Wender·Vista
Hellroaring Plateau alpine tundra
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMontana
above ten thousand feet in the Beartooths

Hellroaring Plateau alpine tundra

— — the country before the trees.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The Hellroaring Plateau sits above ten thousand five hundred feet in the Beartooth Mountains, south of Red Lodge. The road up is rough and the trees give out before you reach the top. What's left is a granite tableland of wildflowers, marmots, and small alpine ponds, with the Absaroka peaks lined up to the west. It thaws in July. — from the studio

from the studio
Hellroaring Plateau alpine tundra
— bring it home

Hellroaring Plateau alpine tundra, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Hellroaring Plateau alpine tundra

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Hellroaring Plateau is a high alpine tundra in the Beartooth Mountains of Carbon County, Montana, within Custer Gallatin National Forest. It sits at roughly 10,500 to 11,000 feet, west of the Beartooth Highway between Red Lodge and the Wyoming line. The plateau is a remnant of an ancient erosion surface lifted by Laramide uplift to its present elevation. Access is by Forest Service Road 2069, a rough high-clearance route off the Beartooth Scenic Byway, U.S. Highway 212.

— the season

Snow holds on the plateau into July most years. The wildflower bloom comes fast and short: moss campion, alpine forget-me-not, and yellow stonecrop carpet the tundra through late July and early August. Yellow-bellied marmots and pikas keep the rockfields noisy. Mountain goats move down off the higher Beartooth peaks to graze the meadows in the cool of the morning. The road closes again with the first heavy snow, usually mid-September. Thunderstorms build most summer afternoons by two o'clock.

— the silence

The plateau is two thousand feet above the nearest trees and several hours of rough road from any pavement. There is no cellular signal. The wind across the tundra is the loudest thing most afternoons; in the still hours after sunrise the only sound is meltwater moving through the rock. Climbers use the plateau as a high camp for routes on Sundance Mountain and the south face of Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana at 12,807 feet.

— where
United States · Carbon County, Montana
— within
Custer Gallatin National Forest
— elevation
3,200 m · 10,500 ft
— position
45.0800° N · 109.5000° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
6 km E
Beartooth Highway
scenic byway
35 km NE
Red Lodge
mountain town
15 km W
Granite Peak
highest peak in Montana
40 km S
Cooke City
mountain town
N
Hellroaring Plateau alpine tundra
Beartooth Highway
Red Lodge
Granite Peak
Cooke City
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Hellroaring Plateau alpine tundra — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

In the Beartooth Mountains of southern Montana, within Custer Gallatin National Forest, west of the Beartooth Highway between Red Lodge and the Wyoming line. It sits at roughly 10,500 to 11,000 feet.

By Forest Service Road 2069, a rough high-clearance four-wheel-drive road off U.S. Highway 212 about twenty miles south of Red Lodge. The route is generally open from early July to mid-September.

Alpine tundra plants: moss campion, alpine forget-me-not, yellow stonecrop, dryas, and dwarf willow. The bloom comes fast in late July and early August once the snow melts off the granite.

Yellow-bellied marmots and pikas are the loudest residents. Mountain goats descend from the higher Beartooth peaks to graze the tundra in the morning. Golden eagles hunt the ridges through the summer.

Yes. The plateau is one of the standard high camps for climbers heading up Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana at 12,807 feet. Most parties take three days for the climb.

— about the piece in your home

It's been a good gift for customers who know the high Beartooths. The plateau is the country above the trees that climbers and backpackers go up for. A Medium on a study wall or a Small for a cabin reads well.

The granite-and-sky palette sits well with Mountain-modern interiors, Alpine-modern rooms, and Minimalist spaces that lean on stone and bare wood. The piece also holds against darker Jewel-tone Maximalist walls.

A single Large covers most sofas and consoles. A four-tile Mural reads as one piece behind a long sectional. For a wall above eight feet wide, choose the nine-tile Mural.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and shrug off humidity. The Glossy finish is meant for framed wall pieces in dry rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. No abrasives, no ammonia-based cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin protective finish, so the tile cleans like a piece of fine china.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is curated and finished in our Knoxville studio. We do not license the work. Each tile is hand-finished and signed on the back.

— if this one stayed with you

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