The mountains that form the perimeter of Jostadals National Park reflect on the suddenly calm surface of the freshwater Lovatnet, as seen from above the town of Loen, Norway.
There is a remarkable gondola that whisks one airily to these lofty heights in exchange for the appropriate quantity of Norwegian Kroner (a few cables are visible in the lower-left of the frame). For those less enamored of exposure (or the exchange rate), there is also a long-ish, switchbacking double-track road that can be walked. Regardless of the route one takes to get here, it is clear why the tourists come flocking. On a clear day the view is quite simply breathtaking.
Tags: Innvikfjorden Jostedals Jostedals Nasjonalpark Landscape Loen Lovatnet Norway alpine circular polarizer clouds fjord glacial lake high country high elevation lake mountains polarizer reflection water
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Wind driven clouds fill with the ineffable gleam of sunrise over the southern-most extent of the Hielo Sur, Lago Dickson, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.
On the previous night, the tightly stretched tent fly hummed a resonant song as the cold wind raced down the ice and buffeted all in its path. As the sun rose, it was too much to hope for water calm enough to produce reflections, but the wind had largely abated and the dense cap of vapor that obscured the ice was gone, revealing bright, glaciated contours. Of the 80-odd souls camped at Lago Dickson, evidently the thought of sunrise was compelling to nobody but me. While extricating myself from the sleeping bag in the dark never feels particularly delightful, whatever perceived pain that results typically resolves quickly and I am almost always grateful for the opportunities that follow.
Tags: Andes Andes del Sur Chile Chilean Andes Hielo Sur Landscape National Park Nothofagus Patagonia Patagonian Andes Patagonian Beech Southern Andes Torres del Paine clouds dawn glacier ice lake morning morning light mountains reflection silhouette sunrise tree water
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Lenticular clouds eddy in the lee of the Torres del Paine massif, and reflect resplendently in the unexpectedly mirror-like surface of Lago Nordenskjöld, Patagonian Andes, Chile.
Passing a most enjoyable week circumnavigating the Torres with three high-school friends remains a lifetime highlight, even after 7 years have passed since we made the journey southward in search of Steamer Ducks, Guanaco, and the sharp teeth of the mountains. It's odd that I keep looking back at the photos from this trip and stumbling across more images that I have yet to share. It is a landscape that continues to give.
Tags: Chile Chilean Andes Lago Nordenskjöld Landscape National Park Patagonia Patagonian Andes Southern Andes Torres del Paine calm clouds lake mountains reflection reflections water
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2022-08-28, Day 2
Sunset light unexpectedly finds its way to the underside of rain clouds as the gathering wind and gloom suggest the day is rapidly coming to a close, Victoria Cross Range, Jasper National Park, Alberta.
Looking for a spot to pitch the tent that would be likely to stay dry even if the rain intensified, we explored the far shore on the right of the frame and encountered a moderately sloped clear spot a meter or so from the water's edge. If it rained heavily, I feared the water levels could rise enough to soak us from below, since clay-rich soil can transport water like a wick. We opted to pitch the tent on higher, slightly more hummocky terrain immediately opposite the direction I face here.
The sunset in this photo is clearly not the most dramatic, nor the most colorful, but for me, it is up there amongst the most odd. I've never seen anything quite like this, and as the light waned and the wind spit rain drops here and there, I expected the clouds to become leaden and grey, and then descend quickly into gloomy dark night. Instead, somehow the sun found a way to cause the underbellies of a few sections of cloud to glow bizarrely orange.
My friend and I watched the light fade and we looked at our maps to try and determine an optimal route for the next morning. We wanted to find a route into the valley on the other side of the ridge to the right in this photo. Following the rocky crease in the landscape on the opposite side of the lake and then down the other side initially seemed like a promising path, but we finally decided that the contour lines on the opposite side of the low pass visible here were too densely packed to be safely navigable. Although the route did stay above timberline, I suspected it might require wings. The only viable alternative was down and around the ridge on the right, descending through thick, trail-less forest, crossing several streams, and then climbing back up through yet more forest to get back above timberline about 2 miles away. The maps indicated that the morrow's climb would be impeded by an interlocking obstacle course of downed logs, and would rise steeply enough that cliffs might be a problem. And so the darkness grew and the path forward became apparent.
Tags: Alberta Canada Jasper Jasper National Park Landscape National Park Northern Rockies Rocky Mountains Victoria Cross Range alpine backcountry backpacking clouds evening evening light high country high elevation lake magic hour mountains rain clouds storm storm clouds sunset tarn tent water wilderness
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A trio of cold lakes sit at the base of the steep quartz-rich cliffs that form the east-facing escarpment of the Snowy Range, from the vantage of the summit of Medicine Bow Peak (12,018 ft; 3,663 m), Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming.
To capitalize on the last few days of August before the school year begins again, we met up with another family with whom we've shared a few backpacking adventures, and we paid a visit to the Snowy Range. I plotted a short, 12-mile loop that involved a small amount of off-trail route finding, and that strategy enabled us to camp with no other people within sight or sound. The monsoon has been relatively active this summer, and it rained persistently on the first night with frequent rumbling and flashing from a very dark sky. We were luckier on the second night when only a light rain fell and we were treated to an incredible combination of sunset and thunderstorm.
We summited Medicine Bow Peak on the third and last day, and the reward for hoisting our packs up and over the very top of the Range was this spectacular view south along the steep east-facing slope, which was paired with an expansive vista in the other direction that includes Elk Mountain to the Northwest. There were extended periods of heavy breathing, and I was asked a few times by the younger of the crew how much further it would be to the top. All things considered, when we reached the summit I think everyone in the group was pleased with their effort and to be up nearly touching the clouds. This is the third such trip in as many years on which my wife has come along, and I can say confidently that a younger self never expected such changes to take place. Especially not after our first trip shortly after we met, when I took her up Mount Snowden in Wales in poor weather and with even poorer gear...
Tags: Landscape Lookout Lake Medicine Bow Mountains Medicine Bow National Forest Medicine Bow Peak National Forest Rocky Mountains Snowy Range Southern Rockies Wyoming alpine clouds high country high elevation lake morning mountains steep summer Centennial United States
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