Snowy Ice Lakes

Colorado, Ice Lakes, San Juan Mountains, sunrise, snowy
Snowy Sunstream : Prints Available

Sunrise at Ice Lakes after an October snowstorm dumped two feet of snow in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado.

With fresh snow in the San Juan Mountains and dreams of winter I couldn’t resist heading up high for a quick early season winter camp at Ice Lakes Basin near Silverton. I got a little more than I bargained for with two feet of fresh powder and knee-deep postholing through a snowstorm up there! In the morning I was treated to some fiery light for a few moments at sunrise, for a different kind of autumn color. Continue reading >>

A Bit of Autumn Color

Colorado, San Juan Mountains, San Miguel Range, aspens
Golden Storm : Prints Available

Autumn colors and storm clouds along the San Miguel Range near Telluride, Colorado.

After trekking in Switzerland and visiting Claudia’s family and friends in Germany, we finally arrived back home in the San Juans just at the tail end of what seemed to be a nice long season of autumn colors here. Though I missed the bulk of the autumn action, there were still bits of colorful aspens left along with fresh snow on the peaks! Every season is my favorite season, but autumn is really my favorite season!

8 Days in the Weminuche

Colorado, Jagged Mountain, Needle Mountains, San Juan Mountains, Weminuche Wilderness, panorama, sunrise
Jagged Sunrise Panorama : Prints Available

Rich amber sunrise light illuminates the basin below Jagged Mountain – Weminuche Wilderness, San Juan Mountains, Colorado.

In mid-August Claudia and I backpacked for eight days into the Needle Mountains in the Weminuche Wilderness of the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. This was I think the sixth or seventh time I’ve done a week-long trek in this particular range, but I was still able to find some new routes to take and new places to camp and photograph along with some old favorites. These mountains never fail to challenge and inspire! Continue reading >>

Smoky Sunrise on Mount Wilson

Colorado, Gladstone Peak, Lizard Head Wilderness, Mount Wilson, San Juan Mountains, Wilson Peak, wildfire, smoke, smoky, sunrise
Smoky San Juan Sunrise : Prints Available

A smoky sunrise as seen from the summit of Mount Wilson (14,246 ft) in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado. Wilson Peak is on the left, Gladstone Peak near the center, and the Sneffels Range barely visible through the smoke in the distance.

On Monday morning my alarm woke me at 2:00am in my tent at Navajo Lake in the San Miguel Range near Telluride, Colorado. Groggy after only four hours of sleep, I started trudging up towards Mount Wilson under the light of the waning full moon. I could smell wildfire smoke in the air, and the stars were quite dim, but I didn’t think too much of it and continued on my mission to get to the summit for sunrise. Three or so hours later, after much rock hopping and a bit of airy scrambling, I stood on the 14,246-foot summit of Mount Wilson… disappointed with the view. My hopes of a glorious clear Colorado sunrise were crushed by the sight of thick smoke filling the valleys and shrouding the mountains. As I sat on the summit waiting for morning, I knew that my sunrise photo was toast and felt like my whole endeavor was a collosal waste of effort.

But then the sun rose as a red orb filtered through the haze like a lunar eclipse, becoming oranger as it rose higher and casting a warm glow over the smoky landscape. The surreal and somewhat apocalyptic scene wasn’t what I expected but it made for a unique photo opportunity after all!

I learned later that all the smoke came from an 800-acre wildfire west of Montrose. As luck would have it, the wind was blowing due south pushing all the smoke right into the San Juans. That’s a lot of smoke for a relatively small 800-acre fire!

This NOAA satellite image from Monday 7/30/18 shows the Bull Draw wildfire smoke blowing south into the San Juans in southwest Colorado (just above and to the right of the Four Corners). Notice numerous other wildfires above in Colorado and Utah.

Grenadier Loop

Colorado, Grenadier Range, San Juan Mountains, Trinity Peaks, Weminuche Wilderness, panorama
Trinity Peak Sunrise : Prints Available

Sunrise as seen from the summit of West Trinity Peak in the Grenadier Range, San Juan Mountains, Colorado.

In late July we went on a 6-day backpack trek in and around the rugged Grenadier Range in the Weminuche Wilderness of the central San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Along the way we scrambled up several 13ers, hiked over numerous high passes, and visited some gorgeous remote alpine lakes. Continue reading >>

Wetterhorn Moonrise

Colorado, San Juan Mountains, Uncompahgre Wilderness, Wetterhorn Peak, moon, 14er
Wetterhorn Sunset Moonrise : Prints Available

Full moon rises behind Wetterhorn Peak, a 14er in the Uncompahgre Wilderness, Colorado.

After returning home to Colorado at the end of June we did a quick one-night backpack trip in the Uncompahgre Wilderness of the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. That evening we hiked up to a high ridgeline to watch the full moon rise behind Wetterhorn Peak at sunset. It’s nice to be back in beautiful Colorado!

Colorado, San Juan Mountains, Uncompahgre Wilderness, Wetterhorn Peak, moon, 14er
Moon on Wetterhorn : Prints Available

Full moon behind the 14015 ft / 4272 m summit of Wetterhorn Peak.