Multnomah Falls, Oregon

I got this shot on a recent run in the Gorge while visiting family. We ran the Wakena-Multnomah loop about 6 miles, it was a blast.

The second falls above Multnomah Falls

I also snagged this shot earlier in the run on the way down Multnomah creek.

The SE Face of Russell Peak near Berthoud Pass.

Had a nice day of skiing on the Westside of Berthoud Pass today.  I got a nice looking Panoramic taken with wide angle though.

First attempt at this Layer Mask business....not sure if I'm a fan yet.

Here’s what I did with Photoshop, the background image is the standard photo, then next layer is the BW. I colored the BW layer with Black on the bottom half (the color section) this brought through the colors of the original background….well, see if I get better.

Darkerened the blue, lightened the red and yellow to add to the contrast depth. Shot with the Canon 30D 50mm ISO 800 1/200 sec f/22

The afternoon started with a swim in the snow up a hill by Frisco, CO

The swim afforded me this shot peering into the Gore Range.

From a near by vantage, I snagged up this shot. Then, called it a day after a few hours of snow groveling.

Then, this evening or not really, almost this morning I got a few shots of the Flatirons.

I got a total of four shots in about 45 minutes.

The Full Moon to my back was a wonderful fill.

Went to a carving party this evening and took some images of the finished products

My wife craved this awesome one.

I carved this bumpkin (on purpose)

Group

The smoker carved this one.

A coating of ice in the shocks

I rode home from work at 0440 hours last Wednesday during Colorado’s first statewide snow storm. My upper body fared well, but my lower extremities with ice sheets for pants did not. For most of the ride I was able to pedal hard and fast to keep my legs moderately warm. However, towards the end as the chain started slipping and the speed decreased the chills set in. By the time I got home I was borderline hypothermic….or maybe completely hypothermic.

My icy filled water boots were frozen shut and I had to knife the laces to get out. Then, well I’ll just say I ended up wrapped in a blanket on the couch for a bit. After a few moments on the couch is when I realized the bike was coated with maybe a pound of ice as I heard it melting onto the entry pad of our home.

I also wrote something with the above title, but waiting to see if I can publish it else where before it goes up here.

Just a few links on the topic:

Mountain Bike

Studded Tires for you bike

Tire Chains for the bike

Planet Bike for your shopping needs

800ish sec exposure, f/8 ISO 400 @ 0417hrs on 09/08/2011

Taken along the Ridge to Snikatu North of Torrey’s and Gray’s and NE of Loveland Pass, CO

Here’s a BW version:

Same exposure as above

Self portrait Summit of Peak One

I had a great few days off from work.  On Friday I walked up Peak One in the Tenmile Range of Colorado near Frisco.  Then on Saturday I took some friends from Florida up the SE Ridge of Audubon near Ward, CO in the Indian Peaks Wilderness.

Peak One Sepia version

I saw a cool looking snag on the way down from Peak One.

A Snag on the North Shoulder of Mount Victoria.

Here’s some images from Audubon:

Audubon from Mitchell Lake

The water was a bit more rough then last year, so I wasn’t able to get that stellar reflection.

Starting up the SE Ridge

The route ahead

One of my friends had only rock climbed once and the other one had never climbed before.  They both were superb on the crux section into and out of the notch.

Beyond the notch

The crux starts at the bench just left and above my friend’s heads on the opposite wall and ridge line behind.  From bench we traversed climber’s right and dropped into the notch and then climbed out the grass ledge system.

The long walk from the SE Shoulder to the summit and here we're only half way.

Summit shots:

Matt with Mount Toll, Piaute, Cherrokee, and Archonee in the background

Mike with Coney Island in the background

Self Portrait

It was a most excellent adventure!  Until next time.