From gray to glorious! The Pacific Northwest has been delivering some serious winter weather lately, but today, we were gifted with a bluebird day for the books. It's a reminder that even in the depths of winter, beauty and light can always be found. Feeling so grateful for this stunning landscape and the chance to experience it in all its forms.
Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
Winter Layers
Mount Tahoma in Washington State is one of the tallest peaks in the lower 48 states of the US. With such a high prominence, this perennially snow-capped volcano dwarfs everything around it. Only when climbing upon it does one get to appreciate the layers of mountain ranges that stretch in every direction. Especially in the winter, when all these ranges get a white sheen of snow.
This was from one such winter trip to the National Park. A snowshoe up a popular slope of Mount Rainier yielded this stellar view of the multiple layers of ranges dominated by the snow-covered summit of Mount St Helens in the distant background.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Thanks for following my posts so far.
Mount Rainier National Park
WA USA
Winter Blues
Even though this image looks like an late season adventure, this was actually taken early in the season last year. In Nov and Dec 2023, early winter storms dumped plenty of snow in the Cascades, but there was never a sustained subzero temperature to freeze the water. I was fortunate to visit during one of the gaps in the winter storms and capture the icy blue hues of a Cascade winter.
Find this image and more in my 2025 calendar available at this link.
Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
It's still winter
The PNW might finally be warming up for spring. Or not.
It has been an unusual winter so far: a warm dry January, followed by a normal February, and then a cold and wet 2 weeks in March. And then an abnormal heat wave. While the El Nino has had an impact on the winter weather of the PNW, the upcoming weekend is going to break all spring temperature records. Its not only the Seattlites who probably are going to be befuddled and get sunburnt by heading outdoors, even the spring blossoms are likely to get disoriented.
Regardless, hiking outdoors may not all be sunshine and rainbows. There is still snow on the higher elevations. And the higher temperatures may lead to higher avalanche risk as well. Watch out.
Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
Winterfell
A fresh bout of cold weather hit the Pacific Northwest after an unseasonably long warm winter. Temperatures dropped to freezing, and fresh snowfall added inches to the mountains. While I won't be able to enjoy the winter this year, I can always fall back on my archives of photos from past winters.
Here are a selected few from different Pacific Northwest locations. The reflections of trees in the first is my personal favorite of the three due to the abstract reflections on the wintry pond.
WA USA
A New Winter
The winter has been slow to come by in the Pacific Northwest in 2023. A warmer than usual winter meant that snow fell instead as rain, and the precipitation has been lower than expected for this time of the year (60% of normal). The last week saw the first major winter storm to hit the mountains, coating the Cascades with the light layer of fluffy snow.
I managed to make one last hike out here before the holidays hoping to catch alpenglow on a snow-covered Mt Shuksan. This was one of the compositions I made while freezing out on a mountain-top.
Happy New Year. And here is to hoping 2024 is just as colorful.
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
Blues and Reds
Seasons Greetings
A few days earlier, I posted about the difficulty of capturing sunrises since it is so hard to predict when and how the colors would hit, and whether there would be a 'burn' of significant color. This particular sunrise, featured above, had everything going for it. Until the last moment. The colors just tinged the horizon a few dozen miles away, and spread nowhere else. In this frame, I tried to make the most of the 'burn'.
Tahoma State Forest
WA USA
Into the Fog
Hiking above the inversion layer, a thick layer of fog below you, is certainly alluring. It feels like you are above a sea of clouds. But hiking into the inversion layer is a whole new experience. The harsh light and the associated shadows get soft while trees and rocks now have a gentle blur. Occasionally, the fog highlights shafts of sunlight passing through the trees.
In this winter scene, all these effects came into play on a sunny day in a snow-covered landscape. I captured a few shots of this fleeting scene just as the fog started to thicken again.
Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
Winter sunrise
A while back, I sat down and thought about the effort that goes into sunrise photography, and I realized that it wasn't easy. It requires sacrificing sleep (and likely your previous night), hiking in the dark in unknown terrain, relying on multiple forecasts for a good sunrise and hoping they hold, and praying that you are not too late for the colors if they show up. In contrast, sunset photography is not as complex as there are fewer variables to consider since many of the unknowns become known. And if the forecast doesn't hold, you can always turn around. A colorful sunset is usually the 'icing on the cake' for a dayhike, whereas a colorful sunrise is the act you are putting all your hopes on and sacrificing a lot for.
This was one such sunrise for which I woke up at 2 in the morning and endured a 3hr drive and an hour of hiking to get to. Thankfully the forecast held, and the effort paid off.
You can purchase my 2024 calendar, which features the above image for December, at this link. And as before, all proceeds get donated to the Sierra Club Foundation
Mount Baker Wilderness
WA USA
Winter Wonderland
With 2024 just a month away, I decided to pencil some time to create a calendar that captured memorable places that I had the opportunity to explore over the last 12 months. They predominantly feature scenes from the Pacific Northwest which I am blessed to call as home. But it also includes many places off the beaten track for most, including the remote National Park of the American Samoa, the Caucasus mountains of Georgia and the swamps of Congaree.
And as I do every year, I want to dedicate this calendar to the incredible people at the Sierra Club Foundation which helps protect our public lands and waters. All proceeds will be donated to this organization so that their journey can continue. You can buy this calendar at this link.
This image that you see is the January photo of the calendar.
Tahoma State Forest
WA USA