January 13, 2026
I climbed up to a high perch to watch the rising sun illuminate Longs Peak. The predawn light in the east was dramatic and cast enough warm light onto the mountain to make this photo work. Just after I made this photo the clouds swallowed up the light and everything quickly returned to a flat gray. For just a few minutes, the wonder of our world was visible, but only to those who were on the lookout for it. Photo © copyright by Erik Stensland.