Sneffels Ski

May 27, 2014

What better way to cap off a memorable winter season in the San Juans than a spring descent of Mt. Sneffels, the monarch of the Sneffels Range.

My partner for the day was Karl, our new friend from Germany who we randomly met and skied with the previous day. We left the truck at sunrise in order to get up and down the mountain before the hot May sun nuked the snow.

Colorado,Mt. Sneffels,San Juan Mountains,Sneffels Range, Lavendar Col — Climbing up the Lavendar Col on Mt. Sneffels – May.

Colorado,Mt. Sneffels,San Juan Mountains,Sneffels Range — Hiking to the summit of Mt. Sneffels (14,150 ft.) – May.

What a glorious day to be up high in the San Juans! There’s no denying by now that Mt. Sneffels has to be one of my favorite peaks in the world.

Colorado,Mt. Sneffels,San Juan Mountains,Sneffels Range, skiing — Karl Trellinger skis down Mt. Sneffels.

And there’s no better way to enjoy a favorite peak than to ski/snowboard down it!

Still Going

May 27, 2014

At the end of May we’re still enjoying great snow up here in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado! Here’s a few shots from the weekend.

snowboarding,Colorado,San Juan Mountains,Sneffels Range — Rider: Mikel Goicoechea.

Mikel made the journey down from Boulder and as usual he brought his good snow karma with him. We repeated a big route in the Sneffels Range that Charlie and I rode a few weeks back.

Showers on Saturday night dropped about 7 inches of snow in the high country. Sure, we’ll take some powder turns in late May, why not?

snowboarding, Colorado,Mt. Sneffels,San Juan Mountains,Sneffels Range — Snowboarder: Mikel Goicoechea. Mt. Sneffels in the background. May.

skiing, Colorado,San Juan Mountains,Sneffels Range — Skier: Claudia Brauer.

From the Vault: Lofoten Islands

May 22, 2014

Bunes, Lofoten Islands, Norway, Moskenesøya, beach — Bunes Morning : Prints Available

Morning at Bunes Beach on Moskenesøya Island – July.

The treasure hunt continues with these photos I recently unearthed from my hard drive, from the Lofoten Islands in Norway from back in July 2009. Though I often shot with my large format 4×5 film camera here, all these photos were taken with an Olympus E-620 digital SLR. While selecting the photos to publish after this trip, I think I was initially more focussed on the 4×5 photos and/or the more colorful sunrise/sunset shots, which is probably why I overlooked these no-less-worthy daytime photos.

Kjerkfjorden, Vindstad, Moskenesøya, Lofoten, Norway — Vindstad Peaks #2 : Prints Available

Kjerkfjorden and the little settlement of Vindstad on Moskenesøya Island.

Moskenesøya, Lofoten, Norway, reflection — Lofoten Blues : Prints Available

The rugged peaks of Moskenesøya Island reflect in a fjord on a calm summer morning

Flakstad,Lofoten Islands,Norway, tent — Flakstad Misty Reflection : Prints Available

Misty campsite near Flakstad.

Svolvær, Fløya, Austvågøya, Lofoten, Norway — Above Svolvær : Prints Available

The city of Svolvær as seen from the summit of Fløya on Austvågøya Island.

You can see my gallery of photos from Norway here. You can also read my trip reports from my travels in Norway here.

From the Vault: More Zugspitze

May 21, 2014

Europe,Germany,Zugspitze,moon,moonlight — Zugspitze Moonlight : Prints Available

The moon shines above the clouds.

Here are a couple more photos from our night and morning on the summit of Zugspitze (2962m), Germany’s tallest mountain, back in August 2013. See all the photos and read more about our climb up Zugspitze here.

Europe,Germany,Zugspitze — Zugspitze Morning : Prints Available

Morning on the summit of Zugspitze.

From the Vault: Alice Lake Morning

May 19, 2014

Idaho,Sawtooths, sunrise, reflection, Alice Lakes — Alice Lake Sunrise : Prints Available

Sunrise reflection at Alice Lakes, Sawtooth Range, Idaho.

