Looking down on the City of Aspen, from the top of the Ute Trail.

In my previous post, I mentioned the Ute Trail, and I included a link to a video, which helps to give an idea of the hike; but I wanted to share a good still image of the view from the top of Ute Rock (taken on the same day as my previous post). It’s pretty amazing to look out over the whole city of Aspen like this. On the right, you can see the blue roofs of Centennial, and Hunter Creek just to the left of that. On the far left is the Red Butte, where the Rio Grande Trail and Roaring Fork River intersect with Cemetery Lane. And, of course, the beautiful fall colors accent the top of Red Mountain.

Taken 9/28/2008.

With everything happening here in the community, following Bryan Sax's tragic death, I can't help but remember my friend and fraternity brother Chuck "Montana" Carlson as well... Chuck also died tragically young, from cancer at 36, almost the same age as Bryan. Chuck was a long-time Aspen resident, ski instructor, and hockey coach. He also left hundreds →

On the night when I took this photo, the illuminated cross and steeple of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, on Main Street in Aspen, served as a beacon to me... On this night, I hope faith is with our friends... While I was coaching an out-of-town hockey game today, we received some awful news: a parent of a boy →

I took this photo before I moved out here, when I was interviewing and finalizing housing. This was a nice hike just outside Snowmass Village: starting at the Campground parking lot, I took the easy Ditch Trail, which connected to the East Snowmass Creek Trail in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area, then continued along this trail for an hour →

Since we got more snow again last night... here's another fun, snowy shot. The dark, shadowed pattern of the bridge provides great contrast against the sunlit white snow along the river. Taken 3/3/2008.

I encountered near whiteout conditions driving home from Snowmass this evening, and as I passed the barn on Owl Creek Road, I kinda' wondered if the horses were braving the snow... I took this shot in the spring, on my way back from skiing (I think), and I really just liked the light as the sun was getting low →

This photo was taken toward the end of a long journey, as I was driving from Illinois to Colorado, moving to Aspen. This shot, approaching Glenwood Canyon, was taken on the same day as my earlier "Full Moon Sunrise" photo here on "Aspen Views." Taken 10/27/2007.

In preparation for my birthday climb of Pyramid this past year, I did some trail running around the area. This shot was taken on Difficult Trail, just outside of town as you head up Independence Pass, after "camping" with a big group of friends (not exactly roughing it) the night before. Apparently, these deer were hard of hearing, because →

I was rather sad not to have my camera with me tonight... as there was a very cool crescent moon in close proximity (from our perspective) to the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter... it was particularly striking when seen just above the ridge of Aspen Mountain in the early evening sky (just after 5pm local time). So, since I →

It's been snowing all weekend... So, here's a shot of Shadow Mountain, from the morning after a big snow last year. Notice the clear bright blue sky. That's how we like to order up our ski days here... big dump overnight, followed by a clear sunny day! Taken 1/8/2008.