New book of photos shows Timpanogos' beauty, moods

LINDON — Mount Timpanogos looms over Utah County brimming with beauty and meaning for area residents.

For landscape photographer and Lindon native Willie Holdman, "Timp" as it is affectionately called by locals, has been his second home. For more than 15 years he hiked its paths, while his camera lens caressed its beauty. Now those photographs are available in book form in Holdman's lush and recently published 170-page volume, "Timpanogos."

Really a photo album or portfolio of the majestic mountain, the book highlights Timp's many moods during the seasons, each gorgeous in its own right.

An essay written by Kurt Repanshek introduces the book and the history of the 11,750-foot mountain. Repanshek starts with the mountains' beginnings and moves forward through early exploration and discovery, the development of the mountain as a ski resort and its preservation, largely through the efforts of landowner and actor Robert Redford and the U.S. Forest Service.

The book's photos are divided into seasons, with a collection of pictures capturing the beauty of each. The photographs depict Timp's craggy ridges, mountain peaks, spectacular streams and waterfalls, peaceful meadows and wildflowers. Holdman also photographed the wildlife at home on the mountain, particularly mountain goats, moose and statuesque elk.

The photos are unusual, colorful, and in some cases, breathtaking in scope and detail.

Toward the end, the books recounts the legend of Timpanogos, a tragic Indian love story created in the 1920s by Timp aficionado Eugene L. Roberts to promote the mountain for a tourist climb. Because of the legend, the outline of the mountain as an eternally sleeping Indian maiden still clings in the minds of locals viewing it from the Utah Valley floor.

Photos and an essay explaining the mountain's three limestone caves — Hansen Cave, Middle Cave and Timpanogos Cave — come near the end of the book. The Timpanogos Cave National Monument was established by President Warren G. Harding in 1922. Finally, Holdman explains his experience in creating the numerous photographs and the effort that went into the volume. No manipulation of color enhanced filters were used, he said.

Holdman's introduction to photography came early in life when he accompanied his father exploring the country taking pictures for National Geographic magazine.

"It's always been a dream of mine to put together a book," Holdman said.

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E-mail: rodger@desnews.com