It's pretty rare to find 'old' snow that looks beautiful, but to me this melting mass looked like a river of foamy cappuccino, complete with the dark swirls that a creative barista would make. Let's face it, when you get up at 4am to shoot sunrise, anything that resembles cappuccino is quite beautiful indeed!
My husband and I were fortunate to be among the first people this year to venture up into the heights of the Jof Fuart massif (its many steep couloirs make it mostly inaccessible until the snow becomes more dense in late Spring). The two guys who run the local refuge hut had themselves arrived only a week earlier, and they were quite happy to have their first visitors of the season. The four of us stayed up much too late sipping their amazing Tocai Friulano, sharing hiking stories, and marveling at the Alpine Ibex whose curiosity drew him up to the hut's terrace where he could peer at us through the window. Of course the late night made waking up to shoot sunrise all the more difficult, but it was a highly memorable evening. After the morning outing, we returned to the hut, and our hosts brought out huge soup bowls (big bowls without handles) brimming with…guess what…foam-topped cappuccino. At that point, I definitely began to join nature in its essential transition after winter: the great awakening.
(Apologies to those who don't like stories!)
Location: Jof Fuart massif, Udine, Italy.
Tech notes: The scene did 'fit' into a single raw exposure without clipping on either end, but I bracketed anyway to avoid having to push or pull the raw data too much while blending. The final file contains three bracketed exposures.
Comments: Always very welcome and much appreciated…
I enjoyed reading your narrative and agree with your assessment of the old snow. I really like the composition and pastel colors in the background. For some reason, I feel like the blend is from two different points in time since there's soft pink glow on the next mountain, but no hint of it on the rockface immediately in front to the right. Maybe it was lost due to the brighter exposure?
Thanks, ccho. It's all one bracketed set, exposed in succession as quickly as a bracketing sequence could fire the shots. As for the pink not being on the cliffs at the right: there is a hint of pink at the end, but another, much taller cliff flanks this meadow to the left, encasing the area in a sort of natural bowl with a small opening toward the opposite mountain chain that you see in the distance. So the pink atmosphere was not reflecting much down into the bowl in which I was standing.
It is always nice to read the background stories with the wonderful shots like this. Yes, I can smell the foamy cappuccino!! Oh, foamy cappuccino grande! Lovely pink clouds add the aroma.
Thanks, guys! I wasn't sure if anyone else would find the patterns in the snow as attractive as I did, so I really appreciate the feedback. If there are any differing opinions out there, please feel free to add them!
Sharona wrote:
Really nice - and your web site images are absolutely stunning.
Many thanks for your kind words, Sharona.
JustinPoe wrote:
and.....cappucinos in Italy are the absolute best.
This is a very cool looking shot. The snow does work in this case. And how cool to have huts staffed like that with food and such. That is something we are definitely not accustomed to here in the US. Other than the High Sierra camps in Yosemite, I am not really aware of other backcountry locations staffed like that.
Thanks, Jim and Gochugogi. Jim: the grass is always greener…! Yes, it is pretty cool to have all of the huts over here for backpacking. It means carrying a bit less weight; you don't need to pack much food, a stove, or any kitchen utensils, and you only need a sleeping bag liner, not a whole sleeping bag. The downside is that you have to stay where the huts are located. It is illegal in most European countries to "open camp" or even to bivouac (not to be confused with sleeping in a permanent bivouac structure, which is the only alternative to huts over here). So you can't just set up camp right near the awesome view that you want to photograph at sunrise. I miss that about backpacking in the US (where I'm from).
And the downsides of hut life during the *high season* are many: sleeping in a room with 20 other snoring mountaineers…Brushing your teeth alongside the hairy guy who forgot to wear his pants to the bathroom…don't get me started!!
Heh…it's mostly pretty cool, though, and I shouldn't complain.
You are right about: It is illegal in most European countries to "open camp" or even to bivouac.
However the chances of being caught are low. We have camped in many european countries and if you keep low and have a clean camp it won't be a problem. (Alps, Germany, GB, Ireland, NL, BE, Scandinavia ).
I particularly recommend the French Jura. Camping above lake Geneva, views on Mont Blanc and looking down on planes heading for Geneva airport.
oblomow wrote:
You are right about: It is illegal in most European countries to "open camp" or even to bivouac.
However the chances of being caught are low. We have camped in many european countries and if you keep low and have a clean camp it won't be a problem. (Alps, Germany, GB, Ireland, NL, BE, Scandinavia ).
I particularly recommend the French Jura. Camping above lake Geneva, views on Mont Blanc and looking down on planes heading for Geneva airport.
Hey, Oblomow...nice to 'see' you here! Yeah, I've been told the same by others around here, but I'm pretty cautious about breaking the law, especially since I'm currently in Europe on a temporary residency permit! I dunno...maybe if enough people insist that it's no big deal I'll try my luck someday. There are a bunch of places I'd love to "bivy" for the night!
