We huddle into our parkas, cowering from the high winds that lash our liftchair. The lift is designed to slow down when the little vanes on the wires sense more turbulence. The journey lengthens, and it is with considerable relief that we finally reach the top, and ski off the chair.
I am at the top of the Elk Camp lift, in Snowmass, Colorado. It's a beautiful, sunny day. I hike twenty or thirty feet uphill, in my skis (foolish girl who thinks she's in shape for this activity at 11,000+ feet) so I can get this picture.
It's why I fly into these crazy mountain airports, and why I ski. This, to me, is February.
My camera is an obsolete 3 megapixel Nikon that fits into my fannypack. The mountains framed by the valleys are the Maroon Bells in Aspen. I think it speaks for itself.
That is really breathtaking.
Posted by: Carole | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 06:52 AM
Wow! That's it. That says it all.
Posted by: Devorah | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 07:03 AM
Wow. "Your camera does not matter, says the linked article, it's your eye. and you have a good one.//www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm
Lovely to believe there really are places that look like that.
Posted by: LauraJ | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 07:05 AM
Damn girl! That's HARDCORE!
Posted by: Cara | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 07:52 AM
wow!
laurie, when i lived in colorado, many many years ago, i used to look out my front widow and think to myslf, "i can't believe i live here!"
Posted by: vanessa | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 08:05 AM
A breathtakingly beautiful view! With my fear of heights, I don't know how well I'd do with turbulence in a chair lift. There mere thought of the chair dancing around way up there is making my hands clammy. I'll just have to live vicariously through you :-)
Posted by: Manise | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 08:08 AM
The views alone are worth the travel. Breathtaking...and it isn't even my state;-)
We have had 80"+ of snow this week. Just check the snowbird site...it's amazing. Not that I'm trying to intice you back or anything.
Posted by: margene | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 08:31 AM
When I skied, a million years ago, I never got that high. Still, the views from some of our Eastern "bumps" were pretty darn impressive. It kills me when we go to Utah that I can't go up there anymore! Gorgeous.
Posted by: Marcia | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 09:17 AM
Gorgeous. Makes me homesick for the Rockies.
Posted by: Kirstie | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 09:25 AM
It's beautiful!
Posted by: Scoutj | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 09:45 AM
Walking uphill in sneakers at that elevation wears me out.. I can't imagine doing it in skis. Fabulous shot! Worth the effort and my thanks!
Posted by: Judy | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 09:59 AM
Gasp. Wow.
that is just *stunning* - thanks so much for sharing.
Posted by: Liz (the crazed weasel) | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 10:02 AM
Ah, vicarious living. Thanks.
Posted by: Lucia | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 10:29 AM
Nice. I'll bet the run down was also a blast.
Posted by: claudia | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 10:49 AM
Wowee- no mountains like that here! Gorgeous.
Posted by: frecklegirl jess | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 11:12 AM
Home... thanks for the reminder that this desert lover also is a mountain woman.
Posted by: Cathy | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 11:40 AM
Woh. Whatta shot. Thanks, E, now I don't have to go there to see for myself.
Posted by: Marcy | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 12:50 PM
Lovely! Our mountains, while quite stunning, are nothing compared to that.
Posted by: Lorette | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 01:09 PM
Experiencing that in person just might be worth dealing with frosty fingers n toes.
Posted by: Chris | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 01:23 PM
Absolutely stunning.
Posted by: JessaLu | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 01:24 PM
Wow. Just, wow.
I half-expect to see one of the beacons of Gondor flare up on one of those peaks...
Posted by: Beth S. | Saturday, March 03, 2007 at 03:03 PM
Oh, I miss skiing, and that picture made me miss it even more
Posted by: rho | Sunday, March 04, 2007 at 12:37 AM
I haven't been skiing in 20 years, yet I still can bring up the memory of stepping off the lift chair to breath taking beauty.
What an awesome shot.
Posted by: Teyani | Sunday, March 04, 2007 at 11:45 AM
Oooh, great photo.
Posted by: colleen | Monday, March 05, 2007 at 07:23 AM
i can even feel the wind on my face.
Posted by: maryse | Monday, March 05, 2007 at 09:08 AM
It's heaven, for sure.
Posted by: Kathy | Monday, March 05, 2007 at 12:23 PM
Yep. But you got out before the 70mph winds shut down all the higher lifts. However the skies were incredibly clear the next day for our hike to the top of Longshot (bit of practice for Highlands Bowl day after that).
Posted by: Melissa G | Monday, March 05, 2007 at 01:25 PM
To my mind, in general the view from the chair lift is almost as good as the skiing. Great photo!
Posted by: Martha | Monday, March 05, 2007 at 02:36 PM
Okay.....that is ALMOST as nice as our "hills" here in Utah. :)
Posted by: Anne | Monday, March 05, 2007 at 02:50 PM
Lovely! I didn't know about lift chairs when I was young. We X-skied with shorter downhill skis lashed to our packs. Skied up up up to pristine bowls in the Wasatch, switched skis, and swooshed down. Once and only once, I wore the downhill skis the whole time. After that, I wore the X-skis the whole time and often ended up being dug out of snowbanks at the bottom, but it was fun and I was young enough not to know any better!
Posted by: Sylvia | Monday, March 05, 2007 at 03:51 PM
Great shot! My giant, ancient 3MP HP camera takes great landscape shots too. I think the bigger lens makes all the difference.
Enjoy your ski holiday.
Posted by: Dorothy B | Tuesday, March 06, 2007 at 03:46 PM
Oh.MY! How lucky for you to ski in such beautiful places!
Posted by: Kim | Wednesday, March 07, 2007 at 09:04 PM
And not a single man-made structure to ruin the shot! You just can't find that around here...
Posted by: Heather | Thursday, March 08, 2007 at 02:54 PM
3 megapixels or not that is a fantastic photo and you are one gutsy gal
Posted by: blogless sharon | Thursday, March 08, 2007 at 03:03 PM
I can't even think of words.......other than this...*grin, ya didn't think you were getting off THAT easy did ya LOL* my dearest brother is a HUGE outdoors lover, me,not so much. I can take it or leave it,which in my family is odd because we all our in shape and we all excersise blah,blah,blah...anyways, I HATE being cold, wet, tired, leg cramping and nose running work outs! I never could understand what the hubbub was all about....I do now. Thank you for sharing!
Posted by: DebbieKnitter | Friday, March 09, 2007 at 05:41 PM
Fantastic shot! Proves that bigger is not always better. Precisely why I still have a 3 megapixel.
Thanks for sharing such an inspiring and awesome photo.
Posted by: Beverly | Friday, March 09, 2007 at 09:03 PM