Kind of a fun capture of this family unit as they navigated the high altitude of Mount Evans.

Mom was on a mission to move to new grazing grounds and the little one was a bit less than excited about the climb. It was falling behind, calling to mom, wanting her to stop. She pushed on, knowing her little one would catch up eventually and indeed it did.

Here, the kid reached the top after much complaining and the pair stand nose to nose.

This mountain goat is displaying the perfect way to approach Friday and the weekend. Pull up a snowbank or perhaps just pour a cool adult beverage and chill. I definitely plan on doing the latter as I don’t expect to be anywhere there will be snow. 😉 

This image was taken back in the middle of June near the top of Mount Evans in Colorado. The snow was hanging on in many spots of the high country as you can see from the goat’s chosen place to rest as well as in the background. Of course now the majority of that is gone but it won’t be long before we start seeing the white stuff fly.

I wish you all a cool, relaxing weekend!

With some light snow being reported on Colorado’s highest peaks this morning, it is a sign of the changing of seasons.

This image, taken just two months ago, shows just how brief summer is at 14,000+ feet. At that time, the snow had almost disappeared other than in spots where there had been some monstrous drifts. When this mountain goat came across one spot, it seemed absolutely elated to find this lingering patch of the white stuff.

While I oftentimes see the kids get excited and bound around, this was the first time I saw an adult so jubilant. It jumped up and down on the snow, bounded around and eventually laid down and enjoyed the last vestiges of winter.

Its joy was contagious as myself and a few others that were observing it couldn’t help but smile and laugh. Have a fantastic weekend and get out and have some fun!

There was a day when I wished I had the flowing hair of this beautiful creature – or its namesake. 😀 

This mountain goat struck a perfect pose and you would almost think there was a wind machine precisely placed to make that mane blow perfectly. In reality, it was just the wind and this handsome beast was in the process of losing its winter coat and the remnants flowed quite nicely on the breeze.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

A nice look at mountain goats from a full adult nanny to her kid of the year.

After a long hike up the mountain, the kid was pretty tuckered out and laid down to take a break. While it rested, mom stayed nearby of course, keeping close watch. The third goat appears to be a juvenile, perhaps a couple of years old. It may have been the mom’s offspring from a previous year as it did seem to want to stock close to her.

In the wild, mountain goats live from 10 to 15 years. The kids will only weigh 6 or 7 pounds when born but a full-grown male can push 300 pounds. Adult females come in lighter and usually short of 200 pounds.

How about this little cutie? It makes for a fine capture for Mountain Goat Monday. 😉 

I returned to Mount Evans yesterday, an excursion that seems to have become my standard Independence Day spot in recent years. On my previous visit, I had only seen adults and yearlings, no kids.

This time, after a longer wait than usual, the littles ones did finally appear, in fact, eight of them. They weren’t particularly rambunctious or playful, instead just hanging out quietly and grazing with the adults.

That is okay though as they are just so stinking cute I just can’t get enough of them! This one was sticking close to mama but paused briefly to give me a cute pose.

After a one-year hiatus with Mount Evans closed due to COVID, I finally was able to return to the top of this infamous 14,000+ foot Colorado peak.

Action was slow, initially, with only four adult mountain goats around and they were not keen on doing anything great. Finally, a small group of five adults and two kids ascended to a spot lower on the mountain where I was hanging out.

I spent more than an hour photographing them, getting some cool shots. They did find my truck quite fascinating – and tasty. Mountain goats often lick vehicles for the salt and minerals on them and my truck was on the menu on this morning, the first time I have had that happen.

I wasn’t too concerned but should have been as I did find a number of scratches on it after the fact. 🙁 Kind of a bummer but at least it makes for a good story. Haha.

As for this little one, it wasn’t really interested in the taste of my truck and with the adults having some conflicts among themselves, it sought shelter under the vehicle. From there, it safely watched the goings on and provided some amusing captures.

Our snowstorm has me thinking about springtime and the warmer days and photo opportunities it brings.

Last year, COVID caused the Forest Service to shut down Mount Evans, preventing me from visiting these high-altitude denizens. I am hopeful that this year things will have improved enough that they will allow it to open.

So, for this image, I go back to Labor Day weekend 2019, the last opportunity I had to visit the rarified air of Mount Evans and the mountain goats. This handsome fellow was really quite the poser and gave me some nice captures as he looked toward the early morning sun.

While mountain goats have become a somewhat iconic symbol of Colorado wildlife, they actually are not native to the state. Six transplant operations from 1948 to 1972 brought 50 or so of them as game animals and tourist attractions. They now number in the thousands.

As we finally start the slow climb out of winter and begin to see temperatures rise, my mind is wandering and jumping ahead to late spring and summer above timberline.

One of the highlights is always a visit with the mountain goat herd on Mount Evans. They are awesome creatures and tons of fun to watch but, of course, it is the little ones that steal the show.

Oftentimes they are bounding around acting like “kids” but they do occasionally take a break, as was the case when this picture was taken on July 4, 2019. With its mom grazing nearby, this little one laid down and rested, looking quite cute as it looked at me.

Last year, the mountain was kept closed due to COVID in what was, in my opinion, a questionable decision. Hopefully this year the National Forest Service will allow visitors again and I can get in some much-needed time with these high-altitude residents.

This is the time of year when I normally get anxious to head to 14,000 feet and see the newborns so I am deeming this #MoutainGoatMonday.

Notice though that I say “normally get anxious.”

Traditionally, Memorial Day weekend or soon after Mount Evans opens up. Unfortunately, Colorado has decided to keep it closed until at least July 1 due to the coronavirus.

While there is a chance I might see a mountain goat somewhere else above timberline before then, it isn’t very likely. So, my annual mountain goat fix will have to wait and be filled by images like this one from last summer.