{"id":2679,"date":"2014-06-29T11:15:31","date_gmt":"2014-06-29T17:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=2679"},"modified":"2014-06-29T11:16:03","modified_gmt":"2014-06-29T17:16:03","slug":"santa-claus-rock-comes-down-in-2-stage-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2014\/06\/santa-claus-rock-comes-down-in-2-stage-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa Claus Rock comes down in 2-stage project"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rock\"<\/a>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News<\/p>

Workers with GeoStabilization International pry a big, loose piece of sandstone off what remained of Santa Claus Rock Sunday morning.<\/p><\/div>\n

Santa Claus has left the Rims.<\/p>\n

The 150-plus-ton sandstone formation that was dubbed\u00a0Santa Claus Rock by the earliest settlers in the Yellowstone Valley was\u00a0reduced to a pile of boulders and rubble early Sunday.<\/p>\n

The job went without a hitch and with no damage to Sixth Avenue North, the busy one-way street above which the formation towered. Two bulldozers pulled heavy cables attached to the pillar of sandstone, and most of it toppled over shortly after 7:15 a.m., coming to rest on the wide rock shelf on which the formation sat.<\/p>\n

Workers with GeoStabilization International then went to work on what remained of the foundation of the rock, using pry bars and inflatable rubber bags to bring down unstable boulders and rock slabs.<\/p>\n

The project marked the end of GeoStabilization’s work in Billings. The Colorado company brought crews and equipment to Billings in mid-May to trim off dangerous areas of the Rims above Zimmerman Trail, a project funded by the state Department of Transportation.<\/p>\n

While the company was here, the city of Billings hired it to do similar work above Sixth Avenue North, after Terracon, a local engineering firm, identified rocks and formations, including Santa Claus Rock, that appeared mostly likely to fall on their own.<\/p>\n

Sixth Avenue was closed at 2 p.m. Saturday so dirt berms could be created along the north side of the roadway, to catch any rock that fell off the Rims when Santa Claus was being taken down. The berm did its job Sunday, stopping a dozen or more boulders that tumbled down during the cleanup work on the formation.

\"CapreAir_Variable\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n

Geostabilization crews, over the previous two days, had also installed flexibile steel fencing in front of the Santa Claus Rock, in case it fell away from the ledge. The thick fencing was supported by iron beams driven\u00a04\u00a0feet into the ledge, with anchor cables on either end attached to bolts driven 8 feet into the Rims.<\/p>\n

City Engineer Debi Meling said at 7 a.m. that the crew was ready to go.<\/p>\n

“We’re not messing around,” she said. “Church is at 10.”<\/p>\n

Sure enough, the cables wrapped around the formation went taut at 7:15 and clouds of dust started rising off the rock. The first tug wasn’t quite enough, but after a five-minute wait the bulldozers went to work again, and this time the formation went over to the side, landing with a loud whump<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Santa Claus Rock was also known, apparently, as the Sentinel by the Crow Indians. Artist Rich Clawson, who used to\u00a0own property near the site, said he was once told by a Crow historian that the rock was one of seven Sentinels that were thought to stand watch over a burial ground on top of the Rims.<\/p>\n

The other six Sentinels came down in an earthquake that preceded the smallpox epidemic of 1837, Clawson said he was told.<\/p>\n

Meling said the GeoStabilization workers would do some more cleanup and probably leave town later Sunday.<\/p>\n

“On a plane to the next big rock,” she said.<\/p>\n

Here are some more<\/strong> photos of the process from Sunday morning:<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

<\/a>
Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

This is what Santa Claus Rock looked like before it was taken down Sunday.<\/p><\/div>

<\/a>
Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

Moments before Santa Claus Rock starts to come down.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

It begins to go over.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

Dust marks the spot.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

It hits the deck.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

More dust.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

You get the drift.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

Almost done.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

The aftermath.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

City Engineer Debi Meling, standing along Sixth Avenue North, gets an update on the project.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

Rocks strain against the heavy steel fencing erected to trap wandering boulders.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

This pair of bulldozers did the pulling.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

Dan Nebel, senior project geologist with Terracon of Billings, keeps on an eye on things from atop the Rims.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

This gives you an idea how big that fence was around the rock.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

Workers pry loose a big chunk of sandstone from what remained of Santa Claus Rock.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

A rock goes tumbling down the hill.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

More of the same.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

A rock goes down in a cloud of dust.<\/p><\/div>

Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

The berm along Sixth Avenue North did its job.<\/p><\/div>

<\/a>
Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News permalink<\/a><\/h6>

Just for fun, a view of the industrial end of Billings, as seen from just above where Santa Claus Rock used to stand.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>