Taking center stage in this...

Taking center stage in this photo is rugged Mount Helen, west of Sinopah Mountain. The black ridged wall to the right that is part of Helen's east ridge is a challenging piece of rock called Pumpelly's Pillar. The bashful, shadowed mountain behind Helen is a big bad boy called Mount Phillips, which borders the deepest part of the Park's southern half, modestly known as the "Nyack-Coal Creek Camping Zone." It's the sticks, is what it is! No doubt full of grizzlies and other assorted critters, this part of the park is rarely visited with any regularity. The saddle right of Helen is Dawson Pass, renouned as one of the windiest places in the Park. Several days later, we verified this fact for ourselves by going there. Believe what you hear and read about it and plan accordingly!

Summer, 2004, Glacier National Park. Digital photo by Aaron Johnson