The photographs in this book were taken on the Grand Mesa in western Colorado below the Crag Crest Trail at an elevation of about 10,000 feet. This area is roughly 3/4 of a mile in length and about 200 yards wide. The trees were flattened by a “microburst” wind event, a phenomenon generally observed in the western United States at high altitudes where showers and thunderstorms are common. Microbursts result from a small, very powerful downdraft that produces damaging divergent and straight-line winds as the wind approaches the ground. Winds of 100 mph or more can be produced by microbursts which, as seen in these pictures, are capable of knocking down fully-grown trees in a matter of minutes. Typically the damaging winds are contained in an area extending 2.5 miles or less.

I have documented this area for over five years observing how the downed trees are shedding their bark, leaves, pine needles and branches since the devastating wind event. When I initially started to photograph, the interior of this area was accessible only by careful and arduous climbing over and under the mutilated trees and intelligent trial and error route finding. Over time, the blowdown has become slightly more accessible but is still a rather dangerous and interesting trek. My fascination in photographing this area is in documenting the enormous power Mother Nature can exert in a matter of minutes.

Stevan Maxwell - 2013