Hiking the Peak - Telluride

Everyone knows where to find Mike Price after a day of work. Oak is only a door and a half down from his shop and the bartender pours us beers before we even walk in. It would be a problem if it wasn’t the place where you not only found him but his boss, often co-workers, and truly the rest of the town. Or the people in town you want to be around anyway. I’m telling you all this because it was one Tuesday night at the Oak where we happened to decide to do a Peak mission the very next day. Beers and the realization the mountain will close soon got us motivated to get after it that night and I’m sure glad we did!

The Peak that I am referring to is of course Palmyra Peak the tallest point at the ski area and one of the tallest places you can ski in bounds just about anywhere I suspect. It’s taller then 1310 at Loveland and for sure gets you higher then that silly lift people talk about at Breckenridge. Google informs me that the top is 13,319 ft and I can say after hiking from Chair 12 to the top it sure feels like 13,000 ft and the exposure you feel at the top is no joke either. To make it worse they give you a small snow pack platform to balance on at the top, not usually a problem unless you are sharing it with 3 other people…

I’m not really sure how far the hike is or how many feet we had to climb but all in all it could have been much worse than it was. It took us just about an hour to get up and in all reality the hike was scarier than the ski. It’s always funny to make jokes about falling into Ophir or Alta Lakes from the resort when you are doing the short hike-tos bellow the peak but when you are on a boot pack on top of skree in hard ski boots that possibility seems much more likely. There’s at least two places that got me a little spooked between the steep narrow shoot below and the chawsy wind swept boulder you had to scramble. And really once you pass through the gate the whole hike is a no fall zone, you probably won’t die but you might be wishing you had looked at the map longer.

Once at the top and you concur the last nearly vertical boot pack, you are welcomed by a bright orange toboggan (that some poor soul undoubtedly had to hike up there) and a bamboo rope line to remind you that you are still in the boundary of the ski area. It’s an important reminder given the terrain you are about to ski. It’s no baby hike-to-ski or palma lift to above treeline, it is just what you should expect when you look at the tallest mountain out the window of the Gondola. A variable, windy, and steep 13,000 ft peak that for some reason you are allowed to ski down just like any other run on the mountain. And that’s just what we did. We clipped into our bindings, pointed our tips downhill and went for it. I wish I could say we got a fresh powder line down the couloir but it was chopped, old north facing snow that was just interesting enough to get your heart to pump when your skis did something a little different then you wanted them to. But from there you can drop 4,500ft down to town have another beer at Oak and keep skiing if you wanted to.

For me I headed back down to town and retreated into the library to get at least a half day of work done. I’m sure going to miss the ability to walk out the door, hike up a mountain, ski with good friends and then just pretend it’s another day at the office. This may be a post for another time but being able to experience all of this in the context of what I do (for those who don’t know I spend most my days supporting the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office at the US Department of Energy) makes everything just work.

On the far left side of the image if you look close there is a zig zag skin track and people hiking up from the uppers and into Ophir (my guess at least).

Fall in Telluride

Fall in Telluride could be a title for me crushing bones biking or hiking but in this case it does refer to the explosive color that happens just once a year. That fleeting last hurrah before white monochrome winter.

It almost felt like the whole summer I kept telling people, “oh yeah Telluride only gets better when the trees turn yellow and snow falls” having no real experience of this of course. That is until this last month when the season changed to fall, though now that I am a “local” in a mountain town, I know better. It’s a time when all the aspen leaf painters are hard at work and the snow dance is performed by every Telluride local only in the darkness of their basements (sheds work too) when no one is looking.

Anyway, regardless of how the leaves get their color and the mountains their snow I went out a couple days and took photos when I could. I wish that I had the leisure I usually have to plan compositions, choose the best weather conditions and load out with both film and digital. But this year between work and visiting with Catherine and friends in Chicago I took what I could get. Namly shots through gondola windows and snaps before beers at the Oak St. bar. While I’m happy with what I made happen with this constraint, I very much wish I could have just ran around all day taking pictures.

When I post I most often organize by when they were taken as it makes sense in my head, time unfolding. This time around I flipped my regular organization. That’s because my favorite picture came from the day I got back from my trip. Flying in that day I saw snow was here, clouds were still sticking around, and everything was at full peak. Sadly after +12 hours of travel all I wanted to do is see my new mountain bike (a post coming soon undoubtedly). But I did get this one snap through the gondola glass when everything was just right. Though to my disappointment after that one day all we got was blue sky and the baking melting sun… still wonderful but nothing quite as beautiful as my first day back.

First Via Ferrata (Telluride, CO)

Early morning meet up spot outside main street Patagonia. (Fuji x100s)

It’s about time I made it on the now popular via ferrata that straddles the back of Telluride’s box canyon. This route has been around for a long time but has grown in popularity as more via ferrata routes round the state (Ouray, Arapahoe Basin, etc.) and country are being installed. While these “iron trials” are relatively new in the states these routes comprised of metal steps, rails, and bolted cables are common in the European alps as a cross somewhere between rock climbing and scrambling. The idea is to have a fully protected route (or in the case of Telluride’s partially protected) that incorporates technical mountaineering skills and exposure that a hiking trail wouldn’t otherwise have.

