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On the Alpine Tundra

© B. J. Barton

Above treeline in Rocky Mountain National Park, is a wild, harsh, beautiful, fragile, ecosystem called the alpine tundra. I've made several trips up there this summer and came away each time feeling highly privileged to live near such a wondrous place. Alpine tundra in Rocky Mountain National Park begins at about 11,000 feet and extends above 14,000 feet. Tundra is a Russian word meaning "land of no trees." Plants at that elevation must adapt to the climate and conditions and they are at once both tough and fragile - fragile because once an area is destroyed, it takes a very long time for it to regenerate. It's cold on the tundra and wind blows most of the time, sometimes in gusts above 100 mph. Plants are small and low to the ground. These cushion plants, along with grasses, sedges, mosses and lichens create a mosaic on earth and rocks. The growing season is short; the frost-free season averages less than 40 days. During this period when skies are clear, alpine areas receive intense solar radiation.

Only a few mammmals live year-round on the tundra and they are burrowing species that spend most of their lives below ground. One of these is a large rodent called the yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris). On previous trips to the tundra I have tried to get close enough to a marmot to get a good photo, but as soon as I saw one on the rocky mountainside, I would hear an alarm whistle and all the marmots nearby would scurry away tantalizingly beyond the reach of my lens.

On one of my trips this summer, my friend, Paula, and I had driven up to the visitor's center at the top of Trail Ridge Road, and on the way back, saw a nice view of Long's Peak with clouds behind it. Paula found a parking space along the edge of the road at a popular viewing area called The Rock Cut. I got out and crouched along the rock wall to get a photo. A movement just below the wall caused me to look down. There, about six feet away, was a very calm yellow-bellied marmot. It was too close to focus on the furry animal with my telephoto lens, so I had to back up a few feet. After it obliged me by holding still and all but smiling for the camera, it wandered around a bit and gave me some different poses while it ate some greens. Other marmots were scattered around on the steep, rocky slope below the road, and this big one seemed to be keeping an eye on them. I can't be positive, but I think this was a big male - the head of the clan.

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