BRETT FRENCH | bfrench@billingsgazette.com
A Big Sky man who survived a gruesome grizzly bear attack in 2023 has been charged with illegally guiding snowmobilers in the Custer Gallatin National Forest.
Rudy Noorlander was attacked on Sept. 8, 2023, by a grizzly bear while helping a hunter search for a deer they had shot south of Big Sky. The bear bit Noorlander on the face, crushing much of his jaw and lower lip which were reconstructed during a 10-hour surgery at a Utah hospital, the Associated Press reported.
According to charges filed in Billings District Court on Oct. 23, before and after the attack Noorlander allegedly lied to Forest Service officials saying he was not guiding commercial snowmobiling trips.
The documents cite three incidents in November 2022, one in February 2024 and another in February 2026. All took place in Gallatin County.
Outfitters and guides utilizing national forest lands are required to have a permit when a “participation fee is charged, or (b) where the primary purpose is the sale of a good or service, and in either case, regardless of whether the use or activity is intended to produce a profit,” according to the Custer Gallatin National Forest website.
The agency defines guiding as “Providing services or assistance (such as supervision, protection, education, training, packing, touring, subsistence, transporting people, or interpretation) for pecuniary remuneration or other gain to individuals or groups on National Forest System lands.”
Outfitting is defined as “Renting on or delivering to National Forest System lands for pecuniary remuneration or other gain any saddle or pack animal, vehicle, boat, camping gear, or similar supplies or equipment.
Noorlander owns Alpine Adventures, a Big Sky-based snowmobile and ATV rental business. The company’s website includes a customer testimonial praising Noorlander for showing the group “a hell of a time in some unreal settings.”
Another website testimonial said Noorlander “took us on a tour of animals and let us play with the snowmobiles at the top of the mountain. Sooo much fun.”
The one count of providing a false statement to a forest officer carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised probation.
The four counts of illegal guiding and outfitting on national forest lands carry a penalty of six months of prison and a $500 fine.
Canyon Adventures Montana provides snowmobile and ATV guiding services in the Big Sky area. On the bottom of its website the company noted it operates its service under a special use permit from the Custer Gallatin National Forest.
When contacted, Noorlander said he had no knowledge of the charges.
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