The snow is mostly melted and life is in full swing in the high country! A few recent visits have shown that the full-time dwellers of the alpine tundra such as the pika and marmots are out either gathering their stores for the next winter or eating their way towards a solid hibernation.

Along with them, the larger species such as the elk and bighorn sheep have made their way up and are happily enjoying the abundance of summer life above treeline.

Heavy snows and persistent summer rains bring a rich summer life to those who call this oft harsh environment home. Winter is a very long and treacherous season, but the idyllic paradise that emerges as temperatures finally begin to rise makes it all worthwhile. While plant life is stunted in growth due to the lack of oxygen, the ground that isn’t the bare rock of talus fields becomes a thick and lush carpet of green dotted with a rainbow of colorful, tiny wildflowers.

Blooms of Phlox, Moss Campion and Alpine Avens provide a speckled blanket from which sprouts of taller Old Man of the Mountain and the occasional cluster of our state flower, the Columbine, burst upwards as though a grand finale of fireworks has exploded across the land.

Even when the snows on the surface have melted off, ice still melts from pockets of boulders deep under the thin veneer of grassy dirt, joining natural springs to send gouts of water flowing directly out of the ground to help nourish plentiful Saxifraga and Marsh Marigolds. The land takes on a completely different aura as life returns to the long-barren terrain.

Babies of all species frolic about in play as they begin to learn the lessons of life that will carry them into adulthood. Even the adults seem to have an air of joy and relief as the warmer days of summer settle onto the mountains.

A few years ago, I was enjoying an overnight stay on one of our local mountains. During an early morning stroll up to a high snow field, I came across moose tracks that were likely only a few days old.

While moose tend to prefer life at lower elevations, the richness of life and food in the high country can sometimes tempt them higher. Cool springs and snowmelt provide for large swaths of short willows among the Krumholtz pines, a delectable favorite of the giants.

As I climbed the high snowbank, I noticed that the tracks, definitely of a larger adult moose, led to the top of the snow field then streaked down the mountainside as though delightfully sliding down in revelry. Either there were a couple of moose enjoying this recreation, or a loner had taken multiple laps, as there were a handful of sets of lines “skied” into the snow.

Even the birds are in joyous abundance, with rock wrens, finches, and larks flitting about in song. Ravens and crows head to the high country as well, as the crows can often be seen in playful dance as they wheel and dive about in pairs or larger groups in the often-blustery wind currents over the peaks. The predators, too, join in the upward migration, with the occasional hawk or Northern Harrier patrolling the skies above the grassy tundra, a hunting ground with sparse cover to hide their prey.

It is truly amazing to witness such an abundance of life in what would seem to be, at a quick glance, an incredibly barren and harsh landscape. Whether escaping the heat below as the migratory animals do, or living on top of the world all year long like the marmot and pika, those living their summer life on the mountain are truly enjoying the high life. As always, nature finds ways not only to survive and persist, but to thrive with great vigor.

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