Farewell to the Mountains?

Perhaps you saw Jan Heine's recent "Farewell to the Mountains" post.  Jan constructed a multi-day 900km+ end-of-season visit through his favorite mountain areas, just in advance of the coming snows in the Cascades.  I enjoyed the evocative narrative and scenes.  Surely many of us can relate.

Of course, "farewell" is far from absolute for the hardier among us who simply move to knobbies or cross-bike setups.  Or to those of us who enjoy wintersport (alpine or nordic skiing, ski randonnée, or snowshowing) ... or those who mix both! 

Meanwhile, we've gotten an extended succession of opportunities to enjoy the high country ... such as the Indian Peaks on the Lefthand Lark 200k:

... or Rocky Flats, the Flatirons, and Longs Peak with a dusting of snow:

... and, oh yes, with winter mountain snows come foothill winds!

Meeker and Longs Peak were brilliant on the Glen Haven Gallivant 200k:

... and still a hint of fall colors in Big Thompson Canyon:

Nice enough to pause for a bite and photo op at the top of Devil's Gulch.

... and nice enough that some of us, such as Ray Rupel on the James Canyon Jaunt, biked from dawn to dusk:

Hope you've enjoyed the balmy weather and the mountain views!

-jle