribute his opinion on the future prosperity of a ski area on Mount Hayden. Although Mr. Roch approved the area for development, some question whether the Swiss position of strict neutrality factored into his decision to keep the Swiss media and public opinion with the western democracies.


1940s
The 10th Mountain Division Soldiers Stationed at Camp Hale
The 10th Mountain Division was a light infantry division that specialized in fighting in severe weather conditions. Mind you, the unit was trained to see things objectively. This is an excerpt from the journal of Lieutenant Troy Rysavy: "There is one peak in the distance that gets Andy and me (illegible) shivering and nobby. ...Cap remarked there is a curse on that N.B.G. hill. Stationed here feels DF wrong. The animals are afraid, the ground sinks. (illegible) At night the land is howling."


1950
JIM VAILE is born in Georgetown, Colorado.


1958
http://www.aspenhistory.org/friedl.html
Friedl Pfeifer opens Buttermilk Mountain as world-class tourist attraction known for the quality of its fine powder snow. There are no mentions of its inauspicious history in the press release.


1959
During its first year Buttermilk was not open to the public early in the off-season because security was compromised and the region was plagued by destructive squatters. Accounts show nearly a dozen squatters were wiped from the Buttermilk region in a few days, and security takes no credit for the sweep. Because squatters tend to be gypsies and vagabonds they have no family ties, their disappearances were dismissed as rumor. This was the first time Buttermilk was regarded as an urban legend rather than a legitimate location of unexplained phenomena.


1984
After years of inactivity on Buttermilk, a woman disappears into an unexplained sinkhole.

Katie Ross, a 28 year-old woman from Dallas, Texas, reported missing on Buttermilk Mountain on November 29th. She was reportedly on vaction with friends in the Aspen area. Her friends claim that she was skiing just a few yards behind them on the mountain and seconds later, she had vanished. If you have any information of her whereabouts, please contact the Aspen local authorities.


1989
Teenage skier Christian Franco, charged with faking his own disappearance at Buttermilk, helps popularize the fad "Buttermilk is Alive."*

*This commercialization discredited the mountain's history by associating it with urban legends like Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman. If the mountain were not so exploited by popular culture, it might get the scientific investigation it deserves.


2002
http://expn.go.com/xgames/wxg/2002/archive/video/index.html
ESPN Winter "X" Games scheduled to be held at Buttermilk through 2007 with expected attendance of 80,000 people each year. This will be the most activity the mountain has ever seen in its history.


2002
Six college students without event entry tickets who were fined for sneaking onto the mountain turned themselves in, claiming that "the ground was moving like it was alive."


2003
Newspaper article: Residents have concerns about disappearances at Buttermilk.
*this article was removed because it was struck from the paper record as misinformation!


2004
The Colorado Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) warns that there is a drastic decrease in wildlife population in the habitats surrounding Buttermilk. The Colorado Division of Wildlife issued a report to address key issues, but unchecked land development is low on the list at #26. http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/529561A9-F8B4-4410-9B28- 15612E0E6B90/0/APPENDIX.pdf


2005
G.H. Geological Surveying Services unexpectedly shuts down its expansion office in Pitkin County. Reports of "abnormal seismological activity" and "unpredictable movement in the strata" cause operations to cease. Insurance claims are listed as the reason for the shutdown, and G.H. GSS spokesmen refuse to comment further.


2006
Three unrelated reports of "unexpected sinkholes" and "moving snow" burying equipment and articles of clothing are filed at Buttermilk Mountain, although terrain is regularly inspected and passes commercial skiing safety standards. My theory of a possible explanation » [Note, this is stated as coming soon]

“migration”
December 1, 2007

I APOLOGIZE BUT ALL POSTS PRE-DATING THE MIGRATION ON DECEMBER 1 WILL NOT BE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE.

Any members in need of a particular post with the date should email me directly - I have a printout archive of all posting since the forum’s inception and would be happy to track it down for you.

Forum Protocal
December 1, 2007

Even when sharing my own thoughts, I try to keep my writing considerate and on-topic. FORUM MEMBERS HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT IRRELEVANT / IRREVERENT POSTINGS BEFORE - PLEASE RESPECT THE COMMUNITY AND KEEP COMMENTS RELATED TO BUTTERMILK.

Dr. Jim Vaile

predictably
December 6, 2007

Its that time of the year again, as the major sports conglomerates prepare for their annual display of brute strength and neon colored regalia. The youth are collecting in Aspen and milling about the mountain socializing and gossiping, leaving about wrappers and making noise at night. I’ve been hearing “Buttermilik is Alive” murmured here and there, so perhaps its coming back into fashion.

more activity
December 8, 2007

This morning I witnessed an amazing sunrise on the mountain which inspired me for the day. There were more people out earlier than before. I am hopeful that as a counter balance to all the noise and activity, more kids will come out on the mountain on their own and breathe in the air and have a private experience on Buttermilk.

healthy discussion
December 10, 2007

I want to remind new readers that the Critics & Skeptics page is for structured debate about Buttermilk, and opinions which I consider to be inconsiderate or spiteful will not get posted.

