Day 0 : Todd & me at the Will Rogers Airport Frontier gate lounge on wednesday afternoon.
Chasing the sunset with a near full moon.
Approaching a thunderstorm somewhere over the panhandle.
Skirting the thunderstorm, the plane emerges around the core, between the base clouds and the anvil top.
An amazing cloud-scape was revealed, with lightning frequently lighting up the core.
Storm, Sunset & Moon, OKC to Denver (2007)
Weaving in between storms, I got people across the aisle to photograph the storm on their side of the plane, which had twice as much lightning.
Fountain in arrivals at Denver domestic terminal.
Luggage carousels especially for skis & boards to cater for winter travellers.
Day 1 : Luke on the swing in Tony & Shelly's big backyard.
The front of the Wahl household.
Driving through Manitou Springs to the foothills of the Front Range, Pikes Peak shrouded in cloud to the left.
Crazy granite rock formations stick out of all the hills everywhere.
Pike's Peak Highway, at the toll booth, $10 per person.
A lookout over the town of Cascade.
The weather suddenly cleared as we drove up the mountain.
Todd took a couple of photos of me down on the jetty.
Crystal Reservoir, Pikes Peak Highway, Colorado (2007)
There were two exhibitions like this that showed the gold mining past of Pikes Peak.
The Cog Railway at the summit of Pikes Peak, a train that goes all the way up from Manitou Springs.
The western summit edge.
Southwest, the road can be seen, along with a few cliffs.
Me on the western edge of the summit, Pikes Peak.
Todd on the western edge of the summit, Pikes Peak.
Altitude Research Facility of the US Army.
Todd with awesome balance :)
Todd
Me
A monument to an American songwriter who got inspiration for 'America The Beautiful' when she visited Pikes Peak.
The Barr trail, a gruelling 12.6 mile one-way hike with 7258 ft of vertical gain, more than any other fourteener, weaves up the mountain.
The Cog Railway bends over the northeast face and goes straight down the slopes.
The remains of the original summit house of Pikes Peak, built in 1873, all that is left is a wall half buried in sand & gravel.
The Barr Trail sign at the summit. Todd and I discussed how dissatisfying it would be to hike all that way, to find a shop, cars, a train and a hundred people already on the summit.
Todd found a way inside a vacant, smelly building, which had some historic stuff in it.
A shirt in the store listing all 53 fourteeners in Colorado. Pikes Peak is #31, and Longs Peak is #15.
Todd and me at the summit of Pikes Peak, 14 110 ft.
South from the summit of Pikes Peak, Colorado (2007)
The spectacular view of the descent drive, looks like you're driving to the edge of the world.
Same spot, from outside the car.
I got Todd to drive right up close to the edge, and shot this out the window.
A small guniea-pig looking animal scampered between the rocks not far from the summit.
Another boulder formation by the side of the road. I saw loads of 'balancing rocks', some are big enough to be seen from miles away.
A thunderstorm approaches from the south where Todd and I stopped to eat our second lunch.
We just found a spot out of the wind over a dried up creek.
View from our lunch spot.
Don't fall!
Back near the bottom where the air was noticeably easier to breathe and warmer, we stopped near a gorge.
I climbed onto a boulder for a better look of the little dam.
Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in southern Denver with James and his wife Britney.
Lola the gorgeous gold puppie, and [cant remember] the other dog, playing the Wii with us.
Day 2 : Back in Golden, Denver, Todd's niece Abby looks cool with my sunnies.
A view of a northern Denver suburb.
Getting closer, Longs Peak is the big one in the distance to the right.
We crested a hill and got a great view.
Wide angle shows Longs Peak at the northern edges of the Rockies.
Typical of the Rocky Mountain foothills, crowned with granite cliffs.
A couple of shots out the back window show our road through the Rocky Mountains.
The Pine forests are amazing, totally different to anything in Australia.
A mountain to the east of Longs Peak.
Camping in the forests of the Rocky Mountains, there is almost no shrub, it seemed you could just walk between trees for miles.
Sunset over Longs Peak East Face from near our camp grounds.
Tony and James playing horseshoe.
Brauts on the grill.
Our campsite. no-frills, as we would be packing up at 3:30am
I was the cook.
Near full-moon through the Pine trees. It's a shame we couldn't have happy hour, camping in the Rockies is something I've always wanted to do, this and Yosemite.
Day 3 : Rolling out some time before 4am.
The trail head, Michael signs our party into the book for who is on the mountain.
Still below the treeline before dawn.
Early rays peering over the clouds.
It was still quite some time until actual dawn though, we covered another couple hundred metres.
Todd.
Dawn in the Rocky Mountains, Longs Peak, Colorado (2007)
Dawn on Longs Peak, Colorado (2007)
The Diamond Face at Dawn.
Our group of 5, James, Michael, Tony, Todd and me.
In different order, Tony, me, James, Michael and a blinking Todd.
Little birds were running between the rocks, can you see them?