As you may have gathered this was my first time clipping into the cables of a via ferrata and I’d argue that Telluride may offer one of the most stunning views so I felt like I had to share my experience for anyone who maybe interested in doing it. While you may not want to just walk up and do one of these things it is really meant to be accessible to most. In other words if you are comfortable with heights and are a hiker wanting to gain some crazy exposure then this is the trip for you and it won’t be a back breaking all day affair either! Just make sure you have the right gear. I’ll explain our experience so as to offer some local advice and cautions:

After hastily planning the day before, we met in front of the main street Patagonia store at 5:15 am just as the sun started to lighten the sky that morning. Piling into my land cruiser we headed down main street to drive up past Bridal Veil Falls on the lower switchbacks of Black Bear Pass (where there’s still two-way traffic permitted) to park at the via “trailhead” one turn from the falls pullout. After gearing up we headed up into the via ferrata and went out and back so as to get open our shop by 10:00am. This trail is technically one way so unless you’re the only group on the trail (we were) abide by the rules of the local guides, more information here.

Telluride’s via ferrata is known for its not entirely protected route with high exposure, loose single track downhill to cliff areas (no fall zones), and areas with climbers below. There are multiple places where some may want to clip in but there won’t be a place for it, test areas, there are two near the beginning of the trail that will filter out the people who may not want to continue. There is no easing into this trail but you’ll know if it’s for you early on. This via ferrata takes at most 3 hours but most could probably finish in about an hour in a half. Once you’re done with the ferrata you will need to hike back up the road to the car to get back.

Heading up the loose rocky switchbacks up to the first cable section. (Fuji x100s)

Looking back over at Black Bear Pass and my land cruiser parked at the “trailhead” from the first clip in point. (Fuji X100s)

There were only the three of us on this trip which made things very easy. The first person was Scott who is the local knowledge and guide in town and Erika, my boss and general outdoorsy person. They both had experience (and gear) that made me feel better on my first time out there.

Via ferratas are quite simple as all you need is a helmet, climbing harness, and some kind of leash or teather. Ideally the tether is shock absorbing with two locking carabiners (Petzl Scorpio Vertigo, below) or some places allow dynamic rope and wire carabiners (Scott’s set up to the right). Either way the two clips allow for a redundant system so that you can be secured to the cable at all times. Falls can happen but they should always be avoided if at all possible as this is afterall just protection not intended to be used. The advantage to having a designed tether is the shock absorber that would protect your body, in the case of a fall, from shock load which could be fatal. So if you are worried buy an approved tether or just make sure not to fall ; ).

Scott at the bench getting ready for the “main event” (Fuji x100s)

Petzl Scorpio Vertigo with locking carabiners, elastic leashes, and shock absorber. (Fuji X100s)

While this trip went quickly it was an absolute blast to start the morning on iron ladders with friends. If I could give any advice it would be to do it in the morning to see the light hit the peaks and to avoid windy weather. You also really don’t need a whole lot of other gear a backpack with more than water and snack is definitely not needed.

Leadville Colorado

The last couple years I’ve had trouble finding myself a project, one of those projects worth putting a couple years of image making toward. My lingering dream is still a project focused on Idaho salmon, conservation, history of the sawtooths, blah blah. But last winter, and this last spring, has gotten me interested in Leadville Colorado. Leadville is one of those places most people have heard of but maybe never seen. For me it’s been a new place to explore, streets to wander through, and witness the eclectic aesthetic of a high altitude mountain town.

For this project I definitely want to focus on shooting film to hone in my workflow and discover what I need to do to get the look that I’m going for. The two images above are nearly exactly what I’m looking for in terms of warmth and tones. What I am really hoping for is getting into some DSLR scanning and really trying to pump out as much as I can without the Hasselblad X1. The biggest challenge for this project is that I want to do everything in the process, other than developing C-41 film, and I know this will take some decent trial and error. The final deliverable, I hope is a series of zines or postcards that can be sold in town.

Preliminary Review: Minox 35 GL

As I have confessed in the past, one reason I love film photography is the gear. I love spending hours on deep dive explorations of film related gear whether that’s antique large format lenses, discontinued expired film, cheap plastic point and shoots your grandma probably owned, or just dreaming about that Contax G1 or Leica… well anything. And after the million or so hours I’ve spent doing this I like to think I’ve seen it all. But, just as you think that your friends goes, “Hey look at my new film camera.” *points at little black box in the cup holder that looks more like lame toy then anything else* And after 15 minutes of discussion I learned that I would eventually, definitely add this small toy like camera to my collection, the Minox 35 GL. (Thanks Tyler Truksa)

The Minox 35 GL was introduced in the 1976 shorty after the first iteration of 35mm film cameras from Minox. The German camera manufacturer was known for its small 110 “spy cameras” and the Minox 35 GL definitely fits pretty well into this category. Interestingly enough between 1974 and 2003 there were 30 different iterations of this camera sold and all have just slightly different options and colors. Being that it was an automatic camera (aperture priority) and small it became a very popular consumer camera; even won the hearts of famous artists like Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock.

An add for the camera from the 1970s.

So why did I cave and buy this weird plastic camera that makes you guess focus (more on that later)? Well, for me it ticks every mark I have for an everyday walk around film camera. It’s small, light, easy to carry, shoots 35mm, comes with a flash (at least mine did), and has a great lens. On top of that, it looks cool and if I keep it closed no one would have a clue that I’m even carrying a camera. I also really like that it’s aperture priority and therefore easy to just point, check your shutter speed and shoot!

