Living documentation of a way of life that's vanished

The aspen trees surrounding Lake Tahoe are dotted with what some have called "Mountain Picassos."

The arborglyphs serve as windows into the lives of the Basque sheepherders, portraying sexual conquests, opinions on a host of issues or simply their existence.

Philip Earl has spent the last 20 years collecting and cataloging the carvings adorning trees in five states. He's written a book, "Basque Aspen Art of the Sierra Nevada," featuring a collection of some of the carvings he had documented.

"During the summer months, a single herder was in charge. He was alone a lot of the time, only seeing a camp tender when they brought up supplies," Earl said. "They didn't have much else to do than carving into the trees."

Anthropologists have begun using the carvings in Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, California and Idaho to document a culture and lifestyle that has left very few other sustainable clues.

"You get the idea that they were thinking of home, of their girlfriends, of a more normal life. They didn't think being up with the sheep was a normal existence," Earl said.

The most common carving seen is simply a mark to indicate that a particular carver was there, usually his name and the date.

Yet the favorite subject of the carvers was what they longed for the most, female companionship.

"There are several 6-foot-high nudes. They are very abstract, with elaborate hair and wearing a garter and high heels," Earl said. "It is images like that which have led people to call them Mountain Picassos."

In an article published in the spring 1992 edition of Nevada Historical Society Quarterly titled "History that Grows on Trees," author Joxe Mallea-Olabtxe talks about the abundance of sexual references and images in the carvings.

"The herders want of female companionship is expressed bluntly in the carvings, and the following statement is typical: 'I have plenty of pasture for the sheep, I have plenty of supplies, but I lack a woman.' Another proclaims, 'Everyone knows the sheepherder has only one problem, the woman; that alone worries him.'"

The carvings also demonstrate the return of the same herders over time, creating a record of when particular herds were located in specific areas.

"What we found was that the same guys came back year after year and used one grove as their personal gallery," Earl said. "They didn't necessarily like sheep, in fact some of the carvings say things like, 'Adios you dumb sheep.'"

Slowly the records are being destroyed with the death of the trees that serve as the canvas. Many of the carvings are being lost to development, fire or the natural cycle of the forests. Aspen trees have a life span of 60-80 years.

Anyone who encounters a carved tree is encouraged to make a rubbing of the carving for documentation purposes.

• The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.

Fast facts

• Basque aspen art found in the American West is nonexistent the Basque Country.

• Earliest carvings on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe date back to the turn of the 20th century.

• Aspens, or quakies as they are called, live 60 to 80 years.

• Some carvings show shepherds with 40 years or more of work history.

• Shepherds moved 300 miles from winter to summer range, from Jarbidge to Mineral County.

Nevada locations

oldest in the area 1896

Carson Range

Horse Thief Canyon

Marlette Peak

Spooner Peak

Genoa Peak

Pine Nut Mountains, two main groves on the west side

Desert Creek, Lyon and Douglas counties

Washoe County

Peavine Mountain

oldest in the area 1901

more than 600 carvings in four-five groves

Mahogany Creek, Black Rock Desert

Elko

oldest in the area 1889

Beaver Creek, west of Wildhorse Reservoir

Independence Mountains

Ruby Range

Jack Creek

Mitchell Creek

Lindsey Canyon or Goyeneche

Lower Rattlesnake, Lee

Bascoville, in the Marys River Range, Jarbidge Primitive Area

Jarbidge-Charelston Range

Cherry Creek Range, southern Elko and White Pine counties

Toe Jam Mountains

Humboldt

oldest in the area 1885

Black Rock Desert

Summit Lake

Denio

Wood Creek

Onion Creek

Bilk Creek

Other Nevada sites

Desatoya Mountains, 50 miles east of Fallon

Clan Alpine Mountains, Churchill County

Toiyabe Range south of Austin

Table Mountain central Nevada in the Toiyabe Range

Telegraph Peak, White Pine County

California

oldest 1887 and 1892

Portola

Quincy

Southern Nevada County

Monitor Pass

- Source: Joxe Mallea-Olabtxe and his "History that Grows on Trees" 1992, Nevada Historical Society Quarterly

You can help

The trees containing the rubbings and the rubbings themselves are aging.

Anyone with photos, rubbings or videos of the carvings is asked to contact Joxe Mallea-Olabtxe at Jmollea@charter.net

To make a rubbing

Stretch a piece of canvas around a tree and rub with a black charcoal crayon.