Mountain Photography

by Jack Brauer

Trip Reports: Sunrise on Sneffels - June 2008

This June I made two early morning hikes high up in Yankee Boy Basin, a high mountain valley above Ouray, Colorado.

The first hike was up to the ridgeline of Cirque Mountain, where I had a great perspective of sunrise alpenglow hitting Mt. Sneffels.

For the second hike, on a clear night this June, I woke up and got out of bed at 1am, hiked up Mt. Sneffels under a brilliant full moon, and topped out on the 14,156' summit at 4:15am. The air was really calm and not that cold, and I had plenty of time to relax on the summit before the dawn light, enjoying the massive vista of moonlit peaks.

Here's my photos from these hikes.

Sunrise alpenglow light shines on the summit of Mt. Sneffels, 14,156', as seen from the east - June. Photo © by Jack Brauer.
Fine Prints available.

Dawn glow illuminates the San Juan Mountains, as seen from the summit of Mt. Sneffels, 14,156' - June. Photo © by Jack Brauer.
Fine Prints available.

A full moon sets above the San Miguel Range, which includes three fourteeners: Wilson Peak, Wilson Mountain, and El Diente. As seen from the summit of Mt. Sneffels - June. Photo © by Jack Brauer.
Fine Prints available.

Sunrise light shines on Kismet, the peak in front, and the San Juan Mountains, as seen from the summit of Mt. Sneffels - June. Photo © by Jack Brauer.
Fine Prints available.