It took 2700 miles of driving, but I’m back in Jackson, New Hampshire after spending the winter in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Being a photographer, spending a winter in Santa Fe wouldn’t be complete without some continuing education at the Santa Fe Workshops. I took a portrait lighting class with Los Angeles based photographer Josh Sanseri. It was a great experience and I’m looking forward to incorporating the lighting techniques into my photography. We spent about half the time in studio and half on location (where most of my interest lies). The last day of class was reserved for an assignment of photographing a stranger. I chose to go on location and picked High Desert Guitars. I thought this shop would be an interesting location and thanks go to Steve, the owner, for letting me set up equipment and lights around $$$ guitars.

This backcountry skiing experience entailed a hearty approach of 7 miles, 3000′ of vertical, and decent sized packs (did I really need to bring the tripod?). Not to mention, we left Santa Fe at 5am and drove for 6 hours before starting the ski. We arrived at the hut just before dark and promptly passed out. The Ben Eiseman hut sits a bit above 11,000′ and is part of the 10th Mountain Division Hut System. I was really impressed by the hut and it’s a really comfortable place to spend a few nights. Exploring the morning after arriving:

Dusk:

Alana takes a turn behind the camera:

Alana skinning back towards the hut:

The snow was a bit crusty when we arrived due to a recent warm spell, but a snowstorm provided some decent powder towards the end of the trip. Good snow or bad, a trip to the hut is a great experience.

Took a quick trip to Bandelier National Monument in early March. Bandelier is near White Rock and Los Alamos, New Mexico. This image is from within the kiva at the Ceremonial Cave.

Went to climb Cabezon Peak this past week. It’s a volcanic formation in the Mount Taylor volcanic field, northwest of Albuquerque NM. Most of the peak is ringed by cliffs (some technical routes, but poor rock quality), but there is a 3rd class route of the southeast side. I apologize if I’m scaring any people reading this, but according to a Sierra Club manual written in the 1930’s, 3rd class is defined as: “steep scrambling with exposure, ropes are needed for inexperienced people. An unroped fall on 3rd class terrain would likely be fatal.” I would agree that a few sections of the route warrant that rating and recommend wearing a helmet for the loose rock. People with rock climbing experience should feel totally comfortable. Cabezon peak is an easy day trip from Santa Fe.

On the approach.

Talus slope, then head into steep gully.

Exposed scrambling after gully.

Passing juniper tree and then a steep section before summit.

Cactus on the summit.

Heading back down the steep gully.