Grand Teton National Park - Summer, Fall, and Winter

Winter in Summer
Summer in the Tetons is marked by an explosion of color as wildflowers burst into bloom: yellow mule ears and arnica, red Indian paintbrush, blue lupine. Eventually warm weather returns even to the high country. At places like Lake Solitude, perched high in the mountains on the North Fork of Cascade Canyon, spring finally arrives around the Fourth of July. Snowbanks may still rim the lake, but yellow glacier lilies are blooming within inches of the melting snow as though impatient to end their long winter's dormancy.

Even in summer there may be brief relapses into wintry weather. Storms sometimes swirl about the great mountain peaks and leave them mantled beneath a light dusting of snow. But always the weather breaks and bright sunshine quickly melts the snow, sending the accumulated trickles downward toward the valley.

The valley of Jackson Hole also endures the fury of occasional summer storms. At places like Leigh Lake, nestled near the base of Mount Moran, the morning may dawn clear, bright, and cloudless. The lake is a mirror -- smooth, taut, unrippled -- that perfectly reflects trees, mountain, and sky. By midmorning a few shreds of cloud may begin drifting over the peaks, and a light breeze ripples the lake. But the sun remains hot, and the sky gives no hint of trouble to come.

By early afternoon, puffy cumulus clouds begin to coalesce into huge, ominous thunderheads that tower above the peaks. Distant rumbles come down the canyons that crease the slopes, while the clouds change from white to forbidding black. Just before the onslaught the air turns still. Then as the storm approaches, winds roar down the canyons and blast lake and forest alike. Jagged forks of lightning streak in quick succession across the now darkened sky, and the thunder is no longer a distant rumble but a series of sharp nearby explosions. Fortunately these summer storms are usually quite brief, and within an hour or so the sun is shining once again. The clouds may cling to the peaks for a time, but by evening they become a tattered shroud that the setting sun illuminates with a dazzling burst of color.

From Autumn Gold to Winter White
As autumn approaches, thunderstorms became less frequent, and the days are often clear from dawn to dusk. Now begin the annual courtship and mating rituals of the three local members of the deer family: mule deer, moose, and elk. All the males are fully antlered and regal in their autumn attire. One of the characteristic sounds of the season is the high-pitched trumpeting or bugling of the bull elk, a sound that serves as a warning or challenge to other bulls. Each male rounds up a herd of cows and vigorously defends his harem from rivals. Keeping the harem together is not always easy, however; the females seem to delight in running off and joining neighboring groups.

Autumn in Jackson Hole has other special qualities. Brilliant yellow aspens stand out boldly against the backdrop of the Tetons, which usually are already lightly dusted with snow. In some years the balmy days of Indian summer linger long after the leaves have turned and fallen from the trees. In other years heavy snows begin while the trees are in full color.

When winter comes, it brings a time of quietness and dormancy. Bears that grew fat on berries and other foods throughout the autumn now settle down for their long winter sleep in snug hollows beneath trees or in caves dug into hillsides. The elk return to the valley where the snow is not so deep as in the high country. Even in the lowlands, however, the snow may pile up to depths of three feet or more. Elk and deer alike must paw and dig for what meager forage they can find.

Frequently the mountains are hidden from view by dense clouds as storms assault the rocky crags. Occasionally there is the distant rumble of an avalanche thundering down the slopes. But normally it is quiet. Finally the clouds that have cloaked the peaks for days are dissipated. The dawn breaks on a crisp, cold winter morning and the jagged spires are there again -- brilliant, fresh, clean, and pure white against a deep blue sky. As if in celebration of the sun, coyotes yelp and howl. A herd of elk, shaggier now than they were in summer, stand huddled in the valley, steam rising from their bodies in the warming rays. Patiently they wait, as if aware that soon the cycle of the seasons will come round once again to spring. And throughout it all, towering above Jackson Hole, there stand the mountains, the Teton Range, eternal monuments and monarchs of this precious wild place.