Grand Teton National Park is one of the most stunningly beautiful places on earth – yet it does have one little frustrating quirk. (I won’t call it a flaw. “Flaw” and “Tetons” do not belong in the same sentence.)

It’s stingy when it comes to sunsets.

The sunrises are always spectacular, whether or not they produce a winning photograph. Watching the first rays from the sun illuminating the peaks is a magnificent sight. When the mountains are snow-covered, it’s even better: it enhances the pinks and purples of the alpenglow.

Mornings in general are truly picturesque; the Tetons look their absolute best when the color temperature of the light is warmer and the air is crisp and clear. Since mornings begin so wonderfully, you might wonder why showy sunsets are a much rarer occurrence in the park.

There are a handful of factors, but these are the “Big Three:”

The Big Holes
Directly to the west of the Tetons lies another mountain range: the Big Holes (and they are lovely). These stand just across the Wyoming/Idaho state line in the Teton Valley.

Though the Tetons are much taller, the Big Holes still manage to obscure the sun 20-30 minutes before it sinks below the horizon. As a result, the low-angle, long-wavelength red and orange light rays which produce colorful sunsets can’t illuminate clouds in the skies over Jackson Hole.

High-Altitude Backlighting
To produce a colorful sunset, the undersides of the clouds need to be illuminated. As the sun drops behind the Tetons' massive walls of gneiss and granite, it casts a shadow upward. Unless the clouds are high in the sky, they remain stuck in that shadow. Instead of color, you get a dull gray. (Over on the Idaho side, though, the color is visible.)

The Tetons Create Their Own Conditions
When the prevailing winds from the west hit the windward side of the Teton Range, they’re forced upward. There the wind cools and forms clouds directly over or just east of the peaks. If the clouds stack up directly over the mountains, incoming sunlight is obscured.

If you’re lucky enough to witness a showy sunset in the park, you hit the jackpot!

When a spectacular sunset actually does happen on the eastern side of the Tetons, it requires a very precise recipe combining physics, geometry, and meteorology. In order to override the “Grand Teton National Park Sunset Curse,” the atmosphere has to be in a giving mood.

1. Produce High-Altitude Clouds
They need to be high enough in the sky to be able to look to the west and “see” over the Big Holes. That way the clouds can catch those final low-angle rays of sunlight necessary to create color.

2. Frontal Activity
To address the issue of clouds stacking up over the mountains, a passing cold front can be just the ticket. Once the storm system has moved east of the park, it’ll leave broken clouds over the valley, while the skies to the west over Idaho are already clear. That allows the sun to project its light underneath the clouds still hanging over the Tetons.

3. Humidity
The semi-arid climate in the Tetons doesn’t produce the same type of color you’ll find in humid coastal conditions. To compensate for this, sunsets in the park rely on mid-level atmospheric humidity: just enough moisture up high to create textured cloud formations. The texture is important because it creates angles for the light to bounce off of.

If you’re visiting the park and want to cap off your day with a pretty show overhead at sunset, these atmospheric conditions will stack the deck in your favor:

Wind shifting from the west to northwest.

Rising barometric pressure (back end of a storm).

30-50% cloud cover over Jackson Hole, with zero cloud cover over Idaho.

High clouds.

Then of course there’s the issue of settling on a location and finding a strong composition.

Easy peasy! (Sarcasm. Obviously.)

This explains why I’ve lived here for nearly 11 years and have made only a handful of photos depicting sunsets.

About the Photograph

The roller-coaster weather ride we’ve been on here in Teton Country continues. After two days of record high temperatures a week or so ago, things swung way back in the other direction. The mountains received more snow, the chain law was in effect for drivers using the Teton Pass, there was fresh snow on the ground on the valley floor in Jackson Hole, and it got very cold (20 degrees overnight at my campsite).

I arrived in the park to work the day after the snow came down heavily but while squalls continued to move through the area. Hmmmm……that sounds like the back end of a storm!

Thinking I might get lucky with a sunset that evening, I went shopping for a location. After discarding four potential sites, I settled on a little bay on the southeast side of Jackson Lake. Fifth choice was a charm.

In addition to the high clouds, the viga (streaks of snow flurries/ice crystals) hanging over and scattered among the peaks acted like millions of little prisms, adding to the color that was able to break through from the western horizon, which was in the clear.

That sunset was a treat to watch and experience, and an even bigger treat to photograph: a kiss goodnight from my favorite national park.