haelio
Swartberg Pass
Jim (can you see him?) walks down the icy path up to the Swartberg Pass which scales the mountain ridge that separates the Big and Little Karoo regions in the Western Cape region of South Africa.
Our plans to watch the sunrise from the highest point in the path were scuppered around two thirds of the way up the untarred road that led to the pass. There had been snow the previous night and combined with the already icy conditions meant that our humble car couldn't make it to the top. After some nerve wracking manoevering on the ice near a precipice or two, we managed to move the car off the road into a visible bend of the path and set off on foot. Not expecting snow and ice this was a comedy of slips and slides but we made it to the top in time.
While watching the sun rise over the vast wastelands to the North was spectacular, the view on the way back down was even better. Seing the sun begin to shine on the green verdant valleys to the south after staring at bare rock and arid semi-desert just on the other side of the pass was refreshing, even as this lightplay was soon snuffed out by incoming clouds.
I waited until Jim walked into the frame and took this picture. Having him visible lends an element of scale to the view which is easily lost in a photograph.
Swartberg Pass, Western Cape, South Africa, 2011
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS
Swartberg Pass
Jim (can you see him?) walks down the icy path up to the Swartberg Pass which scales the mountain ridge that separates the Big and Little Karoo regions in the Western Cape region of South Africa.
Our plans to watch the sunrise from the highest point in the path were scuppered around two thirds of the way up the untarred road that led to the pass. There had been snow the previous night and combined with the already icy conditions meant that our humble car couldn't make it to the top. After some nerve wracking manoevering on the ice near a precipice or two, we managed to move the car off the road into a visible bend of the path and set off on foot. Not expecting snow and ice this was a comedy of slips and slides but we made it to the top in time.
While watching the sun rise over the vast wastelands to the North was spectacular, the view on the way back down was even better. Seing the sun begin to shine on the green verdant valleys to the south after staring at bare rock and arid semi-desert just on the other side of the pass was refreshing, even as this lightplay was soon snuffed out by incoming clouds.
I waited until Jim walked into the frame and took this picture. Having him visible lends an element of scale to the view which is easily lost in a photograph.
Swartberg Pass, Western Cape, South Africa, 2011
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS