Morning photo: signs of spring

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

meltdown …

A stand of aspens is partially submerged by a spring snowmelt pond near the Meadow Creek trailhead in Frisco, Colorado.

A stand of aspens is partially submerged by a spring snowmelt pond near the Meadow Creek trailhead in Frisco, Colorado.

SUMMIT COUNTY —At long last, the melt season has started in the Colorado high country, nearly a month later than last year. As it goes in the mountains, things change in a hurry once it warms up. Tender green sprouts shoot up at the edge of crusty snowbanks, sometimes growing an inch per day. There’s not a lot of time — at 10,000 feet, most plants have to reach flowering stage within just a couple of months. Springtime in the Rockies! (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Morning photo, photography, seasons, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Summit County plans large-scale wildfire training exercise

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Evacuation and communications seen as critical elements in emergency response

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Summit County emergency responders along U.S. Highway 6 during a June, 2011 fire in Keystone Gulch, Colorado. Bob Berwyn photo.

By Summit Voice

Register for emergency notifications at www.SCAlert.org.

Follow the Summit County Sheriff’s Department on Twitter.

FRISCO — Next week’s large-scale emergency response test in Summit County will include door-to-door visits by uniformed officials in the Ruby Ranch, Willowbrook Highlands and Ptarmigan Ranch subdivisions, notifying residents about evacuation procedures in case of a wildfire.

The April 30 exercise includes more than 100 local emergency responders and will test the ability of local agencies to respond to a mock scenario revolving around a number of wildfires which spread due to high winds. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office in particular will be testing plans for evacuation and public information. (more…)

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Morning photo: Sometimes the lights all shining on me …

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Can you feel it?

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Sunrise over the Tenmile Range.

FRISCO —In the end, photography is all about light, right? And sometimes that light is just so powerful that you can almost reach out and touch it. Experiencing those moments is one thing; capturing them successfully with a camera is quite another. Sometimes, just snapping off a series of shots and hoping for the best seems to work, but most often, I revisit spots where I can anticipate what’s going to happen, based on where the sun will rise (or set) and what the clouds are like on a particular day. Did I mention clouds? They are a key ingredient to giving the light that palpable depth. Here are a few of may favorites from the last half year or so … (more…)

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Morning photo: Winter wonderland

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Biggest snowfall of the year …

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Meadow Creek sparkling after an overnight snowfall dropped about 7 inches of snow on Frisco, Colorado — the biggest single-day snowfall of the year.

FRISCO — Mother Nature delivered a nice surprise over the weekend, dropping anywhere from 6 to 15 inches of snow across parts of the north-central mountains. Along with making for great conditions on one of the final ski weekends of the season at some resorts, the storm brought some much-needed moisture to the Colorado River Basin. It may not be a drought-buster, but it sure won’t hurt. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Morning photo, photography, seasons, Snow and weather, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Morning photo: Spring sunshine

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Around the reservoir

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Big snowdrifts are slowly melting in the lee of what were once islands in Dillon Reservoir.

FRISCO — After a spate of cold, gray days (and there are more to come), April sunshine finally broke through Friday afternoon. What a great way to start the weekend! It didn’t take long for the snow to start melting away in the flats around Dillon Reservoir, showing how far the water level dropped this winter. Beneath a few meltwater ponds, the dry, cracked mud of last autumn is still visible — apparently it takes a while for the thirsty Earth to replenish itself. More snowy and cold weather is expected starting Saturday afternoon right into the first half of next week, but the afternoon sunshine gave a hint of warmer days ahead. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Drought, Morning photo, photography, Snow and weather, Summit County Colorado, Summit County snow and weather | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Morning Photo: Oh, Colorado!

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Eyecandy

A winter full moon rising over Grays and Torreys, two 14ers along the Continental Divide in Summit County, Colorado.

A winter full moon rising over Grays and Torreys, two 14ers along the Continental Divide in Summit County, Colorado.

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Copper Condos supports Summit Voice.

FRISCO —After a day filled with brown grass and gray skies, I wanted a little color, so I scanned the Summit Voice archives to find some of my all-time favorite mountain shots, starting with an amazing full moon rising over Dillon Reservoir and the Continental Divide. To the casual observer, the moon doesn’t seem to move much in the sky, but when you’re fumbling with two cameras and frozen fingers, that orb pops up pretty quickly, and when there are layers of clouds in the mix, it makes it all the more interesting. If you like these shots, visit our online FineArt America gallery, where there’s a nice selection of Summit County and Colorado images, available as prints or greeting cards. It’s a great way to support independent online journalism.
(more…)

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Morning photo: Meadow Creek

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

A mountain stream

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In the autumn, Meadow Creek dwindles to a mellow trickle.

FRISCO — Meadow Creek is my hometown’s little stream. Tenmile Creek may be a little bigger and more famous — if a creek can be famous — but Meadow Creek runs right through the busy guts of our little town, down from the Gore Range, under I-70 and right through center of Frisco’s busy commercial thoroughfare, past the bus depot (or transfer station, if you want to use the genteel name for that facility), past Walmart, underneath busy Summit Boulevard, then past a place called Meadow Creek Tires, through a culvert near our local bank branch and then, well, right into our backyard, where it forms a lovely pond before making its final run into Dillon Reservoir. (more…)

Filed under: Morning photo, photography, rivers, Summit County Colorado, water | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Summit County: Stakeholder group to take another close look at proposal for motorized trails on Tenderfoot Mountain

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Consensus sought on divisive plan to build new trails

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Local dirt bike riders hope to create a new system of challenging single-track trails.

Click here to read full Summit Voice coverage of the Tenderfoot issue.

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — The White River National Forest has hit the pause button on its proposal to develop a new motorized trail system on Tenderfoot Mountain. Before issuing a final decision on the plan, forest supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams will consider the input of a stakeholder group that’s meeting in a process facilitated by the Keystone Center.

The stakeholder group includes Forest Service representatives, local government officials and planners, conservation advocates, motorized users and local homeowner groups. The hope is to find some sort of consensus on the contentious plan, said Peech Keller, who coordinates environmental reviews for the Forest Service’s Dillon Ranger District. The group will meet about every two weeks through mid-June, she added. All the Forest Service documents related to the proposal are online here. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Ranger District, Environment, Summit County Colorado, US Forest Service, White River National Forest | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Morning Photo: Happy Easter

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Spring? not quite yet …

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Ptarmigan pasque flowers.

FRISCO — Yesterday we featured some spring snow photos in the daily photo essay, but Easter — whether you celebrate it as a religious holiday or not — definitely carries a connotation of spring, and for me, a resurrection of the warmer time of the year, when the Earth itself comes to life. And by this time last year, early wildflowers were already abloom on south-facing slopes, but not this year. That’s part of the beauty of living in the mountains — the seasons are unpredictable, and we wouldn’t have it any other way, right? (more…)

Filed under: Morning photo, photography, seasons, wildflowers | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Morning photo: Winter’s last gasp?

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

March snow

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The Walmart wetlands.

FRISCO —A last little taste of winter in the Colorado high country, as March finally delivered some much needed white stuff. Of course, it melted nearly as fast as it fell, but that didn’t really matter. For a couple of days at least, it looked pretty wintry, and the moisture didn’t hut, either. Sure, there’s still a drought, but hopefully some of the moisture this month will at least take the sharpest edge off. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Morning photo, photography, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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