Grand Lake is a magical place in the winter. This view from the bridge on the west end of town is one of my favorite as Mount Craig, known by locals as Mt. Baldy, adds a great deal of drama to this beautiful scene Photo © by Erik Stensland.
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There are moments when the beauty of the world is so great that our hearts begin to ache. The deepest longings within us are awakened and tantalized with expectation. It is like we begin to awake from a dream and start to remember something, something important about who we are, something we have lost. You can almost touch it and then it vanishes leaving only a deep feeling of indescribable longing. The Germans have called this feeling, "Sehnsucht". Photo © by Erik Stensland.
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The Never Summer Mountains stand in silhouette against a beautiful sunset sky. Photo © by Erik Stensland.
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Before sunrise the mountains of the Continental Divide sat clothed in fresh coats of deep snow. Below, the willows are full of their spring color while Glacier Creek's frozen form winds its way through the basin. Photo © by Erik Stensland.
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A spectacular morning on Lake Bierstadt in Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo © by Erik Stensland.
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It was a bitter cold start to the first day of 2011. The temperature was near 0 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind was blowing strongly. Despite the harshness of the weather the first sunrise was warm and gentle, diffused by the blowing snow on Twin Sisters. It was a chilly but beautiful start to the new year. Photo © by Erik Stensland.
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As fires burn near Loveland, Colorado the eastern skies fill with smoke. When the sun rises through this smoke it casts almost no light on anything around me. No warm light falls on the mountains, the tundra grass or on the beautiful rocks surrounding me. Yet the smoke does enable me to look directly at the sun and easily photograph it without the contrast being too great for the camera. It is a strange feel to be able to look directly at the sun and yet not feel the heat of its rays. Photo © by Erik Stensland.
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Yesterday morning I headed out on the Sandbeach Lake trail (RMNP) in the rain and fog. I didn't hit the trail till 6am as there didn't look like much chance of any nice light. When the trail ended at the lake, I couldn't see more than 30' ahead and so took out my map and compass and navigated towards Mount Orton. It was a steep slog over fallen trees and mossy rocks but just as I neared the tundra the clouds almost instantly parted revealing three of the most impressive peaks in RMNP: Pagoda, Longs Peak and Meeker. This is a spectacular area and one I can't wait to get back to. Photo © by Erik Stensland.
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The first snowfall in the valley creates a magical world. Photo © by Erik Stensland.
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