I Never Thought I Would See Yellowstone In Winter…Thankfully, I Was Wrong By Photographer and Contributor Don Hurzeler
A few years ago, the standard way to go into Yellowstone National Park in the winter was on a snow cat. Those things looked uncomfortable as could be…and looks killed…killed my desire to explore Yellowstone in the snow.
One day, I get a note from an old friend, Mark Comon of Paul’s Camera in Torrance. His Creative Academy had put together a January trip to Yellowstone and they would be using a really nice snow coach like the one below. He told us that those coaches were limited to 25 mph and able to take on ice and snow conditions. He also mentioned that safety would be their most important concern…and that, if we dressed warm, we would not be cold. Sold…we went.
An added attraction, Evelyn Schmitt, the wife of an old P.V. High School friend of mine, John Schmitt, would be joining us…and she is an excellent photographer.
We knew it would be cold. We live in Hawaii now and had no winter clothing. So, we got a recommendation from a friend and bought appropriate gear…lots of layers. Good snow boots. Good gloves. Good face cover. Ice claws for the bottom of the boots…which we only needed in town. And then we went nuts and bought Outdoor Survival Canada heavy jackets and matching snow pants…all good to over sixty below zero conditions. We bought our business partner, C.J. Kale a jacket as well, as he chases the aurora in Alaska and elsewhere usually twice a year. Here we are in my backyard in Hawaii…without the pants. Overkill, maybe, but we were not about to be cold in Yellowstone. Good thing…it was minus 40 degrees when we arrived. Warmed up to minus 22 with lots of snow.
Now, I know that setup sounds horrifying. The trip…FANTASTIC. We landed in Bozeman, Montana. We were driven down to West Yellowstone and the roads were in good shape. The West Entrance to the park was the only one open…all the others were closed. Often the North Entrance is open, as well. We stayed at a nice hotel in West Yellowstone…into the park at dawn and back to the hotel when the sun went
down.
The first day in the Park we saw less than ten other people. What we did see was WILD LIFE…lots of it.
This herd of bison came around a bend in the road and walked straight at us. Our guide had us move to the far edge of the road next to our bus. Good idea…once they got within 50 yards, they stampeded and flew past us…on the other side of the road. An exciting moment.
Just prior to Linda getting this shot, we had all been warned not to get too close to the edge of the road, as it dropped off toward a river. I found that edge of the road, took one step too many and found myself under about 6 feet of snow in an instant…unhurt, camera held above my head and no snow on it…but buried. As others took great shots of the bison, I crawled my way back to the road and tried to recover. No one saw my disappearing act, except some of the bison. Probably made their day. I did recover in time to get a few shots.
The winter scenery was better than I could have imagined.
But the real star of the show was the wildlife. The two winters that we were there…2024 and 2025…we liked it so much we went twice…the wolves were mostly up in the Lamar Valley..75% of them…and we could not get into the Lamar Valley. The one pack that we did see were very active…always chasing elk or bison. We saw them up close and also far away…always near other animals.
Every animal out there is in survival mode…from the cold, lack of easy food and from predators. We got to photograph it all.
Fox on the hunt.
Coyotes on the hunt.
Bison trying to conserve energy in the cold.
An elk trapped on a high cliff with the wolf pack in hot pursuit.
A surprising number of birds. You would think they would head south.
This fox was letting the bison scare the small animals living under the snow…and once they would move, the fox would get them.
I don’t think we have ever enjoyed a trip more than the trips to Yellowstone that we thought we would never be able to do. We had a great guide in Mark Comon, went along with some experienced photographers, listened to the advice given (not my best ability…listening to advice), geared up and had a wonderful experience. Here we are in full gear.
Big thanks to Mark Comon and the Creative Photo Academy for keeping us safe and warm…and finding great places to photograph. You can check out his other adventures at https://creativephotoacademy.com/adventures
He does not plan to tour Yellowstone in 2026, but will do so in the future.
There were people of all ages on the trip..no kids…but people as young as in their 20’s and Linda and I in our late 70’s…and we were not the oldest. This is a “can do” trip…and, if you are looking for a winter adventure, I highly recommend it. Lots of other operators who will cater to whatever your interests…including sight seeing only. You can even find outfits that put together trips on snow mobiles…way beyond my comfort level. Well…almost beyond my comfort level.
Aloha.
Don and Linda are “lucky to live Hawaii” for the past fourteen year and claims to have never experienced an unhappy day on the island.
However, he does admit that he thinks of PV often…as it stands today and as it was. And what he misses most from those early days on the hill are growing up with a great set of friends and neighbors and the unimaginable freedom enjoyed in those days. He claims that he was raised like a free range chicken, able to hitch hike to get around town, to go out in surf that would scare any parent and to carry around a bow and arrow or small caliber gun to protect himself from rattle snakes when he hiked the canyons…not as a highly trained, accredited, licensed gun owner…but as a 12 year old kid whose dad treated guns like tools…there for protection and to be treated with respect and care.
And the best part of his freedom, no cell phones. Don was basically on his own and no one could track him or reach him until he decided to come home. Don always knew when dinner was served and he made sure to sneak in the door a few minutes prior. And, get this, dinner always included beer for Don…from about age 9 on. Or a milkshake made using 31 Flavors Baskin and Robbins ice cream from the Hollywood Rivera store mixed with crème de menthe. His dad felt the alcohol would whet Don’s appetite and help him grow from the skinny kid he was in those days. That did not work, but it did make him (temporarily) unafraid of orcas.
You can catch up with Don Hurzeler on Facebook. He is also on Instagram @donhurzeler. His book writing website is donhurzeler.com and his photography website is lavalightgalleries.com.
For a kid who grew up on the mean streets of Palos Verdes Estates, parented in a way that would land everyone in jail today, but supported, coached and loved…Don came out alright. A PV boy who fully understands how lucky he was that his parents built their dream home on a hill with a million lights sparkling below…or a fog bank a thousand feet thick.