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March 2008

Funny Stuff
Peak Performance
03.27.08 | Permalink | Post a Comment

Comic by Nicholas Gurewitch : The Perry Bible Fellowship.
Backpacking & Camping, Colorado
Winter Camping in the West Needles
03.24.08 | Permalink | 11 Comments

Lured by a full moon and a forecast of clear skies, this last weekend I went backpacking for two nights in the West Needle Mountains in the San Juans near Silverton, Colorado. This area is incredibly photogenic; from my campsite on a 12,200 ft ridgeline, I enjoyed broad vistas of the Needle Mountains, the West Needles, and all the peaks of the Molas Pass area.

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Featured Articles, Mountain Photographers
Interview with Kenzo Okawa
03.20.08 | Permalink | 2 Comments

Kenzo Okawa is a mountain photographer in China with an amazing portfolio of images from the Siguniangshan, or Four Girls Mountains. I discovered Kenzo’s work years ago on SummitPost.org, where he is a regular contributor. Kenzo was gracious enough to answer my questions via an email interview, as follows.

Be sure to check out Kenzo’s photo collection at his online gallery and also at his SummitPost gallery.

Judging from your photos, the Four Girls Mountains are incredibly beautiful and spectacular mountains. What kind of travel/trekking is required to get to the locations where you photograph?

The altitude of Four Girls Mountains is not as high as Nepal’s Himalayas, and some mountaineers call them “An ordinary part of lesser Himalayas.” But the mountain appeal is not decided only by altitude. I think that Four Girls Mountains are not stunning mountains, but they are particularly beautiful mountains. A town lying at the foot of the mountain is Rilong town, Xiaojin County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China.

It is around 31 degrees of north latitude, 103 degrees of east longitude. Three hours by range airplane from Shanghai to Chengdu of Sichuan Province. And 7 hours by bus from Chengdu(Chadianzi Bus Station) to Rilong Town.

Because the altitude is not high, from the town it is easy to access the locations where I photograph. Usually it takes one day by walking or horseback.

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Colorado, Environment
Drilling the Roan Plateau
03.18.08 | Permalink | 1 Comment

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Mountain Photographers
Andrew Skurka & the Great Western Loop
03.13.08 | Permalink | Post a Comment

“On November 3, 2007, Andrew Skurka became the first person to complete the 6,875-mile Great Western Loop, an ambitious journey that links the American West’s great long-distance hiking trails to traverse 12 National Parks and over 75 wilderness areas. Skurka, 26, completed his expedition by walking an average of 33 miles per day for 208 straight days, covering a distance equivalent to 262 marathons or twice the distance between Boston and San Francisco.”

This trek blows my mind. 33 miles a day. 208 days! Just the planning for this trip alone would be a monumental project, not to mention actually DOING it!

Andrew would be appalled if he saw me and my enormous backpack with 20 pounds of camera gear. I take a slow pace and enjoy relaxing and spending more time in each place I go, but I still dream about what it would be like to thru-hike a long trail. How would it feel to hike through the desert for weeks on end and then ascend up into the lush mountains? To experience first hand the great range of landscapes and climate on a continental scale?

Andrew’s excellent and extensive trip reports from his Great Western Loop adventure shed some light on the experience.
Mountain Photographers
360º VR Mountain Panoramas
03.12.08 | Permalink | 1 Comment

Here’s some links to some mountainous Quicktime 360VR panoramas. Leave a comment if you know of any others!

Mount Everest summit
Mt. Fuji, Japan, viewed from Kita-Dake
Sunrise on the summit of the Matterhorn
Summit of Dufourspitze, Switzerland
Davos, Switzerland
Mount St. Helens, Washington
Machu Picchu, Peru

Also, check out my own collection of “homemade” summit panoramas.

Oh, and here’s a good collection of normal mountain panoramas: Alpen-Panoramen.de.
Colorado, Life
This is Where I Live!
03.11.08 | Permalink | 4 Comments

Stoked.
Life
All You Get
03.07.08 | Permalink | 2 Comments

Comic by Rudis Muiznieks. Lots more at Cectic.com.
Backcountry Skiing/Snowboarding, Colorado
A Few Afternoon Shots
03.03.08 | Permalink | Post a Comment

Here’s a couple photos from snowboarding this afternoon in the rugged peaks about five minutes drive from Ouray. March is here, and spring seems right around the corner, even though everything is still smothered in fresh snow. The sun is really getting higher in the sky these days, and the foot of fresh snow that fell last night had melted to a crusty 5 or 6 inches by the time we got out there for an afternoon run. Oh well… next powder day I’ll head out in the morning if I can.

Here’s Parker splitboarding up in front of a rugged San Juan backdrop.

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