The Minox 35 GL open with the leather Minox cover which let you add a camera strap. The strap is an old climbing sling I picked up used.

With all of this awesome potential there must be some downsides and there definitely are some, especially if you’re just getting into film this camera could cause some extra anxiety. First, the battery in the later models isn’t made anymore and the most readily available batteries (for mine 4 357s silver oxide coin batteries) are slightly higher voltage causing the meter to be off. For my GL the meter is off by at least 2 stops which is a lot considering it under exposes the film by that much (though you can just set the ISO dial to compensate which is no big deal). Second I’ve read the magnetic shutters can be unreliable, though Minox does say that all of their products, even discontinued ones, can be repaired.

One of the biggest reasons for buying this camera is the lens. According to the internet it is one of the best point and shoot lenses out there beating the Olympus X models and even rivaling Contax glass. Being that I scan on a Epson V550 I’m not sure I will be able to see that sharpness, but when I get back to WUSTL I will definitely put a frame or two into the Hasselblad X1 to see how it compares to the Nikon 50mm F1.8 ais which is my other 35mm lens. But, from what I can see it a pretty good performer given the sized and design.

Jump Creek ID 2019. Minox GL, Fujifilm C200 shot at box speed, V550 scan using negative lab pro.

The test rolling I’m sharing are from a trip up to Stanley and Jump Creek with a great new friend. I never really need an excuse to go out and explore, but a new camera and a curious mind to coexist with sure makes it easy to escape for awhile. As I tend to do when I meet people like Eleysa is I get lost in conversation, focused on them and me in that moment. Usually this means I hike 20 pounds of gear which I never use and I get distracted from being present everytime I reach into my camera bag. But, I found the Minox allowed me to be fully aware of the possible images around me and allowed me to enjoy my time to a fuller degree then I usually would. In fact this was the only camera I took when I went to Pine Flats Hot Spring and I think it was a good choice.

Minox GL, Fujifilm C200 shot at box speed, V550 scan using negative lab pro.

Minox GL, Fujifilm C200 shot at box speed, V550 scan using negative lab pro.

Minox GL, Fujifilm C200 shot at box speed, V550 scan using negative lab pro.

Minox GL and FC 35 Flash, Fujifilm C200 shot at box speed, V550 scan using negative lab pro.

Minox GL, Fujifilm C200 shot at box speed, V550 scan using negative lab pro.

On another note, I think these images are my favorite from this summer. Not only was it a new shooting experience with a great new camera, but I realized that what makes images good in my book is more than color, sharpness, and composition. It’s the ability to share life with others, to be an observer and recorder of time passing and the relationships, friends, and places that build context for living. Recently this is what has been missing from my work, people to share it with. If you ever read this thank you so much Eleysa for sharing time with me and letting me fall in love with making images again! I think I’ve thought about this trip and our time together more than just about anything this summer.

Minox GL, Fujifilm C200 shot at box speed, V550 scan using negative lab pro.

Minox GL, Fujifilm C200 shot at box speed, V550 scan using negative lab pro.

Minox GL, Fujifilm C200 shot at box speed, V550 scan using negative lab pro.

First impressions, I can’t get enough of this camera! It’s easy and honestly fun to frame through the little plastic finder and press the button. I find that I don’t mind guessing distance because I really do shoot further than 20 ft away often and I find that I can stick to a smaller aperture to maximize depth of field when not 20 feet away. I also find that it helps me slow down, giving me that slow process and intention I love film for. The other thing I like is that it is really not so intimidating to hand to a friend, I know the camera will do the hard work and being so small people don’t shy away from it like they do with the Pentax or other cameras I own. Finally, I just love that it is smaller than the size of my hand, literally. As I’ve mentioned before I love the form factor of the Fuji X100s and that is really why I still own and love that camera, but the Minox 35 GL is even smaller! All in all it will be great fun to have this camera around, can’t wait to keep playing outside and elsewhere with this in my pocket.

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Technical side note:

Minox GL, Fujifilm C200 shot at box speed, V550 scan using negative lab pro.

This was my first test roll and I just want to share what I learned and what I’ll change going forward. First things first, the lens does seem to be sharp but you do need to hit the right distance to see it! What I mean is that the hyperfocal distance scale on the lens will give you an “acceptable sharpness” not tack sharp so going forward I will make sure to guess the distance not just put infinity at the hyperfocus line on the lense. I’ll also make sure to put the film through the Hasselblad X1 to really determine the sharpness. In short, not sure my copy can rival Contax glass but it is perfectly fine for what I use this camera for.

The second thing I noticed is some unflattering flaring from the lens. Being a Canon shooter I love my sun stars that you see when shooting stopped down. Sadly there are no sun stars with this lens and I even found that the lense produces some colorful patterned flair that can really reck and image like this image in the forest. It’s not the end of the world but not ideal for sure.

Finally, the exposure seems to be really quite good! Way better than most aperture priority cameras I’ve used especially other point and shoots. I also love the x2 exposure switch, I believe I used that on the hammock shot and it really made a big difference. To really put it to a test I think the next roll I put in will be a roll of Provia 100f slide film, this will allow me to really test the sharpness and the ability of the meter!

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Shooting Film

Why Shoot Film?

Most people think that film can't compare to digital, that Kodak is dead, and film is impossibly hard to find. Well I can tell you that it's not only easy to find film but it is readily available and the selection is just as good if not better as back in the day (well maybe not). Kodak is still pumping out lots of film and companies like Illford and Fujifilm are here to stay. Finally, film cameras aren't being made anymore and what’s out there is all that’s left so the race is on.

Something that you find out real quick is the best image quality you can get from any medium still comes from film. Large format film cameras can produce wall sized prints with more quality then an 11x14 made with my $1400 DSLR. Not only does film allow you to capture the best images possible, but shooting film is an entirely different experience. You have one ISO, the cameras are usually more limited in the available shutter speeds, and oh yah you have 36 pictures max.

Types of Film  

• Black and White Negative Film - Obviously this is kind of film produces a negative B&W image and is the easiest to start with and often the cheaper film to buy. It is usually a silver halide based chemistry so developing this film is very easy but often expensive because of the silver waist produced. Another important piece of jargon is the newer t-grain films v.s the older traditional grain. There are pluses and minuses of both but I find t-grain to have sharper looking results but traditional film has more freedom.

• Color Negative Film - Like the B&W this film produces a color negative image. This is the most readily available film next to B&W on the market and has many choices. The easiest way to think about it is there are cheap color neg film and expensive. Cheaper film will have more noticeable grain and be less sharp when compared to more expensive film. However, unless you have the inclination to print your images it won't really be noticeable. Color negative is C-41 chemistry and is mcuh harder to develop on your own but very cheap for labs and photography stores.

• Color Positive (Slide) Film - This is not only the most exciting film you can buy but it is by far the most expensive and hardest to develop. The E-6 chemistry is expensive and doesn’t keep well, pair that with slide film being the hardest to find on the market nothing about it is cheap. The reason this film is so cool is that it produces a positive color image and therefore the detail and colors of this film is much more spot on and real. The other issue is the exposure latitude on this film is also reduced. This means that for high contrast scenes this film usually can't capture detail from highlights to darks. That being said if you get the exposure right, the detail slide film offers is unbeatable and therefore its the first choice for professionals.

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Nikon FM, Nikkor 50mm F1.8 Ais, Kodak Color 200, V550, Bogus Basin, ID

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Mamiya C3, Sekor 80mm F2.8, Fujifilm Pro 400H, V550, Bruneau Sand Duns, ID

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Canon Snappy LxII, Fujifilm C200, V550, Caldwell, ID

What do I Shoot?

I shoot with a lot of film cameras currently and the list is always changing as new deals and film come out on the new and used market. I will save the discussion about the types of formats and good beginner film cameras for another time. It’s an a totally different discussion. I currently have a camera that shoots all formats except 6 x 4.5 medium format and the biggest and baddest of 8 x 10 film. The newest edition is my Pentax 6x7 with the 105mm F2.4 lens and it’s quickly becoming my favorite camera. I also shoot with a Nikon FM with Nikkor 50mm F1.8 ais, Canon Snappy LxII, an Anniversary Graphlex Speed Graphic, and finally my trusty Mamiya C3 with a Sekor 80mm F2.8. They all have their place in the quiver.

But back to the main point, why shoot film? For me it’s complicated and not easily explained. Though in short, it inspires me. Tearing open another roll of film just helps me point a camera and take images almost like having multiple tools allows you to complete the job correctly. Some cameras inspire projects by the way they render the images or diffuse tension in a subject. Others are pocketable and need just to be pointed and shot. It’s the lack of flexibility, knowing you have only 10-36 shots, and you need to finish a roll to move on, that’s what I like. I like the slow aspect and not being able to review your images. It’s hard to explain but film cameras have life to them that is hard to feel or see with a digital camera.

But the greatest reason why I shoot film is that it is the way I remember life going by me. I can record these fickle moments on something that will be around for ever. Something I can touch and feel just like the memories that catalyzed the images themselves.

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Nikon FM, Nikkor 50mm F1.8 Ais, Kodak Color 200, Yosemite, Ca

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Canon Snappy LxII, Fujifilm C200, V550, Moab, UT

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Canon Snappy LxII, Fujifilm C200, V550, Galena Summit, ID

Late Night Adventures (No Business Fire Lookout)

This summer I’ve been dipping and dodging important things, like finding a job, getting over a past relationship, and figuring out what I really want to do with myself. With the free time and privilege to spend the summer this way I have been doing as much as I can to take advantage. I’ve spent time writing representatives about fish conservation, support of BLM, and volunteering my time to help better the place I love. The past week I have staying up in Donnelly enjoying the mountains and lakes in central Idaho. One thing that I’m spending time on is discovering new wonderful places here in the place I’m living.

Each morning I’m there and the lake’s surface is glassy smooth, air cold enough for steam to rise I wobble out of bed and drag a kayak off the dock for a paddle. What’s nice about the morning is the silence, only the sound of dripping water off the paddle, a swush for every stroke, and the clear skies. On these paddles among seeing families of otters and golden eagles I have always spotted a small white dot garnishing the top of a Northwest mountain.

At the top of No Business Mountain (West Mountain I think) lies a fire lookout built originally in the 1920 and renovated in 1967. I’m pretty sure that it is inactive currently as I couldn’t find any current information about it, though we did spot some people spending the night there. Anyways, through binoculars I knew I need to get an up close to have a look. So this last week on of my goals was to take the forest service road to the top.

Now with COVID getting worse, especially in Idaho, and being in a town where a bunch of people who don’t believe in COVID drive through I shouldn’t have done this but… I met an new friend who lives in Donnelly and since I had never been up this road before and I was going to do it in complete darkness I thought I should have another person with me. Also when I say a friend I really mean two new friends one a super cool human and the other a cute little kitten named Ginko. After being turned around at the first shorter road we wrapped around the other direction to go the longer way. We missed sunset and we arrived just as true darkness fell with NEOWISE starting to show along with the center of the milky way.

Canon 7D Mark II with a Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 on Manfrotto tripod with FLM ball head:

25 sec F1.8 ISO 1600

There are many things that I truly appreciate about the world and it was amazing how many things came together that night. Plans getting changed halfway through, a bumpy Land Cruiser ride, dark sky with some extra-terrestrial object visible from earth, a bright milky way you could mistake for a cloud, wonderful company/conversation, and time with an adventurous little kitten. I don’t usually just invite someone (and their kitten) I’m not super familiar with on late night trips like these, especially now, but I’m sure glad I did this time!

“Late night adventures with new friends are memories I will always cherish. Motion blur, sage brush, fire lookout, star studded skies, NEOWISE, and a little kitten named Ginko.”

Volunteer Trail Work With the Sawtooth Society

Dalton in his favorite spot near the top of Boundary Creek Trail. A truly perfect view of the Sawtooths.

Over the fourth of July I was invited up to stanley to camp and see a bunch of old friends from college. If you know me at all you know that I’m actually obsessed with this place. Whether it is the mountains, the cold nights, the memories made there, I seem to be addicted to landscape and wilderness here. Two of my good friends Dalton Warr and Kit Foster are one of the trail crews in charge of clearing the trails and maintaining the this beautiful recreation area. So when I got invited to tag along and clear the trails I was all in.

Both Dalton and Kit work for a non-profit called The Sawtooth Society which was created in 1997 to exclusively: serve as the advocates for the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA), preserve the open spaces, enhance the recreation facilities and services, and facilitate stewardship and volunteer projects in the SNRA. Since 2013 89 volunteer projects have happened with a total of 900 participants logging nearly 7500 hours of volunteer time. These people are really the stewards of the Sawtooths and it was fun being able to do some trail work and capture the work they do.

Among the many amazing things the Sawtooth Society does, the most notable impact they have, in my opinion, is clearing the trails in and out of the wilderness boundary every year. With steep elevation grades and lots of deadwood due to fire and disease this maintenance takes a lot of work from devoted people. During the two “short” days I spent with them we did both tree clearing and maintenance of the drainages on two popular trails.

The first day we spent at Stanley Lake clearing a section of the Alpine Way Loop that stretched in between Iron Creek and Stanley Lake. The major job on this trail was the downed timber scattered across the trail. Since the Alpine Loop is in the wilderness area no mechanical machinery is allowed at all, this poses a problem when there is a two foot thick log on the trail. For this the forest service uses large 6+ ft crosscut saws from the early 1900s. Not only are they completely hand driven but actually quite efficiently and are great tool to replace any chainsaw. You may ask why are they from the early 1900s well it’s because the machinery/forges to make these don’t exists anymore. It turns out that after the chainsaw was invented these forges were melted down and there is not enough demand to make them again. The saw the we used was actually one of seven found in some guys basement and restored by a special group of people in the forest service that still know how to sharpen and services these old blades.

The second day, which I truly helped with, was up Boundary Creek Trail a steep 2.9 mile trail with about 2600 ft of elevation and we had around 120 drainage steps to clear. It was a steep hike but with 8 people the work time was cut to just 3.5 hours which helped Kit and Dalton a ton. It was truly a gift to be able to give back to this wonderful place. Ever since I took the Winter Wilderness Class I’ve been trying to get back and do more than just hike and take pictures. I hope to make a tradition of going up to Stanley and doing a day with this special crew. For more information or if you are interested in volunteering yourself click the box below to get to the Sawtooth Society website.

Bouldering Idaho Basalt and Being Back

Being back in Idaho has had some real ups and downs. I love being in this part of the United States where I can climb, bike, hike, and see family. But what I didn’t count on was the rush of memories from last summer. My experiences and memories are heavily based on place, where I was and where I am. Being back in Idaho has brought back these complex feelings, memories, and connections which feel lost in time. Last summer in many ways felt like the best of dreams and being back now in the context of COVID, looming school, and anxieties manifested from what was; I’m having a hard time settling in the way I usually do.

There’s not much I can do about these feelings and I know like all things there is an ephemeral cycle. Last summer was a peak and I’m glad and fortunate to have had amazing people and relationships around me to help me get there. Now is different and that is ok, I still have great people around me and I’ve reconnected with many of those I didn’t see last summer. While I’m not at the peak of my cycle I’m trying my hardest to take advantage of the time here and now.

