Posted by Jack Brauer on September 14, 2009 at 12:29 PM
I spent the night at Lower Blue Lake on Saturday night. Had a nice sunset shoot, then a wild lightning-filled night. Here's a shot of Mt. Sneffels and the beautiful autumn-colored tundra.
Posted by Jesse Speer on September 14, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Great series of images Jack. And quite the story. The lightning shot is beautiful. And boy, can I relate to the terror of that tent shot. Brings back horrific memories of my nightmarish trip years ago at the Highland Mary lakes. The constant barrage of colors, booms and hail made me want to give up backpacking the next morning!
Great shots Jack! Glad to hear you made it through the stormy night....sure sounds like it was one hell of an experience!
Posted by Paul Wegemann on September 14, 2009 at 1:06 PM
Some beautiful images here, Jack. That lightning shot is incredible, but the two Sneffels shots are my favorites.
Posted by Koveh Tavakkol on September 14, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Nice work! That lightning shot is great! =)
Posted by Steven Peckham on September 14, 2009 at 1:37 PM
Great stuff like always. Really like the reds and greens from the tundra, deep blue of the lake and red soil in 1176 along with how the lighting really brings out the rough terrain. And I am glad that you endured the lightning and made it home to tell the tale.
Posted by bill meikle on September 14, 2009 at 2:43 PM
Love the lightning.
Posted by Stan Rose on September 14, 2009 at 5:05 PM
Awesome! I like the tent shot
Im headed that way later this month--cant wait!
Posted by Todd Caudle on September 14, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Several times the bolts were close enough to actually see through the tent!
I read that and a chill went up my spine. My God, what an experience! I am no more scared of lightning than I am when I'm camping ALONE. I guess I figure if there's one other person nearby, my odds of getting hit are cut in half, with ever decreasing odds the more people there are nearby. Not logical, but somehow it has a calming effect on me.
The photos are stunning! I'm wondering why I never thought to climb WEST of lower Blue Lake to get a view back towards Sneffels like that. Killer stuff.
Posted by Morris McClung on September 14, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Awesome stuff again, Jack. The whole collection. You'll be telling stories about that night to your grandkids.
Great images. Having recently visited Blue Lakes for the first time, I must say I didn't see any obvious way of climbing west of Lower Blue Lake - it all looked horribly steep. However, getting Sneffels plus the lake in the same shot is great!
Posted by Jack Brauer on September 15, 2009 at 4:38 PM
Thanks for the comments!
Todd & Stephen - It's pretty easy to get up above the lake on the west side. You just walk around towards the south side of the lake and then walk up the grass along the edge of the massive rockslides, after a short while you then start heading up fairly open, fairly steep tundra slopes as high as you want. It doesn't look very easy from below but as long as you start out from the south end of the lake you'll be fine. I've been up there twice before in the springtime with my snowboard, so I knew what was up there.
Discussion
14 repliesI've posted more shots from the evening here: http://www.widerange.org/gallery.php?gallery=blue-lakes-september
Great stuff like always. Really like the reds and greens from the tundra, deep blue of the lake and red soil in 1176 along with how the lighting really brings out the rough terrain. And I am glad that you endured the lightning and made it home to tell the tale.
Im headed that way later this month--cant wait!
I read that and a chill went up my spine. My God, what an experience! I am no more scared of lightning than I am when I'm camping ALONE. I guess I figure if there's one other person nearby, my odds of getting hit are cut in half, with ever decreasing odds the more people there are nearby. Not logical, but somehow it has a calming effect on me.
The photos are stunning! I'm wondering why I never thought to climb WEST of lower Blue Lake to get a view back towards Sneffels like that. Killer stuff.
Todd & Stephen - It's pretty easy to get up above the lake on the west side. You just walk around towards the south side of the lake and then walk up the grass along the edge of the massive rockslides, after a short while you then start heading up fairly open, fairly steep tundra slopes as high as you want. It doesn't look very easy from below but as long as you start out from the south end of the lake you'll be fine. I've been up there twice before in the springtime with my snowboard, so I knew what was up there.