Apples and Oranges
December 12, 2007

I’ve been thinking that perhaps my expectations of people are too high. With so many problems that need addressing, its difficult for people to focus on just one. For example, people who argue with me that a thorough Buttermilk investigation would damage the environment. I’m reading this and I’m thinking - as a country we could cut our energy consumption increase in half if people switched from incandescent bulbs to fluorescent bulbs. All people have to do is buy a different bulb, there is no lifestyle change involved - and its especially relevant now as it gets dark earlier. You Environmentalists can write to me to change my mission for Buttermilk but you can’t get people change a bulb?

Are you kidding?

new AMAZING discovery!!!
December 14, 2007

Just returned from the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco where they claim to have discovered the energy source behind auroras borealis, which most of us know as the “northern lights”. Using five - yes, FIVE - NASA satellites they propose that the energy comes from charged particles that come from the sun and travel through magnetic fields all across the planet only to explode in a shimmering display of light.

Great work guys. (And people call ME crazy!) :-)

I’m not serious of course, I’m sure this new research on the lights was conducted in a thorough fashion and the report is sound. What gets my goat is, NASA is using five multi-million dollar satellites to explain the northern lights because they are pretty, popular, and great for tourism. Something like Buttermilk, which is darker and scary and swallows vagrants - now that’s easier to dismiss as myth. Its all politics.

This site does a good job of showing how the Northern Lights is similar to Buttermilk because it started as magic and myth but gradually earned a scientific explanation - in this case, solar winds and magnetic fields.

Do you believe in magic?
December 15, 2007

Personally, I do not. I believe every mystery has an explanation, some explanations we as are prepared to accept and others were are not.

Apparently, I have some new readers who agree with me because they are challenging the tabloids, and asking “what actually goes on at Buttermilk?” The truth is, the kind of phenomena that happen on Buttermilk and are routinely mis-categorized as “extraterrestrial” or “magical”. To address comments from theseekerof77 and TranierBoy specifically, throughout the years there have been several reported disappearances, strange noises (similar to the Taos Hum) and unusual light displays (similar to the northern lights) at Buttermilk mountain. Although I cannot explain all of these phenomena, I am CONFIDENT that the mountain is just a geological anomaly - not an alien, and further scientific explanation will bring the truth - not the myth - to light.

“Alive” can mean different things
December 17, 2007 Jim's Thoughts

Now that I’ve added this video showing the violent strata shift to the BIA website I’ve been receiving faux emails from pranksters with subject lines like Buttermilk Is Alive and the Monster in the Mountain. Rest assured, nothing has changed in m mind, I know there is no creature lurking underneath the snow.

So to answer the question about the mountain swallowing things, ;-) I believe the region shares the sharp velocity mantle transitions that characterize the Cenozoic Uplift, but in the case of the Buttermilk sinkholes in particular, I suspect the terrain shifts are a result of the mantle being porous - which is extremely rare for this area, not sure how it developed - which gains pressure as gas fills up those spaces, until it is released violently through spontaneous fissures in the ground, and then recedes as the gas is expelled. I developed this theory in 1994 (see March log entry on my site) and for the most part it still holds water today.

So Buttermilk might be “alive” - just not the way they mean on the damn tee shirts.

BE WARNED - Buttermilk is DANGEROUS
December 18, 2007

Deluded teenagers and fad-makers have turned the Buttermilk phenomenon into a campfire story - the steam in these screen stills from the video I’ve put up on the main site show that the rifts in the ground were caused by pressure swellings not alien creatures.

bmfissure1 bmfissure2

I believe that the mountain is undergoing an accelerated tectonic movement and spontaneous sinkholes such as the one that occurred here are very likely to re-occur.

I recommend that all activity on the mountain should be suspended until authorities can perform the necessary tests to guarantee everyone’s safety.

Explosive Gas in Lousiana
December 22, 2007

Everyone is so caught up with the holidays that potential breakthroughs are being overlooked right and left!!! Geologists near Lake Peigneur in Louisiana have found that the lake is emitting volatile methane gas bubbles from an UNKNOWN NATURAL SOURCE.

Here is the article.

I believe that a similar natural gas source is responsible for the Buttermilk sinkholes.

Merry Christmas
December 25, 2007

It is Holiday time, so it comes as no surprise that people are reflecting about fantasies like Santa Claus and reindeer, ghosts and goblins, Buttermilk aliens and whatever other childhood myths we’ve grown to accept.

But once the buzz of the egg nog and spiced cider is gone, do you really still believe in these things?

Of course you do. Whether we admit it or not, people need to create myths and fantasies to distract them from their banal lives. I understand the importance of imagination. I just don’t see why that same curiosity can’t be applied under the tenets of science.

I’m off - I’m supposed to be meeting with a leprechaun this afternoon about a pot of gold.

Just kidding.

Another geological mystery SOLVED
December 28, 2007

I have said this before and I will say it again: natural mysteries can be solved through scientific diligence. The monumental crystals inside Mexico’s “Cueva de los Cristales” have long been a scientific mystery. Some even said that there were extra-terrestrial forces at play.

Cueva de los Cristales

Last spring a geologist at the University of Granada in Spain figured it out, cracked the code. The crystals enormous size was a result of their formation in abnormally rich mineral water within a very narrow temperature range. The whole phenomenon is explained in this article here.

There were never any aliens. There were never any spirits. And now, all the naysayers who denied science twiddle their thumbs in silence. Heh!!

Maybe 2008 will be a good year after all.