Here’s another recent find from my archives, taken on the first morning of a 7-day trek through the Sawtooth Range in Idaho in August 2011, after a night of thunder and lightning.

From the Vault: Cimon della Pala

May 18, 2014May 18, 2014

Cimon della Pala, Passo Rolle, Dolomites, Italy — Misty Cimon della Pala : Prints Available

Cimon della Pala is revealed glowing in evening light as low clouds thin out from Passo Rolle.

In the last few months I’ve been steadily working on reorganizing my photo archives in Lightroom, and during the process I’ve unearthed quite a few gems that I had overlooked during the initial selection process. So in the next few days and weeks I’ll be sharing many of these finds.

Cimon della Pala,Dolomites,Europe,Italy,San Martino, Passo Rolle — Pala Winter Shadows : Prints Available

Cimon della Pala rises over Passo Rolle high above the town of San Martino di Castrozza – December.

This first batch comes from December of 2010 when I spent a week in the small town of San Martino di Castrozza in the Italian Dolomites. Every day I’d drive my rental car up the winding road to Passo Rolle to ski around looking for a variety of photo angles of the immense jagged spire of Cimon della Pala – one of the most striking peaks in a region full of striking peaks.

Cimon della Pala, Dolomites,Europe,Italy,San Martino — Malga Bocche : Prints Available

A December snowstorm envelopes the mountains around Cimon della Pala.

Check out more of my photos from the Dolomites here.

Sliding Around in the Tetons

May 17, 2014May 18, 2014

This last week I was up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming hunting spring snow in the mighty Teton range. Though the weather was a bit more unsettled than we could have hoped for, we still managed to slay two really nice long lines. Here’s a few shots from the trip.

Static Peak,Tetons,Wyoming, skiing — Buck Mountain (11,938 ft.) dominates the scene atop Static Peak.

4+ inches of fresh powder coated this entire cruisey 4,000 vertical foot descent. Spring skiing at its best!

Tetons,The Jaw,Wyoming, skiing — Skinning up towards The Jaw.

With long, tedious approaches and massive vertical rise, spring ski touring in the Tetons is a demanding endeavor.

Grand Teton,Tetons,The Jaw,Wyoming — The Grand Teton (13,770 ft.) as seen from the summit of The Jaw (11,400 ft.).

Wyoming, Yellowstone, Huckleberry Hot Springs — Prints Available

Our last day in Jackson Hole was spent checking out the impressive National Museum of Wildlife Art, followed by soaking our tired legs in some wild hot springs up towards Yellowstone. What a nice way to end the trip!

(Back in May 2009 I spent a week riding a bunch of big lines in the Tetons; see those photos here).

Sunday Cruisin’

May 4, 2014

Spring skiing in the San Juans, Colorado — Skier: Claudia Brauer.

Day 7

May 3, 2014May 3, 2014

Cirque Mountain,Colorado,San Juan Mountains,Sneffels Range, skiing — Skinning up high in the Sneffels Range – April.

Today marks my (and also Charlie’s) seventh day out splitboarding in a row. This last week since the big dump has been one of the best continuous stretches of snowboarding that I can remember… and it’s not over yet!

Cirque Mountain,Colorado,San Juan Mountains,Sneffels Range, Teakettle, Potosi Peak, April — Arriving at the summit!

Today we climbed and rode down another big 13er in the neighborhood.

Cirque Mountain,Colorado,San Juan Mountains,Sneffels Range, snowboarding — Charlie Bartosek riding amongst the giants.

P e r f e c t snow conditions today – old powder in the transition to pure spring corn snow, soft and smooth for high speed carving.

Riding Gilpin

May 2, 2014

Colorado,Gilpin Peak,San Juan Mountains,Sneffels Range, skiing — Skinning towards our destination: Gilpin Peak (13,694 ft.), San Juan Mountains, Colorado.

During yesterday’s splitboard tour, I could see that the big north couloir of Gilpin Peak was in the best shape I’ve ever seen it, full of smooth snow without any chunder. This line has been on my wish list for years, and Charlie, Dan, and I decided to come back today to track it up.