HD 455 covers the southern and central Pioneer Mountains and the country running south toward Polaris and the upper Grasshopper Creek drainage—a transitional zone between the East and West Pioneers and the Beaverhead Mountains. Elevations run from about 5,500 feet on the Grasshopper Creek bottom near Polaris to over 10,000 feet on the Pioneer divide and surrounding ridges. The country is typical Pioneer terrain: dense lodgepole and Douglas fir on the lower slopes, big beetle-killed regrowth tracts at mid-elevation, spruce-fir and alpine larch on the upper drainages, and granite-and-quartzite cirques studded with high lakes (Crystal Park, Mono Lake, the upper Grasshopper basin). Old mining ruins from Bannack and the Polaris-area silver mines dot the country. Elk, mule deer, mountain goats on the high country, and a healthy moose population in the willow bottoms. Beaverhead-Deerlodge NF dominates the public land with BLM and DNRC state on lower benches and private ranches around Polaris and Bannack. The Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway (FR 484) is the spine north-south through the range; Crystal Park and Maverick Mountain ski area sit inside the unit. The Polaris area road system reaches the south flank. Bannack State Park (a preserved gold-rush ghost town) is on the south edge—worth a visit. Wise River is at the north end of the byway, Polaris is a tiny outpost; Dillon and Butte are the supply towns. Cell service is gone in the range. The byway closes seasonally with snow. The country is rolling enough to hunt by truck-glassing technique on the road system and steep enough off the road to filter pressure.