Sable Pass is the first of four, nearly 4,000 ft. (1,292m) mountain passes that you cross on the 90 mile stretch of Denali Park Road. I took this picture in August while visiting the park during a very cloudy and rainy period. Denali looms off in the clouded mountain background, not visible in this picture.
Sable Pass, Denali National Park. Canon 5D Mark III, 24-105mm f/4L IS, 1/100 sec @f/10, ISO 100.
The pass is a favorite region for me in the park. Much of it is closed to hiking and restricted to road travel only, save for adjacent areas that permit one to look over the pass region. Over the years I’ve photographed many grizzly bears in this area and the one below is a classic since this sign has been replaced many times due to bears chewing on it, even in spite of the nails that serve as a partial deterrent.
Grizzly bear scratches on sign in Sable Pass, Denali National Park. Canon 1Ds Mark II, 500mm f/4L IS, 1/400 @ f/4, ISO 400.
@alaskaphoto This made me smile!
love them both Patrick,especially the grizzly doing a back scratch with the sign. Have you seen any wolves in Denali this season? Just curious if the Grant Creek alpha male has found a new mate or not?
Thanks so much for sharing these, it helps me get my Alaska FIX satiated-loll
Hi Chuck, no sign of the wolves this year, although I spent only a little time in the park. From what I hear, the sightings of the Grant Creek pack are down.
Hey Patrick, glad to see you made it back to Denali again his year! I too am back again for another summer, loving it 🙂 Wonderful photo, as always. I was out in the park photographing as well during those rainy days, inspiring to see what you got out of it.
Chuck, I recently worked the Road Lottery in Denali and saw the entire Grand Creek pack; 2 adults and 6 cubs. The cubs are from this season. Patrick is right though, the sightings have really gone down a lot, so that was exceptional!
I went in during the road lottery, 4th day. Had a bull moose and three cow blocking the road, guess he was camera shy because he didn’t put on a show. Was disappointed that there weren’t any caribou this time. Plenty of bears, but they kept their distance just like the sheep. There was a lone coyote with a marmot in his mouth. Saw some willow ptarmigan for the first time, probably the only good pictures I took. It would be nice if they widened the roads more on the passes and had more than just four days a year to drive. Great pics here, very nice setup.