Nature has always been a release for me, a privilege that I want to share with as many people as I can. Yesterday I decided to go

and boulder with a good friend from school. We went out to a new place for me called Swan Falls just outside of Kuna, ID. The basalt boulders sprinkling the landscape here came from the high walls carved out by the river below. It was an uncharacteristically cool day for June in the Idaho desert creating an inviting environment to scramble the deep dark rock boulders and meet some new climbers. After cutting our hands on the sharp volcanic rocks and feeling the heat from the sun, the weather rolled in. It was a pretty amazing site to see the dark ominous clouds roll over the cliff edge, to feel the wind build up into tiny droplets, and to escape to our cars just as the rain got strong. Overall a great day.

Using Lightroom Collections (India Trip)

Since this was a big trip for me I think it would be cool to show people a larger selection of my images. It definitely not every single one because it that would be ridiculous and embarrassing. But is shows what I was looking for when I was creating images there. Now I could just use a bunch of blocks in Squarespace but Lightroom actually has a great solution for this if you’re website doesn’t have great gallery options. Click the button below to experience india and keep reading of you’re interested in using Lightroom for shareable galleries.

I’m probably behind the curve but I hope someone learns a cool new thing Lightroom can do like I did. They’re called Lightroom Collections which are basically folders that you can fill with images you want in the same place. Personally I collect all of the images above a certain rating for a given multi day trip in the same folder for quick access. But what I didn’t know is that you can make these collection public so that clients or friends can access, download, comment/like, or I can even edit images real time all from Lightroom! Here’s how you can do this:

1. Open Lightroom Classic and make sure that you are signed in and have Lightroom CC downloaded. This enable the Adobe cloud sharing within Lightroom. Once signed in when you click your name at the top left corner it should given another section for Sync with Lightroom.

2. Now on the left column of lightroom under the Navigator panel scroll down till you see Collections panel where you can click on the plus symbol and to create new collections. For this gallery we just want a collection which is at the top of the list. I will then prompt you name the collection, make sure the sync with Lightroom is selected.

3. To add photos to the collection simply drag and drop images from anywhere on Lightroom. It effectively creates a virtual copy so no data is lost and images don’t move around. Yay! Remember you can use the shift/click method for multiple images in a row, command + A to select all in a folder, or command + click for multiple images.

4. Once the collections is filled with what you want you can make it public by clicking the Make Public box on the upper right corner of the library panel. This creates a shareable url that you can now send to whoever.

5. Now if you want people to be able to download you can follow the prompts after clicking the url or I find using the Lightroom app on my phone is the easiest. Either way you can now share rating, let people comment/like, and even share metadata.

What’s great about these galleries is that they are fully customizable in terms of what the client sees. You can change the background spacing almost everything. You can eve show what your rating for the images are. The best part it is all directly connected to Lightroom Classic so any change made on your desktop are automatically updated in the online collection. The only thing that would make this better is if these updates were truly real time, currently the updates are slow but workable.

So there you go a new (or maybe old) tool lightroom offers. It’s a great way to showcase images to clients and have images on hand if people ever ask.

The Jewel Box

It’s spring break and I finally had time to get out for a bike ride around forest park. This art deco green house was a spot that I wanted to see for a really long time. It was a sunday so it wasn’t open to go inside but I definitely waited around for the light to get good. What I love about this structure is the tall windows gilded in turquoise copper siding, it’s really a sight to behold. At some point a reflection pond is filled and water lilies and tulips line the path up to the greenhouse. My hope is to come back later this spring and capture the same images but with clouds and a long exposure.

India

Now that classes have started and my jet lag is officially gone I can start reflecting on the trip that I took this winter break to India. As part of the McDonnell Academy Global Energy and Environment Partnership (MAGEEP) we attended lectures, visited labs, and connected with students from December 28th to January 8th to better explore the global contexts of engineering problems/topics. Specifically we stayed in New Delhi just across the way from the India Institute of Technology (IIT) where we spent a majority of our time. It was exciting to see the research going on at this school as well as see how research from Washington University St. Louis was influencing their programs. I personally got excited with their air monitoring and clean air center of excellence. I always thought that water was the resource I wanted to work on but air and aerosols have definitely become a topic of interest.

The technical part of the trip was definitely fun but what I was really excited for was the cultural exploration part of the trip. For me if you miss the context for what you are studying then you miss the problem you are solving all together. If we were not explore this diverse culture then there would have been not point at all in understanding the technical. While we were there we visited Agra to see the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. We also spent the whole weekend there exploring just about every site to see in Delhi. My hope is to share some more detailed stories and images as time goes on. But, as always school is a real bummer sometimes.

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For now here is a thought I had:

If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is; especially in this place. The noise, smell, motion, the cacophony of color and people force your mind into a dizzy spin. But, after some time you refocus and see the beauty in the complex energy created here. It’s completely overwhelming to those who are only visitors but, must be the fountain that fuels the frenzy of life.

Fall Break

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School has never been such a dynamic experience for me. Sure everyone has hated class before and liked others but this semester it has truly been hard to nail down why I am in the place I am. I feel that now is a crossroad, a time in my life that I need to decide, not necessarily know, what I’m going to do. Engineering has brought me some impressive opportunities and new friends but it hasn’t sparked a flame like I thought it would. I know that I need to wait and decide when I’m not taking 18 credits of math courses but at the same time how will I ever know what’s out there if I miss opportunities doing something I don’t particularly enjoy.

