14,000 ft Above Sea Level

Much of the time my efforts to document, film and photograph are restricted to the undersea environment. Recently due to unforeseen circumstances I have found myself well above sea level. And this past weekend put me up in the 14,000 ft above sea level range in Colorado. It was an extremely valuable experience, providing a few days of solitary freedom in the Rocky Mountains and a chance to explore some new territory in some of the more dramatic scenery the U.S.A has to offer.
The weather turned bad before I even set out, and turned worse as I started up the approach to Mount Wilson and its adjacent peak El Diente. About ten minutes into the hike I put on my parka to protect myself from the rain, and it stayed on throughout the day, only coming off to add extra layers as I got higher on the mountain. Rain, mist, fog, sleet, and finally snow were all encountered. As the trail dissipated, reappeared, and then finally ended in a cliff face at 13,000 ft, route finding became critical. Cairns were a Godsend. A map and compass became more than the usual excess baggage, and vital to a safe ascent. Wet rocks, a steepening couloir, and the sound of distant and not so distant rockslides brought some apprehension to the ascent. Every so often a break would appear in the clouds and the views would take away your breath, displaying the rewards of the task at hand, as well as its enormity.

Shortly before reaching the 14,000 ft mark the weather took another turn. For the worse that is. The wind started to whip instead of simply blow, and hiking became scrambling, then climbing. Then suddenly as is so often the case the top was in site. An attainable goal only a few hundred feet away, across a knife edge ridge that was wet, windy, and at that moment one of the most lonely places in the world. It was so close, close enough to almost claim the peak anyway, but not quite. The conditions had suddenly escalated to a point where the pain, time and effort spent to get this close, did not outweigh the benefits of coming back another day. It was a decision made and not questioned, never second guessed. The descent proved as challenging as the ascent. More often than not all fours were on the ground all at once, never less than two. A slip and fall would definitely be the fastest way down to the snowfield two thousand feet below. To avoid that outcome care was taken at each movement to ensure good contact with the rocks and boulders. Only one thing could change that safe, slow methodical descent down the mountain. Flying rocks. Rocks bouncing down the mountain at random intervals in random places speed up a descent with amazing efficiency. Never have I descended a mountain with such care and speed at the same time. It is like picking a safe route up an avalanche slope, except the opposite. You hide, run, jump and seek shelter. All the way to the bottom. Then you look back, and think, that wasn't so bad.........
The trip up Mount Wilson was truly memorable. Something that was unsurprising though was what else I found on the mountain. On the way up discarded water bottles. On the way down socks and pieces of energy bar wrappers. The most interesting was a object at the very top of the mountain that I noticed while the weather was at it's worst - a Victoria's Secret clothing tag. One can only imagine what the look on my face was as I contemplated such a simple object so out of place. In all, it was much like exploring deep areas below sea level. Plastic bottles, trash in general, and the occasional discarded piece of underwear.