Researchers are trying to unravel the mystery of snow that falls but never shows up in the river. Bella Biondini/High Country News High winds tore at Gothic Mountain as the sleeping giant watched over the cabins nestled in Gothic, Colorado, a remote outpost accessible only by skis during the valley’s harsh alpine winters. The plumes … Continue reading The Case of the Colorado River’s Missing Water
Reflection Canyon Utah taken in 2015 What comes next for Lake Powell? Craig Childs/High Country News There is the crumpling, the mess. A marina that once floated in a cove has been towed out of the shrinking lake and dropped in a field of Russian thistle, its metal pontoons partially sunk into dry, crack-crazed soil. Cooler … Continue reading Glen Canyon Revealed
Last weekend we spent time snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in Grand Lake, aptly named, Grand Lake Winter Weekend! It was a very cold weekend, so we had elected to start our adventures a little later than usual each day, around noon. And that also had been a special weekend because we used our brand new … Continue reading Grand Lake Winter Weekend
Parts of the Mountain West could be nearly snowless for years at a time in just a few decades. Snowmaking at Aspen Highlands Ski Resort started on October 13, leaving spots of snow on the ground and aspen trees.Kelsey Brunner Sarah Sax/High Country News Across the Central Rockies, it’s been an unseasonably warm, dry year. … Continue reading Winter without Snow is Coming
Climate change and rising demand are sucking the life out of the Southwest’s water supply. Jonathon Thompson/High Country News One of the most visible signs of the state of the West’s water supply is the big bathtub ring around the sandstone rim of Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir. Whenever the massive hydrological system that delivers … Continue reading The Incredible Shrinking Colorado River
Alces alces, also known as a moose. I photographed this bull moose foraging in the Kawuneeche Valley in early August of 2020 near the Colorado River. Rocky Mountain National Park has an abundant population of moose that can be seen year round. These magnificent creatures are a subspecies and scientifically referred to as Alces Alces … Continue reading POTW: Alces alces
Pelecanus Erythrorhynchos, or more commonly known as the American White Pelican, one of the largest birds of North America, takes flight over Shadow Mountain Lake. They frequently congregate, in mass, near the inflow from the Colorado River on Shadow Mountain Lake, returning each spring to the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park.