Okay, Eric, I can't stand it. I'm not trying to defend my article, I'm defending science (and common sense) from the rantings of a numbskull. Read the definition of growing season. No mention of daylight hours. The top of Denali gets more daylight than Talkeetna during the summer. So why can't you grow plants on top of Denali?

I can't even begin to understand your last point, but considering that there has been a measurable rise in the shrub line over the past half century, to what do you attribute that? Sheep genetics? That seems to be your go-to rationale. If you can accept the fact that alpine tundra is decreasing (you haven't yet), why couldn't that affect the number and nutritional health of sheep? There is no evidence that harvesting a small proportion of the oldest rams will result in starving ewes. Having fewer sheep, with the same quantity and quality of habitat, would result in healthier ewes and increased reproduction, regardless of whether a few large rams are missing.