Boundary Range, 2024

 Fifteen days in the wilderness, 5 camps separated by over a hundred miles.  Six of us joined up for this epic scouting mission.

Known for its vast icefields, rivers, glaciers, the Boundary Range of western BC has some of the most impressive mountain peaks on the continent.  While camping on glaciers, valleys, and high ridges, the weather changed abruptly from completely cloudy to completely clear, with interludes of snow, fog, and rain. There was even a rare and surprising aurora borealis, completely unexpected at this latitude and time of year. The images are diverse, from wildflower laden meadows in the low valleys, to immense glaciers at the base of impressive mountainous peaks, many unnamed and likely never photographed before. While the weather is always a challenge with mountain photography, the moments of beautiful light made this my most memorable trip to date.

Starting near Ambition Mountain, we camped in a low valley surrounded by massive peaks, streams, wildflowers and two small ice caves.

The booming skies and cold nights eventually gave way to clouds and rain.  Then a low fog rolled in on the second day, and somehow brought with it an infestation of mosquitos.  We relocated to camp 2 on a snowy ridge near Kate's Needle.  Of all the mountains I photographed on this trip, Kate stands alone; the northwest face makes a perfect needle at the summit.  She was a very finicky mountain, only showing herself for minutes at a time between fog and low clouds.  

Still, the area was beautiful.  The weather caused me to miss an epic shot of a river in the low valley making a perfect S-surve towards Kate at sunrise.  We waited out the weather for 3 days, as the fog finally began to lift on the morning of extraction.

From here we moved to further west along the Stikine River to Flood Glacier, a massive glacier over two miles wide. The west face of Kate was visible along with her partner mountains behind the glacier.  We all agreed this was the most beautiful place we had ever camped. The meadows were filled with streams, paintbrush, heather, lupines and snow.  We had clouds, atmosphere, and great light. It was a photographer's dream! We hiked for hours, exploring every slope, valley, and wildflower grove within miles.

There was even a waterfall we discovered while scouting with the drone, and as luck would have it the Milky Way lined up perfectly over the mountains at about midnight.

Eventually the skies cleared and gave way to a massive heat wave, which meant it was time to move on.  Camp 4 at the base of Chutine peak was at the shore of a glacial lake at the base of the mountain.  The days were very hot, nights relatively cool, and again we spent hours hiking through the meadows, over glaciers and up steep slopes.

Two completely unexpected phenomena happened at this camp.  One was a parhelion, a sun bow of sorts created by refraction of crystals in the atmosphere.  A very rare occurrence.

The other was a booming aurora borrealis.  To say seeing the northern lights at this latitude at this time of year would be an understatement.  One of the guys got out of his tent at 2am to relieve himself, and started yelling,"Northern lights! Northern lights!"  We all jumped out of our tents and grabbed the cameras.  After a few shots at camp, it became clear that the show was only beginning.  We hiked about 45 minutes to a nearby stream we had scouted earlier and shot the aurora behind the mountains which lasted until the colors were drowned away by the rising sun.  In my many times shooting the aurora, never had I seen such a variety of green and pink colors.  It was truly amazing.

The highlight of our stay at Chutine was a long hike up an adjacent ridge, where we camped on a thin snowy ridge at the base of Mt. Chutine.

Day 13, we were all a bit tired, stinky, and worse for the wear.  While not planned in our original itinerary, we saw this gnarly peak like something from the Northwest Territories while heli-scouting between camps and knew we had to visit.  We camped ON the glacier, right at the base of this amazingly photogenic, but unnamed peak.

While intended to be a scouting trip, and despite many days of bad weather, a heat wave, mosquitos, black flies, and a sprained ankle, these 15 days are ones I will never forget.  The photographs were as enjoyable to process as the trip itself.  I hope you enjoy and thanks for taking the time to look.

VIEW THE NEW RELEASE GALLERY

Cheers,

Chris

It's Been Awhile

 My last formal post here was a review of 2018's images.  Where has the time gone? 

In 2020, I made a quick trip to the southwest to fulfill a long-wanted goal of hiking The Narrows from top to bottom.  After my buddy and I got lost finding the trailhead (don't rely on Google Maps if you go!), we set out on a two day trek down the river.  The combination of a heavy pack with camping equipment, uneven ground, and just plain cold water made for a strenuous, but very rewarding, couple of days. I don't think we saw another person until we got well beyond Big Springs. Sleeping on the banks of the Virgin River with only the sounds of the flowing water is an experience I will never forget.

From there we spent a night at high altitude in the Great Basin wilderness amongst a grove of gnarly bristlecones.

2021 brought me to Alaska twice.  The first trip in the winter was to the Denali and Church ranges, and I went back in the summer on an expedition trip to the wilderness of the eastern Alaska range with Marc Adamus scouting for future trips. Those of you who know him have likely heard how he lost his footing on a moraine and dislocated his shoulder.  He had to be medivac'd out by helicopter to have surgery and unfortunately was not able to complete the trip.  I and a few friends stayed out there for the week, and it was quite a beautiful and remote area that few have visited. Some images were captured in -25F in the low valleys to 70F at 4500 feet in the middle of summer.  We shot from a helicopter, seaplane and on the land: snowy landscapes with trees covered in hoar frost, icy glaciers, mountains rising above the clouds, and wildflower laden valley. 

In 2022 I went back to the familiar (but entirely different from Alaska!) Southwest.  Its always been one of my favorite lands to explore. I have been many times, and always find something different.  This time I covered almost 3000 miles in a week, chasing weather patterns and returning to the same locations more than once to get the best light.  This time, with a drone, some of the perspectives were entirely new. 

Which brings me up to right about now.  Earlier this month I spent some time in the Canadian Rockies during the peak of fall color. The Canadian Rockies are at least partly responsible for my enthusiasm for photography. I last visited in 2005 with my wife, a Canon film camera and Sony point-and-shoot. The parks were different back then... I remember going before dawn to the shores of Moraine Lake to watch the sunrise. We were the only ones there for at least an hour. Almost 20 years later, the park has certainly changed, but the Canadian Rockies still have a beauty all their own. 

The last image, "Illusion," is one of my favorite photographs ever taken. You have to look at it for a minute, though. I came to this area along a small glacial lake initially looking to photograph water patterns, or clouds and mist clearing from some of the nearby peaks. Instead, I just happened to notice what was one of the most interesting scenes I've ever seen. The rain had caused some leaves at their peak of fall color to fall into the shallow waters of this lake. The patters in the sand and turquoise blue water offered the perfect complements. I used a polarizing filter to cut the glare... this entire scene, including the leaves, is underwater... 

It is being offered as a Limited Edition Masterwork, in a strict edition of 25. 

Once again, I apologize for my recent absence on this platform. I don't spend a whole lot of effort on social media, but I do post periodically in Instagram. My most up-to-date portfolio is and will always be on my website. 

Wishing you the best for years to come, and good light! 

Chris 

www.ExploringLight.com