The wind effect

Back to reality and our snow-covered world! This was taken on 23 November 2013, when I was lucky enough to go to the Highwood Pass, Kananaskis, with a birding friend. A week after this photo was taken, we returned for one last try, again without success : ) We were hoping that we might be lucky enough to find a White-tailed Ptarmigan, but, like on a few previous tries in other years, we were totally out of luck. The main highway in this area (Highway 40) had just been opened for the first time since all the damage done by Alberta's Flood of the Century, but the whole area was closed again one week later, because it always closes each winter. My photo was taken near the parking lot for Ptarmigan Cirque, and really the only way you could get around was with cross-country skis or snowshoes. My friend had just bought some snowshoes, so he got a good workout checking through the trees, but I stayed on this very narrow track for just a very short distance, trying not to plunge through the thin snow crust along the centre of the trail, into knee-deep snow. Even though it's a nice, soft landing if you lose your balance, it's just about impossible to get back up again without help!

Highwood Pass is the highest drivable pass in Canada, at 7239 ft. (2206 m.) This road is Highway 40 in Kananaskis Country, Alberta, SW of Calgary. The road is closed from 1st December to 15th June every year to facilitate elk, big horn sheep, deer and moose doing their spring grazing during that time. As well, with spring babies being born, predators are attracted to the area.