Photography has always held a special place in my life a time where I can focus creativity, try new things and express my thoughts. It is a way to get through times that seem unsure a way to remember the things I’ve been through. It will be interesting to see where things go from here.

Fall break this year was absolutely too short. Being used to the week long College of Idaho break, only having a measly two days was a bit hard. That being said, it was totally welcome. Having 7 tests spread in three weeks before this short getaway was a very nice reminder of the place I’m now in.

The original plan was to camp for two days in the Mark Twain National Forest and meet with friends for a hike to a waterfall. But, plans fell through and we settled for a day trip to the area. We hiked a short 1.5 mile there and back trail to Mina Sauk Falls. With little rain and a hot summer the water coming down was a sad piddle of the roaring water that comes in the spring. The trees were starting to turn and the air was brisk as we began the hike that morning. Breathing “ the mountain air” was helpful for the mind and seeing the brilliance of the sun through the colored trees was something new.

Powder Skiing Continued

I was thinking about skiing the other day and all I could think about was getting those fresh turns in Stanley this past January. It’s so very hard to find any feeling quite like it and all I want is to do is get back to this place and make some fresh turns.

The crackle of white dendrites hitting your hard-shelled jacket and the cold penetrating your core means the snow is falling and you’ve been blessed with another extraordinary powder day. As you skin up the mountain through the Douglas Fir and Lodgepole Pine being buried in crystals, your inner child oozes through the oppressive goo of the realities of life. Worrying about grad school, homework, relationships, or even the day to day noise created by living dissipates as your lungs start burning, climbing, climbing up through the mountain air and into the blank monochrome forest. It’s only there where you can be so precisely played by gravity and snow. It’s only there one can truly understand the addiction to winter.

Being in the moment amongst the storm in the wildness of winter is more than challenging the innate human instinct to reject logic. It’s even more than being able to ski fast through the trees and thick banks of snow or being blinded by the pulsing waves of white as you turn. It is all of these things, but skiing powder is so much more because it is one of those times where one can focus so precisely that everything makes sense. A beautiful paradox of nothing that’s something, an out of body experience that can only be recreated in similar conditions. Deep light snow is not only rear but exceedingly fleeting a brilliant diamond that melts away almost as soon as one can start to appreciate it.

People run their lives around this stuff. Living in the back of cars, eating only noodle cups cased in Styrofoam and plastic it’s a dream for some and unbelievably stupid to others. The closest feeling of flight while still grounded to earth is worth uprooting your life. Dodging reality for just moments in the deep powder snow can turn the smartest of people crazy trying to fuel this endless addiction. Being in the backcountry being a slave to the element’s, crazy starts to make sense a virus just waiting to infect the next person on skis ready to climb 2000 feet vertical for just minutes of downhill freedom.

The crowded mass of people waiting to catch the cable line to the top of a manufactured mountain serves no purpose more than a guilty convince. Merely a pitiful pleasure grounded on a foundation of consumerism, perpetuated by the shameful ease at which powder snow can be skied. This is what the winter wilderness has done to me. It has opened my eyes to another experience that I did not see before, out of focus till I tipped my skies down a hill that I hiked up.

I was raised skiing in bounds dropping more vertical than anyone could hike in a day, but now when I sit in a chair in the mountain air, I feel something missing. Maybe it’s the risk that comes with the wildness of winter, a shared bond between friends catalyzed by tele turns, or even a longing to push yourself to a physical and metal limit. I will be forever changed by the winter wilderness and long for its claws to drag me in again.

Spring Trip to Smith Rock

There are so many things that make me happy and I’d say 9 out of 10 thing that take me outside. One of the most recent new outdoor activities that I found recently is climbing. I’ve always enjoyed climbing indoors and even did some sport climbing in the beginning of my college career, but this is the first time I did any climbing with the outdoor program. This year I actually took a rock climbing class with a guy named Kordo who taught us how to make basic anchors and belay outside.

With this new knowledge I decide to go on this weekend trip to Smith Rock Oregon and get some real outdoor climbing in. It was utterly a blast! We spent three days there and got some good climbing in. The first day was filled with a long hike to crags that were already taken, but it was nice to get a lay of the land env though we didn’t get any climbing in. The next day after weathering some rain gave us a nearly full day of climbing and I even topped out on a 5.10c. I felt like it was the perfect balance between hard and still having a lot of fun on the rock. I really cant’t wait to get back some day. As always it was guided by the College of Idaho Outdoor Program director Bix who at some point deserves his own blog post.

Powder Skiing

As most people how are close to me know I am not the biggest fan of writing creatively on my own. Words for me have always be harder to create then an image, but after the winter wilderness course I saw the importance of this skill. Sometimes words can achieve higher levels of thought then even a perfectly composed images. So here’s my go at explaining skiing in powder accompanied by a picture of my good friend Beth Mixon getting pitted on a 24in bluebird powder day at the Glades near Stanley ID.

The crackle of white dendrites hitting your hard-shelled jacket and the cold penetrating your core means the snow is falling and you’ve been blessed with another extraordinary powder day. As you skin up the mountain through the Douglas Fir and Lodgepole Pine being buried in crystals, your inner child oozes through the oppressive goo of the realities of life. Worrying about grad school, homework, relationships, or even the day to day noise created by living dissipates as your lungs start burning, climbing, climbing up through the mountain air and into the blank monochrome forest. It’s only there where you can be so preciously played by gravity and snow. It’s only there one can truly understand the addiction to winter.

