Winter in Glacier 2014

Glacier presents some great photographic opportunities, talk about it here.

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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

Here are some from the North Fork Camas Road and bridge on Sunday November 30th

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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by Jay w »

I like that first one.

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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

Thanks Jay.

I went out to Lake McDonald, but couldn't stay long as I had to take care of some work stuff.
Balmy at 38F. I saw my friend Clyde briefly. Bonnie was being coy today. "Clocking" from in the trees somewhere.

Looks like they are are only going to do minimal cleanup of the fallen trees on the Sun Road passed Lake McDonald.
Or maybe they're waiting until other priorities like housing repairs, etc. are done.

Didn't appear there has been much traffic on the Sperry trail recently.

The lake pictures are all from two turnouts on the road.

Not real original I know, but the "look" is different every single time one comes out here...imo anyway.
And it's never bad :)

Not much traffic here
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Lots of trees still down on the Sun Road past the lake
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My boy "Clyde" needs no traction aids walking on icey roads
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Hard to catch Clyde with a P&S as he "powers" up taking off nearly vertically, wings in a classic dihedral position. A fraction of a second later he spreads his wings wide for the next stroke downwards. His tail is spread wide to gain maximum lift. Ravens are wonderful to watch flying, gliding, landing and taking off.
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The road was fine. Packed snow/ice but recently sanded
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These next ones are pics from the overlooks and beach. Hard to get the horizon right when holding the camera 6 inches from the ground. I have a tilt correction on Photoshop but it goes in 1 degree increments. So it's difficult(for me) to correct tiny errors which are sometimes really apparent :(
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Thanks! I'm a little "off tilt" here, but then y'all already knew that 8)
pete :wink:
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"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by orin »

Pete,

Your pics of Lake McD got me wondering about the probability that Bowman Lake would freeze solidly by late Feb. or so. I was thinking about a winter camping trip to Bowman Lake. It would be cool to snowshoe or ski straight up the frozen lake but it would be a disaster to fall through the ice. I know that Lake McD doesn't freeze over completely a lot of years. Do you or anyone else know how hard Bowman freezes during an average winter? Obviously it could vary a lot from year to year.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

orin wrote:Pete,

Your pics of Lake McD got me wondering about the probability that Bowman Lake would freeze solidly by late Feb. or so. I was thinking about a winter camping trip to Bowman Lake. It would be cool to snowshoe or ski straight up the frozen lake but it would be a disaster to fall through the ice. I know that Lake McD doesn't freeze over completely a lot of years. Do you or anyone else know how hard Bowman freezes during an average winter? Obviously it could vary a lot from year to year.
Hey Orin:

The short answer is I don't know how often Bowman freezes over. I never really thought about camping out there in the winter until recently.
EarMountain or one of the locals like chewy might know.

The water temps have to be near freezing with the persistent cold weather we've had, beginning early this season.
The South, Middle, North Forks have all had ice flows in them this year....as well as the main stem of the Flathead.
The water is cold already around here. So if temps stay low, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the lakes in the park freeze.
Guys that I know who icefish say there are already a lot of the shallow lakes frozen hard enough to ice fish on.

I can't ski well enough to ski to Bowman, but I believe I can snowshoe it once the snow settles in late winter.
If I do it, I'll wait till a nice high pressure builds in from the W/SW. That will clear things out without the bitter cold air of an Alberta High sinking in from the North.
And, of course, it has to last 3 days since I want to do 2 nights so I can spend a whole day snowshoeing around the area. 8)
I have a couple of little sled things I may experiment with to see if I can use one of them for carrying gear on a trip to Bowman.

I think the mountain set an opening weekend record this weekend. So this could be an interesting winter.

If I can remember, I'll ask Reggie Altop, one of the Polebridge Station rangers, about Bowman. He almost certainly knows.

later

pete :wink:

PS

GeezerPete ain't going out on any frozen lake for any reason.
I grew up in central Florida in the "City of a Hundred Lakes".
I learned to swim and water ski not long after walking. My Dad was on the U.S. Water Ski Team in the 1930"s :)
But!...old GeezerPete stays the heck off of frozen lakes 8)

I know from observation that lakes can be frozen 12-18" thick and still have thin spots due to creeks draining into them, or springs welling up in odd places, etc. I snowshoe alone. Going through the ice is just not an option for me. I stay clear of the lakes.
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

Nothing done to any of these yet as far as color "adjustment/correction". I cropped some a bit.
I try to frame the shots like I want them when I shoot them. Makes for less hassle later.
And I shot most at EVs from -0.3 to-1.0.
Bumping up the saturation later might deepen the blues a bit more without goofing up the rest of the landscape, or not?

pete :wink:

PS
Back Tuesday night. Gotta drive to Nashua,MT and get some stuff for the boss and bring it back
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by netresult »

Great pics Pete! I used to icefish a lot back in the day in Michigan. Falling in can be fatal if you're solo, especially in that kind of weather.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by flatlander »

Great photos, Pete, and good to see you back on board! I have not been visiting the board for some time, but will be returning regularly now in hopes of seeing more of your reports.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by brindledog »

Well hell's bells. So much for doing what I needed to be doing tonight. :D

Pete,
Thank you for the tour of Glacier in the dead of winter. Love seeing the updates on Bonnie and Clyde and all the beautiful pictures. Keep the updates coming.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

Flatlander, DPratt, and Brindledog :)

Thanks for the kind words!
Nice to be back.

pete :wink:


EDIT December 17 2014
I moved the post about Fort Peck trip to Photography, the Non Park Related section at the top of the index page.
Last edited by PeteE on Wed Dec 17, 2014 7:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

I'll move the pics in the above post to the "Non" Glacier section asap.

