Winter Landscape Photos: II

As I have mentioned before, I am not a Landscape Photographer. I remain at awe of how they can capture 180 degree landscapes in two dimensions.

Yet, spending as much time in the wilderness photographing wildlife I do see some amazing landscapes. And because I have a camera in my hand occasionally I take a photo.

Here are some of my better winter landscape photos:

Columbia Icefields, Alberta, Canada

Columbia Icefields Mountain Goat

About 70 miles south of Jasper you come to the Columbia Icefields. The Icefields is a flat "straightaway"  that varies between 100 to 300 yards wide and runs for several miles. It gets an average of 275 inches of snowfall per year. There are eight major glaciers feeding the Icefields. There are eleven mountains all of about 12,000 feet lining both sides of the Icefields. 

The Icefield sits atop a "triple" Continental Divide. The Athabasca River, the North Saskatchewan River, and the tributaries of the Columbia River all originate in the Columbia Icefield. So, the Columbia River  eventually flows into the Pacific Ocean dividing Washington State from Oregon. The Athabasca River ultimately arrives in the Arctic Ocean and the Saskatchewan ultimately in the Hudson Bay and thus North Atlantic Ocean. This is the Canadian Rockies at its finest. 

The road that parallels the icefield at times is right next to the icefield and at times a 1000 feet above.

This is a favorite place of mine. I have seen Mountain Goats, Bighorn Sheep, Caribou, Moose, and Coyotes among others along the Icefields.

Here is a close-up of a Mountain Goat nearly 1,000 feet above: 

Some Like It Hot, Some Like It Cold

Winter is a great season for us in Southern Arizona. People ready, willing, and able to escape from the cold to a warmer climate -- even, for a few days. (Airplanes not always able to cooperate, though). Our daughter Erin, in Flagstaff, has been "snowed in" for a month with over five feet of snow. Flagstaff is in Arizona mind you. I suppose I could show you photos of grandkids Noah and Ruby all bundled up and playing in the snow, but even though they are "wild" at times, probably isn't what followers of our "wildlife" blog are looking for. So, I'll talk about "other" wild animals that just seem to fit or, at least, look more comfortable and natural in the snow. This older bighorn sheep ram was photographed high above the Columbia Icefields in Alberta (Sunwapta Mountain). He was curious about me, but didn't seem particularly bothered. Maybe he thought I looked too "cold" to be of any danger. Often hoofed animals "herd" up for the winter months. This includes males -- sometimes. Not this time, though. This big ram was all by himself. Didn't see another bighorn anywhere near him. It always reminds me of the big male bison I photographed at the National Bison Range in Montana (Blog Post: From Eeyore to Ferdinand, January 22, 2010). He had that same sense of "regal-ness." "I'm too wise to be bothered."

Columbia Icefields Coyote

Since I started the subject of coyotes, I thought I would share some of my favorite coyote photos/stories. Up next: Canada.  About half way between Banff and Jasper in Alberta is the Columbia Icefields. This area is surrounded by glaciers and creates an "ice-lake" of sorts; looks like a very large skating rink.  The Icefields represents a boom to wildlife: moose, caribou, elk, coyote, etc. It becomes a wildlife corridor, i.e. a walkway whose general purpose is travel. One cold January day, I spotted this coyote on the Icefields. I walked along its edge, side by side with the coyote for 45 minutes or so. Finally, the coyote turned towards me, with the intention to get to the adjacent mountain and disappear into the woods. But, in so doing I was able to get this wonderful photo. Then I got out of his path and he indeed disappeared.