200-degree panorama from the summit of Uncompahgre Peak at sunrise
To see this panorama in greater detail, view the video below.
One of the greatest appeals of winter is the opportunity to experience wilderness when it feels truly wild.Trails that are bustling in July are empty in January.Even in Rocky Mountain National Park, which
is heavily used year-round, only 10 percent of overnight backcountry travelers visit in the coldest seven months of the year.Venture further afield in winter, into the San Juans, for example, and you can feel like you have the entire range
to yourself.
Was it feasible, I wondered, to shoot sunrise from the summit of any San Juan Fourteener in winter?Avalanche danger and impossibly long approaches quickly eliminated all the San Juan Fourteeners but one:Uncompahgre.As the next weather window approached, I saw that it was once again going to coincide
with full moon.When I checked the moon's position in The Photographer's Ephemeris, a mapping program that I highly recommend, I saw to my delight that the moon would be setting directly over Wetterhorn Peak,
a spectacular Fourteener, at the exact moment of sunrise.
In winter, the road to the Uncompahgre trailhead is only plowed to 9,300 feet.That meant I would
have break trail up 5,000 vertical feet by myself.After spending the night in nearby Lake City, I began
hauling my 60-pound mountaineering sled up the snow-covered 4wd road.The day was gorgeous ‒ so gorgeous
I was stopped in my tracks around noon when the fresh snow from the previous day turned to wallpaper paste glued to the bottom
of my sled.I scrapped off the three-inch-thick layer of ice and snow, but only made it 50 yards before
the sled iced up again.I decided to abandon the sled temporarily and break a trail to timberline, still
an hour and a half away.When I returned to my sled at 4 pm, the sun had dropped below the canyon wall
and the snowpack had re-frozen.I spent another hour and a half retracing my steps to timberline, where
I camped.It had taken me nine hours to travel four and a half miles and gain 2,500 feet.I
turned out the headlamp at 7:30 pm and dozed fitfully, questions swirling in my head.Had I set the alarm
early enough to reach the summit before sunrise?Would the steep portion of the south ridge be avalanche-prone?Could I find the right gully through the upper rock band in the dark, and, if so, would the snow in the gully be dangerously
unstable?
Just four hours and fifteen minutes later, the alarm
inside my hat jarred me awake.At 1:15 am I was moving again with 2 1/2 liters of hot Cytomax sports drink
in my water bottles.Every 20 minutes I drank half a cup of Cytomax and stuffed two Clif Bloks ‒
an endurance food with the consistency of a Gummy Bear ‒ into my cheeks like some two-legged alpine chipmunk.The light of the full moon made my headlamp unnecessary; I turned it off and saw that every snow crystal was sparkling
in the moonlight like a highway of diamonds.The night was crisp, with a temperature of about 10 degrees
and a steady breeze. I broke trail slowly across the vast basin below Uncompahgre, then climbed to the base of the steep portion
of the south ridge.Fortunately, I discovered I could hug the ridge crest on a snow-covered scree slope
and avoid any avalanche danger.I guessed correctly which gully to climb through the steep rock band above
and found it filled with shallow powder snow over talus ‒ tedious terrain, to be sure, but not dangerous.With the final obstacle behind me, I panted up the last gentle slope and gained the summit five hours after leaving
camp.After shedding my pack and catching my breath, I looked southwest.Wave after
wave of snowy peaks extended all the way to Wilson Peak above Telluride.I hadn't seen such a vast expanse
of wintery mountains since I summited Mt. McKinley 23 years earlier. After 17 years of shooting Colorado landscapes,
it's hard to resist feeling jaded about scenery, but this sight still blew me away.
With not a minute to spare, I pulled on extra clothing,
found my composition and began shooting a wide panorama as the color of the sunrise light reached its greatest intensity.
All too soon, the moon vanished into the cloud band near the horizon and the color of the light faded to
white.I descended slowly to camp, reminding myself in the gully filled with slippery, snow-covered talus
that every step mattered. Sprained ankles and blown-out knees were simply unacceptable.Once
back in camp, I ate, slept four hours, then wandered around looking for something to shoot at sunrise the next day.Convinced that the now-overcast, lifeless gray skies would never yield a photo that evening, I returned to camp and
had just pulled off my boots when the sky exploded into color.I jammed my feet back into my boots without
even lacing them and dashed out of the tent, my boots filling with snow.With no time to set up the tripod,
I grabbed a few shots handheld as the light peaked, then faded in a matter of seconds.If I had only been
disciplined enough to stay outside for another 20 minutes, I could have shot the composition I found for the next morning
that evening as well, with beautiful light on the clouds.
The next morning I shot a pretty but unremarkable sunrise and broke camp.It took just 2 1/2 hours
to stroll back down the trail it had taken nine arduous hours to break two days before.
This is the most recent Fourteener I've done
and the end of the story, for now. Please check back soon. I hope to keep adding Sunrise from the Summit images
regularly!
Uncompahgre Peak Panorama is available as a 9.5x30, 12.5x40, 19x60 and
22.75x72 inch print. The 9.5x30 and 12.5x40 prints are available loose, matted-only and framed. The 19x60 and
22.75x72 inch prints are available loose and framed. (They are too big to be matted.)
To order any of the loose sizes, or to order a 9.5x30 inch matted-only
or 9.5x30 framed piece, please visit my product catalog by clicking the link beneath the appropriate thumbnail.
These prints are available to order online.
Important note on shipping: All matted-only and framed prints larger than
9.5x30 are too big to be shipped via FedEx ground and too big to fit in any standard-size art box. While these prints
can be shipped, they require a custom-made crate and the cost is exorbitant ($300+). I strongly suggest that all customers
who live outside the Denver metro area and who wish to purchase a print larger than 9.5x30 buy the loose version and take
it to the custom frame shop of their choosing. I will glady provide detailed instructions to the framer on the moulding
I use and my preferred method of mounting and framing the piece.
For customers who live in the Denver metro area,
I will personally deliver any matted-only or framed print larger than 9.5x30 for a delivery charge of $1.50 per
mile based on round-trip mileage. Alternatively, Denver-area customers can arrange to pick up their print at my
home office in south Boulder. For more information, please call 303 499-3009 or email me.
19x60 framed print of Uncompahgre Peak Panorama.
To order, call 303 499-3009 or email me.
22.75x72 framed print of Uncompahgre Peak Panorama.
To order, call 303 499-3009 or email me.
Glenn Randall Photography At
home on the web at GlennRandall.com and AGPix.com Specializing in Colorado landscape photography since 1993 Now offering a select group of Utah landscape photographs
from Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park All images are offered both as prints for the general public and
as stock images for professional photo buyers.
