Tag Archives: wrangell-mountains

Mount Sanford Photos

4 Replies

Mount Sanford reflection

Mount Sanford and reflection, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Mount Sanford and reflection, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Here’s a shot from my trip this last week to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. I’m so wanting this shot to come together – as many times as I’ve been here, and waited for the right light, it hasn’t happened yet. This particular morning the air was calm, so the reflection was nice, and the mist added a nice touch, but the alpenglow, earlier in the morning, didn’t happen.

What’s the longest hour of a landscape photographer’s day? That hour between when the light first touches the clouds/mountain tops and when the sun actually rises high enough to light up the valley floor. Standing around, wet and cold, for an hour waiting to see if “Stage II” of the morning light happened, is a tough choice. But, then the light comes up, and it’s all forgotten. What fickle creatures we can be.

I’m pressed for time folks, but I’ll try to schedule another post or 2 for this next week. I just got in this evening and am heading out again sunday morning for 10 days. See ya soon.

Continue reading →

Mount Sanford Photo

Leave a reply
Mount Sanford, black and white photo, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Black and white photo of Mount Sanford, one of the highest peaks in the Wrangell Mountains, at dawn, from a small frozen kettle pond. Winter snow creates patterns on the frozen lake. Mt. Sanford, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the thumbnail above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s an image of Mount Sanford, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, I took a while ago, that I converted to black and white in photoshop. I shot this after the alpenglow had faded, and the sun rose high enough in the sky to light up not just Mount Sanford’s massive peak, but the entire floor of the Copper River Basin.

It’s very easy to be tempted to pack up and head off after the alpenglow on a mountain wanes; I often find the light immediately following the alpenglow to be  unappealing to me. The sky has a weird yellowish tint to it, and the contrast between the dark, shaded foreground and the brightly lit peak is too great to really photograph well; for me, anyway. 

Continue reading →

Mt. Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

4 Replies
Dawn rises over Mount Jarvis, alpenglow lighting the mountain and it's reflection. Fall, Mt. Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Dawn rises over Mount Jarvis, alpenglow lighting the mountain and it’s reflection. Fall, Mt. Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Mt Jarvis, in all it’s 13 421′ glory.

A recent trek up around the Mt Jarvis area yielded some amazing scenery and fantastic views. I hadn’t been to the area before, and will definitely be heading back next year. To camp within a few hundred yards of this mountain face is a treat indeed. We were pretty lucky, for sure, considering we were camped at about 7200′ in the Wrangell Mountains in September!

We had a real mix of weather, from snow storms and rain to gorgeous sunny days; which I’ll take gladly. The trek was a lot of fun, with a great couple from Chicago, Brad and Tracey. I appreciated their flexibility and easy going nature, which allowed me to sneak out a morning or 2 and grab some photos. Tracey joined me once or twice, and both Brad and Tracey got up early on our final morning to make a a mad dash out the Nabesna Rd in the hopes of snaring some nice alpenglow on Mt Sanford. Much appreciated, Tracey and Brad. What a gorgeous morning that turned out to be.

Continue reading →

Wrangell mountains and winter’s release

1 Reply
Stairway Icefall and Donoho Peak, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, winter, Alaska.
Winter snow covers Kennicott Glacier and alpenglow catches the peaks of the Wrangell Mountains and Stairway Icefall, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

The Wrangell Mountains in winter. Alpenglow catches the eastern edge of the range. This view is looking up the Kennicott Glacier. At right is the edge of Bonanza Ridge, Jumbo, Then Stairway Icefall, Donohue Peak just left of center, and the Ahtna Peaks behind that to the left.

Winter’s finally wrapping itself up here in the north; it lingers much as the sun’s final rays cling to these high peaks at days end. Spring makes it’s way north slowly, and and is completely diurnal for now. The days, growing longer weekly, yield. But the night belongs to the winter, the cold, dark silence of the quiet time.

This is the first real “view” I ever had in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, all those years ago when I first ventured north on a backpacking adventure. I’d taken a bus from Fairbanks south, and the weather wasn’t so great; not raining, but overcast. I didn’t really have any idea of the scale of the landscape I was amongst at the time. The bus dropped me off on the highway, at the Edgerton Cutoff, and I hitch-hiked from there in to McCarthy (about 90 miles). That was an adventure in itself, maybe I’ll recount it another time.

