Displaying items by tag: panoramic photo

The adventure of my July 4th weekend for 2011 just wouldn't end on its own. After spending the morning in Telluride sulking about our partial defeat in Navajo Basin, Regina and I decided to drive back to Colorado Springs and lick our wounds. As we drove closer and closer to Blue Mesa Reservoir, I got a wild idea in my brain. Since both Regina and I still had three days off for climbing, I figured that it would be a total shame to waste that time off and gas money on only one climb up Wilson Peak. Even though we opted to not do El Diente and Mount Wilson, I still felt that we had more gas left in the tank, so to speak, so... I suggested to Regina that we head to Lake City and climb Wetterhorn Peak instead of driving home. At first Regina was more focused on a warm shower and a soft pillow, but it did not take long for the idea to set in and Regina enthusiastically agreed. Perhaps my tactic was not fair, since I knew that Wetterhorn Peak was Regina's favorite mountain of all time. Once Regina agreed, my mood increased dramatically and we set-off for Lake City and the Wetterhorn Peak Trailhead.

To make matters even more epic, I convinced Regina that we should start from camp at 2 AM so we could watch the sunrise from the summit. Climbing up the class 3 summit block of Wetterhorn in the dark sounded pretty fun too... We arrived at the trailhead and found a perfect campsite next to Matterhorn Creek. All night long, I had visions of a most epic sunrise over Uncompahgre Peak that looked something like this:

We quickly went over the game plan and Regina explained the route to me. Regina had been up this trail 3 times last year, so she knew all about it. The first time she went, she was pushed off before reaching the summit because of exhaustion. The second time, she was scared off the trail by actual mountain lions (true story), and the third time, she finally succeeded in reaching the top. She has never shut up about Wetterhorn in all of our trips together, so I figured that either she was exaggerating or that Wetterhorn was truly one of the best climbs in Colorado.

Our campsite was pretty awesome, and we were both thankful for our Mountain House meals that we had packed with us for Navajo Basin.

We went to bed, set the alarm for 2 AM, which arrived pretty quickly. I felt totally rested though, so we equipped our packs and opted to not pack up our tent so that we could hopefully reach the summit by sunrise. The trail was really easy to follow in the dark, but I could not help but think about the mountain lions that Regina encountered last year. Would they totally thwart our efforts? I really hoped not, and focused on the task at hand. We finally reached the area where Regina had encoutered the mountain lions last year, and wouldn't you know it, we looked down the hill to catch the gaze of three sets of eyes illuminated by our headlamps. Crap! Fortunately, we were able to realize pretty quickly that they were just deer, so we continued on up past treeline. It was not until we reached the final ridge of Wetterhorn that there as any light whatsoever in any direction, save the star light.

We continued on up Wetterhorn's ridge, enjoying the progressive light show that was starting to erupt to the east.

Just before we reached Wetterhorn's final section, the sun began to get closer and closer to emerging... would we make it to the top before the sunrise? I was getting nervous in anticipation.

I was really having fun with my camera, firing off several bracketed shots for HDR, using rocks as a tripod and the self-timer to prevent camera shake.

We finally reached a small snowfield that was in a small flat area before the top. The snowfield was at the base of the huge cliff walls of Wetterhorn and lead us to a notch that was a portal to the super fun Class 3 section of Wetterhorn.

At last, we reached the final summit pitch and Regina went first. Her enthusiasm for Wetterhorn was impressive and nothing like her lack of enthusiasm two days prior on Wilson Peak.

I was even able to take some video of Regina climbing up this section.

I followed Regina after she had secured herself above, and quickly made it up within a few seconds of fun climbing. We were literally about 20 seconds from the top and I told Regina that the sun would be rising in any second. I crested the summit and it was quite possibly one of the most amazing thing I've ever witnessed. The sun literally crested the horizon THE EXACT MOMENT that I crested the summit. The timing was insane. I ran as fast as I could to the other side, built a rock tripod, and began shooting. I knew that this was gold.

These two are HDR and almost the same except for some slightly different processing techniques.

I was like a little kid on Christmas. I had no words to describe it. I didn't even realize it, but it was pretty cold up there. I think it took me a good 20 minutes to even feel it.

Regina was pretty excited too, being that it was the first time she had seen the sunrise from the top of the mountain.

The views were simply incredible... including this 360 degree panoramic.

