Posted by Kane Engelbert on November 29, 2009 at 7:43 PM
Wanted to share a few from Chasm Lake on Thanksgiving morning. Chasm Lake resides almost 2000-ft below Longs Peak's summit in a tiny chasm like area. The lake area is surrounded by 1500-1800-ft walls of granite from Mt Lady Washington, Longs Peak and Mount Meeker. If you've been there, then you know its quite possibly the most impressive place in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Currently the hike into the Chasm area is close to a technical rating do to the 45 degree snowslope that must be traversed to attain the Patrol building area. Northwesterly winds continuously blow snow from the upper areas of Mt Lady Washington and all of it deposits on the south face of the mountain, where the Chasm Lake Trail resides. The slope itself is maybe 50 yards wide however the steepest part is about a 30-ft section that requires an axe and crampons. Currently the snow is what I call "bullet proof" or highly windpacked so a kickstepping traverse will be the name of the game. Its a slight ascending traverse heading into the Chasm area and a much more difficult descending traverse on the way out. I would expect this slope to slide later in the season, after more snow deposits.
Enough of the technical stuff. Chasm Lake in winter is a brutally cold, harsh and unforgiving place to be. Considering the low southerly sun at this time of year, I'm not sure the suns light actually hits the lake at anytime of the day. When you combine Longs and Mt Meeker's 13,800-ft summit ridges, together they pretty much keep the sun out of there.
I was obviously alone for two hours, and felt privledged to be there, it's such a sheer place.
Love the first and third images you linked to. I will never forget my hike to Chasm Lake. By the end of the hike, we experienced rain, snow, and sleet followed by your typical early summer warmth. It is an insanely gorgeous area. Great shots!
Posted by Don Grall on November 29, 2009 at 9:16 PM
Challenging trail conditions makes those sweet shots even sweeter!
Posted by Jody Grigg on November 29, 2009 at 9:44 PM
Looks like it was well worth, nice job.
Posted by John Mumaw on November 29, 2009 at 9:46 PM
I like the 4th one you have because the contrast and cooler colors in the shaded areas look much better than the other three.
Posted by Todd Caudle on November 29, 2009 at 10:19 PM
#578288 (first linked image) is by far my favorite, but they're all excellent!
Posted by Doug Andrews on November 29, 2009 at 11:45 PM
They are all nice, but I agree with Todd on #578288. It's extra good.
Posted by Scott Fricke on November 30, 2009 at 1:26 AM
I liked your first linked image for the nice color without the hard shadows.
Posted by Kelly Black on November 30, 2009 at 3:45 AM
I really like # 1 and # 3; # 1 because of the warm colors without the hard shadows as previously mentioned, and # 3 due to the composition....makes me want to be there. Looks cold, but very peaceful. Nice captures of this gorgeous place.
Posted by bill meikle on November 30, 2009 at 10:50 AM
Great images and sounds like a tough climb.
Posted by Stan Rose on November 30, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Yeah the first linked image is the best--at least you got alpenglow! I got shut out on my hike up to Dream and Emerald yesterday. Chasm's one of my fav spots.
I'm glad someone was willing to make the hike so I could see what Chasm lake looks like this time of year, cause it wasn't gonna be me!
Posted by Don George on December 1, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Nice set of images. Really like #1 .
Posted by Paul Wegemann on December 2, 2009 at 9:33 AM
I love the colors in 578288, but compositionally I like the 3rd linked image better. You're just gonna have to go back and redo these
I'm really glad you posted this, Kane. I've been thinking about a hike to Chasm Lake and was wondering what the conditions were like.
Discussion
14 repliesCurrently the hike into the Chasm area is close to a technical rating do to the 45 degree snowslope that must be traversed to attain the Patrol building area. Northwesterly winds continuously blow snow from the upper areas of Mt Lady Washington and all of it deposits on the south face of the mountain, where the Chasm Lake Trail resides. The slope itself is maybe 50 yards wide however the steepest part is about a 30-ft section that requires an axe and crampons. Currently the snow is what I call "bullet proof" or highly windpacked so a kickstepping traverse will be the name of the game. Its a slight ascending traverse heading into the Chasm area and a much more difficult descending traverse on the way out. I would expect this slope to slide later in the season, after more snow deposits.
Enough of the technical stuff. Chasm Lake in winter is a brutally cold, harsh and unforgiving place to be. Considering the low southerly sun at this time of year, I'm not sure the suns light actually hits the lake at anytime of the day. When you combine Longs and Mt Meeker's 13,800-ft summit ridges, together they pretty much keep the sun out of there.
I was obviously alone for two hours, and felt privledged to be there, it's such a sheer place.
large format photos here.
http://c0278592.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/original/578288.jpg
http://c0278592.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/original/577892.jpg
http://c0278592.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/original/578271.jpg
http://c0278592.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/original/578274.jpg
I'm really glad you posted this, Kane. I've been thinking about a hike to Chasm Lake and was wondering what the conditions were like.