Tag Archives: mountain

Morning Tahoma

An early morning flight was needed for a trip that I needed to take for work, and it was taking me south.  The departure time was before the sun was due up, but I hoped that I might get a view of Mt Rainier (also known as Tahoma) as we headed south so I had selected a seat on the left side of the plane.  The plan was a good one even if the quality of the window of the jet was not.  I have not seen such a scruffy window on an airliner in ages!  Some random repositioning of the lens to try different parts of the window resulted in some reasonable shots.  Nothing special but nice to get when you have to be up early anyway.

Sunset on Mt Baker

I made a quick excursion across the border to Abbotsford for the air show.  I went for the evening show on the Friday rather than the day show.  The conditions were really nice for most of the show with the cloud rolling in only near the end of the proceedings.  Mt Baker is in the background across the border and provides a nice backdrop for some of the flying.  As the light got nicer, I wasn’t going to miss out on a couple of shots of the mountain with its cloud formations above the summit.

Stop At The Side Of The Road For A Mountain

Driving down through Oregon, you have no shortage of mountains to see.  There are plenty of volcanos in the state and other mountains which may or may not be volcanic.  On a longer drive, you find yourself trying to work out which mountain is which.  Normally they are far enough away to not make a picture worthwhile.  However, as we came over a ridge and dropped down the other side, the view dead ahead was too good to ignore.  I just pulled to the side of the road and grabbed a few shots.  A car was pulling away as I approached so, clearly, this was not an original idea!

Mt Rainier Catches the Evening Light

Our hotel in Seattle had a roof deck which we sat out on prior to going out to dinner.  Looking south across the city, you can see Mt Rainier.  In the evening light, the mountain was glowing.  It looked great and was accentuated by some cloud formations across the summit.  Sadly, from this location, the bottom of the mountain is obscured by buildings but it was too good a site to let that stop me taking some photos.

Mt Adams in the Distance

The Cascades range has a few volcanos.  One of the less frequently discussed is Mt Adams.  I know of it as a result of something work related but have never thought much about it or where it was.  However, from Mt St Helens, you have a good view of Mt Adams off to the east.  I wasn’t planning on heading that way but it was hard to miss it from up there.

Clouds over Mt Rainier

On one of my days off – taken in order to get my PTO balance down – I headed out for some aviation exploration.  The weather on this day was not great but, since I had struck it lucky on some of my other days off, I guess the odds were bound to swing the other way at some point.  While it was cloudy in Seattle, looking south to Mt Rainier, the sun was out on the mountain.  That didn’t mean it was cloud free, though.  There was a lot of cloud forming over the summit as the wind blew through so I shot a few images to make a pano of the mountain.  It would have been a great day to fly around the mountain but sadly that wasn’t to be.

Mt St Helens

Long before we moved to the Pacific Northwest or even visited the area, there was one mountain in the area that I knew all about.  Mt St Helens exploded in 1980 killing over 50 people and devastating a wide area.  The idea that the side of a mountain would just slide away and the exposed volcanic activity would blow out with the force of tens of megatons of explosive was amazing to me then and it still is.  I had been thinking of taking a visit for a long time.

The lack of a reason for time off this year means I have built up a balance of PTO that the company wants me to use so I booked a random day off in the middle of the week and, with nothing else planned, I thought a road trip was worthwhile.  It is a little over three hours south of us to get to the mountain so I headed off earlier with a good forecast.  I was a little skeptical as I drove south in the rain and low cloud but weather changes quickly here and altitude can make things change fast.

The road to Windy Ridge Viewpoint closes in the winter but it was still mild enough and there was almost no trouble on the road.  The deep shadows combined with the sun breaking through the trees made for some awkward conditions to drive up while watching out for the sudden deteriorations in the surface which appeared without warning.  The majority of the road surface is perfect but every once in the road, a little chasm will appear!  Also, while the air temps were in the 50s, the shade meant there was the occasional icy patch on the road which gets your attention on steep sections with big drop offs!

As I got closer to my target, I started coming around corners which provided a view to the mountain.  It is a dominant shape even without the 1,600’ or so that got blown off it forty years ago.  This was not an ideal time to visit for photography purposes because the sun is so far south so it is a little backlit but the good viewpoints are in the north and, even if I had been there for sunrise, it would still have been a less than ideal sun angle.  That would have required an overnight there which I didn’t feel was a great plan.

When I got to Windy Ridge, I was all alone.  There were two vehicle parked up near the trailhead but the occupants were obviously off up the trail.  It was just me.  Consequently, it felt super tranquil.  I read up on the disaster and what happened to the area and the people.  I spent a lot of time just staring at the mountain.  The hollowed out side of the mountain gives you an idea of just what got blown out.  There are new bulges in the surface as magma pushes up from underneath which serves to remind you of just what you are looking at.  This thing has blown on multiple occasions and will again at some point.  Right now it looks benign.  The eruption from 1980 continued on and off into the mid 2000s.  It is quiet for now but it will cause trouble again at some point.  The desolation of the area, even after 40 years, is a stark reminder of the power of a volcano.  Some trees have. Grown up but most of the landscape is still barren.  Everything was scoured clear by the high speed and burning heat of the blasts.  Some areas were sheltered by geography and they are were things have grown back first but they are in the minority.  Quite a place.  One day I shall go back and do the hike to the summit.

Clouds Over Rainier

If you live in the Seattle to Tacoma area, you get familiar with the phrase “the mountain is out” or “in”.  This refers to Mt Rainier which can be shrouded in cloud or out in the sun.  As a 14,000’ mountain, it is the most obvious landmark around here.  It also drives its own weather systems so the clouds on the mountain are always worth a look.  Not so long ago, I was quite taken by the cloud development over the mountain which was a bit different to what I am used to seeing.  The boat in the front was not helpful but I wanted to get a shot of the mountain so went for it.

Polarizer Effect on the Water

If I remember – which I frequently don’t – I take my polarizer with me when I am going to photographing scenery.  With our trip up into the Cascades, we went to the overlook of Diablo Lake and the sun was reflecting off the surface of the lake waters.  I took two shots – one with the polarizer rotated to remove the glare and one with the glare in full effect.  I was interested to see which of the shots I preferred when I got home.  The color of the lake is very nice but sometimes the reflections are more interesting.  I include both here to show just how much of a difference the polarizer makes and for you to decide which is to your taste.

Diablo Dam

My sister was visiting so we took a trip up into the Cascades across the North Cascades Highway.  Having traveled this way before, I had photographed some of the dams already.  This time, we got a closer look at Diablo Dam.  You can drive down to the dam and across the top of it to get to the facilities on the other side.  The dam is wide enough for two vehicles to pass although that might not be obvious given the way some of the drivers behaved.

The spillways on either side of the dam look a lot bigger when you get close to it than is the case when looking from a distance.  The chance to see it up close, given that so many of the dams in the mountains are rather inaccessible, was pretty cool.