Venus over the Beaverheads

Early morning June 7 Venus appears over the Beaverheads  seen from the foothills of the Lemhis.

The Beaverheads at morning twilight. The banding is unfortunately part of the quality issue of posting on Blogger.

Evening Before Diamond Peak Climb

Friday night in the foothills of Diamond Peak.  After dinner in Mud Lake, we drove to Diamond Peak  with much anticipation for the climb the next morning.  Shae and Daniel set up a tent.  Rick slept in the back of his Ford and I in my Subaru.  Here are some of the images made as the sun was setting behind the Lemhis.

The clouds reflected the golden light of the Birch Creek Valley as the shadow of the Lemhis creeps across the valley floor.  The Beaverhead Mountains with Skull Canyon are in the east.

Despite the cold wind, the evening was beautiful.  The light got better as the sun went down.

A few of the last photos before the sun went down and we tried to get some sleep before the morning climb.

Southern Lemhi Peaks with Mars, Idaho

Saddle Mountain is the peak on the left. Tyler Peak is on the right.

Bell Mountain, West Face, Lemhi Range, Idaho

Little Lost River Valley

Bell Mountain, Lemhi Range, Idaho, May 17, 2014

South face of Bell Mountain as seen from the hike to Little Sister.

Diamond Peak and surrounding peaks, Lemhi Range, Idaho. March 15, 2014

Ben and I drove over to look at Diamond Peak and made these images.

Climbing Little Sister, Lemhi Range, Idaho. May 18, 2014

I left work on Friday and drove to the west side of the Lemhi Range just south of Bell Mountain.   During the drive from Rexburg, it rained most of the way until I entered the Little Lost River Valley.  The valley was partly cloudy but no rain. By the time I found Mud Spring it was after 7:00.  Eager to get going, I began the climb determined to get as far as possible before dark.  From Mud Spring, I followed the route marked in blue on the topo map below.

 
During the first hour, several small storms rolled through the valley.  I just experienced light rain.

Around 9:00 I looked for a semi-flat place to sleep.  I found a large tree on the slope and bedded down against the backside for the night.  I was up and on the trail by 6:30 the next morning.  The key to this hike is to follow the ridges.  I encountered several places where the snow was soft and up to my waist.  Fortunately, I could find the bottom in most places with trekking poles and easily leveraged myself out. Most of the snow held my weight and made it possible to continue.

 Once at Little Sister the slope to the top is an easy hike.  The views from the summit are incredible.  To the east is Big Sister.  I was going to summit this peak but saw the ridgeline was covered in deep snow and was tired of fighting the quickly softening crust.  To the southeast the prominent Diamond peak is backlit by the sun. See below.

The views to the north give a great view of the Lemhi Crest.  Bell Mountain is on the far left and Big Sister in on the far right.  The next image includes Bell Mountain and the peak directly north of Big Sister.

The summit of Little Sister.

While descending (the magenta line), I dropped a bit low where the blue X is on the map.  I found myself on a steep slope with flowing scree and boulders. I had to climb up the slope to the top of the ridge. As I came above one ridge, I was met with a Mountain Goat staring at me ...from this perch. It was an incredible sight. As I fumbled to get my pack off and my camera out, he just watched. Then he turned around, hopped off the rock, and was gone. Damn! I did get a good photo of the perch though. You just have to imagine this beautiful animal standing there looking at you.  The next photo is of the view the goat was looking over.

I continued to descend following the magenta marked route on the topo map.  I think this more direct route would make a better ascent route for anyone interested in this climb.  Any feedback would be welcomed.

Tom Lopez Website:
Little Sister

It's Winter At Meadow Lake

I drove to Meadow Lake yesterday to make some photographs. I guess I should not have been surprised to find five inches of snow and some stressful driving up the steep narrow road.  It was quiet and beautiful.  Made a few chipmonk friends.  While sitting silently, one hopped onto my boot and then climbed my leg to perch on my knee.  Another almost climbed onto my shoulder. 

I made a few photos and then decided the light would not great in the morning so I decided to drive home and attempt some Milky Way shots over the Lemhi Range.

Rock Wall and Water Above Goat Lake

Under Construction

Scentsy Photo Shoot, Meridian, Idaho

I spent a day shooting the Scentsy Campus for Syringa Landscape.  The images will be used on their web page.

Fall Color, Scentsy Campus, Meridian, Idaho, Syringa Landscape

Bird's Eye View of Roof Top Gardens, Scentsy Campus, Meridian, Idaho

Scentsy Campus, Meridian, Idaho, Photo Job

Scentsy Landscape Shoot, Meridian, Idaho

Roof Top Gardens, Scentsy, Meridian, Idaho

Meridian, Idaho, Scentsy Shoot for Syringa Landscape

I spent a day photography the landscape of the new Scentsy Building on their campus is Meridian.

Meridian, Idaho, Scentsy Shoot For Syringa Landscape

Goat Lake, Sawtooths, Idaho