1 / 8 Climbing During a Blizzard in Rocky Mountain National Park

“The conditions were some of the worst I have ever shot in,” says photographer <strong>John Dickey</strong>, who took this image of climbers <strong>Bruce Miller</strong>, in front, and <strong>Kevin Cooper</strong> on Mount Meeker in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park. “The spindrift was constant and so heavy at times that it was difficult to breathe,” he says. Dickey is no neophyte when it comes to shooting in winter conditions: He is currently working on a film about the evolution of winter climbing in the park and the environment’s role in the sport. But even this seasoned photographer was getting scared. “It seemed as if a costly mistake was inevitable,” he remembers. “I could have never expected conditions to get that bad [in November], and had to slow things down to be as clear and deliberate as possible. "Fortunately," Dickey says, “everyone stayed on their toes and the climbers were rock solid. We made our way up and out slowly but surely.”

Photograph by John Dickey