This image was shot from the summit of UN12,902, a rarely climbed twelver that resides on the great rock rim of Pierre Lakes Basin. Climbing this neat little summit requires a 19 miles hike with about 4,700-ft of vertical gain. My objective wasn't a shot of the great Maroon Bells; I climbed this peak because I wanted a shot of the Pierre Lakes Basin with Capitol Peak however the setting sun was too intense for my camera. I new going up I would face the ahrsh dynamic conditions but i thought i could control it later in post processing. No way! Just too much light beaming into the lens.
Later after the sun finally started to dip below the horizon I realized my best opportunity was a big panoramic shot of the less viewed west side of the Maroon Bells massif. Considering I had zero clouds for this shot the earths shadow provided the final touch to a great view of a great mountain. Photo © copyright by Kane Engelbert.