The lighting was perfect for High Dynamic Range (HDR). I knew that this would be the best chance I'd get in a long time to put together an HDR pano, so I gave it a shot. The results were mind-blowing. I can't wait to get one printed for my house.

The views of Coxcomb and Redcliff were crazy!

Hey, the summit shelter even makes a good tripod in a pinch! I decided to take a few HDR shots of Sneffels and the rest of the rugged San Juan Mountains to the west.

Uncompahgre Peak was truly an amazing feature to photograph from Wetterhorn.

I had always admired both Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn as a pair, especially last year from Handies Peak (Wetterhorn on the left, Uncompahgre on the right):

Is there really such a thing as too many sunrise photos?

Or panoramics for that matter?

The craggy features of Redcliff to the North were quite impressive as well!

All this photography and I had almost forgotten that Regina was with me, obviously a bit chilled!

So, we decided we had enough amazing views for one morning and then departed the summit.

The downclimb was a little more tricky than the upclimb, but nothing worth worrying too much about. As long as you take your time and stagger your group, it is very safe.

It never fails to amaze me what will grow on the side of a mountain...

Naturally, Uncompahgre kept me in a state of wonder...

As did Sneffels...

Wetterhorn was pretty awesome looking for below, which was awesome since it was completely dark when we headed up.

Also, a set of lower peaks kept my attention to the west, near Ouray. They were so impressive and gnarly looking! I was convinced that it could only be Bighorn Ridge, just east of Ouray. I believe I have confirmed this by looking on the Impressiveness List on my website.

All this photography set me back from Regina quite a ways, and before I knew it, Regina had reached the Golden Saddle.

We finally ran into some early hikers just after the ridge, who turned out to be none other than "Kitten" from 14ers.com.

Regina and I both spotted this awesome little pool below and I knew it would make for an interesting shot...

Funny thing - unknown to me at the time, "Kitten" shot a photo of me taking that photo, as I discovered it in her trip report.

I even got a picture of Regina, and Wetterhorn, plus the pool.

I spotted some interesting flowers off-trail and figured they might make for a cool shot with Uncompahgre behind them...

And, out of nowhere, a plane went zooming by over Wetterhorn...

The hike out was pristine. The views never got old. Wetterhorn and Matterhorn painted such an incredible vista.

Wetterhorn looked pretty awesome from the valley below...

And of course, the weather started to move-in as we were heading out. The clouds were really intense, so I figured it might be fun to take some HDR shots of them.

In case you were wondering, at the first trail junction, seen below... you go right. I barely noticed this one on the way up since Regina has this mountain memorized.

Matterhorn Creek provided some amazing opportunities for photos as well, having a ton of water in it.

What else can be said about Wetterhorn? It is probably the perfect mountain. Here's why:

1. The approach is short and easy, accesible to even the most novice of hikers.
2. The route is solid - it is a terrific introduction to Class 3.
3. The views are INSANE.

The only bad thing about Wetterhorn is that it is not closer to my house! I would rate it a 10/10.

I hope you enjoyed the photos! Please contact me if you would like to purchase any. See this page for more details.

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Earlier this year I had made plans to climb Mount Wilson, Wilson Peak, and El Diente with my dad; however, plans quickly changed through the summer as Ray painfully realized that he did not have the flexibility, strength, nor desire to conquer those mountains. We decided instead to take a camping trip with my son, Quinn, up to the southern Sawatch range and I would figure out alternative climbing options later.

Being that one of the best months to climb mountains in Colorado is September, I wanted to get in as much hiking time as possible to soak in the fall colors. I chose the far southern Sawatch range to begin my quest for great fall color photos and hoped to conquer my personal nemesis, Tabeguache Peak, as a bonus. Due to it's location, Tabeguache is generally climbed in conjunction with Mount Shavano - which I've already climbed twice in two years due to my quest for Tabegauche's summit. For this trip, I'd planned to hit Tabeguache from the north, while bagging Grizzly Mountain, Cyclone Mountain, and Carbonate Mountain; however, upon further inspection of the TOPO map for the area (St. Elmo Quadrangle), I discovered that there were several other 13ers right near where we were planning to camp, all of which were connected by long ridges, and that it would be a shame not to climb them while we were in the area. My plans quickly changed and I added Boulder Mountain and Mount Mamma to my itinerary.

