December 2025 Wildlife Photography Contest Beginner Category Winner

In July 2025, three friends and I set off on a climbing trip in the Weminuche Wilderness between Durango and Silverton, Colorado. Our destination was Ruby Basin, a remote high alpine basin deep in the wilderness. It’s a brutal backpack into this area following unmarked trails with little human activity, but after scrambling up rocky ledges and bushwhacking through thick willows, the diligent are rewarded with one of the most breathtaking camp spots in the Colorado Rockies. Given the difficulty of the trek, my partners thought I was insane to pack in a telephoto lens and tripod, especially when already weighed down by climbing gear. But I rarely leave home without my wildlife setup, and I wanted to be prepared.

We established camp at 11,600 feet and tucked in for the night, but we woke early the next morning to sounds right outside our tent. We cautiously poked our heads out to find the most enormous mountain goat billy I’ve ever seen casually grazing on the alpine tundra. We kept our distance from the intimidatingly large billy until he meandered up one of the towering peaks above us. This was clearly the king of the mountain!

As the billy disappeared, right on cue, a nanny and kid goat wandered into our camp. They were clearly curious about us and spent most of the day within eyesight of our camp before disappearing midday. I kept my camera at the ready, but the right shot never lined up. But as we ate dinner later that evening, the family of goats roamed back into our campsite, and luckily I had the camera set up and ready to go. Finally, I was rewarded with this perfectly posed golden hour shot of the precocious kid peeking out shyly from under his mother’s neck. It had paid off to carry my heavy camera gear so deep into the mountains!

The family of goats continued to hang around the edges of our camp for a few days, offering ample chances to closely observe the Royals of Ruby Basin, as we had affectionately named them.