Andrew Terrill

The outdoor diary of a writer, photographer, and wilderness wanderer

IT’S IGLOO SEASON (Part Two)

FOLLOWING ON FROM last week’s igloo blog I thought I’d share a few extra photos from the weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park. As these images hint, it was memorably windy!
(For the full story, please see the previous blog.)

igloo ed hiking across snow bridge — Igloo Ed pulling his Expedition pulk over a snow bridge, shortly after leaving the trailhead.

glacier knobs in rocky mountain national park — Taking a break during the hike in, we looked south-east towards Glacier Knobs. Shortly after this the skies darkened and snow began to fall.

igloo ed pulling pulk across lake haiyaha colorado — Igloo Ed heading onto Lake Haiyaha. The wind was truly brutal!

igloo ed — Igloo Ed topping out the climb to camp. Ed is an extraordinary companion, a one-of-a-kind mountain man, and the inventor if the incredible ICEBOX igloo-building tool.

winter in rocky mountain national park — The pristine igloo site before we began building. Not a bad spot to turn into a home!

deep snow in rocky mountain national park — View from the igloos during the build. In heavy falling snow the landscape felt soft and soothing.

The next day, two content igloo builders! — The next day, and the two igloo builders were content with their creations. (Edit: Ed isn’t that tall. There were steps down to the entrances!)

lake haiyaha and longs peak in winter with strong winds and spindrift — The igloo site was relatively sheltered. It was a different story back down at Lake Haiyaha.

small figure on lake haiyaha rocky mountain national park — Igloo Ed heading toward Haiyaha’s more sheltered western edge. Ed may look small, but few people are more at home here than he is.

rock and ice lake haiyaha rocky mountain national park colorado — Lake Haiyaha’s remarkable ice.

deep snow in the forest — Beyond the lake winter lay deep and soft.

two igloos in snowy wilderness — A friendly wave back in camp. This photo gives a truer idea of the igloo’s size than the photos in the previous blog, as well as a good indication of their location high above the valley.

longs peak in winter with spindrift and dark clouds — Away from camp the high winds continued. Longs Peak looked as though it was being pounded.

Hallet Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park — Late afternoon the clouds finally cleared.

high winds and spindrift chaos canyon rocky mountain national park — I climbed the ridge above the igloos into a fierce wind. From the look of it, Chaos Canyon was experiencing even worse.

high winds in colorado rocky mountains with spindrift and snow — Savage conditions in the canyon.

high winds in rocky mountains with clouds spindrift and snow — Another world.

snow cornice in forest wilderness — Cornices – growing in the wind.

swirling clouds in rocky mountain national park colorado — Spindrift swirling across the upper crags of Flattop Mountain.

strong winds and spindrift in colorado rocky mountains — High winds, high drama. The spindrift was billowing hundreds of feet into the air from the Continental Divide.

Longs Peak Rocky Mountain National Park in high winds at sunset — Longs Peak, glowing at sunset, still swirling with spindrift.

evening light in the winter forest colorado — The forest near camp was sheltered enough to still hold some snow.

spindrift on the shoulder of Longs Peak in the rocky mountains — Another day, and still high winds sweep the tops.

Longs Peak high winds and spindrift — Stinging spindrift!

spindrift in the rocky mountains — Strong winds lower down.

igloo ed heading toward lake haiyaha — Eventually – with reluctance – it was time to leave camp and head downhill.

lake haiyaha rocky mountain national park — Despite the calm appearances of this photo, Haiyaha was still brutally windy.

igloo ed pulling an expedition pulk off lake haiyaha — Igloo Ed climbing from the lake, pulling his pulk across the rocks.

ice on lake haiyaha in rocky mountain national park — While Igloo Ed went on ahead into the sheltering forest I grabbed a few quick photos of Haiyaha’s remarkable ice formations.

ice detail lake haiyaha rocky mountain national park — In winter, it often pays to focus on the details!

standing outside igloo in snow covered mountains — A memorable weekend.