ZapperZ's Great Outdoors Photo Contest

[turbo]

I know you can break a leg in a place that is flat as a pancake, still, I think Mount Sunflower is not beyond your reach. You just have to believe.

Don't you think she ought to train for a while before trying to make a first ascent on that monster? Baby steps!

 

[Dembadon]

A childhood friend of mine spent a few years in South America and has shared some amazing pictures. He (Ryan) is the person in the pictures.

Santa Cruz range at early morning above Laguna Azulcocha, Cordillera Blanca, Peru.

Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru.

El Calafate Glaciar, Argentina.

Piedras Blancas glacier, El Chalten, Argentina.

Deathroad, Bolivia. (He named the picture "Sphincter contraction")

Awesome canyons just outside Tupiza, Bolivia.

 

[turbo]

Awesome shots, Dembadon!

 

[Dembadon]

Awesome shots, Dembadon!

I only wish I could have been there!

He is currently on his way to El Salvador and has promised to upload more photos when internet access is available.

 

[Borek]

Just wow.

 

[Astronuc]

Awesome shots, Dembadon!

Very cool!

The awesome canyons just outside Tupiza, Bolivia look a lot like Bryce and Zion in Utah.

http://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm

http://www.nps.gov/brca/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm

http://www.nps.gov/Zion/index.htm

http://home.nps.gov/zion/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm

 

[Evo]

Awesome pictures Dembadon!

 

[Astronuc]

Awesome pictures Dembadon!

One can even here the echo - sort of.

 

[Dembadon]

Here are some more shots from his travels:

I've added the actual captions from his photos on those that apply.

Long overdue, Macchu Pichu just earned recognition as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Set high atop a narrow saddle between two rock monoliths, Incan terraces flank the immediate vicinity of the ruins, before the mountainsides plunge down to the winding river below, which cuts its snaking path through the steep, green mountainsides. Impressive views surround the admirer 360 degrees around, with glimpses of glaciated peaks, and become even grander higher up amongst the ancient temples constructed atop Wayna Pichu (the peak pictured jutting up above the ruins). One can scarcely find anything to detract from the magic of the sight, except perhaps the hordes of tourists wandering its grounds. But even with this distraction, it is impossible not to fall in love with this Incan relic.

Window into the Past. The sun-scorched Jesuit ruins of Trinidad, Paraguay burn orange beneath a hot blue sky and lush surroundings.

Iguassu falls.

Cerro Torre – The Rock Tower. El Chaltén, Patagonia, Argentina.

Rewarding view after wandering the winding, narrow callejones (alleyways) in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Petrified falls.

Torres Del Paine, Chile.

His photos are a welcome reprieve from the dullness of my cubicle.

 

[DanP]

The dream of so many climbers. And a major climb by any standard. Did he climbed in the area, or just visited ?

Cerro Torre – The Rock Tower. El Chaltén, Patagonia, Argentina.

 

[Dembadon]

The dream of so many climbers. And a major climb by any standard. Did he climbed in the area, or just visited ?

He is an avid climber, but I don't know whether or not he made the ascent that trip.

 

[Gokul43201]

Dembadon: Those are gorgeous pics from the Andes/Patagonia. Someday, when I've got enough money ...

Meanwhile, I've been going out exploring my local neck of the woods, i.e. the White Mountains in New Hampshire. More often than not, the views are spoiled by finding yourself in a cloud when you get to the summit, but every now and then, you get above treeline on a clear day and get some very nice views.

I took this picture of Mt Washington (NH) on a beautiful, sunny (albeit windy, but that can't be helped in these parts) day last weekend, from the summit of nearby Mt Adams:

Like Turbo said, being in the Appalachians, most of these mountains are soft, rounded hunks of rock. One of the less rounded peaks in the area is Mount Madison, the northernmost peak on the Presidential range, with its beautiful and nearly conical shape (pic taken the same day, from the same location).

 

[turbo]

Notice the tower in Gokul's first picture. That is part of the weather station on Mount Washington, the place that has recorded the highest wind-speed in the US. Our mountains may be rounded and weathered, but our weather is spiky!

 

[turbo]

I know you can break a leg in a place that is flat as a pancake, still, I think Mount Sunflower is not beyond your reach. You just have to believe.

Due to Evo's silence, I am concerned that she might be considering a winter ascent of Mount Sunflower. I pray that she does not attempt an ascent of the north face! We will lose a mentor for sure!

 

[Gokul43201]

Notice the tower in Gokul's first picture. That is part of the weather station on Mount Washington, the place that has recorded the highest wind-speed in the US. Our mountains may be rounded and weathered, but our weather is spiky!

Yes, one might get the impression from my pics that it was a lovely, warm day in the mountains. But you certainly wouldn't find Bambi prancing around anywhere here. The following pictures might help dispel any feelings of warm fuzziness created by the previous pictures.

This sign is what you see just before you go above treeline:

https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/131652

And this is me, on the summit:

Crisp and sunny != warm and cozy.

 

[turbo]

Yes, one might get the impression from my pics that it was a lovely, warm day in the mountains. But you certainly wouldn't find Bambi prancing around anywhere here. The following pictures might help dispel any feelings of warm fuzziness created by the previous pictures.

This sign is what you see just before you go above treeline:

https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/131654

And this is me, on the summit:

Crisp and sunny != warm and cozy.

Very nice summit day, off-season, Gokul!

Actually, I'm sure that there were skiers in Tuckerman and Huntingon ravines doggedly hiking and skiing to get some thrills that no lift-ticket could provide.

 

[Dembadon]

Excellent shots, Goku!

I've never been to the Northeast, but it is definitely on my outdoor "to-do" list.

