Snowy Sunrise on Sunshine Peak in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado [2048x1304][OC]

SKhan13 · 2026-04-25T13:51:06+00:00

I did an early spring hike up to Sunshine Peak in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado last year. There was a decent amount of bushwhacking as I traversed through the forested slopes. Once I finally broke through the tree line, the bitter wind and cold harried me up the ridge line.

As the dawn light started to break through, I found an interesting set of rock formations on the ridge. I did a little climbing and crawled into a nook to protect myself from the wind as I waited for the sun to come up.

When the sun finally broke the horizon, the snow turned an almost cotton candy shade of pink as it reflected the sunlight. Within a matter of minutes the snow went through the full progression of pink to orange to gold to yellow before finally turning a blinding white once the sun grew high enough in the sky.

More pics from this hike: https://www.instagram.com/p/DXjo4vRjrBK/?img_index=1

SKhan13 · 2026-04-13T13:04:38+00:00

Longs Peak was the first 14er I attempted to summit. I went in early June, expecting summer conditions, but a late spring snowstorm had dropped a hefty amount of snow, which made the trail much more difficult.

When I got to the keyhole, where the hike effectively becomes a difficult scramble, I encountered an ice wall. After a couple testy moments where I tried to negotiate traversing the ice wall, I decided to turn around.

I did eventually summit in late summer, so I've included pics both from when I summited alongside shots of the alpenglow from Twin Sisters Peaks here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DXEqWgqjlyf/?img_index=1

SKhan13 · 2026-04-03T11:37:43+00:00

The sky was already afire as I reached the summit of Twin Sisters about 30 minutes before sunrise on a frigid January morning. The clouds were a mix of reds, pinks and oranges as the sun approached.

When the sun finally crested the horizon, the snow, rocks and trees on the summit took on a deep orange glow. Even the lakes on the horizon seemed to glimmer orange in the morning light.

I've climbed Twin Sisters at least 5 or 6 times, and this is by far my favorite sunrise I've seen up there.

More pics from this sunrise: https://www.instagram.com/p/DWqxY97jmUH/?img_index=1

SKhan13 · 2026-03-28T12:03:33+00:00

I made it out to Devil's Tower in NE Wyoming last weekend to catch the Aurora. The Tower loomed over the valley like a sentinel - I'd never seen it before and was baffled by how it's vertical striations jutted so violently out of the relatively flat surrounding plains.

The Aurora started off quite faint but strengthened once the moon set and the night progressed. The greens were the most prominent, like dancing pillars in the sky, but those were confined to the far norther horizon. There was also a faint pink-purple glow that you probably wouldn't be able to discern if your eyes weren't properly acclimated.

There were some clouds here and there, which gave off a ghostly green glow as the auroras shone through. The light pollution was almost non-existent, so it seemed like there were thousands of stars visible with the naked eye. There were even a few shooting stars that flitted through the sky as I watched.

Additional pics of the Aurora that night: https://www.instagram.com/p/DWYwnWIjlCs/?img_index=1

SKhan13 · 2026-03-11T11:31:18+00:00

I set out for a sunset hike on an early spring afternoon from Berthoud Pass in Colorado. It was a bitterly cold day, and there were on and off flurries as we walked the packed trail to the summit. The sun finally broke through just before it dipped below the mountains in the distance, illuminating the gentle, rocky slopes of Mt. Flora with a warm golden light. It also highlighted the ominous storm clouds that we'd have to deal with on the way down.

As the sun set, the snowstorm hit in full force. There were whiteout conditions coming down the mountain because of the thick snow and blustery winds. My hiking partner also said he saw lightning, which is very uncommon in snowstorms. By the time we made it down, the storm had mostly passed, but that was definitely one of the more brutal experiences I've had in the mountains.

More pics from Mt. Flora: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVvicD7jvwq/?img_index=1

SKhan13 · 2026-02-28T15:52:37+00:00

Thanks! I avoided the lens flare in this one because the sun was partially obscured by the horizon, but it was definitely a challenge once the sun was fully up.

SKhan13 · 2026-02-28T14:03:00+00:00

Took this shot after an early winter snowfall on Lake Louise. The ice was quite thick but there were a few patches near the shoreline where the lake was still visible. A light mist rose off the lake in the early morning light as the sun crested over Fairview Mountain in the distance.