Trip Statistics:

Summits reached:

Boulder Mountain: 13,528 ft. (ranked 236 in Colorado)

Mount Mamma: 13,646 ft.(ranked 173 in Colorado)

Grizzly Mountain: 13,708 ft. (ranked 142 in Colorado)

"Lo Carb": 13,591 ft. (unranked)

Cyclone Mountain: 13,596 ft. (ranked 192 in Colorado)

Carbonate Mountain: 13,663 ft. (ranked 165 in Colorado)

Total elevation gain: 4,883 ft.

Total prominence in feet: 2,723 ft.

Total distance hiked: 11.41 miles

Total time hiking: 10 hours, 30 minutes

Total photos taken: 592

Total wildlife sightings: 1 (Mountain Goat)

Collegiate Peaks - located in the Sawatch Range, including Mount Antero left of center, Mount Princeton at center and Mount Yale at far right.

On Saturday, September 18, 2010, my dad, my son, and I loaded into my Jeep Grand Cherokee and headed for Baldwin Gulch. To get there, we traveled to Highway 285 via Highway 24 and drove south from Buena Vista / Johnson's Corner to Chaffee County Road 162, heading west towards Mount Princeton & St. Elmo. After 12.5 miles, we took a left (south) on Chaffee County Road 277 (Mount Antero / Baldwin Gulch Road).

The aspen changing colors in Baldwin Gulch.

This is a 4WD road and put my Jeep to the test. In fact, when I purchased this Jeep earlier this year, I had this road in mind as a good barometer for how much clearance etc. I wanted to have. The road is fairly rough in spots, and I knew that after the road splits towards Baldwin Lake, it becomes even rougher. Sure enough, after passing the turn-off for County Road 278 at Baldwin Creek and staying right, the road became fairly crazy. If you don't have good clearance, this would be a great place to stop.

We found a great campsite roughly 4.3 miles up the road (1.7 miles from the Baldwin Creek turn-off) near a large boulder field near the smaller lakes below the main Baldwin Lake. We set-up camp and enjoyed the cool yet pleasant fall weather. Speaking of weather, the forecast for the weekend was ideal for hiking - no rain, no storms, no wind. I took a small hike around the area to enjoy the fall colors. I was very impressed by the golds, yellows, reds, and browns of the vegetation - it certainly made for quite the view, and complimented the diverse colors of the mined rock on the mountainsides.

Antero Peak is reflected with vibrant blue colors.

Cronin Peak and lower Baldwin Lake.

Cronin Peak and lower Baldwin Lake.

Baldwin Creek.

The moon was nearly full and much to my surprise, there were great views of the moon rising above Cronin Peak in the early evening.

Cronin Peak with the moon rising above it, reflected in the water.

Cronin Peak with the moon rising above it, reflected in the water (lighter this time).

After enjoying a large campfire and roasting marshmellows with my son, we all went to bed. I set my alarm for 4 AM so that I would have a full day for my planned epic hike:

The route map for Boulder Mountain, Mount Mamma, Grizzly Mountain, "Lo Carb," Cyclone Mountain and Carbonate Mountain.

Elevation profile for Boulder Mountain, Mount Mamma, Grizzly Mountain, "Lo Carb," Cyclone Mountain and Carbonate Mountain.The first 1/2 mile was pure bushwhacking scree hell.

I left camp at 4:30 AM and bushwhacked straight up the side of the ridge of Boulder Mountain. I stumbled across an abandoned mine on the way up and found this part of the hike to be the worst part of the day. As you can see above, the first 1/2 mile of the hike was absolutely brutal - I gained 1,400 ft in the first 1/2 mile on loose scree, boulders and talus. It was the kind of rock where you took one step forward and then slid backwards half a step. It took me only an hour to reach the ridge, where I was greeted by strong, cold wind and pure darkness. The stars were amazing though, and the sun was just beginning to provide the first glimpse of light on the eastern horizon, left of Antero. Looking north, I could see the vague outlines of Boulder Mountain, which seemed to be pretty far away in the darkness. Through the cold wind, I pushed my way up the summit ridge of Boulder Mountain, and reached the summit at 6 AM, a mere 1.5 hours after I began my adventure. The summit had a very awesome looking cairn at the top, which provided nice contrast with the light of the rising sun.