Being in the moment amongst the storm in the wildness of winter is more than challenging the innate human instinct to reject logic. It’s even more than being able to ski fast through the trees and thick banks of snow or being blinded by the pulsing waves of white as you turn. It is all of these things, but skiing powder is so much more because it is one of those times where one can focus so precisely that everything makes sense. A beautiful paradox of nothing that’s something, an out of body experience that can only be recreated in similar conditions. Deep light snow is not only rear but exceedingly fleeting a brilliant diamond that melts away almost as soon as one can start to appreciate it.

Williams Peak Yurt

So hopefully a lot more blog posts will be put up when I have time. Real brief this is what I was up to during the month of January: a one month trip to Stanley Idaho, backcountry skiing nearly everyday, literary analysis of creative works, learned about local history and land policy of the area, hot springs at night, journaling, great food every day, and a yurt trip at the end. That’s where I’ll start at the end of our trip up at Williams Peak Yurt.

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The whole experience was absolutely unforgettable and had altered the way I think about the places I’m in. The approach was pretty impressive since the yurt is in the Sawtooth Wilderness Area everything for the two nights had to be packed up the six mile and 1500ft vertical foot skin track that follows a steep marian. With near 50 pound packs and weather so thick you could barely see, it became a true adventure. When we were just feet from the yurt we couldn’t see it and actually ran into the director of the National Sawtooth Recreation Area and the owners of the Sawtooth Mountain Guides (SMG) who pointed it out to us.

The reason for going to this amazing place was two fold: to live in actual defined wilderness and ski the unbelievable backcountry that exists nearby. On the full day two guides from SMG came to lead us to the top of Skiers Summit which is a flat spot just underneath Williams Peak. From there you could see the entire valley and the sharp granite that make the tallest peak of the range, Thompson Peak. The way down was fun passing through variable snow on the run called Garry Garcia and picking up some amazing snow on Tortilla Flat just above the yurt. It was truly an experience I’ll never forget.

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There was a myriad of other things we did up at the yurt like building a snow fort to sleep in and a toasty sauna to bring you closer to friends. But the memory that I do not have images from was the full moon ski we did that night. It was one of those times that you must do without camera something you do with good friends to draw a tip to a close. We had no clue that the moon would even rise for the skin up, but as we got on our way in the pitch black night became bright as the yellow disk rise above the White Clouds. When we got to the top of Tortilla Flat the full moon lit the snow like a muffled sun. A magical experience with amazing people!

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December Ski Events

So one of the things that I absolutely love about living in Colorado is that there is so many things going on in the ski industry here. I mean if you know the right people and are a true ski bum this month could literally be non-stop alcoholism and nice turns. Being from Colorado this sounds like the ideal lifestyle (especially when pitted against being a poor college student stressing about quantum physics) so whenever I come home I make sure I do everything I can. And this year was more than ever before and some amazing experiences.

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The first event that I was able to attend was the primer of a new ski movie that was sponsored by Picture Organic Apparel called Zabardast. This film was absolutely terrifying and an impressive adventure of six people, a director, an athlete, two guilds, and two camera men all with the goal of skiing this shark fin shaped mountain in the remote high alpine of Pakistan. Getting to hear from the director and by sitting behind the athlete’s family we got a true one time experience. We also met with the marketing director of a cool company called Oyuki who makes gloves and hats all tested in Japan. Exciting stuff!

The next night my brother and I decided to hall up to the Breakenridge for the 19th annual Powder Awards. This is an event that was always something that I watched on Powder’s website but this year we got VIP tickets from some connections my brother has. All I can say is seeing athletes like Tanner Hall, Henrik Harlaut, and Elyse Saugstad was pretty darn neat. We also had an Olympic gold medalist passing us free drinks from there table. The thing that was most amazing to me was first how impressive the women are how won awards, the speeches they had and wisdom they shared was really amazing. And Second I really enjoyed how the photographers, editors, and athletes all shared a stage.

First Day Skiing

So this year Bogus decided not only to buy snow guns but to make so much snow they were able to open before Brundage! Opening the whole mountain just last saturday I instead of being smart and writing essays I decided to go ski with my friends. There was fog and the snow in the trees was heavy but it was hands down the best first day I’ve had in Idaho. It also helps to have a good group of friends to drag you up durn the last days of finals.

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OREGON TRIP DAY 3

Can’t believe how long ago this trip was and how busy I’ve been since. It’s wild to think that I have 18 credits this semester and the amount of things that I need to get done in the next two weeks is crazy. That being said it’s always good to remember the times you could take a brake and simply enjoy what’s going on around you.

This was the last day I stayed and before I drove back that afternoon I made sure I visited downtown Portland with the friends I stayed with. So that morning we headed downtown taking the MAX and walked around. I was blown away at how I could totally see myself in that city. The people kind of sucked but I just loved all the places and things to see.

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Finally, a funny photogragraphy related story about this last trip. After shooting all day before and not charging any of my batteries I figured I had just enough juice in my Fuji so I decide to bring it along. Well it turned out that before I could even take a picture it died which meant all the pictures I took were on my phone and edited in Lightroom. It was a bummer the Fuji died but it was fun seeing what I could do using the camera that’s always on me.