Moonset, Arapaho Peaks. Photo by James Beissel (Jamesbeissel.com)

Photographer James Beissel sent us this fantastic dawn-patrol shot of the full moon setting over South and North Arapaho in the Indian Peaks, shot from Flagstaff Mountain. Said Beissel: ”The first full moon of the New Year is often called the Wolf Moon. The name comes from Native American culture, in which it was associated with cold nights on which hungry wolves could be heard howling at the moon. January 30th’s full moon was also the largest for 2010—the full moon coincided with the lunar perigee, the point at which the moon is nearest to Earth during its egg-shaped orbit, making the moon appear larger and brighter than normal.”

Here’s another thing this photo reminds us: The east ridge of North Arapaho (right foreground), located inside Boulder’s closed-to-the-public watershed, sure looks like a fine mountaineering route. It’s a shame no one gets to climb it.

Photo by Bob Berwyn

By Bob Berwyn

Stakeholders in the San Luis Valley have taken a giant step toward protecting Great Sand Dunes National Park from mining, energy development, and water exports. Lexam Explorations has agreed to sell its mineral rights if a $9.7 million deal can be finalized by May.

Great Sand Dunes National Park was created by Congress in 2000. More than 150,000 acres are protected, including Colorado’s largest federal wildlife area, the Baca National Wildlife Refuge…. But the mineral rights under the surface were not included, and have long been eyed by a variety of developers dating back to the 1980s.

Read the rest of this story at Summit County Citizens Voice, the website created by longtime Colorado journalist Bob Berwyn.

In this Colorado Division of Wildllfe map, the highest levels of lynx activity are shown in red.

By Bob Berwyn

Despite ongoing intensive efforts to monitor Colorado’s reintroduced lynx population, biologists are still not sure if the threatened cats will survive in the long run. “It’s not clear if reproduction will keep up with mortality,” said Kurt Broderdorp, the Grand Junction-based biologist who keeps tabs on lynx for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service….

…Between 1999 and 2006, state biologists transplanted 218 lynx from Alaska and Canada to the San Juans. Since then, researchers have documented 118 lynx deaths, with more than a quarter of those fatalities related to human involvement, including poaching and vehicle collisions.

Trackers and biologists have also documented the birth of about 115 lynx kittens dating back to 2003. In 2007 and 2008, they couldn’t find any sign of lynx reproduction, but the researchers believe that other kittens have been born to females that can’t be tracked because they don’t have active radio transmission collars. In 2009, 10 kittens were born, including the first documented set of third-generation Colorado kittens, born to native Colorado lynx. State biologists said this was a key step toward establishing a self-sustaining population.

Read the rest of this story at Summit County Citizens Voice, the new website created by longtime Colorado journalist Bob Berwyn.

Rising blue moon, caught in the sunset shadow of Pikes Peak, from the summit, December 31, 2009.

The second full moon of December rises at sunset on a cold New Year’s Eve. Temperature: –1°F. Wind: 30 to 40 mph, gusting to 55 mph. And a mystery: Why does a round-topped mountain cast a pointed shadow?

Winter rainbow above Mill Creek Cirque, near Red Mountain Pass. Photo by Michael Barton

Courtesy of Mountain Goat Ski Guides, reprinted with permission.

Mt. Otis

The winter solstice occurs this morning at 10:47 a.m. Tomorrow, the sun will rise slightly higher in the sky and daylight will last two seconds longer. Soon there will be noticeably more time to play outside.

Have a great winter everyone!

Proposed Redcloud wilderness area. Photo by Mark Pearson / CanyonCountryWilderness.org

Denver Democratic congresswoman Diana DeGette has introduced the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2009, the latest incarnation of the Canyon Country Wilderness proposal. The bill would set aside about 850,000 acres in 34 parcels, nearly three-quarters of which is BLM land. It also includes Redcloud and Sunshine peaks, two 14ers near Lake City.

DeGette has been trying to get the Canyon Country wilderness legislation out of committee in the House since 1999. One significant change to this year’s bill is that it does not include the Roan Plateau area northwest of Rifle, an area of highly controversial oil and gas leases.

This is the second major Colorado wilderness proposal introduced in Congress this year. In the fall, Rep. John Salazar introduced the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act in the House, and Senators Bennet and Udall subsequently introduced a companion bill. All of the proposed wilderness legislation is still in committee.

