April 2008

Mountain Photographers
Ski Sickness
04.29.08 | Permalink | Post a Comment

If you can’t tell from all my recent posts, I’m in the midst of a bad case of spring skiing fever, or more accurately, spring snowboarding fever. This time of year more than ever I have the acute feeling of “so much to do, so little time.” I can’t stop thinking of all those high couloirs and snowfields being naturally groomed by the warm sunny days and cold high-altitude nights - waiting for me to get up there and carve them before they melt away.

So, I was elated tonight to discover a treasure trove of awesome backcountry ski reports from Sky Sjue at SkiSickness.com. Sky and his friends have skied many incredible big mountain lines in the Cascades, and Sky has amassed an inspiring collection of photos and trip reports that help stoke the fever.

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Backcountry Skiing/Snowboarding, Colorado
Skiing the Raggeds
04.28.08 | Permalink | 5 Comments

On Sunday we skied/rode a great line in the Ragged Mountains of Colorado. This line provided a healthy 4,000+ vertical feet of skiing/snowboarding, from the summit to the road.
Many of these photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Hiking to the summit, which a big Elk Range backdrop.

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Colorado, Mountain Photographers
Davenport’s Ski the 14ers book
04.24.08 | Permalink | 3 Comments

In 2006 - 2007, within the span of one year, Aspen skiier Chris Davenport skied down ALL of Colorado’s 54 fourteeners (mountains over 14,000 feet). You can read all about this epic project on Chris’s website: SkiThe14ers.com.

Chris had a bunch of filmers and photographers join him for many of the climbs and descents, and they made a 42 minute movie about the quest. Unfortunately the US Forest Service won’t let him release the movie because of some technicalities about filming permits.

So, I was super excited last week to hear that Chris published a coffee table book about the project, and I bought it soon thereafter. I knew this book would not only get me pumped on the spring riding season which is pretty much upon us; but it would also provide me with some inspiration for ski photography. Indeed, the book is full of amazing ski photography by Christian Pondella and Ted Mahon, among others. It’s also got a good amount of text to read about Chris’s experiences on each mountain.

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Backcountry Skiing/Snowboarding
Skiing the La Sals
04.20.08 | Permalink | 4 Comments

This weekend I met up with Ann Driggers and Seth Anderson, some new ski buddies I met through SummitPost.org, to ski some lines in the La Sal Mountains in Utah. The La Sals rise 8,700 vertical feet above the city of Moab and all the surrounding canyonlands. I was excited not only to check out a new mountain range, but to snowboard down some of these lofty desert peaks that I’ve gazed up at so many times from the canyonlands far below.

The La Sals were also a good choice for this time of year because the snow there has already settled into a solid springtime snowpack, unlike the snowpack here in the San Juans, which is still transitioning from winter.

DAY ONE: TUKLEAR REACTION

Our first objective was Mount Tukuhnikivatz, or “Tuk” for short. This pyramid-shaped peak is one of the most notable mountains in the La Sals, easily visible for hundreds of miles from the south side of the range.

With crampons on our feet and skis/board strapped on our backs, we hiked on the solidly frozen snow pretty much straight up one of the ridgelines for 3200 vertical feet or so to the summit. It felt so strange to peer down at vast red rock canyonlands while we were hiking on snow. The mountain is so much higher than the surrounding deserts that you almost feel like you’re looking out from an airplane.

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Colorado
Ouray’s Snowiest Winter: 253″
04.18.08 | Permalink | 1 Comment

According to the The Ouray Plaindealer we’ve had the snowiest winter in 60 years of records, with a whopping 253″ in town… over 21 feet!

Storm clouds clear out of Ouray after a 3-foot dump in April

21 feet of snow is almost twice the average for Ouray. I don’t know the winter snow totals for higher up in the mountains… maybe twice that amount? It’s been an epic winter for sure.
Funny Stuff
What the Duck
04.13.08 | Permalink | Post a Comment

“What the Duck” photography comics by Aaron Johnson. See hundreds more at www.WhatTheDuck.net.
Backcountry Skiing/Snowboarding, Colorado
Summer Can Wait
04.10.08 | Permalink | 4 Comments

Who said it was spring? Winter has come back with a vengeance in April. Just like last season, March and April have switched places… March was dry, April has brought the snow. Today it felt like mid winter, with 16ºF temperatures, deep powder, and mayhem on the pass. Here’s some pictures from our morning line.

Roger Schimmel skiing some fresh powder.

