Wasootch Creek

Arising early this morning, before 5:00 am, my friend Howie and I set out to do some photography in the Lake Louise area. We didn’t get far before realizing that the area west of Banff was socked in with low level clouds. We quickly reversed our direction and headed east where the skies looked more promising. We were rewarded with a clear morning in the Kananaskis Valley, about a 1/2 hour east of Canmore. We arrived at our revised destination, Wasootch Creek just before sunrise.

This first scene was photographed looking southeast up the creek. The pointed peak in the right-centre of the scene is Wasootch Tower, the prominent landmark in the Wasootch Creek area. This particular picture was taken just prior to sunrise, so there is very little colour from the sun’s rays on the clouds and the mountain peaks. This shot features the creek bed and the stand of trees to the right. There is a small stream presently, which will grow as the snow melt progresses. By July, the creek bed will be dry and will remain that way until next spring.

The next scene was photographed 25 minutes later, once the sun had risen and was casting light on the peaks. The sun is low in the sky and creates a rosy colour on the clouds and brings out the red/orange colour in the rock of the mountains. Wasootch Tower is nicely illuminated as is the larger (unnamed) peak to its right.

We still have snow on the ground in this area, although much less than higher in the mountains. It was a cool morning at -6 deg C (21 deg C) and if you look closely, you can see frost on some of the rocks in the foreground of these photos. Do not feel too badly for us, it’s not winter! It’s the mountain environment where early morning is always cool and more so at higher elevations. Canmore has already experienced some warm days this spring (21 deg C or 70 deg F) and the local golf courses will be opening in a week!