The north and west faces of Longs Peak after a fresh dose of snow on Jan. 29th, 2010.

It's unusual to see snow sitting on these flanks of Longs Peak, Colorado in the middle of winter as the constant high winds (60-80mph) that rake these rarefied heights, have a way of stripping off all snow coverage as quickly as it lands.

New snow on January 27th managed to spend a few days at these elevations before the winds returned Longs Peak to it's typical stoney silence.