Mount Stimson and Three Suns Mountains, Glacier NP, Montana, USA

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Mount Stimson and Three Suns Mountains are in the remote southern region of Glacier National Park, Montana. Most people who venture into this area of the park do so in the summer or fall either by a long hike on the south boundary trail and then up one of the many trails deeper into the park or by fording the Middle Fork of the Flathead River as a somewhat risky shortcut. Although the park is open year round, access is limited in the winter as the main artery through the park, Going To The Sun Road, is closed due to snow from around mid October through June. In the winter I tend to search for interesting views looking into the park from its boundary. You can also drive the full length of Lake McDonald in the winter. The park is crowded in the summer and now requires a reservation to enter during the busy season but is well worth the wait. Fall can be spectacular with the many Aspens on the east side and Larch on the west.

I took this image from just west of Nyack, MT looking across the river into the park during a recent cold snap with below zero Fahrenheit temps and a lot of new snow on the mountains. Hoping for a clear view of Stimson and Three Suns after being skunked twice before I wasn’t expecting the color or the descending clouds that developed. I used my Nikon D850 with a Nikon 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 lens on a Gitzo tripod and a Kirk ball head. I almost always use a cable release and a 2-3 second delay to avoid camera shake. I focus stacked 2 shots to maintain sharpness although I probably didn’t need to. It was well worth the cold hands and feet but I didn’t suffer too much as my pickup and hot coffee were only about 30 feet away.

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