Here’s a fun, short clip of backcountry skiing on Snodgrass Mountain, near Crested Butte, shot last March by Salt Mountaineering guide Mark Smiley. This small peak is the site of a controversial proposed expansion by Crested Butte Mountain Resort—a proposal that the U.S. Forest Service formally refused to consider last month, which quashes the plan for good unless threatened lawsuits are successful.

Snodgrass Mountain, the forested peak in the foreground, seen from Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Photo by R. Scott Rappold / The Gazette

The expansion plan and the Forest Service decision have roiled the ski industry and the town of Crested Butte, which is split between those who believe the proposal is essential to the ski resort’s—and thus the town’s—long-term prosperity, and those who prefer Snodgrass and Crested Butte as smaller, quieter places. Last Sunday, the Gazette in Colorado Springs published a good balanced story about the controversy—the report and the three pages of comments are both worth reading.

Meanwhile, enjoy this video of Snodgrass as it skis today.

Michael Barton, owner and head guide  of Mountain Goat Ski Guides in Silverton, sent us this note about mysterious movements in the snow:

There’s a regularly occurring phenomenon that is a great mystery to this ski guide. Despite my schooling in science and having apprenticed for five years with world-renowned snow master Chris Landry, I cannot seem to figure this one out. I will open the floor for debate, and maybe someone out there in the world of snow-wandering mountain peoples knows how to solve the puzzle.

To see this, you must be moving quite slowly across the snow—imagine cross-country skiing or skinning gently uphill on a clear, blue-sky morning. It must have snowed recently, and the sun has to have been out. The phenomenon usually occurs in open patches of snow among stands of timber. If you look down at the base of pine trees when the conditions are right, you will see tiny specks of tree debris that seem to have moved of their own volition. They only move a few inches at most, but they leave a melted trail in the snow in spirals, loop de loops, or meanders like a river.

What makes them move? I don’t think it’s the wind, because the patterns are never alike, there can be hundreds under a tree, and each one goes its own way. Is the sun shining on the piece of debris and heating it, causing it to be drawn through the snow by molecular tension of water? Possibly, but there is more to it because the stuff moves in many directions and not always toward the sun.

I have presented this puzzle to snow scientists, avalanche forecasters, and countless groups of high school students in the winter backcountry. It seems wonderful to me that, in a world of information at our fingertips, riddles of nature remain. It’s for just this reason that I work as an outdoor educator. It certainly takes one’s mind off the uphills anyway.

If anyone can solve this mystery—or has any ideas on this whatsoever—please send me your thoughts. I’ll send a surprise gift to the person with the most plausible answer. Actually, I’ll describe the gift: It’s a DVD of the movie 2012 filmed in a theater in Nicaragua and dubbed into Spanish. Have a great ski season!

Companion bills introduced this fall in the House and Senate would add greater safeguards to more than 61,000 acres in southwestern Colorado. Here are five cool things that would be protected if the legislation passes:

Mt. Sneffels and peaks to its east would be protected under new wilderness legislation.

• Mt. Sneffels. Yup, this striking 14,150-foot peak isn’t covered by the existing Mt. Sneffels Wilderness—only about one-third of the mountain is currently protected. The planned 13,231-acre expansion would fix that.

• Whitehouse Mountain and the other high peaks west of Ouray. This is the million-dollar (billion-dollar?) view you get across the Double RL Ranch as you head west out of Ridgway. The newly expanded Sneffels Wilderness would encompass most of these beauties.

McKenna Peak.

• McKenna Peak. A new, 8,614-acre wilderness area will protect Colorado’s badlands, with wild horses, expansive piñon-juniper woodlands, abundant wildlife, fossil beds, and—get this—no developed trails.

• U.S. Grant Mountain. This rugged 13er, along with Pilot Knob and the other high peaks south of Ophir and west of Silverton—plus Ice Lake and the other stunning alpine tarns in this area—will be covered under the new, 21,697-acre Sheep Mountain Special Management Area.

• The Hardrock 100. The super-tough San Juans ultra is grandfathered under the proposed wilderness expansions. Similarly, heli-skiing, mountain biking, and other existing recreational uses of the Sheep Mountain area will be allowed.