The Rocky Mountains formed through repeated uplift and subsidence, contorting and disordering their rock formations. In central Colorado, the Elk Mountain Range outlines the western perimeter of the Rockies. These mountains—mostly above the tree line—were shaped by glacial cirques with narrow ridges separating deep valleys. Maroon-colored sedimentary rocks were uplifted by tectonic shifts in the Earth's mantle to form the range’s peaks.

Summer monsoonal thunderstorms are wetter in the Elk Range than in the mountains to the east, and their 14,000-ft peaks are also more susceptible to electrostatic discharges and lightning strikes. Just above where I took this photograph, Electric Pass reportedly got its name from a ranger in the 1920s who was knocked to the ground multiple times by static shocks before rolling down a slope to safety. On this clear, storm-free late summer day, I hiked the switchback trail safely through meadows and willow stands with easy access to stunning views of the surrounding mountains and their drainages.

Between Electric Pass and Leahy Peak lies a connecting ridge, a 'saddle' at 13,200 feet elevation, where I rested and took this photograph. The foreground features a tapered bench that crumbles and slips down the talus slopes. Cluttered piles of exposed shales and sandstones are part of the stratified, purplish-red, sedimentary rock formed in the Permian era, about 275 million years ago. The season's first snow accumulates in shadowed crevices below the ridgeline, reflecting the deep cyan-blue color of the high-altitude sky.