If you've never experienced the sunrise from the top of a mountain before, it should be on your bucket list. This marks the third time I've been able to witness the sunrise from 13,000 ft+ and it never gets old. The sunrise provided excellent outlines of Mount Antero, Mount White, Tabeguache Peak, and Mount Shavano to my east. Additionally, as the sunrise continued to increase the amount of light, it became clear that there were incredible views of gold and red aspen across the valley along the ridgeline for Mount Princeton to the north. It was quite stunning to see all of the colors emerge from the darkness as the sun rose above the horizon.

The sunrise illuminates the sky, revealing Mount Princeton (left) and Mount Antero (right).

The sunrises behind Mount Antero.

The changing aspen are visible from the summit of Boulder Mountain.

Matt Payne on the summit of Boulder Mountain - it was really windy!

Aspen change colors on the slopes of Mount Princeton and it's neighbors.

After enjoying the sunrise, I started to head back down the ridge of Boulder Mountain to the south. As I traveled along the ridge, the sunrise lit up skyline to my right (west) across the slopes of Mount Mamma and to the north, illuminating groves of aspen trees. It was nothing short of spectacular.

Grizzly Mountain in the far distance...

Mount Mamma is lit up by alpenglow.

Aspen are further revealed by the rising sun across from Mount Mamma's north ridge.

As I approached the ridge between Mount Mamma and Boulder Mountain, the full length of my next summit revealed itself in quite an overwhelming way. The distance between the two peaks seemed quite vast; however, I was so entranced by the surrounding views that any doubts I had about going onwards were destroyed.

At center - Cronin Peak. In the far distance just right and behind Cronin were the final two mountains I would end up climbing - Cyclone and Carbonate. The ridge to Mount Mamma is quite long from Boulder Mountain.

The lower Baldwin Lakes were right below me on the saddle between Mamma and Boulder.

Baldwin Lake pools reflect parts of "Lo Carb" to the South from the saddle between Mount Mamma and Boulder Mountain.

About halfway across to Mamma, it still felt like I had a long way to go...

Mount Mamma was quite a long haul from Boulder Mountain...

At 7:30 AM I finally reached the summit of Mount Mamma, just three short hours from the start of my trip. My legs were feeling extra spicy!

Matt Payne on the summit of Mount Mamma - with insane aspen in the background.

A panoramic landscape looking south to north from the summit of Mount Mamma.

Mount Princeton seen at far right among changing aspen, as seen from the summit of Mount Mamma.

A 360 degree panoramic landscape from the summit of Mount Mamma.

Huge groves of aspen are seen to the north and west of Mount Mamma.

A zoomed-in panoramic landscape of aspen trees west and north of Mount Mamma.

A panoramic photo looking west from Mount Mamma.

After taking some time to rest on Mount Mamma, I peered over to my next objective: Grizzly Mountain. Grizzly Mountain would be the highest mountain for me to summit this day, and it was not easy.

The terrain on the ridge from Mount Mamma to Grizzly Mountain is steep and rugged, without a trail. The rocks were looser and slightly more dangerous on this section of the route, so I was careful to choose my foot placements.

After another hour of hiking, I reached the saddle between Mamma and Grizzly and took time to appreciate the sheer northern face of Grizzly that stood before me. At this point, the ridge became quite narrow, and it was quite fun having nothing but sheer drop to my left and incredible views of Grizzly Gulch to my right. Grizzly Gulch contains Grizzly Lake and some of the most photogenic and pristine looking wetlands I've seen.

Grizzly Mountain's north face is quite impressive.

Grizzly Gulch seen from the saddle of Grizzly Mountain and Mount Mamma.

As I approached the summit of Grizzly Mountain, I could really gain some perspective on the hike I had completed so far. It was certainly impressive seeing the distance I had traveled thus far:

Additionally, I was able to get a great view of the entire route for the day, from start to finish. I had traveled a great distance already, but could see that I had a long way to go yet...

A view of Baldwin Gulch, including Baldwin Lake, Boulder Mountain, Mount Mamma, Cronin Peak, Antero Peak, Mount White, Cyclone Peak and Carbonate Peak.

The entire route as seen from Grizzly Mountain.

I finally reached the summit of Grizzly Mountain at 10 AM and dove into my pack for some much needed food. The views from Grizzly were great, but I could see that I still had quite a lot of ground to cover if I were to complete my goals.

