2023 Western Landscapes Wall Calendar

I'm excited to announce that my 2023 Western Landscapes wall calendar is now available!  It includes images from all over the Westerm U.S. and Canada, including Mount Rainier NP, Olympic NP, Grand Canyon NP, Bryce NP, Canyonlands NP, Glacier NP, Teton NP, Robson PP, North Cascades and more!

You can purchase the calendar for $15.99 ea. at Western Landscapes 2023 Wall Calendar (lulu.com).  What's better is that you can even preview before ordering by clicking on the preview button!

Happy Holidays and hope to see you on the trail!

The Southern Picket Range

The southern Picket Range from Mount Fury.

The wild and magnificent Picket Range is a classic sub-section of the north Cascades and considered one of the most isolated areas in the continental United States. The range is typically grouped into the southern and northern range.  Both are spectacular.

Approaches to any of the mountains in the Picket Range are extremely difficult, requiring extreme off-trail travel and often technical mountaineering skills (especially the northern group) and considerable elevation gain due to their relief.  But the rewards they offer are...did I say spectacular?

The southern Picket Range's most beautiful and dramatic side is its northern slopes and faces above a wild and trail-less McMillan Cirque.  This cirque must be seen from above to be truly appreciated.  Sheer ruggedness is what usually comes to mind.  To see this side requires a long lakeside hike or boat ride and then a backpack up the Big Beaver trail.  From there one needs to know where to leave the trail (unsigned) and travel cross-country to find the creek (often river) crossing, which can be raging in typical climbing season and log crossings can be difficult to find.  Once across, jungle-like bushwacking climbing awaits the climber in order to attain higher sub-alpine slopes where travel finally eases, but the difficulties are not over.  Patches of thick slide alder must be crossed to approach Access Cirque - a common camp area.  Above this cirque are steep gullies that are often ice-filled until late in the season and require extreme care and technical gear.

The best views are on the ridges below Luna Peak, Luna Peak, or in this case the summit of Mount Fury.  It's a tough 2-3 day approach, but rewards those determined to accept the challenge.  And the photography opportunities are endless!

This image was recently licensed for worldwide us in a recreational publication, I am proud to say.

You can see this image and more from this area in my North Cascades Gallery.

Hope to see you on the trail!

 

2014 Wall Calendars

2014 Mountains of Washington Wall Calendar.

I know it seems a little too early to be thinking about 2014 calendars.  Heck, we aren't even halfway into 2013 yet!  But in order to get such products on store shelves in time, planning and production must start early - often 2 - 3 years in advance.

Next year I find my work appearing in several wall calendars.  But the one I am most pleased about is the line produced by Smith-Western Co., a local company out of Tacoma.  I have worked with them for many years now, and have enjoyed an excellent relationship with them.

In 2014, I will have four images appearing in the pages and on the cover of their Mountains of Washington calendar, and one image in their Washington calendar.  The wall calendars are too large for my scanning capabilities, so you will have to settle for a picture of the pocket calendar version (same calendar as the wall version, only smaller)!

These calendars should start appearing on store shelves soon, if they haven't already.  In years past, I have seen them in Fred Meyer, Bartells, Rite-Aid, the Space Needle, and more.  Keep your eyes open and help support local business!

I haven't made up my mind yet whether I will sell these on my web site again.  The problem we run into is that shipping is so darn expensive - almost the price of the calendar.  I will likely have them available at my shows later in the year.

I hope everyone is having an excellent spring!