It is not often that photographers get to follow a mixed flock of Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goats up a mountain road, meeting the flock at the switchbacks to make images and then have them reappear again at the parking lot at the top. What was meant to be a quick side trip up the Mount Evans Byway, about 50 miles southwest of Denver and the highest paved road in the lower 48, provided the subjects of this essay. The 14,264 foot (4,350 meters) summit, with its ease of access and the chance to find sheep or goats, is both an opportunity and a hazard, especially for flatlanders who do not take the time to stage their descent above 2,500m (8,000 feet) elevation.

When we head for the mountains we usually take several days moving up to the high country as is recommended to avoid Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). With summer coming and travel to the mountains so popular, we thought we would offer a word of caution to photographers and casual travelers alike. We had time for a short trip two summers ago to photograph wildflowers at Crested Butte, CO. It was 100 degrees in Omaha when we stopped at the zoo on Saturday afternoon. Twenty-four hours later we were headed up the much cooler Mount Evans Byway for a short stop at the top. The lambs, kids and their mothers changed our plans, our trip itinerary and our respect for the effects of AMS. We did not intend to stay up there so long that day nor to camp at 10,000 feet altitude the first night in the mountains.

Read the rest of the Scarths' column in our April issue...