Cairns on the top

Posted on September 14th, 2015

They always hang around and do nothing, except cover the light.
It’s the same on every alpine mountain, motionless and useless are the stone men (german for cairns) sitting on the top and annoying me. And nothing can bring them to a move. I shouted, I asked it and I threatened them. But no, they moved not an inch.
Okay maybe it was the wrong view and they have another reason to stay there. It’s maybe an ancient try to increase the total height of a mountain. Ah yes, like all the tall antennas on the skyscrapers in the big cities around the world, to increase their height, a few extra meters.

Lake Grimsel

Posted on September 11th, 2015

Another shot from the top.
After the galactic firework last time, a silent view to the west with the glaciers and the high mounts. This image was taken with 12800 ISO, but I took two shots and stacked it to reduce the noise. And it’s really amazing how less noisy it is.
Okay, there is noise, but the only thing I saw was a bit of the horizon, nothing more, it was so dark.

Lightshow in da house!

Posted on September 9th, 2015

A pure and clear view to our galaxy on 2800m at midnight.
As I promised, let me present to you, the Milkyway. An hour earlier, I thought, that I’m again watching the famous movie “The road was in vain”. The clouds were so thick I saw the clouds flying by in the beam of my head lamp. And after I was on the top, my backpack was wet from the clouds, although it was not raining.
But now, within minutes all clouds were gone and I realized the cold air. I started around 30°C and I thought, damn I’m a pantywaist, if I’m cold in the middle of the summer, what would it be in the winter. I walked back to my rucksack to grab my second pair of gloves, when I saw that my backpack was no more wet, it was now frozen!
Okay, it must be very cold and this is good, because the air is getting very clear to see the Milkyway.

What shines through the fog there?

Posted on September 7th, 2015

Within minutes the weather has changed.
Where had I ended? Ah yes, … and I turned me around and it blows me away! While I was taking a few photos to the northern direction, all the clouds are gone and only a thin fog was left. And what can we see there? A brighter band of light, that’s maybe the Milkyway.
Because I was walking the wrong way, it was nearly midnight, when I reached the peak. If I were earlier on the top, then I had seen nothing and because of the cold wind, I certanly left the top frustrated a few minutes later. But so I was at the top, nearly to the best time to see the Milkyway. What a moody image and within seconds all the fog was dissolved and I could take one of the most intense shot of the Milkyway which is possible in the centre of Europe, but stay tuned and see it in my next article.

On the top of the Sidelhorn

Posted on September 4th, 2015

It was windy, cold and foggy on my steep way to the peak.
After my short excursion on the wrong way, I climbed the correct, steep trail up to the peak. Because it was already late, it quickly became dark. The good thing was, because it was so windy I was not sweating although it was really steep. And the wind was blowing and blowing, but it blows the clouds not away, the clouds becomes thicker and thicker.
Soon I saw, in the beam of my headlamp, the clouds flying past. Oh, no the wind didn’t blow the clouds away, he brings the clouds to me. Sigh, another night of effort without any reward, but now as near the peak I was now, I wouldn’t give up and I will bring it to an end.
The last part of the trail was not only steep, it was also stony and I had to climb from stone to stone through the dark and foggy night. Yes it was pitch dark, because of the new moon, which was the main idea, so I can see a clear and beautiful Milkyway. After I reached the top, the wind was still blowing and I was surrounded by thick clouds.
Only to the west I could see some stars. Therefore I put my backpack to the ground, took my tripod and mounted the 14mm lens on the A7s. Apart from some stars, I couldn’t see nothing, it was really, really dark. Okay, take some shots from the direction where I can see the few stars. Because it was so dark, i pumped up my camera up to 12800 ISO and then … BAMM!
Wow, look at the stars and you can see two glaciers, the Oberaar glacier and the Unteraar glacier. And behind the mighty Finsteraarhorn and the Schreckhorn. Yes, an impressive landscape! It’s too bad I couldn’t see the Milkyway because of the thick clouds around me. After a few shots I turned me around and…

Blue hour above Grimsel lake

Posted on September 2nd, 2015

Still windy and still clouds in the sky.
A few minutes later I had a good view over the Grimsel barrier lake. And because it was still windy I was full of hope that the clouds will disappear in the time until I will reach the peak.
So I was hiking further along the panoramic road to the left. But wait! Can you see the line over the lake on the right part? It’s the cable of the Sidelhorn funicular which comes up from the Hospiz. You know, the Sidelhorn funicular! Where did I want to go? Yup, up to the Sidlehorn. If I had read my map correctly, I had to know a few minutes earlier, that this way leads me not to the Sidelhorn peak.
But Mr. Fear needs another few minutes until he realized, that this way can’t be the right one and with some nice words on his lips, he marched back to the point, where the steep part begun.
Read the next time about my way up through the clouds to the Sidelhorn peak.

A cloudy sunset

Posted on August 31st, 2015

Thick clouds on the top of the Grimselpass.
As usual the weather forecast predicted a cloudless sky, but the reality differs a little bit. Okay, they said, the clouds should be gone at this time and the Grimsel area is difficult with clouds, because of all the glacier there.
So what, I told me, after a 2.5h drive I am here and therefore I should go up to the mountain. There was a strong wind of about 40km/h and I thought, the wind will blow the clouds away. I have anyway to walk about 800m of altitude and I will reach the peak around midnight, so there is much time for the wind to do his work.

Tremola

Posted on August 28th, 2015

The view over the old Gotthard pass road, called Tremola.
This is a piece of the old road over the Gotthard pass. It leads down to the canton Tessin and this part is called Tremola. There is a wider road behind me, where you normally drive with your vehicle. But this older part is so wonderful curvy. And if you think, wow, that’s cool I will drive this way with my motor cycle, think twice. Because it’s curvy but it’s made of cobblestones and if you drive it, take a piece of rubber hose in you mouth to protect your teeth.
With this image I close the trip on the Gotthard and next week we will see some very nice images from my next trip up to the nearly 3000m high Sidelhorn.

Cascades under the bridge

Posted on August 26th, 2015

A short stop on my way back to the civilization.
You may know this, you are walking and every few steps you see a new place to stop and take a photo. But escpecially at night I think twice until I take a photo brake. Because I have always take my backpack down and setup my tripod. And you know I’m a lazy guy.
But on my way up, I noted this point to take an image and so I stopped, thought a moment whether I should or not. Then I put my backpack on the ground and took some images of the melting water falling down into the barrier lake.

Moonshine lake

Posted on August 24th, 2015

This HDR-Panorama-Night-Image is another picture from my trip in the Gotthard region.
And it is also another sample of my out of focus series. But you can anyway see the mood of this fullmoon night in the middle of the alps.
And I can promise you, in real was the landscape sharp and in full color