The Snow Just Keeps Falling

The snow just keeps falling and falling this April in Rocky Mountain National Park. Of course this is great for our park that not only needs all the moisture it can get, but to spruce up the landscape for photographers looking to capture some remaining winter scenes in the park. Saturday morning was spectacular as our latest snowstorm moved out of the Colorado Front Range right at sunrise. Here is the view looking east from Many Parks Curve as the clouds lifted and snow moved out past Deer Mountain and Lumpy Ridge. Technical Details: Nikon Z7, Nikkor 70-200mm F 2.8 S lens

Just a quick update here on what is turning out to be a very wintry and snowy month of April in Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s seems like we have been getting snow just about every other day this month with more inbound today and tonight.

It continues to be a great time to head up to Rocky to capture some winter imagery and mother nature has been cooperating with both fresh snow and lots of good atmospherics, clouds and fog as these storms move in and out of RMNP.

Saturday morning in the park was another good opportunity as our latest spring snowstorm moved out of the park right as the sun was rising. Estes Park and elevations below 9000 ft were pretty much cloaked in clouds and fog. I did as I almost always do in these cases and tried to get up above the cloud layer before sunrise.

Being in a little less ambitious mode on Saturday morning I headed up to Many Parks Curve hoping I could get high enough to be above the cloud layer. It’s always a gamble and on mornings like this you would love to be able to be in three of four locations all at once.

When I first arrived at Many Parks Curve along Trail Ridge it was still socked in with fog. Having spent years chasing conditions like this I know that these cloud layers and inversions act almost like waves in the ocean. While they often seem still, they are usually moving in and out, up and down slowly. Find a location near the cloud layer and wait and there’s a good chance the clouds will at least open up and clear out long enough for you to capture some dramatic imagery.

Here is a classic view of Rocky Mountain National Park’s tallest mountain as the clouds parted ways and revealed a snow covered Longs Peak mixed in clouds and sun. It’s hard not to walk away with a big smile on your face after spending a morning photographing RMNP in beautiful conditions like those on Saturday morning. Technical Details: Nikon Z7, Nikkor 70-200mm F 2.8 S lens
While waiting for sunrise, I quickly spied the massive hulk of Longs Peak through the clouds. I could also now see the stars above me so I had a good feeling I was right on the edge of the cloud layer.

As sunrise approached, first the Mummy Range revealed itself, than 14,259 ft Longs Peak and finally areas to the east of Rocky Mountain National Park started opening up with Deer Mountain and parts of Lumpy Ridge dipping in and out of the fog as the warm sunlight exposed the snow covered landscape of RMNP.

Mornings like Saturday are some of my favorite. I never know exactly what I’m going to photograph, but harbor excitement the entire time knowing that if things just break right I’m going to have some awesome conditions. Thats exactly what happened this Saturday in Rocky and maybe with a little luck there will be a few more before April turns into May.