I had a split vacation 2 weeks ago. After 4 nights in the San Juan Grenadiers Range and the Ice Lakes Bain, I didn't want to endure more Monsoon so I headed up to the Elks.
Colorado's most famous mountaineer, Gerry Roach calls the Grenadiers the "heartland" of Colorado...I must agree. His words.."The heartlands summits scrape the sky, grace the eye and stir the soul." If you read Gerry's guidebooks, it's rare to read such descriptive words.
I went out there with friends that wanted to climb Wham Ridge On Vestal Peak. The idea was for me to climb Arrow, and from the standard route on Arrow, to photo shoot them climbing the Wham. That perspective would be awesome. However, the approach was more than I anticipated. After the train dropped us off at 2:00pm, we only made it to the Beaver Ponds on day one. Maybe I was tired because I hiked to Ice Lakes that morning for sunrise.
That set us back a day, so I dropped the Wham Ridge photo shoot idea and focused on the Peak 3 idea.
I woke up at 3:30 am with my friends. They headed off for Vestal Peak. I turned on my headlamp, and GPS and followed waypoints in the dark up a heinous scree slope to 12,500-ft. That was an exercise in mental toughness. From there it was a tundra/ talus ride to the 13,400-ft summit of Peak 3. I was indeed happy with my sunrise.
Fast forward two days.
The Elks are a home away from home for me, heck, my brother lives in Glenwood Springs so a place to stay is never an issue.
I go there when all else fails and I'm never disappointed. In fact, I go to the Maroon Valley to be more precise. The high altitude composition in there is just as beautiful as the Maroon Lake composition, except it seems almost unlimited. This time I focused on UN13,049. A class 3+ climb from Buckskin Pass. The view of the Maroon Bells from that perspective is very impressive. Next time I'll climb the Sleeping Sexton for a closer perspective. There’s a long story behind getting these shots but I’ll spare you the wordy details. I hope you enjoy..
Beautiful photos Kane. Last Light and Elk Mountain Sunset are truly incredible. Frankly I always enjoy reading the stories behind these shots..you should write about it on your site.
Posted by Paul Martin on August 3, 2010 at 1:24 AM
Nice set, Kane. I love your shots of Arrow and Vestal and the Trinities. That sunset pano is pretty amazing as well. Worth getting soaked, I'm sure.
Posted by Erik Aagaard on August 3, 2010 at 9:32 AM
What Toveh said - great images here, and the stories behind them really bring them to life!
The Grenadier shots are awesome, Kane, best I've seen of those peaks I think. And you always get great stuff in the Elks. I think San Juan wave would be my pick of the entire bunch, but it's stiff competition. Elk Mountain Sunset is spectacular too.
Discussion
8 repliesVestal Basin & Maroon Lake/Minnehaha Basin-
I had a split vacation 2 weeks ago. After 4 nights in the San Juan Grenadiers Range and the Ice Lakes Bain, I didn't want to endure more Monsoon so I headed up to the Elks.
Colorado's most famous mountaineer, Gerry Roach calls the Grenadiers the "heartland" of Colorado...I must agree. His words.."The heartlands summits scrape the sky, grace the eye and stir the soul." If you read Gerry's guidebooks, it's rare to read such descriptive words.
I went out there with friends that wanted to climb Wham Ridge On Vestal Peak. The idea was for me to climb Arrow, and from the standard route on Arrow, to photo shoot them climbing the Wham. That perspective would be awesome. However, the approach was more than I anticipated. After the train dropped us off at 2:00pm, we only made it to the Beaver Ponds on day one. Maybe I was tired because I hiked to Ice Lakes that morning for sunrise.
That set us back a day, so I dropped the Wham Ridge photo shoot idea and focused on the Peak 3 idea.
I woke up at 3:30 am with my friends. They headed off for Vestal Peak. I turned on my headlamp, and GPS and followed waypoints in the dark up a heinous scree slope to 12,500-ft. That was an exercise in mental toughness. From there it was a tundra/ talus ride to the 13,400-ft summit of Peak 3. I was indeed happy with my sunrise.
Fast forward two days.
The Elks are a home away from home for me, heck, my brother lives in Glenwood Springs so a place to stay is never an issue.
I go there when all else fails and I'm never disappointed. In fact, I go to the Maroon Valley to be more precise. The high altitude composition in there is just as beautiful as the Maroon Lake composition, except it seems almost unlimited. This time I focused on UN13,049. A class 3+ climb from Buckskin Pass. The view of the Maroon Bells from that perspective is very impressive. Next time I'll climb the Sleeping Sexton for a closer perspective. There’s a long story behind getting these shots but I’ll spare you the wordy details. I hope you enjoy..
http://www.kaephotography.com/gallery/san-juan-elks-2010/