I saw this photo (below) several weeks ago and it took until today for me to find it again. I think it’s fabulous, but that’s probably because it’s something I’ll never see for myself in a place I’m sure I’ll never get to again.
This is the sheer East Face of Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. The avalanche is described as coming off Upper Kieners, one of the climbing routes on Longs. (How many routes are there? Here’s a “map.” You’ll have to zoom in to see all 104 of them.)
There are some great photos on the NPS page as well as a link to a video about climbing Longs via the Keyhole Route (the one I did in 1979). The video is narrated, so turn on your sound.
By now you must be sick to death of my writing about Longs, and I do apologize. I’m mostly just trying to preserve things for myself and this blog is the best, most organized place I have for doing that.
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Header image is an old one from my files. There’s almost no snow up there right now.
Actually, Longs has been under so much lately that anything you post is great! I had not seen the shot of the avalanche. Coming down into town my best views of Longs/Meeker, Otis, Halletts, Flattop, and Chapin, Chiquita & Ypsilon… except when the clouds take over.
What a shame you have to endure a view like that every day on your way to work. Tough commute! The avalanche photo is on the NPS website. Don’t know how I stumbled onto it the first time, which made it tough to go back and find it again. But I really wanted to save it. It had never occurred to me that there might be avalanches up there. Duh. Some park service employee was in just the right place at just the right time with a good camera.
cool capture of the avalanche !
Sure is. It’s not like you can position yourself in advance and then yell at the avalanche guy to “Roll it!”
Love it!
I was kind of ecstatic when I saw it. Unlike anything I’ve seen before.
I never cease to wonder what it must be like to live where there are mountains, and sometimes snow …
One really good thing about this avalanche shot, Colorado, is that it was not caused by stupid, infuriating, mindless IDIOTS who skiied it into being.
Well, it is remotely possible that someone was climbing up there. People do climb here in winter. But I’m not sure what routes are doable in winter. And most of the state’s hundreds of avalanches every year are started on purpose, as a safety measure.
“Sometimes snow” is about all the snow we’ve had this winter. So far. Very unusual.
How could anyone get tired of seeing Long’s Peak? It seems like the mountains are always posing – with never a repeat. It’s a constant show with geology, weather, texture, light and shadow. Always in “action” mode.
Glad to hear it wan’t ski/human initiated.
This is my mountain, my touchstone, my mecca. To borrow from Star Trek, it’s “ever changing, never changed.” Not many things in life you can say that about.
You and MR got me thinking, so I looked it up. Yes, indeed, Kieners has been climbed in winter. So it is possible that somebody up there kicked off this avalanche. That might even explain how and why a park service employee had a camera trained on the spot at the time. But I kinda like the idea that I’m standing there all alone, and Mother Nature put on this show just for me.