Image of the Month: Dawn in the Wrangell Mountains

April 7th, 2012 by Carl D
The Wrangell Mountains dawn, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Welcome to Expeditions Alaska, the new name for my business, previously Alaskan Alpine Treks. I’ve thought for a long time now about changing the name, so here it is. I’ve still got a few things to tweak over the coming weeks, so if you run across any glitches, please let me know.

This image was taken early one morning on the recent snowshoe/photography trip we took to Wrangell  – St. Elias National Park. The folks who were drawn for the trip, Paul, Doug, Ryan and Jim were great fun, and it was really nice to have such a good troop of folks along.

We were treated to some awesome weather the whole time, which made the trip an easy time, for sure. Sunny skies and very little wind can make March a good time in Alaska.

We snowshoed, no skiing, as the group preferred to hike and photograph rather than ski around. I’ll try to post some more images from the trip soon enough. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one from one  great morning out near Nabesna.

Oh yes, one more thing to add; I’ll throw up this photo in honor of Anchorage breaking its own record for most snow in a winter. Happened today – Wax ’em up!

Cheers

Carl

Expeditions Alaska

Tags: ,

2 Responses to “Image of the Month: Dawn in the Wrangell Mountains”

  1. QT Luong

    Carl, I’ve noticed that despite the cold, there is no snow sticking to the trees (like on your photo), except for a section of the Dalton Hwy. Is it because the snow is so dry that it just doesn’t stick to branches ?

    April 9, 2012 at 4:05 pm
    • Carl D

      Hey QT

      Thanks for the note.Not it’s not the dry snow; it’ll stick pretty well to the trees right after a fresh snow. But all it takes is the slightest breeze and the snow gets blown off the trees pretty quickly. Finding areas that don’t get much wind is key to that kind of image you’re thinking about.

      There had been no snow here where we shot this image for several weeks, and the area gets a pretty regular breeze. It was pretty windy and cold the morning we were out when I shot this.

      Usually wind will be associated with a high pressure system in interior AK .. which means when it finally clears up after a storm, with some nice clear skies and good light, it’ll often be windy as well. Makes for some tough shooting. Some areas around fairbanks often hold their snow for longer, as they often don’t get to much wind.

      Cheers

      Carl

      April 9, 2012 at 4:26 pm
Expeditions Alaska
Visit the wild