Elk Ridge, Colorado

The morning after a mid-May snowstorm, Elk Ridge is a pristine landscape rising above untouched territory. Breaking trail through drifts of deep snow impedes progress but on this day there is no rush to reach the top.

Frosted Bergen Peak looms over the white meadow where a grove of green aspen accentuates the scenic splendor. Blue shadows undulate across a frozen surface that blankets the rugged earth buried so far below.

While trudging along the edge of the dark woodland, tall pine trees release a deluge of icy snowmelt. Drenched from head to toe, the wanderer in this wilderness is bound to get wet and chilled to the bone.

By late afternoon, the warm sun has begun to release the foothills from the weakening grip of the season's last winter storm. Truly, it shouldn't come as a surprise because this unusual pattern has become an annual event.

It seems outrageous to be experiencing such inclement weather at this time but the snow will not last long. Believe it or not, in a couple of days you won't even be able to tell it snowed at all because it will have vanished into thin air.

A pristine landscape

Deep snow

Bergen Peak looms over the white meadow

Blue shadows

Along the edge of a dark woodland

Tall pines release snowmelt

Warm sun in the foothills

An annual event