Animals of the Mountains

 This is a recap of a bunch of lucky shots over the years while loitering about the mountains. Given the environment and its fauna, it's no surprise that about half of these are just different mountain goats. 

I have seen many more animals than this, but to get a proper shot, you have to retrieve the camera, which for me involves an unzipping noise, powering on the camera, aiming it, and shooting without scaring the animal away. That's why I consider a lot of the pictures below lucky shots, even though they are far from displaying any photographic sophistication.

Most of these were taken during fall hikes or mountain climbs. The winter pictures were taken while on backcountry ski tours.

On Mount Timpanogos (aka Timp) in late September
of 2006 I got the privilege to meet this Rocky Mountain goat  

This bighorn I met in mid-October 2012
in the Bornes Massif, French Alps.

This "bouquetin" I met recently (Aug. 2025) near the Miage
glacier in the Mt Blanc massif.

This one too is a new acquaintance. I met him near the 
Tre La Tete hut (refuge) in June 2025.

I piqued these two ibex's curiosity while approaching
La Crête des Grands, Chamonix, in Oct. 2011.

Another Rocky Mountain goat. This one encountered in the 
Coalpit drainage (Wasatach range) October, 2008.

This bird is called a Choucas in the French Alps. They say 
that each of them hosts the soul of a dead skier. This guy
I encountered on a lunch brake by La Crête des Grands,
Chamonix, in Oct. 2011 (same day as the two ibexes above).

A beloved presence in both the Alps and the Rockies. This
one seen below the Tre La Tete glacier in late July 2025.

This soulful moose was my neighbor when I
lived on top of Summit Park in Park City, UT.
The picture was taken from my porch in Oct. 2018.

This little guy froze when he heard me and my dog approaching,
hoping to avoid discovery. It failed on me, but worked on
my dog. The picture was taken in early March 2019.

White reindeer photographed in late September 2019.
Lapland (Arctic Sweden) near the town of Jokkmokk.