This is only my second CO winter, and last spring wasnt too snowy, so im looking for advice on SE CO spots to shoot after a big dump of April snow. If all the pieces come together, there could possibly be as much of 2 feet some places by Saturday. GOG will of course be an option, but im looking for some unique locations. Todd's PP pics got me thinkin, but there could be some access problems. Teller county might be cool, but rte 24 may be a problem, at least initially. I would expect either the raton mesa, palmer divide, or wets to get hit particularly hard, but probably wont know til friday. Whadya suggest?
If you have 4wd, the Rampart Range Road out of GoG should not be too much of a challenge unless the snow is over 6-10" depending on tires and vehicle. It has a decent gravel surface that can turn muddy when wet. The Westcliffe area could be good as well as Sand Dunes NP. Palmer Divide area leaves me wanting for interesting comps. Spanish Peaks might be interesting.
Don
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 11, 2007 at 3:07 PM
Take care with Rampart Range Road. I tried getting from the Springs to Woodland Park about three weeks ago, and was stopped by deep lingering snowdrifts. Those same drifts were little more than a memory when I went through last weekend - didn't go all the way to WP, so I don't know if it was clear all the way. If we really get hit hard with this impending storm, especially if there's a strong wind component, there are spots that always drift over, and sections of road that stay in shade a lot of the time and seem to hold on to snow. However, the storm is slated to hit Thursday night into Friday, so Saturday morning you probably won't be driving right into the teeth of it.
GofG is never more beautiful as in the aftermath of a snowstorm. Palmer Divide and Wet Mountains, like Don said, aren't spilling over with locations to shoot, although the Wet Mtns. have certainly given me great ops where Hwy-96 winds through Hardscrabble Canyon.
Posted by Les Barstow on April 12, 2007 at 10:26 AM
Rumor has it that Roxborough State Park will be opening early on Saturday for photographers (6am). This is a rare opportunity, and is timed perfectly with the snowstorm.
It's not quite SE, but it's a good opportunity.
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 12, 2007 at 2:55 PM
One place I completely forgot to mention, which would be excellent for Saturday morning, is N. Cheyenne Canyon. If you take Hwy-24 west to 26th St., hang a left at that light and go a few miles to the 4-way stop sign with Lower Gold Camp, continue straight ahead at the stop sign, and the road becomes Bear Creek Rd. Follow this all the way to where it dead-ends at the outlet of the one-way High Drive (you'll see do-not-enter signs) and hang another left. Just follow this road as it heads south, then turns to gravel and turns west into the canyon. You'll be able to look across the canyon to Mt. Cutler and up the canyon to the entire Rampart Range, which should be pretty awesome Saturday morning.
Discussion
5 repliesDon
GofG is never more beautiful as in the aftermath of a snowstorm. Palmer Divide and Wet Mountains, like Don said, aren't spilling over with locations to shoot, although the Wet Mtns. have certainly given me great ops where Hwy-96 winds through Hardscrabble Canyon.
It's not quite SE, but it's a good opportunity.