This images was taken on a trip I was leading up to Skolai Pass, one of my two favorite places in the world. I’ve been fortunate to have had such incredible experiences in this area, I have some wonderful memories of trips up here. And it’s those experiences I seek to share with folks when I lead them up here. It’s disappointing for me when weather is inclement and people coming up don’t get to really see how incredible Skolai Pass is.

So this trip was a real joy, because it was one of my first guiding trips here with good weather; I mean, really, really good weather. Great big blues skies and that incredible rich light that Skolai Pass gets. Evening and morning light here, anytime in the summer, can be simply gorgeous.

So what happens this trip? My camera dies. First morning of the trip. Completely died and I was left standing there scratching my head, awaiting the dawn’s first alpenglow, with a couple of lenses in my hand. Ha ha, so much for good planning and patience.

Everything comes together and comes apart simultaneously.

And comes together again.

One of the people on the trip had a spare, backup camera, and he let me use it. I am so fortunate to have such great people come along on these trips, really. So I borrowed his camera and set about with a macro lens to see what I could make. And I made one of my favorite pictures. I’ve presented it for this project in both black and white, and also in color in another gallery. I think it works well both ways.

Frost on Coltsfoot leaf in Skolai Pass, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.