High in the Nevada mountains, growing where little else could survive atop rocky, windswept peaks, Bristlecone pine trees are silent professors of resilience. Twisted and chiseled over time by the elements, the trees have survived the harshest of living conditions, outliving historic empires and ice ages and catastrophic climate events. Their almost mythical ability to survive in these environments is their secret to longevity. Nearly 5,000 years ago, Pinus longaeva took root in the subalpine regions of the Great Basin. They’ve been there ever since. Magical survivors Brian Smithers, an…