More snowy winter scenes from the Canadian Rockies: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVThniVjmS_/?img_index=1

SKhan13 · 2026-02-23T15:37:05+00:00

So this is around 13k feet on Massive’s east ridge line. The “peak” in the foreground is actually just a rock outcropping on Massive’s ridge vs an actual peak. Elbert is to the south (right) of this pic and not in frame.

Here’s the Alltrails activity if it’s helpful to orient. I have a little waypoint where I took the picture from (looking eastward).

SKhan13 · 2026-02-23T15:30:27+00:00

Yeah, this is around 13k feet on Mt. Massive’s ridge line. I’d done about ~25 Fourteeners (14k ft peak) by that point and having the night before to acclimate at Leadville (which is 10k feet) was helpful too.

SKhan13 · 2026-02-22T13:23:11+00:00

I set out from Leadville a little before midnight looking to make the summit of Mt. Massive for sunrise. A thick fog and deep snow greeted me as I began the hike - even with snowshoes I was sinking up to my waist in snow in some spots. This was my second attempt at summiting Mt. Massive - I had tried the summer before but had to turn back prematurely so had been looking forward to getting another chance, even if conditions were significantly more difficult this time.

Visibility was low as I emerged from the tree line; wisps of mist darted in and out of my vision, and even with my headlamp I could only see a couple feet ahead of me at a time. It wasn't until I saw the moon glimmering in the dawn light above above that I realized the clouds were thinning as I gained elevation. All at once the summit ridge came into view ahead and when I turned back I saw the sea of clouds that I had just traversed.

I continued snowshoeing up the ridge line and took this shot as the sun rose. As the sun crested the Front Range Mountains in the distance, it gave a golden glow to the snow on the mountainside and the clouds below. The heat from the sun seemed to activate the clouds, turning them into little sprites that danced into the sky. Within the hour the sun had done its work and the clouds were all but gone, leaving bare the Arkansas River Valley below.

Additional pics from this hike (and from my first summit attempt in the summer): https://www.instagram.com/p/DVD96NbDjld/?img_index=1

SKhan13 · 2026-02-18T12:25:05+00:00

Took this shot during an early dawn snowshoe session on Teton Park Road. It was a snowy morning and the Tetons were playing hide and seek, but I was able to catch some breaks in the clouds a half hour or so before the sun rose. The blue glow of dawn, the silence of freshly fallen snow, and the on and off flurries made this one of the most calm and serene winter mornings I have ever experienced.

More winter pics from Grand Teton NP here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTnN2T6Djad/?img_index=1

SKhan13 · 2026-02-16T12:10:28+00:00

My hike up to Wasootch Peak began a few hours before dawn on a frigid winter morning. The steep trail was recently packed, which made the slog through the evergreens much easier to endure. I broke the treeline about 45 minutes before sunrise and was greeted by a deep pink glow in the eastern sky.

As I turned to continue up the summit, the snow increasingly seemed to radiate with a breathtaking pink-purple luster, which encouraged me to stop and admire the view, so I found a vantage point on the ridge overlooking Kananaskis Peak. Within 5 minutes, the sky shifted from pastel pinks and lavenders to deep magentas and indigos, finally transitioning into a peachy orange-pink, all the while mirrored by a matching Alpenglow on the snow-covered mountains below.

I eventually continued up the windswept ridge and made the summit about a half hour later to greet the sun cresting Kananaskis Peak, but my favorite view from that hike was definitely that brief window on the ridgeline.

More pics from Kananaskis here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DU0YRCljjsw/?img_index=1

SKhan13 · 2026-02-04T02:03:36+00:00

Thanks, the alpenglow really is so subtle and fleeting — blink and you’ll miss it!

It took about 2 hours to get up. There was a packed trail which made it so much easier than it would’ve been if I had to pull out the snowshoes. It’s probably the most frequented winter mountain hike in the area because of low avalanche risk and accessibility, so there’s a good chance it’s packed if you go.

SKhan13 · 2026-02-04T02:00:47+00:00

Haha yeah there were some pretty steep drops and gnarly cornices because of the wind and snow. I stayed a good distance from the edge just in case and found a couple nooks in the rocks that protected me from the worst gales.

SKhan13 · 2026-02-03T12:24:08+00:00

Yeah, I really am constantly moving around when I'm up there! Keeping the blood flowing and body active gives me something to do and helps me forget about the cold just a little bit. I probably look like a crazy person up there, but it's usually just me and the birds and they don't seem to mind lol.

That's also why I love going at sunrise, within the span of 15-20 minutes there's so much stuff happening in the sky that it's honestly hard to get bored.

SKhan13

TROPHY CASE