Scott D. Wiseman

Scott Wiseman passed away Saturday, February 23rd, 2008, at his home in Bozeman. He was forty-eight years old. The third of four boys, Scotty grew up in a highly mobile military family, attending eleven schools in twelve years, a factor that no doubt contributed to his adventurous lifestyle and restless spirit. He graduated in 1978 from C.M. Russell high school in Great Falls. As a kid Scotty was a true scrapper, never one to give up in the face of adversity and certainly never willing to give an inch. He was funny, with a dry sarcastic wit and a goofy sense of humor, and he always chose to live life on his own terms. He attended the University of Montana in Missoula for three years, developing a taste for fine literature and boisterous fun, culminating in a desire to climb mountains. He first started scrambling up rock in the Little Belt Mountains as a teenager, and then moved on to the big climbs in Blodgett Canyon in the Bitteroot and eventually some of the most challenging peaks of the Tetons, the Winds, and Yosemite. He was safe but bold, and as tough as they come. Throughout his mountaineering career he chose to attempt large peaks, multi-pitch rock climbs, and also loved ice. An example of this was his winter assault on Mount Rainier when he was just twenty-two. He was stuck in an ice cave for four days until the weather cleared enough for him to drag his hypothermic partner back down the mountain to safety. When he was nineteen Scotty headed for the oil fields of Wyoming, where he worked as a derrick man for a few years. Then he moved to Seattle, where he walked the docks of Ballard offering to work for free to get a boat ready if the skipper promised to take him to sea. This he did, and for the next twenty-five years he lived the life of a exceptionally competent longline halibut fisherman. He braved thirty foot waves at night in the Bering Sea, and could work tirelessly for two days straight with no sleep and little rest, hauling in huge fish on a slick and rolling deck. By way of giving back, he spent many winters as an Eagle Mount volunteer, assisting his disabled clients on a bi-ski and helping haul the first paraplegic skier up the ridge at Bridger Bowl. He even bought his own bi-ski so he could take those skiers around Montana to enjoy riding at Big Sky, Big Mountain, and Snowbowl. Scotty was also an avid hunter and spent many years guiding his disabled buddies into shooting range of large elk. As a writer his spirit was driven to tell his unique version of the world from which he felt, at times, so very distant. A restless soul, he never quite found a way to reconcile himself with the slow pace of a staid existence. Tirelessly striving, he has finally found his rest. Scott is survived by his daughter Haley Wiseman, his wife Jannie and her two children, Ingrid and Andy, his parents Bill and Boots Wiseman, and three brothers, Don, Brady, and Kelly. To remember Scotty best, offer a toast into the fire, and rejoice that you ever knew such a wild and exciting character. #8220;What madness but nobility of soul At odds with circumstance? The day#8217;s on fire!#8221; Memories, stories and condolences may be sent to the family at www.dahlcares.com