menuthe

see new work on instagram: @savannahchandlerphoto

The Blog

14er Engagement | Saskia and Michael | Hiking and Adventure Engagement Photography

Saskia and Michael | 14er Engagement and Proposal

Savannah Chandler Photography | Hiking and Adventure Elopement Photographer

Colorado has 58 ranked 14ers – mountains that are over 14,000 feet in elevation. It’s become a very “Colorado” thing to hike any or all of the 14ers. Spanning from Rocky Mountain National park in the North, to the San Juan Mountains in the South – you can find these 14,000 foot mountains all along the Rocky Mountains.

The Front Range area boasts six 14ers – Longs Peak, Pikes Peak, Mount Evans, Mount Bierstadt, Torreys Peak, and Gray’s Peak. With the exception of Longs Peak, all the front range fourteeners are deemed to be on the easier side to reach.

There’s no feeling like standing on the top of a 14,000 ft mountain and watching the sun come up over the horizon. You truly feel on top of the world.

When Saskia reached out about proposing to Michael on their Colorado trip at 14,000+ feet – I was SO excited to help her start planning which mountain would be spectacular. We talked about a few different options, including our secondary choice of The Mount of the Holy Cross (which I still yet have to hike, wink wink). We settled on Grays due to it’s length and proximity to where they were staying.

We planned on a meet time of 6am, with the sun hitting the horizon just after that. Grays peak is quite the popular hike – some days having literally hundreds of people heading up the trail. On this particular day at sunrise, we were literally the only 3 people up on the mountain.

Once I met Saskia and Michael up top – I asked if they would like me to take a photo with their cell phone of the two of them. For the people out there looking to propose to your partner – this is the best way I’ve found to get in a position without giving away the big suprise :). To help with finding me – I always wear my bright yellow coat.

When I counted to 3, Saskia turned her summit sign around and asked Michael to marry her under a cotton candy sunrise. Many people bring cardboard signs that state the mountain you’ve just climbed along with the elevation – Saskia’s instead said “Will you marry me?”.

Michael said YES!!

We made our way down the winding switch backs of Grays 14,278′ peak and stopped in the warmth of the sun to take a few more photographs. Michael is an Ultra Mountain Marathoner – which basically means he’s straight Badass and incredibly fast. We took some photographs of him trail running as well – and I can honestly say I’ve never seen someone run that fast on a rocky descent.

Congratulations, Saskia and Michael!! It was an absolutely amazing morning, with the most beautiful sunrise.

Cheers –

Savannah Chandler Photography | Colorado Hiking and Adventure photographer

Colorado Proposal Photographer

Experienced 14er hiker up to Class 4

Based in Denver|Colorado
Available for Travel Worldwide

Photographing across the Rocky Mountain Region: Telluride |Aspen | Dillon | Keystone | Vail | Breckenridge | Winter Park | Granby | Grand Lake | Estes | Buena Vista | Ouray | Arapahoe Basin | Silverton | Silverthorne | Spanish Peaks

Grays Peak: 14,275′
Class 2 Walk Up
Trailhead: Bakerville, Colorado – 4×4 required to reach upper Trailhead