The late-breaking rays of a winter sunrise begin to trickle down the Cathedral Spires, including the famed Sharkstooth, as gleaming reflections shimmer on the glassy, wind-stripped surface of Sky Pond, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.

My friend and I began in the dark, pushing through ripping gusts of wind and waist deep snowdrifts, and we negotiated a steep, not entirely confidence inspiring scramble around a frozen waterfall to arrive here for sunrise. We were attempting to prepare ourselves for a backpacking trip in Patagonia a month later, and in hindsight I think the daft, pre-dawn ministrations were effective and certainly memorable if not entirely sensible. I recall a particularly stiff gust of wind rolling off the Divide to the west and pushing into me hard enough that I feared my spikes would lose their purchase on the ice.

I hope the tail-end of 2024 is peaceful and prosperous - happy new year to all!

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Make:	NIKON CORPORATION
Model:	NIKON D750
Exposure:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture:	f/11.0
ISO Speed:	100
Focal Length:	17 mm
Lens:	16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0