It was a nice sun shiney day in the Flathead today so I rode out to the park after work...where it was overcast. :evil:
It's never a truly bad day out there, and today was to be no exception.

I could see from "Helicopter City" that it wasn't going to be a Kodak type of day on Lake McDonald.
So I drove straight out to the lodge, not stopping for photos.

Bonnie and Clyde were there when I arrived, but flew off after some loud squawking :?
Really a raw day out there with no sunshine, temps in the mid-high 20's. No wind but the high humidity made it feel cold.
The parking lot was icey and slick so I put on my microspikes intending to walk down to the lake.

Then B&C showed up. They would be more interesting to photograph than the lake scene in this crappy light.
Here is the video of B&C for those that are interested.
And yeah I talk to them; they're nicer than some humans I know 8)
Clyde flies along with me, more or less, as I leave the parking lot for home.
Watch carefully as I drive out at about 7:20, 8:00, 8:20, 8:29 minute marks.


Regarding the pics below...

I took the ones of the lake, West Glacier, and Helicopter City on my way home.
You can see that outside the park it was pretty nice, but there's thick clouds over the lake.

Apgar on the left. You can see the overcast over the Lake McDonald area
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Apgar I left the fuel truck in on purpose. 8)
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Looking towards Belton, the Belton Hills in the background clouds
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Old snow
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See what I mean? Just not a good day for shooting scenes like this, so I didn't spend much time at it
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Remember I shot these on the way out. This is from the first overlook west of Lake McDonald Lodge. Clyde followed me down here. He showed up as I was getting out to shoot this scene. Bonnie showed up a minute later. You'll see in the video when I get it together that Clyde flies along side and in front of me as I drive through the parking lot and down the road after leaving the lot
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Here's a few snaps of B&C, mostly Clyde. Bonnie is more shy. Clyde here
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Strong feet and legs and a robust body. Ravens are tough birds. Handsome though :)
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Bonnie on the parking lot snowbank. They constantly "patrol" the snow banks foraging for stuff the plow scrapes up.B&C look a bit comical as they trundle over the snow banks. They occasionally slip and slide when the snow is frozen hard like today. They use their wings for balance in the awkward places where even their needle like claws slip.
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Clyde was pretty close allowing this shot. If you look closely at his eye, you can see a partial reflection of the parking area--the snow covered pavement showing light on one side and darker treed area on the other.
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Bonnie again on the snowbank
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Compare Clyde here with Bonnie above. Clyde is much "stouter" in my opinion. Stockier, heavier build. When they're together, I can tell them apart most of the time by comparative size. However, it's their "behavior" that really ID's who's who :) I love watching them.
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later
pete :wink:

Here is the video link for bonnie and Clyde


Something I forgot to mention regarding the video. Whenen I pulled out of the lot and got where Snyder creek goes under the road
Last edited by PeteE on Tue Dec 16, 2014 8:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

Merry Christmas from Glacier National Park!!

Christmas Eve day in Glacier National Park.
Looked like about 8-10inches had fallen in the park since last night.
No doubt about a "White Christmas" in GNP :arrow:
We had 3-4 at 8AM here in WF.
I'm hoping it will clear up some tomorrow for Christmas pics.
North Fork Road might be a bit of a challenge. We'll see.

18 seconds :mrgreen:


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The BC Office...will be a busy place in 8 days or so
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Old Apgar School House. I know a guy who went to school there
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The old Visitors Center
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Eddies
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Merry Christmas from Glacier National Park!!

pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by TnTammy »

Merry Christmas Pete!
Thanks for sharing Glacier's Winter Wonderland with us. Really love seeing the snow at familiar locations. We have been enjoying your posts and look forward to more.

Wishing you all the best in 2015!
Tammy and Mike
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by calicotraveler »

Enjoyed seeing those photos! Merry Christmas.
The mountains are calling and I must go.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

calicotraveler wrote:Enjoyed seeing those photos! Merry Christmas.
Thanks. They aren't much as pictures go, but at least it's something to look at during the slow times.
Maybe on a good day soon I can get out to the North Fork for some variety.

TnTammy wrote:Merry Christmas Pete!
Thanks for sharing Glacier's Winter Wonderland with us. Really love seeing the snow at familiar locations. We have been enjoying your posts and look forward to more.

Wishing you all the best in 2015!
Tammy and Mike
Oh My!
Ms Tammy!

Merry Christmas to you, Michael and Nate

I'll have a few more pics and some video later.
Nice here, but overcast and dreary in the park.
Nice crowd out there considering it was 22F and not a great day.
Nice to see families with little kids out there.
Visitors too. A couple from Indiana were fascinated with Clyde--"He knows you".
They saw Clyde fly from a perch over Squeeze down to a tree right over me when I came back up from taking pics at the lake. 8)
I got part of it on video.
pics directly...

Thanks again Tammy and Michael!

later
pete
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

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