07 Mar 19 Had it been just a wee bit colder today we would have had perhaps an inch of snow accumulation, but alas, it just hit the ground and melted. But on Sunday last, needing a break from the computer problems, and in need of a little more snow, we called the National Park Service to see if Hurricane Ridge was open and it was, although they neglected to tell us when it closed for the day, which as it turned out was 70 minutes after we got there. So the park was open for 1/5 the amount of time it took to go there and back and the reason for selecting that park with snow, shooting the sunset, wasn't in that time frame. So should you call to check on park openings be certain to get ALL the info including exactly which hours you have access to YOUR park! The road from Port Angeles to the summit is approximately 18 miles in length and about 14 miles in you begin to see folks enjoying themselves with skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and other activities. While the road has plenty of pullouts for viewing and photography, during the winter months most of them are covered in snow and not accessible so I had to do some considerable walking at times from those which were available to get the shots I wanted. Today's submission is one I took from the road and will give you an idea of the beautiful ungroomed slopes available for all types of snow sports EXCEPT snowmobiling thankfully! You can not only find two snowboarders in this capture but also follow a few trails left by the skiers, one starting a bit below the summit on the right and exiting in the clearing at the bottom of the frame. I shot until they forced us to leave but the real photos are those an hour or less on either side of sunset. I wish I could have gotten a few to share.
Other than some cropping for composition, this is what the camera saw. Winter Fun Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1000 sec @ f / 9.