Mt. Baker

After breakfast and filling up the car for climb up the hill, I started the drive up to the highest place I could drive, the Mt.Baker Ski Resort. The highest altitudes, all the mountains around are covered in snow. This is a new things to this littl' ol' southern boy, but it was pretty cool. I picked the perfect time to go. The clear blue skies and the warm temperatures made this a pleasant and safe trip. The roads were clear and dry.



Once near the top, it was easy to see the peak of Mt. Baker. Here you see it looming over the White Salmon Ski Resort (to the left, near the bottom of the image.

I don't know enough about such things to be sure but this must be streaks in the snow due to avalanches. If this is the result of skiers then I'm both scared and impressed.

At the Mt. Baker resort, at the highest elevation I could access - about 5,000 ft, give or take - you can see part of the area where people ski and again Mt. Baker always present. If you look closely in the bottom right hand corner, you'll see a couple skiers enjoying the isolation and the warmth.

This is one of the mountains down which people, ski (not clear where), you can see the chairlift going up the hill in the distance.

I am now able to get closer to the mountain peak and bring you images that look colder and less hospitable.

The ridgeline of the distant mountains is a jagged edge of what feels like the top of the world. By Appalachian standard this is really high mountains. By Alps or even Rocky Mountain standards, not so much.

I've always wanted to stand on the top of such a mountain, but seeing it from this vantage, it feels less inviting, even on this warm day. I think I'll pass on the option.

On the way back down, I stopped to see the Nooksack river at bit closer to its origin. I had see the small streams that create it higher up in a dozen places that filled the air with a roar alongside the road.

By this time I could find significant streams near the road.

Hre is a place with a fairly roaring river.

With the dark trees and brilliant white snow, the dynamic range is large. As a result, all these images are the composite of three images except this last one. By under and over exposing along with the correctly exposed shot, I could create and HDR image that reflect the scene as I saw it.

This last image is a panorama created from three HDR composite images. Thus, it is the result of 9 photos combined. Except for the constant sounds of rushing water, this is more nearly what it was like to be on the mountain.