A Pictoral Celebration of the Rocky Mountain Goat Kid

[Lin Evans]

Images from Mount Evans, Colorado of the Rocky Mountain Goat which spends the summer atop the 14,268 foot peak along with the Yellow Bellied Marmot, the Pika, and a few high-altitude birds.

Each year in late June at a lower altitude lake area (10,600 feet) Mountain Goat ewes give birth to one or two kids (baby goats). The kids grow quickly and are taken to the summit by their mothers where they play on the steep rocky slopes, snack on wild flowers and succulents and provide great photographic moments for the dedicated wild life photographer.

By September the early snows begin, the wild flowers wither and the goats retreat to the lower elevations where they can find food for the harsh winters. The Pika and Marmot burrow in and hibernate for the winter. Snows over 20 feet deep cover the mountain peaks until the spring thaw comes to begin the cycle again.

The show consists of high resolution images and is about 82 meg of executable zip. Both MacIntosh and PC version linked below:

http://www.learntoma...ntainkidspc.zip (PC)

http://www.learntoma...tainkidsmac.zip (MacIntosh)

Best regards,

Lin

[Ken Cox]

Lin

i edited the title

A Pictoral Celebration of the Rocky Mountain Goad Kid

to

A Pictoral Celebration of the Rocky Mountain Goat Kid

pretty rough country -- frisky little kids:)

ken

[Lin Evans]

Hi Ken,

Thanks! LOL - Goad - that's what my pit dogs do to me every morning when I don't get their puppy chow quick enough!

Yep, and the constant icy, strong winds on the peak will chill you to the bone even in the middle of summer on most days. These little characters seem to thrive in it while the poor photographer can hardly hold the camera still enough to get a frame....

Lin

[frets3]

Hi, Lin,

Congratulations on your vibrant Mt. Evans show, the combination of flowers, animals, and rocks. The yellow-flower background in the kid photos is magical. The adaptive pika camouflage is perfect against textures and colors of its habitat.

I also appreciate your judicious animation, from the opening scene transformation, to the long, vertical pan of the weathered tree.

Judging by the depth of field, the kids must have allowed you to approach them closely. I once backpacked into the Olympics and camped at Lake Angeles. When I arrived in late afternoon, the mountain goats were nimbly navigating the cliffs opposite the lake. That night, to my delight, they were prowling just outside my tent. They remained in camp through much of the next morning, when I enthusiastically, but imprudently, exposed all of my film, leaving none for the rest of my hike.

Thanks for shivering through the shots and sharing with the less hardy. :>))

Best wishes, David White

[Lin Evans]

Hi Dave,

Thanks much for the detailed feedback! They are a delight to watch and film. They seem to have little fear of people, probably because of the constant exposure at their young age to a stream of visitors to the summit. Because there is a paved road running all the way to 14,130 feet elevation, it's possible for people who would not normally be able to handle the extreme elevation to visit and even walk up a relatively easy and short trail to the 14,268 foot peak. Fortunately, I live at a reasonably high elevation (around 6,000 feet) and spend a good deal of time in elevations of the 12,000 - 13,000 foot range so am acclimated enough to make five or ten mile hikes and still carry my equipment without undue stress.

I was able to get within about 100 feet of these little guys and their watchful mommy. I try not to get too close because the ewes are quite protective and one doesn't want to be on the receiving end of a lesson from those sharp horns and powerful bodies. As long as I'm still and as unobtrusive as possible, I'm usually able to shoot at will. F16 and a stabilized 80-400 lens helps a lot with the DOF and sharpness as does the 1.7x crop on my Sigma dSLR's which I used for these shots.

What amazes me almost as much as the tenacity of these creatures in extreme adverse weather is the fact that every summer there are beautiful wildflowers and succulents at this extreme altitude. The ones on the peak which I photographed don't last long before the extreme cold and frequent snows even in the summer months take their toll. I love watching the Pica which almost never seem to stop for more than a couple seconds, usually to vocalize. They spend all their waking hours gathering vegetation for the long winter. In their burrows one sometimes finds a huge hay bale sized cache of stored vegetation. This is an amazing feat for such a tiny little rodent. The Marmots seem to spend more time sunning themselves on rocks, but apparently find sufficient food stores to last them through the long winter months as well.

I can fully understand exposing your entire supply of film on these cute little kids. I've finally learned to carry several multi-gigabyte CF cards in my shirt pocket because I've done the same thing with my digital media. When a good photo opportunity presents itself, it's hard to stop shooting isn't it?

Best regards,

Lin

[frets3]

Hi, Lin,

Your crisp, Sigma f16 images of the Mount Evans critters should be seen by photographers who avoid shooting at apertures smaller than f8 because of diffraction with cropped-frame DSLR's.

Congratulations on staying sufficiently fit to lug around your photo gear at those altitudes.

Yes, it's great to trip the shutter without rationing film, and I'm not nostalgic about the smell of photo chemicals either. Speaking of nostalgia, I enjoyed the historical and contemporary images atop Mount Evans that you posted in another thread.

Best wishes, David White