Winter in Yellowstone

Steve Fuller

A view of Yellowstone National Park, taken by one of the park's winter caretakers, Steve Fuller.

For more than four decades Fuller has worked as a winter keeper, helping protect park buildings and property during the cruel winter months. The scenery provides a clear key to his passion for solitude: "What an extraordinary landscape, eh?" he marveled.

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan

Winter Caretaker

CBS News

Winter caretaker Steve Fuller, one of just a handful of hearty souls who remain in this wilderness long after the summer tourists have gone.

Winter Caretaker

Steve Fuller

There is a lot to keep Fuller busy. While parts of the park remain open, many of the facilities have to be tucked in for the park's long winter's nap, which starts the first Monday in November.

Fuller must then protect the structures from the damage wrought by wind, snow and ice.

Yellowstone National Park

Steve Fuller

But it's not all work. Fuller never lets a winter slip by without capturing it with his camera.

Yellowstone National Park

Courtesy Steve Fuller

Most Yellowstone winter keepers last only a few years tops. But Steve has stuck out this solitary existence for 42 years, ever since the winter of 1973.

"I was the only applicant," he told CBS News' Lee Cowan, "which is the only reason I got hired. I was paid $13.25 a day."

Winter Caretaker

CBS News

Fuller uses a saw to slice through the snow (he wields a traditional two-man timber saw which he modified with a shovel handle).

Ice Shelf

Courtesy Steve Fuller

Left: A younger Steve Fuller demonstrates his methods for clearing a roof. After making saw cuts, he pops the blocks of snow free with a shovel.

Rooftop

Courtesy Steve Fuller

He also uses his greatest ally: Gravity.

Rooftop

Courtesy Steve Fuller

The weight of winter threatens to crush the now-deserted Canyon Lodge and other buildings in his keep.

"It's one of my hundred problems here," said Fuller, who has about 100 buildings to take care of.

Winter Caretaker

CBS News

Fuller said that when he explains to people his job as caretaker, "their immediate response is, 'Have you seen 'The Shining'?" he laughed.

Visitor

Steve Fuller

A bison pays a visit to Steve Fuller's cabin.

It's an isolated existence during the winter months. The nearest town is two hours away by snowmobile.

"The expectation was that you were in here for the Winter," he said. "You got snowed in until you got plowed out."

Room With A View

Steve Fuller

He lives in one of the oldest structures in the park, a small cabin on a hill that boasts the only light for miles. He doesn’t have a television, but does have a vast library.

Fuller raised a family here, home schooling his two daughters and teaching them the ways of nature. They've gone on to live their own lives - as did his wife - but Steve says he fit best, staying put.

At night, when Yellowstone's temperatures can dip to 20 below zero, his books keep him company, as well as his cats. He stockpiles enough food to get him through.

Roof Work

Steve Fuller

"It seems like it's the kind of job that would suit a hermit pretty well, or an eccentric pretty well," said CBS News' Lee Cowan.

"Never thought of myself as a hermit," replied Steve Fuller. "You know, I enjoy solitary time, but I very much enjoy people, too."

"Do you get lonely?"

"Never," he replied. "Never have. Never had cabin fever. Never been bored."

Ice

Steve Fuller

"I've seen many wonderful things here," he said. "Occasionally get a picture of them. But a lot of the great pictures are in my head, you know, that you couldn't quite pull off with a camera."

Some of the jewels Fuller has photographed have been featured in National Geographic and other magazines.

Bison

Steve Fuller

Snow dunes in Hayden Valley.