Matt Payne on the summit of Grizzly Mountain, with Cyclone Creek Basin in the background.

Cyclone Creek Basin, south of Grizzly Mountain. Taylor Mountain in the foreground with Mount Ouray in the distance.

A 360 degree pano from the summit of Grizzly Mountain.

Knowing that I had a long day in front of me still, I departed Grizzly Mountain's summit promptly and made my way over towards saddle of "Lo Carb" and Grizzly. From afar, the terrain between Grizzly and "Lo Carb" seemed rather intimidating, and I was a little concerned with what I would find once I began climbing to the top of ridge at the end of the ridge-line.

Steeper terrain greeted me at the saddle between Grizzly Mountain and "Lo Carb."

The terrain indeed proved to be challenging, but quite fun. I would rate the tough section of this climb low Class 4 or high Class 3.

At this point, Boulder Mountain seemed like a completely different trip - it was so far away!

After reaching the false summit of "Lo Carb," which is basically the high point between Lo Carb and Cronin Peak, I was able to get a full grasp of the distance I had traveled. It continued to amaze me.

Grizzly Mountain (left), Mount Mamma (center), Boulder Mountain (right of center) and Cronin Peak (far right).

I began the long hike towards Lo Carb, Cyclone Mountain and Carbonate Mountain. Tabeguache was still a long way away, which pretty much sealed the deal for me - I would be coming back for Tab a 3rd time!

I don't know what came over me at this juncture of the trip, but I just remember being overcome with positive feelings and I remember saying to myself, "Man - THIS is so awesome!" I think the combination of solitude, great weather, awesome views, and the sustained time above 13,000 ft. had something to do with it.

Cyclone and Carbonate are really gentle peaks nestled at the top of Brown's Creek Basin, which divides Mount Antero and Mount White from Tabeguache Peak.

Cyclone Mountain and Carbonate Mountain.

One detraction from the view was the large network of roads that connects Mount White and Mount Antero. As many know, these mountains are rather famous for gemstone mining, so a lot of people probably make a living from these roads' existence. With that being said, it seems like there are too many roads up there and it is an eyesore for sure.

Mount Princeton, Cronin Peak, Mount Antero, Mount White and Tabeguache Peak as seen from the saddle of "Lo Carb" and Cyclone Mountain.

Reaching the summit of Cyclone was somewhat of a treat because the summit register there had listings from all the way back to 1349. Of particular note, I saw an entry there from the famed Bob Martin, of Martin and Garratt - Colorado's High Thirteeners, which is one of my favorite mountain books. One more note about Bob Martin - he's probably climbed every mountain in Colorado over 10,000 ft., not an easy task to complete! In fact, at the date of this report, he's climbed 2,563 mountains in Colorado... as compared to my 91 (at the date of this report) and some people think I'm obsessed! :-) My take on it - impressive dedication!

Bob Martin sighting...

From the top of Cyclone, I was able to get a really nice zoom-in pano of Cyclone Gulch and the mountains across the valley. In case you're wondering what that means - I take several photos where I've zoomed-in as far as I can with my camera, and I've combined them. The result is that you are able to see a great deal of detail in the photo. Individual trees can be made out easily. Of course to see this, you need to see the full resolution version of the photo. Let me know if you'd like to!

Cyclone Gulch seen at high resolution. Carbonate Mountain at far left with Taylor Mountain and Mount Aetna in the valley over above the groves of changing aspen trees.

At this stage, my legs were definitely getting tired. I strolled on over to the summit of Carbonate Mountain, and after seeing the huge drop in elevation between Carbonate and Tabeguache, I made an official declaration that Tab would just have to wait for another day.

Matt Payne on the summit of Carbonate Mountain.

Taylor Mountain and Mount Aetna rise above a forest of colorful aspen tree and North Fork Reservoir.

While it was somewhat of a hazy day, I could still see aspen changing in every valley that I could see with the naked eye.

Having summited 6 mountains in one day, 5 of which being ranked 13ers, I felt that my day was a huge success and that I was ready to return to camp for some awesome burgers. I made my way back over Cyclone Mountain and Lo Carb, down to the saddle between Lo Carb and Cronin, and down to Baldwin Lake.

Baldwin Lake.

Once I reached our campsite, it was only 3 PM. Quinn was happy to see me, and many burgers were happily consumed!

"Welcome back dad!"