Squaw Mountain

I'd been dying to use the new snowshoes Santa got me for Christmas. But I didn't have time for a long drive today, so I needed something close. After perusing the Snowshoeing Colorado book I purchased with the REI gift card that I also got for Christmas I decided on Squaw Mountain. Less than an hour drive, only 3.8 miles up and down and less than 900 feet of elevation gain. And unlike much of Colorado right now, I thought it would actually have snow!

I left the house by 6:30 hoping to get some good morning light, but ended up winding through the trees on Squaw Mountain Road right before sunrise when the colors were their best. This was the only alpenglow I was able to get a good view of, and once again I'm kicking myself for not taking the time to set up my tripod to get a sharper shot.

The trail did indeed have snow. And I got to use the cool calf bar on my snowshoes for this somewhat steep ascent. It felt like I was mincing around on high heels at first, but once I got used to it the additional leverage did seem to make things easier.

The summit was really windy and pretty devoid of snow because of said wind. There really weren't that many clouds, but what there were seemed strategically placed to block the sun. That made for a cold Steve and poor light for pictures.

Moon over Mount Evans. I was so off my game I didn't even do my spot metering right, so I ended up with just these four shots that were even halfway presentable. Well, at least it was a good workout!