Continue reading →

Moose Rack, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

3 Replies
A hiker, Natalie, sits with a moose rack and skull, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I ran across what is easily the biggest moose rack I’ve ever come across in the woods a few days ago. I was on the last leg of a hike in Alaska’s gorgeous Wrangell Mountains in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, from the Sanford River drainage over the Sanford Plateau, and down to the Dadina River.

Natalie (pictured) and I were sauntering through the forest, along the Dadina River when I spotted this rack, not far from the game trail we were walking along. This was one BIG bull moose – I don’t know what happened to the grand old fella, but he’s bones now. He must’ve been a pretty awesome creature back in the day. There are a number of wolves in the area, and grizzly bears as well, and I’m sure he fed them well, along with the myriad other carnivores in the region – wolverine, fox, marten, gulls, ravens, eagles, etc.

What a treat it must’ve been for them when he passed, and what a treat it would’ve been to see him walking through the forest beforehand. RIP, great bull.

Continue reading →

Mount Drum, Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park, Alaska

Leave a reply
alpen glow, at dawn, on Mount Drum, Wrangell - Saint Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another image of Mount Drum from earlier in the summer – one fine, crusty and cold morning up on the windswept Sanford Plateau. We traversed the plateau from the north-west side, where we’d landed by bush plane along the Sanford River. Rather than cross the Sanford River, a foolish maneuver, we hiked over the glacial moraine, just above where the river comes out of the bottom of the glacier. The river was fairly rippin’ along, with all the rain this summer, so I was glad we didn’t have to wade it – I’m pretty sure the folks on the trip were glad about that too.

Most of that trip we had cloudy skies and light drizzle, although the rain really wasn’t that bad.

Continue reading →

Alpenglow, Wrangell mountains in winter

5 Replies
Alpenglow on the Wrangell mountains, including Donoho Peak, Bonanza Ridge and Jumbo Ridge, the Kennecott and Root Glacier, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

The mountains are the Wrangell Mountains, including Bonanza and Jumbo Ridges, where 2 of the more famous of the Kennecott Mines were dug.

Hey Folks

Well, it’s been a nervous last few days, but here I am in Anchorage. I managed, through sheer luck, to get all the way back to town with no real drama. A little tweaking of cables and a lot of grace, and my van started, and drove me and my buddy Charlie and his 2 dogs, Keba and Musa, all the way from McCarthy, deep in the park, back to Anchorage.

I’m still in a little bit of shock. My van seems to have some kind of mystery virus, that nobody is able to diagnose. There’s a possibility, one mechanic told me, that it’s as simple as 2 cables poorly soldered together. Which 2 remains anyone’s guess.

I’ll be here (hopefully only) a few days, and then head back to the cabin.

Continue reading →

Where are the Wrangell Mountains and How to Visit Them

7 Replies

If you are looking for where in the US are the Wrangell Mountains, you will find them in the rugged southeastern interior of Alaska.

This range defines the landscape of Wrangell St. Elias National Park, the largest national park in the United States. Many visitors start their journey with a Wrangell Mountains map to navigate the two primary access points: the McCarthy Road to the south and the Nabesna Road to the north.

Mt Drum photo, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska

Mt Drum, Mt Sanford in the Wrangell Mountains of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Mt Drum, Mt Sanford in winter the Wrangell Mountains of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Scenic Vistas and Winter Light

I truly believe there is no grander vista in all of North America than the Wrangell Mountain Range viewed from Willow Lake. It is one of the few places where you can see a massive line of peaks all exceeding 12,000 feet, including the towering Mt. Blackburn at 16,500 feet.

This photo above was taken a during a brutal cold snap. The alpenglow was incredible, but the temperature was minus 40 and dropped to nearly minus 50 that night. Working a tripod in those conditions is a nightmare. The metal tabs and ballhead lock up, forcing you to remove your gloves to make adjustments. It reminds me of the book “Black Elk Speaks,” where the cold was so intense that metal would freeze to skin and tear it away.

Continue reading →

Mt. Sanford, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska

Leave a reply
Mt. Sanford, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

Well, I’m here in Anchorage, after a long trip, and glad to be here. Anchorage is such a cool town, and I look forward to getting to know it a bit better. With all the time I’ve spent in Alaska over the years, I’ve not spent much of that time in Anchorage, and so don’t know too much about it. I do know that traffic is a hassle, as I was reminded yesterday afternoon when I arrived.

Continue reading →