 

[joncolumn]

In the thread "Southern California is burning!", the question was asked about the best place to live. Well here is the perfect place!

[PLAIN]http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/1866/perfectplacehu0.jpg

Mountains and beaches within walking/hiking distance, relatively low cost of living, and quite peaceful.

Alpine area and temperate climate for growing berries, fruits and vegetables, and a nice cabin/cottage by a stream.

Oh, and high speed internet access available.

Where was this picture taken!? Quite a unique setting, Id love to go please help! :)

 

[Astronuc]

Photo Gallery of European Mountain areas courtesy of National Geographic

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/european-parks/mountains-photos/

 

[Gokul43201]

This weekend I traveled to a corner region in one of the US States, and visited a National Forest, a National Memorial, a National Grassland, and a National Park.

Pictures coming soon, but until that time, can anyone guess which state I visited?

 

[Dembadon]

This weekend I traveled to a corner region in one of the US States, and visited a National Forest, a National Memorial, a National Grassland, and a National Park.

Pictures coming soon, but until that time, can anyone guess which state I visited?

California!

Let me guess the specific places:

- Yosemite (Park)
- Sequoia/Mendocino (Forest)
- Butte (Grassland)
- Not sure about the memorial; there are a few in CA.

 

[Gokul43201]

California!

Let me guess the specific places:

- Yosemite (Park)
- Sequoia/Mendocino (Forest)
- Butte (Grassland)
- Not sure about the memorial; there are a few in CA.

Nope, it's not CA. Note that I mentioned the National Things were all to be found near one corner of the state.

A colleague I was talking to earlier today referred to this region as the "interesting part of [state]". (i.e., the rest of the state is relatively boring, if you ask him or me)

 

[Astronuc]

Nope, it's not CA. Note that I mentioned the National Things were all to be found near one corner of the state.

A colleague I was talking to earlier today referred to this region as the "interesting part of [state]". (i.e., the rest of the state is relatively boring, if you ask him or me)

That could be any of the Plains states from OK to ND and AR to MN, and eastern parts of CO, WY, MT, or western parts of WI and IL.

 

[Gokul43201]

I'm pretty sure most of those states don't have all 4 of the things I mentioned. For instance, OK doesn't have a National Park, while CO, WY, MN and ND don't have National Memorials.

 

[Jasongreat]

how about south dakota?

 

[turbo]

Custer would approve.

 

[Gokul43201]

So do I. The four things are the Black Hills National Forest, Mt Rushmore National Memorial, Badlands National Park and Buffalo Gap National Grassland - all in the far south-west corner of the state.

SD got a good bucketful of snow from the big snowstorm that swept through the Northwest and Upper Plain States last week, the high elevations in the hills getting over a foot. On Saturday, I drove past Rushmore on my way to the Willow Creek Trailhead, and hiked to the summit of Harney Peak, the highest point in the Black Hills, as well as in the state of SD, at 7240ft.

There are two trails to the top: the popular 3.5 mile northern approach with about 1000ft of elevation gain, and the completely neglected (and therefore much nicer, if you like the solitude) southern approach, which is about 5.5 miles long (one-way), and gains about 2500ft.

I took the path less traveled - turns out no one had traveled it since the snow had come, so I was breaking trail all the way up, which made it a better workout than the numbers would suggest. Saw some very neat rock formations along the way.

The summit has a sweet little stone tower on it, and I snuck inside, away from the winds, to eat my lunch, snap some pictures and head back down.

During my hike up, I had seen plenty of animal tracks (mostly deer and rabbit, no human tracks though), so it was nice to finally spot one of the culprits on the way down (yes, I had a late start, so it was dark when I got back to the car).

On Sunday, I hiked the Badlands, which turned out to be trickier in spots than I'd imagined. What made the hard parts hard (well, soft actually) was that the warmish weather (30s and 40s) of the last few days had led to some significant snowmelt. And many of the rock formations there are covered in a some kind of clay which turned into a super-slippery goo from the runoff. It was also pretty windy at times, with some strong gusts hitting me at a couple of tricky spots, so I was glad to have traction on my boots and my mountain axe for extra support. On a regular day, these would have been overkill, but under the conditions, they were somewhat helpful.

I read this trail description (of one of the trails I took that day) in their brochure after I got back to my car: "Strenuous. Very short but very steep, the Saddle Pass Trail is impassable after rains." Well, it hadn't actually rained, but it did somewhat mimic those conditions. In any case, I was glad to be there and see some beautiful formations. Again, there was not another soul on the trails, and I essentially had miles of parkland all to myself.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gokulpics2010/BadlandsSD?authkey=Gv1sRgCJiX8_H-0onwaw&feat=directlink#

Edit: Just remembered, on my way out of the Park, I also drove by the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, so that makes five national things in that part of the state.

 

[Borek]

During my hike up, I had seen plenty of animal tracks (mostly deer and rabbit, no human tracks though), so it was nice to finally spot one of the culprits on the way down (yes, I had a late start, so it was dark when I got back to the car).

I had to check:

And it sits there

I like the place. Especially the part about having it all to yourself.

 

[fuzzyfelt]

Stunning, and a great place for lunch!

 

[lisab]

Awesome, Gokul.

 

[turbo]

Fantastic shots! What a nice trip!

 

[The legend]

I really liked all those pics , Gokul!
Awesome!

 

[drizzle]

Nice pics Gokul, love the last.

 

[Gokul43201]

Thanks all - it was a refreshingly nice weekend, and good to get away for a little while.

 

[turbo]

Get your skis and 'boards tuned up. Sugarloaf is already getting a decent amount of natural snow.