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Featured Articles, Gear
Quest for the Ultimate Compact Camera
04.08.08 | Permalink | 13 Comments

For the most part compact cameras are built as point-and-shoot cameras for regular day to day snapshots; however, recently some camera manufacturers have been developing compact cameras that have features geared towards more serious photographers. The appeal of compact cameras is of course that they are compact and lightweight, and if they could be developed to include advanced features along with professional image quality, the result would be a very useful photographic tool indeed.

Over the last several years I’ve been searching, and waiting, for the ultimate compact digital camera. As you may know, my primary camera is a 4×5 large format film camera. Almost all of my serious fine print photos and are made with this beast, but I also like to carry along a supplemental digital compact camera for quick snapshots, action shots, and sometimes macro shots. When I’m backpacking, all my 4×5 gear is packed up in my backpack, but the compact camera fits in a little case on my chest strap - easily accessible for quick shots while hiking.

I am now using my third digital compact camera in as many years, and I will briefly review each one in this article. The sample photos have been processed in Photoshop - they are not direct from camera. Though I may have adjusted brightness/colors/contrast to a minimal degree, I have not done any sharpening or chromatic aberration fixes. The fullsize jpeg images have been optimized for the web, so there might be slight compression artifacts, but it should be negligable.

I’ll also take this opportunity to state that I have little interest in shooting SLRs anymore, even though there are some pretty small ones on the market. First of all, they won’t work as a supplement to my 4×5 system; it’s just too much extra bulk and weight. Secondly, as a standalone system, the weight savings of a complete, quality SLR setup vs. the 4×5 setup is not very significant, yet the image quality difference is huge. If I ever go back to a solely digital setup, it will only be for a lightweight compact camera. In other words, if I’m ever going to sacrifice the awesome image quality of the 4×5 setup, then there had better be a proportional weight savings involved.

On to the reviews!
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Featured Articles, Mountain Photographers
Interview with Kevin Thurner
04.06.08 | Permalink | 1 Comment

When I first stumbled across Kevin Thurner’s website, I was completely amazed and inspired by his collection of photos from the North Cascades and beyond. I recently emailed Kevin some questions to learn more about his photography.

Be sure to spend some time browsing through Kevin’s online gallery.

You have an extensive portfolio of photos from the Washington Cascades. What is it about these mountains that draw you so?

This goes right to the point I suppose, but is tougher to answer than you might expect. I’ve sometimes thought of my time in these mountains as a kind of relationship. It’s been a progression of sorts as most things are.

Not being a native of the Pacific Northwest, I didn’t know much about the Cascades for quite some time. I gradually became aware of their alpine reputation in a very general way, mostly through news accounts of the Himalayan feats of various Northwest climbers. I remember at one point coming across a few small photos of the North Cascades in an outdoor magazine that tantalized me, but offered little more to go on. They remained in the back of my mind as a kind of mysteriously veiled mountain kingdom.

In the early 80’s I hitchhiked through parts of Washington State more than once and glimpsed Mt Rainier for the first time. Then a few years later, I saw a copy of the Beckey Guides in a climbing store in Boulder, Colorado. The pictures in those books confirmed to me that these were mountains of an altogether different character than the ranges I’d explored. They even intimidated me a little and I began to think of them as mountains of a different caliber.

My first year in the North Cascades was punctuated by many memorable mountain sojourns, but none as remarkable as the four days I spent over Labor Day weekend approaching and climbing Luna Pk. It was my first view of the Picket Range, and man was I hooked. It became clear to me on that trip that these awesome mountains were within my grasp. What I lacked in technical ability I could make up for with stamina, good route-finding and perseverance. These mountains exuded a different kind of wildness, and their northern, alpine character appealed to me immensely.

My time in the North Cascades has often been tremendously satisfying; and now I have been around them long enough to have built up a rather strong affection. It is still very much a Mountain Kingdom to me.

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Backcountry Skiing/Snowboarding, Colorado
Chimichanga
04.05.08 | Permalink | 2 Comments

Another great line! I’ll call this one “Chimichanga” (*name changed to protect the innocent). The weather turned nasty today as a storm rolled in; nevertheless, the same powder from our last little storm was still well preserved on this long north face. Like yesterday’s line, this route was also a new one for me. It’s so great to keep exploring and riding all these sweet lines that I’ve had my eyes on all season. Click each photo to see it bigger.

Here I am laying out a high speed carve. Photo by Parker McAbery.

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