Hallett Chaos!

Last weekend I climbed the massive boulderfield that encompasses Lake Haiyaha area and accessed the east ridge of Hallett Peak to capture a sunrise that I had been dreaming about for years. Hallett is my 2nd favorite peak in the Park. My spot was very exposed to the elements, and so close to Hallett Peak that feeling safe with no clouds was better than feling unsafe with clouds. The close proximity, allowed for wide angle potential without much sky, so clouds were not a huge factor. I saved this idea for a September day.

I was excited for this one so I started at 2:00am from Bear Lake. I knew that Lake Haiyaha, leading into Chaos Canyon was going to be slow going because of the boulder fields. However I had no idea it would take me 2 hours to go a mile. From the lake to the ridge...Car, Truck and House sized boulders, a load of class 3 climbing, keep a motivated person with a camera humble. With clouds, this one would be off the charts exciting, however I'm happy with this one visit, and my last visit to the east ridge of Hallett.

Thoughts?

http://www.kaephotography.com/photo/hallet-chaos/

OMG, that is AMAZING! Looks like it was worth the considerable effort, Kane. Got any more? Different directions?

Yes, that was well worth the effort. I'm glad you made it in time for that superb light.

Very nice work Kane. I really like how the foreground is in the shade and as a result you really brought out the green to contrast the reds further out. Looks like a beautiful area.

Todd, this was the best comp from the ridge; the Hallett peak and the Dragon Tail of Flat Top Mountain combined. Otis Peak is off to the left and not very inspiring. Longs is off to the far left and pretty much looks like the comp of Longs from the Lake Haiyaha Trail. I have a few others from a vertical perspective that may be worth sharing. I think this was about a 18mm wide. Sort of gives you an idea how close Hallett resides. It pretty much towers over this perspective.

I just love Hallett.

A side note, I arrived to the lake and spotted climbers on the north face of Hallett at 2:30 am. Must have bivy'd up there. The wind was going pretty hard all night; I bet they had themselves a nice little Epic adventure that night.

Great story and effort. Neat location too.

Do you have any wider views? Maybe stitch a pano? This image seems too cramped. I'd really like to see more of a ridge going into the distance or something.

"Car, Truck and House sized boulders, a load of class 3 climbing, keep a motivated person with a camera humble."

I love that line!
And you were well rewarded for that effort. A unique view and awesome light! This is one of those instances where a cloudless sky is a total non-issue. In fact, the blue sky complements the other colors here very well.
Darren makes a good point, but this is an excellent image regardless.

Cool adventure, Kane! I like the bg peak here, and the comp is fine, but i find the fg extremely confusing--i assume im looking down a ridge here but i cant differentiate between the fg rocks and the alpenglow bg--there doesnt seem to be any edge to it and it looks like the alpenglow was painted or it's some kind of funky orange lichen Hard to diagnose w/o seeing it unprocessed, but maybe it needs darker midtones (?). Anyhow, kudos for the idea and trip!

Just superb! Love the alpenglow set off by the blue sky and great detail in the mountains. I think the edge Stan is looking for is diminished by the shadow on Hallet that is produced by the ridge in the foreground. That keeps the sharp contrast that he is looking for from being evident. I'm sure that in a print the shadow effect would be far more obvious.
Your hike proved worthwhile with a simply superb result, congrats!

While the hike up there sounds challenging and tedious the unique view of Hallett on the top appears well worth it. I like the triangular shadow that is just over the foreground ridge as it is personally. I surely don't mind the tight comp either. I'm guessing you might not have had enough room for a wider leading shot as Darren suggests and such a comp might diminish the dominant appearance of Hallett in this case.

Love it! Great shot!

Yowza! I'm glad you were willing to put forth the effort to get that shot because I know I'm not gonna do it.

You crazy man. Defintiely worth the effort to come back with a shot as excellent as this is!

You rock, mister... I love it!

I think this is beautiful. I have the same thought about the edge that Stan has, but I figured in print it would become more clear. Sounds like quite an adventure you had.

Great job Kane! That is a great area, though as you mention it isn't the easiest to get to. I hate hiking in Chaos Canyon because it is just as you described. I've never thought of taking this shot, but I really love it! You really captured it well.

Wow that is some serious alpenglow!!! Great shot from a unique remote perspective (as we'd expect from you!) I think the scale is difficult to comprehend, but probably in a bigger image we'd see how tiny those little trees are for scale.

Wow!! Amazing light and color! The climb was worth it!