Webcams @ Western
We believe Western's location and geographic assets are among the most attractive in the United States. The Colorado Rockies are beautiful, and the variety of outdoor opportunities in this area are a great complement to our campus resources such as our labs, classrooms, library and student facilities. Many students (and their parents), in reviewing choices for where to go to college, fall in love with our environment once they visit campus. To show you our campus and the beautiful Gunnison Valley, we've set up web cameras you can visit frequently, and we've listed some nearby webcams that other agencies may have for your convenience. Our webcams are in color during the day when there is sufficient light and in black and white at night when light levels are low. Your computer must have Java installed and activated to view and/or control any of our cameras that include the user-controllable feature. To share the user-controllability equitably among our many visitors, we have limited control to 1 minute if there is someone waiting for their turn to control the camera. Students (and probably others) often call their friends or their parents and relatives and talk with them from a mobile telephone while the remote friend controls one of the cameras, aiming it at the student and zooming in. Try it, it's fun!
Library North West
This unit is mounted on the north west corner of the Savage Library. This camera displays live full-motion video and is user-controllable. This camera rotates nearly 340°, and we've established some commonly visited presets to give you quick one-click access to good views of Crawford Hall, the Gym, and the Student Union. We mounted this camera right on the corner of the Savage Library building, so your view is truly 270°, from the west door to the lower level of the library, up hill to the Escalante complex and then along the north wall of the library building. Beginning in the summer of 2008, the College Union will be replaced. So you'll have a great view of the progress of this project, from demolition to foundation to steel to walls to landscaping. We'll be capturing images every day and preparing a time lapse movie of this exciting project to show at the grand opening of the new union in January 2010.
Cupola Hill
This unit is mounted on a State of Colorado communications tower on Cupola Hill above the Mountaineer Bowl. This camera displays live full-motion video and is user-controllable. . Its relatively high position allows you to see the entire City of Gunnison and the Western State College campus. While the camera is capable of nearly 340° rotation, the tower limits the best views to approximately 180° as moving beyond that will bring much of the tower's structure and other gear into the field, obscuring distant views. Additionally, when the wind picks up in Gunnison, the tower shakes somewhat and images may be fuzzy. Especially as the zoom increases, the camera's autofocus tries hard to compensate for the tower shaking. We consider this a "feature," as it'll give you some indication of the wind conditions here. However, there are excellent views of the Palisades, Carbon Peak, and the San Juan Mountains including Uncompaghre Peak. Occasionally user control of this webcam may be unavailable as we use it to show events in Mountaineer Bowl such as athletic competitions or Spring Commencement activities.
Taylor Hall South
This unit is mounted on the south wall of Taylor Hall and displays live full-motion video and is user-controllable. Presets afford good views of Tenderfoot Mountain (a.k.a. "W" Mountain), the new Borick Business Building, the north side of Quigley Hall and the academic quad, Uncompaghre Peak in the San Juan Mountains, and the front entrance to the Taylor Studio Theatre. There are other preset locations available on this webcam's page, and you may use the controls to re-aim and zoom this camera as you wish.
Taylor Quad
Our first webcam, this unit is mounted on the north side of Ute Hall and provides a fixed view across the Taylor Quad. You can see the historic Savage Library across the quad in the left center of the image. The sidewalk on the right side leads up to the main entrance to Taylor Hall. There are three image sizes available for this camera (see links to the left.) Live motion video may be viewable by those who have Java installed.
Webcams around Gunnison
We have assembled a few links to other Gunnison-area webcams for your enjoyment.
- You can reach the Gunnison Valley from the east by US Highway 50 from Poncha Springs, which crosses the continental divide at Monarch Pass. CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) maintains a web cam on this pass. From the west, take US Highway 50 from Montrose over Cerro Summit and past Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
- Crested Butte, a popular four-season recreation destination, is about 30 miles north of Gunnison.
- Curecanti National Recreation Area and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park lie to the west of Gunnison. The National Park Service maintains webcams at the Black Canyon, the Lake Fork, and Elk Creek.
We hope you enjoy these views of the truly spectacular region that is Western's home. Should you have comments on these webcams, or discover any new ones in our region that could be added to this page, please let the webmaster know. Western does not own or control these Gunnison-area cameras, and their availability and features are subject to their owners' needs and resources. Enjoy, and come by for a visit!
Crested Butte
Monarch Pass
Monarch Ski Area
Black Canyon
Lake Fork
Elk Creek
