Sunrise from Sneffels......what an idiot!

About a month ago I took my second trip of the year to the San Juans with one intent of summiting Mount Sneffels for a sunrise shot. Well let's say it did not start out all to well. I arrived in Yankee Boy Basin early evening coming from Denver, I had about an hour before the sun would set. On my approach up the 4x4 trail to the upper trailhead for Sneffels I decide to break-in my new tripod legs, literally. I was walking across the tundra with camera in one hand and tripod extended in the other, when I slipped on some wet rocks, my first reaction was to steady myself with the tripod and then it happened I broke one of the carbon legs off. Well that was good....not...the new tripod lasted for a whopping 10 shots.

Anyways the adventure continues....finally I make it to the end of the 4x4 trail just as the sun is setting. I find some level ground to park for sleeping in my Cherokee, bed is made, now I start preparing my pack for the next day. Pack is done, water, film, spare tripod, food etc. Then I look for a spare t-shirt to throw in my pack.....none to be found.....this assh@$!...forgot to bring his bag of clothes with him. So here I am at the upper trailhead, the sun has set, and I just have the clothes on my back that I had worn to work that day and a couple of jackets. I am like what the F@#$ do I do know.....I say lets go for it in the morning.

It's early morning pitch dark, so here I am putting duct tape on my heels and fore foot since I have only white tube socks to put on my feet and I wanted to eliminate the chances of blisters with my hiking boots. What else am I a wearing...cotton t-shirt, nice sweater/top, kaki pants etc....mmm..well suited for hiking in...not...by the way its like 3:30am.

Anyway yet again I had failed to make it to the summit due to all the rain the San Juans had the previous 3 days, reason being I was heading up the Lavender Col route when the water on the rocks had frozen overnight making into a slippery ice rink. Some of the snow in the Col had melted during the days before with the rain and it had completely gone flat no foot holds to be had anywhere. I attempted a couple of times to find different routes up but was not succesful, I was only able to get about 2/3's of the way the Col before I almost fell. Playing it safe I downed climbed some until I found a good location for sunrise. Yet again I am only able to get within about a couple of hundred feet of the summit. Oh I almost forgot to tell ya....it was friggin cold....I was already on my down past the saddle when I met a couple coming up and the one guy had a small thermometer he told me that it was 32 degrees, this was at about 6:30am. Just picture this idiot...me...standing at almost 14,000ft with a soaked cotton t-shirt freezing to death waiting for sunrise.

So long story short this shot is from about 1/3 of the way up Lavender Col looking towards Gilpin Peak and Blue Lakes Pass.

*Couple of years ago I was able to make it to the top of the Col but all my images were lost due to the Slideprinter had a problem that day with processing. One day I will conquer this 14er.


Pentax 67II, Pentax 55mm, Fuji Velvia 100

Sheesh, this makes my Notch Mountain "adventure" pale by comparison! Nice shot regardless. Must be tough to steady a Pentax 67 on a tripod that is now a bipod.

Pretty amusing story! At least you didn't forget your film.

This is a great image... despite all your troubles, the whole thing seems worth it to me to have this nice shot.

Very nice light and colors. I would prefer to have a little less foreground, but that's just me. Thanks for the story and the photo. You are way to hard on yourself. It looks like a memorable adventure.

Holy cow Jody, quite the adventure! Judging from the image, it was still worth it though!!

However, I really, really want to see a picture of the freezing preppy boy in the sweater and khaki's!! HA!

Well, better the tripod leg than the camera! Thanks for sharing your "adventure". I hadn't thought about the issues of ice on the rocks during an early morning ascent in the summer! Of course, the thought of crawling of bed early enough to reach the peak by sunrise has never crossed my mind.

What's going on with all the misadventures lately? The shots sure make up for the trouble (at least fo us arm chair photogs), but lets be safe out there. The light and comp are terrific in this one.

Craig

Jody – way to persevere! Most people would have given up, but you were able to pull out a stunning image. Congrats!!!

(Note to self – avoid Jody on or near Mt. Seffels! )

I agree, way to persevere, you got a great shot and great story to go along with it. It's always about the story. Thanks for sharing

Brian

Hey, Jody, I can't see where this would have been any better from the top of the mountain. I prefer this without even seeing the other shot. Love the snow patterns and the orangey light on the rocky tops.

No argyle sweater with the arms tied around your neck?

Great shot. The light is gorgeous, and the splashes of green down below make for a well-balanced color palette. Lots of sharp detail, too. Awesome, Jody.

Congratulations on making the best of bad situation ! MacGyver would have been proud of you!
The photo is the icing on the cake, beautiful, subtle, but rich colors.

Don

Great shot!

What a story! Which is worse, freezing on a 14'er or having a lab toast all your slides?! Great image, by the way.