I heard a quote once, "Chase the bad weather because when it breaks, that's when the magic happens."
It was about 8pm on a Saturday night and I was 50/50 on driving to the mountains for sunrise early the following morning. A snowstorm had been blowing through all day so I wasn't sure what conditions would be like. I checked the weather forecast and saw that the storm was on it's way out. The forecast for the Denver area was cloudy, while the forecast up high was totally clear.
That was a VERY good sign. I texted some friends to see if anyone was down for a last minute send, and my friend Ethan said he was in.
Early the next morning we packed our gear and loaded up, headed for one of our favorite peaks that overlooks nearly all of Denver eastern Colorado. As we drove higher and higher, the fog grew thinner and the pine trees turned from green to white.
Ethan put his rig in 4-Low and we turned onto the snow-covered forest road that leads to the trailhead. Upon arrival, the temperature outside was a balmy 2 Degrees Fahrenheit. We layered up and got ready to go, but before we started hiking, I noticed that Ethan's Lexus looked almost like a spaceship with it's lights cutting through the darkness into the snowy, lunar-esque landscape.
At this point, it was time to get moving. We lifted our packs and began the trek through the fresh snow. The world was silent except for the soft crunch of our feet in the snow and the sharp inhales of cold air as we climbed through the trees.
The world slowly began to light up, shifting from the dark of night to the soft, calm beauty of blue hour. Golden hour seems to get all the hype. Stunning, epic light. Gorgeous, mind blowing scenes. People love that, I love that. But there's a special place in my heart for blue hour. The moments of stillness, peace, and calm before day breaks, or just after it ends. The same is true in our lives. So often our worth and happiness seems to be gauged by our golden hour moments of success, achievement, and glory. But just as important are the small moments in between. The work that we put in behind the scenes, the time we spend resting, and the quiet life lived in preparation for the wild life...
We pushed on, reaching our destination a few minutes before sunrise. I've stood on the balcony of this fire tower for more sunrises than I can count. I've ended up in whiteouts, seen unbelievably colorful clouds, and made countless memories with incredible people. But this sunrise was the best. We reached the base of the tower and spread out before us was an ocean of clouds stretching as far as we could see. We stood, practically holding our breath for the sun to rise. I put my drone in the air and started a timelapse while I snapped hundreds of photos with my camera.
The euphoria when the sun finally breaks the horizon is something else. The inversion began to turn gold with the first light of day and Ethan and I were completely blown away.
We watched the clouds roll across the landscape for a long time. The sun continued to rise in the sky and eventually the clouds began to disperse and pushed out towards the eastern plains.
It was time to head down. We walked back down to our bags, I strapped on my skis, Ethan his snowboard, and we started cruising down the mountain. About 75 feet down the road I promptly hit a rock and went down hard.
The rest of the descent was a combination of complete joy as we glided through the snowy forest coupled with a healthy degree of caution and paranoia about more hidden obstacles. We made it back down to the car and skied a few more laps down the hill right next to where we were parked before packing things up and driving back down.
I've been fascinated with that idea of chasing the bad weather in search of magic. It's amazing how true it is. The moments after big storms when the clouds break and begin let light through are often some of the beautiful and powerful events that happen in the natural world.
Maybe the same is true for us...
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading about this experience and/or taking in the photos. If you're interested in supporting me on future adventures, head over to my print shop! There are images from this set available in an exclusive collection called "When the magic happens."
Also, if you haven't seen it yet, here's the link to the vlog from the adventure!
Stay stoked, love first, seek discomfort, go after what makes you come alive and chase the feeling. Cheers!
- Zach
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