My wife and I just returned from Yellowstone - we spent three days at Mammoth, XC skiing, snowshoeing and photographing between Mammoth and Lamar Valley (the only road in the park open to cars). They had a warm spell, with temps in the mid-30's during the day and single digits at night. Tons of snow in the park, but nothing fresh made landscapes challenging. Lots of wildlife to view, but the only wolves were from a looong distance through the spotting scope of the "wolfers", people who watch and track the movements of the Druid pack every day. One day while skiing, we had wolves howling on both sides of us and tracks in the groomed track (huge!) The next day, there were carcasses of elk and blood along the route. People are seeing the wolves frequently, but close-up photo opps are rare and require serious dedication, luck, or both.
Here's an early morning image from the main terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs, looking towards the Absaroka mountains.
Looking the length of Lamar Valley with the Absaroka range in the distance.......
The end.
Posted by Dan Walters on February 24, 2008 at 8:37 PM
Nice shots Dave! I really like the moonrise image. Great colors. I would love to head to Yellostone in the winter. Must have been pretty cool to hear the wolves howling. Maybe we can get that here one of these days!
Posted by Todd Caudle on February 24, 2008 at 11:08 PM
These are great, Dave! Look at all that snow!!! I'm kinda partial to the last two.
Posted by Jody Grigg on February 24, 2008 at 11:22 PM
Dave all are very nice, I think #1 is my favourite one.
Posted by Neil Corman on February 25, 2008 at 12:04 AM
Looks like a good time. I am partial to the moonrise image.
I just got back from a few days in Glacier, where they had been getting dumped on with snow but no new snow for the past week or so, however was able to still find some untracked snow on the side of Lake McDonald and after snowshoeing up Going to the Sun road for a while.
Posted by Joshua Hardin on February 25, 2008 at 1:13 AM
Awesome. I really like your hot springs image. Truly an amazing place in the winter.
Posted by Jack Brauer on February 25, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Nice Dave! I really like the moonrise shot in particular. Can't wait to see more.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on February 25, 2008 at 11:31 AM
I like the layering created by the fog in the first shot and the moon makes the third one awesome. Looks cold.
Mel-
Posted by Stan Rose on February 25, 2008 at 12:47 PM
Sounds like a great trip, i really wanted to get up there this winter but its not likely at this point. I also like that moonrise shot.
Discussion
11 repliesMy wife and I just returned from Yellowstone - we spent three days at Mammoth, XC skiing, snowshoeing and photographing between Mammoth and Lamar Valley (the only road in the park open to cars). They had a warm spell, with temps in the mid-30's during the day and single digits at night. Tons of snow in the park, but nothing fresh made landscapes challenging. Lots of wildlife to view, but the only wolves were from a looong distance through the spotting scope of the "wolfers", people who watch and track the movements of the Druid pack every day. One day while skiing, we had wolves howling on both sides of us and tracks in the groomed track (huge!) The next day, there were carcasses of elk and blood along the route. People are seeing the wolves frequently, but close-up photo opps are rare and require serious dedication, luck, or both.
Here's an early morning image from the main terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs, looking towards the Absaroka mountains.
The end.
I just got back from a few days in Glacier, where they had been getting dumped on with snow but no new snow for the past week or so, however was able to still find some untracked snow on the side of Lake McDonald and after snowshoeing up Going to the Sun road for a while.
Mel-