I have not been making many new images lately, so I have been reviewing overlooked stuff from the past year. This one however, was taken way back in 2007. In September, after recently graduating college, I flew out to Colorado for a week or so of hanging out and pretending a real life may not have to start. After several days, my buddies decided they wanted to summit Crestone Needle, one of the 54 Colorado mountains that peaks above 14,000 feet (14,197 ft to be exact). Both were experienced climbers and had bagged many other 14er’s in years past. I was along for the ride.
The approach up was a tough 4wd road that was very time consuming and interesting to say the least. My friend’s Land Rover was having some overheating issues which had us progressing even slower but we finally made it to the trail-head. We planned to camp at around 12,000ft and try for a sunrise summit the following day.
As we starting the hike, I immediately regretting living at sea level. It was obvious this wouldn’t be easy for me. The lungs were burning and an altitude head-ache quickly set in. After what seemed like way to0 long for the distance covered, we made it to camp. It was a great little spot nestled in some evergreens not too far from the South Colony Lakes. We got a simple tarp shelter and campfire set-up and then went off exploring a bit before the sun set. It helped to forget the head-ache, but it never went away.
The stars were beautiful that night and I tried some light painting with a flashlight while I caught some star trails. This was one of my first attempts but I was quite happy with how it came out.
We then went to bed, expecting a 2am wake-up to reach the summit by sunrise. Up to this point the weather had been great, maybe low 60′s and not too windy. Well, at some point shortly after retiring to the tarp shelter, the wind picked up dramatically and the temperature dropped. Rain came in and so between the occasional waterdrops that got under the tarp, and the constant flapping, we did not sleep. Sunrise summit was pretty much done and we “slept in” until maybe 7. All of a sudden one of my buddies looked out and said the mountain was glowing. The entire face of Crestone Needle was catching sunrise light and showing exactly why it is in the Sangre de Cristo(Blood of Christ) Range. I jumped up, put on whatever jacket I had, and rushed out to take whatever pictures I could. It was freezing with the wind howling, but I managed this shot from the creek, fed by one of the South Colony Lakes. Definitely one of the more exciting experiences to see.
Due to the lack of sleep and the wet rock which would make the already difficult climb a little more dangerous, we called off the summit and headed back into town. we had a great hot breakfast that could not come soon enough. We relaxed a bit and then headed back to Salida, for some much needed naps.
So, despite not having a 14er under my belt, I definitely had a keeper image and experience to remember.
