Mountain Light – a picture-perfect day on the Skagway Road
It seems that every time I go on a trip, I get a bit photo-manic when I get home, and yesterday was one of those days, with wonderful varied light for a drive to Skagway 🙂
I flew out of Kelowna on the 7:00 pm flight on Tuesday, had dinner at the Vancouver airport during a 2-hour layover, and was back at my car at the Whitehorse airport at Zero Dark Forty-Five. Over a foot of snow had fallen in the week I was away, and that had settled to about 7-8 inches now.
Souvenirs from the trip. I didn’t have much free time so, unlike our last trip, one winery got all my business. The case cost me $20 as extra baggage – not a bad deal. The jars are the final stock of Mom’s wonderful grape jelly, made from grapes grown in their back yard.
The weather forecast yesterday called for a bit of sun in Whitehorse, and rain showers and snow flurries possible in Skagway. Not a great day, but I had some light fixtures to pick up in Skagway so I can get back at our kitchen renovation (under-cabinet lighting and backsplash tiles being the next step).
I got away from the house about 20 minutes before the 09:36 sunrise, with the temperature sitting at -17°C (+1°F). I was behind this snowplow for a few minutes on the winding section of the South Klondike Highway just south of the Alaska Highway.
Only a couple of minutes after shooting the photo above, the sky had lit up with wonderul colours.
In the mountains, having a day both sun and cloud is when I prefer shooting – I love the contrasts available.
Peaks along Windy Arm, at 10:01.
I found myself making a lot of stops 🙂
About 4 inches of snow had fallen at Tutshi Lake overnight. The plows hadn’t gotten to the parking lot yet, but I went in to give the dogs a run.
The light at Km 48.6, just north of the suspension bridge, was wonderful, and I took a few shots there. This was the view back to the north.
And the next two photos are looking to the east from that spot.
South of Fraser at 10:56, I could see that the pass ahead was blanketed in thick cloud.
I got stopped for a few minutes just past the summit by Alaska Highways crews who were knocking down some of the cornices that were threatening to drop onto the road. We’re getting much more wind than normal this winter, so cornices are much more of a problem both on the highway and for backcountry recreation (snowmobiling, skiing and snowshoeing).
These are the sort of fleeting views I really enjoy – drama that only lasts for a few seconds and then closes in.
I didn’t spend any time in Skagway this time. I just picked up my stuff, then went down to the Small Boat Harbor to see how that project is coming along. There’s a whole lot of rock being moved now, from a quarry just north of town.
For a long time I couldn’t figure out what was going on at the Railroad Dock, but I see now that they’re driving some new pilings.
By 12:46 pm I was already north of Fraser, headed home.
Some particularly dramatic light stopped me a couple of times along Tutshi Lake.
A large patch of sunshine prompted me to stop above Tutshi Lake with the idea of getting some dog portraits, but I couldn’t convince them to get up on the berm for me. Some things work better with two people – one with a camera, the other with dog cookies 🙂
Kayla did stick her head out far enough for me to get this portrait, though. She’s 13 years old now, and every day she’s with us is such a bonus.
The view down Tutshi Lake from that spot. That’s pristine wilderness ahead – there’s no access except by boat, and very few people ever go there.
Looking south from the pass between Tutshi Lake and Windy Arm.
A couple of the mountains above Windy Arm.
I just missed seeing an avalanche being brought down by a bomb dropped by helicopter. The conditions would have been perfect! I was stopped for a few minutes – those vehicles were the first ones through.
My turn…
Those peaks right above the highway are mostly rather unstable sedimentary rock, so nobody climbs them.
One final shot of Carcross from the highway bridge.
I was home by 2:45. Still not recovered from the stress of last week, I went to bed for a couple of hours.
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