A tiny mouse-like animal, who obviously likes the barren, wind swept slopes above the treeline.
Rounding the corner of the ridge, looking up over the boulder field towards the peak. [Photo : Tony Wahl]
Tony photographed The Keyhole on zoom, where we were headed. [Photo : Tony Wahl]
The Boulder Field. A mass of shattered granite boulders, some larger than cars, there is no hiking here, it's all rock hopping. [Photo : Tony Wahl]
The Diamond Face and Cables Route from far out in the Boulder Field in the AM. [Photo : Tony Wahl]
The sheer North Face, at the end of the Boulder Field. The Keyhole is to the right, Diamond Face to the left.
Todd & The North Face.
Tony & Todd.
Me & the North Face.
The steep climb on granite boulders to get to The Keyhole, a notch in the ridge extending west of the North Face, where the path continues on the other side. [Photo : Tony Wahl]
Longs Peak North Face, Colorado (2007)
Close up of The Keyhole. [Photo : Tony Wahl]
There's Todd! [Photo : Tony Wahl]
Wide view. It was an area for scrambling on all fours here.
Todd & James wait on the other side of the Keyhole. I didn't realise that the winds there were about 30mph less than where I was.
View south from the keyhole, where I was in easy 50-70mph winds and shivering violently coz I had the wrong gear on (shorts & not pants).
Todd said I looked shaky and pale. I'd lost a glove taking photos, and even after borrowing his spare windproof pants, could not stop shivering, so after going 30m, I told him to go on and I'd turn back.
The other side of The Keyhole, Longs Peak South Face, Colorado (2007)
Todd and Michael get ready to depart for the summit. [Photo : Tony Wahl]
Todd asked for my camera but I said Tony had one, and they continued towards the summit.
Todd turns and waves, after following the spots marking the trail. Several thousand feet extend below him to the right, and the Trough can be seen behind, a tough part later in the climb.
Tony & I warm up in the Keyhole Hut. It took me 20mins to stop shivering.
The North Face & Cables Route from next to the Keyhole Hut.
The Keyhole, where over 90% of people turned back that day. The wind sears and whistles over the rocks.
The Keyhole, Longs Peak, Colorado (i'm laying reclined on the steep uphill slope).
Tough black moss grew on some rocks.
I went to the foot of the North Face where snow remained from the last storm, and wrote a message to my brother. [Photo : Tony Wahl]
It would melt in a day or two.
[Photo : Tony Wahl]
Tony on the slopes of the Boulder Field.
After getting in contact via Walkie Talkie with Todd, I photographed him on the summit from the Boulder Field.
Todd went and got James & Michael, and all three of them stand and wave on the Summit.
Tents set up in the Boulder Field, sheltered within ringed walls of rocks.
Tough camping, but great for summit attempts.
The Diamond Face and Cables Route to the summit, from the edge of the Boulder Field.
Northwest from The Boulder Field, Longs Peak, Colorado (2007)
I think this was a chipmunk.
Tony and I descended ahead of the 3 on the summit and used the time to head over to Chasm Lake.
The view from the Chasm Lake trail, of Roaring Fork Creek.
Peacock Pool.
A crystal clear stream lined with lush green grass, seemed like an impossible oasis over 10 000 ft. The Diamond Face is in the background.
I dipped my camera into the water, not knowing really what I was shooting as I was leaning out into the stream, and this is what I got!
Roaring Fork Creek, Chasm Amphitheatre, Longs Peak, Colorado (2007)
The top of the waterfall I shot earlier.
Closeup of the Diamond Face.
Chasm Lake Panorama. To get an idea of the true size, there are about 16 photos in this image, covering an area of about 150 degrees of horizontal viewing and 45 degrees vertical. The small black figure on the rock in the middle is a man crouching.
The Lambs Slide in the Chasm Amphitheatre, Longs Peak, Colorado. Once again, several photos are in this panorama, I think that cliff is about 800ft high.
Chasm Lake, elevation 11 800 ft. After this I went down and had a swim, I couldn't leave without doing it.
Under the surface of Chasm Lake.
The water is very clear, and cold.
You'd have to go a long way to find a trail more scenic than this.
Shrubs with spiny needles grow alongside the track, sheltered from the weather.
Reunited, Todd, Michael and James come back victorious from the Summit, and I was satisfied with swimming in Chasm Lake.
Resting on the looong walk back down. Michael was recovering from altitude sickness, earlier he had felt nausious.
Stopping on a bridge we passed in the dark that morning for a photo.
Back down at 6pm after a long ?hours of hiking, on the seat at the trail head.
Day 4 : Abby photographs me photographing her and her new digital camera she got for xmas.
Abby helps us pack, and carries Todd's backpack for him, which is almost as big as she is.
Myself, Todd and another of his old Oklahoma mates who has moved to Colorado, Josh. [Photo : Tony Wahl]
Weaving between more storms on the way back to OKC.
Lake Heffner from the air. The lighthouse, then to the right, the point where I kiteboard from.
