Sierra Blanca From Mill Ridge —The Story
Another favorite place to hike is Mill Ridge. On this particular day, the sky was that special New Mexico blue, not a single cloud in sight. The heavily snow covered Sierra Blanca made her presence known to all in the Basin.
Sierra Blanca from Santo Nino Trail Series— #1—-The Story
Snow covered Sierra Blanca is such a well known sight in the Tularosa Basin. It is the tallest peak around at 11,975 ft elevation. It was a place of religious significance to ancient peoples living in the area. It creates its own weather due to its height. It is depicted in local ancient petroglyphs. So, for all these reasons, I felt drawn to its magnificence. I began to look for different viewing angles and locations from which to photograph the mountain. I ended up with a series of shots, this one from the nearby Santo Nino Stations of the Cross Trail. The interesting thing for me was that even though at this point on the trail I was only about 800 ft above the Basin Floor, it seemed like I was looking down on the almost 12,000 ft peak. An optical illusion. And the power of that beautiful mountain seemed just within an easy reach away!
Sierra Blanca from Santo Nino Trail Series— #5—-The Story
I was at about Station Five, still near the bottom of the steep trail. I stopped and turned toward the peak and saw that a considerable cloud cover had formed, nearly covering the range from view. I decided to keep on hiking up, but wondered if the cloud cover would lift.
Sierra Blanca from Santo Nino Trail Series— #4—-The Story
Hiking up the very steep Stations of the Cross Trail, takes you on a zig zag pattern, back and forth, gradually moving closer to the top station. I kept watching to see how the view of Sierra Blanca was changing. There was a much heavier coating of snow in this view. And, it showed the very steep angle of the mountain trail.
Sierra Blanca from Santo Nino Trail Series— #6—-The Story
Another visit to the Santo Nino Trail, but this time the snow covered the trail as well as the mountain. Shadows and light in and around the yuccas show the depth of the snow. The storm had ended the day before and today’s daybreak brought crystal clear blue skies – so common in New Mexico.
Sierra Blanca from Santo Nino Trail Series— #8—-The Story
I had arrived back at the base of the trail and was headed toward my car. The beautiful Sierra Blanca and the Sacramento Mountain Range all around it, seemed to have moved further away. The single yucca stands guard at the trailhead.
Sierra Blanca from Santo Nino Trail Series— #7—-The Story
One more view, this one framed by a close up of part of a yucca plus more of a north-south angle of the Sacramento Mountain range, of which Sierra Blanca is a part. At that moment it felt like I was even closer to the snow covered peak.
Sierra Blanca from Santo Nino Trail Series— #5—-The Story
Another view, this one as the fog was moving in, starting to cover the peak.
Sierra Blanca View From Apache Summit — The Story
The search for good views has taken me many places. Each storm that moves over the Sacramento’s seems to leave a fresh dusting of snow on the very high Sierra Blanca peak. The most recent storm was no different. But the clouds took a very long, seemingly endless, time to lift and reveal the gem underneath. A few moments right after this shot came into view, the clouds were already re-forming and re-covering the ski haven.