Winter Storm Kade - Small Flakes, Big Snow

Winter Storm Kade

Just hours after a furry groundhog in Pennsylvania prophesied a swift spring arrival, a brutal winter storm hammered the foothills in Colorado. It was a classic example of the old adage - Big flakes, small snow. Small flakes, big snow.

The tiny snowflakes poured like rain through a bitterly cold night, resulting in a smothered landscape buried below deep snow. The crystalline powder was piled into fragile drifts that shifted in a brisk wind.

After experiencing our least snowiest January in 50 years, the blizzard was a stunning slap in the face, snapping us back into the reality of winter conditions in the mountains. The glorious daybreak was punctuated by a bright sun whose sleek rays leaked through the branches of a dense woodland.

The low, diffused light spread throughout the forest creating a curious combination of fluorescence and shadow. Seen across the valley from a high vantage point, Bergen Peak was a regal monarch robed in white, a frozen monument revealing the true power of the most recent weather system.

Trudging through the labyrinth of timber, rock and ice on such an extraordinary day was an exhilarating experience. The slippery descent emptied into an isolated meadow where a dilapidated homestead was a weather-beaten tribute to all of the resilient inhabitants of the Rock Mountains.

A brutal winter storm

Small flakes, big snow

A smothered landscape

Crystalline powder

A glorious daybreak

Low, diffused light

Light leaked through the dense woodland

Snapped back to reality

An extraordinary day

A regal monarch

A dilapidated homestead

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