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2013-05-13 09:01:04 (74 comments, 15 reshares, 104 +1s)

Bernina Ridge Waves

Published in my blog: http://haferlandphotography.com/bernina-ridge-waves/

Selected as one of the 9 TOP Google+ Photographs for May 8, 2013 by http://www.photoextract.com/plus-extract/2013/5/8 - Thanks +Jarek Klimek!

This snowy ridge leads "down" from Piz Bernina after the ascend via the famous Bianco Ridge. For many alpinists it's the choice for ascent and descent as well, but if you can, enter Grison's highest peak via Bianco Ridge. However, the ridge shown here is tasty as well.

You notice the two tracks in the foreground, melting into a single one later on: It's a passing-by-area. Too often you're stuck on narrow ridges 'cause of other alpinists and have no chance to pass them - here you have ;-).

I really liked the track, following the distinct wave form of the snow. It was a real pleasure... more »

2013-05-11 21:15:18 (64 comments, 11 reshares, 106 +1s)

Storm Over Zinalrothorn

Published in my blog: http://haferlandphotography.com/storm-over-zinalrothorn/

The mountain Zinalrothorn is one of my favourite peaks of the Swiss Alps. It's a very spikey and elegant peak (when seen from its northern or southern side) at 4'221m / 13 848ft. I was lucky to summit this wonderful mountain together with +Daniel Arndt in summmer 2009. The whole trip took us 16 hours from the mountain hut and retour that time, we started a little late and got stuck by several "traffic jams", caused by other alpinists. All regular routes to its summit are long ridge climbs, so you should watch the weather well: In case of an approaching thunderstorm, there is absolutely no escape.

Watching the weather is mandatory for all hig and long climbs. We witnessed this beautiful but strong Foehn storm over Zinalrothorn from the summit ofW... more »

2013-04-11 09:50:36 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

►Top Photographers Circle 3.0 / L-Z◄ - of ►Top Photos on Google+◄
+10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS by +Robert SKREINER
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
In this 2 Circles are included all ►Top Photographers,
who contributed and participated in the daily photo theme:
#10000photographers since the G+Page and Group 
+10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS by +Robert SKREINER
is established, respectively all, whose photos were shared as
►TOP Photos on Google+◄ until today.
This circle is renewed and expanded regularly! Those who have once or even several times not shared this circle are not included in this circle. Who wants to be included in the next circle again, please share this circle. This is only a fair rule.Who wants to be promoted must also concede this to the others.
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░... more »

2013-04-16 19:34:03 (62 comments, 2 reshares, 92 +1s)

Sunny Snowridge Descent (view large)

Published in my blog: http://haferlandphotography.com/sunny-snowridge-descent/

There were not too many days of ultra-clear air this winter season yet, especially on the weekends. If the air doesn't contain too much dust, haze or moisture, silhouettes are nicely encircled by a fringe of light when you shoot against the sun. This day was great to achieve this effect at approx. 3'600m / 11 800 ft near Gornergrat, Valais, Switzerland.

Hope you like my image!

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+
#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 
#landscapephotography by +Landscape Photography +Margaret Tompkins    
#EuropeanPhotography by +European Photo +Janusz Brakoniecki +Jean-Louis LAURENCE +Manuella Betaille +Michael Muraz +Susanne Ramharter
#HQSPLandscape +HQSP Landscape by +Ara MO +Rodolfo Seide+Jo... more »

2013-04-02 13:31:38 (106 comments, 15 reshares, 171 +1s)

Frozen Snow Waves

Published in my blog: http://haferlandphotography.com/frozen-snow-waves/

Selected as one of the 9 TOP Google+ Photographs for March 27, 2013 by +Jarek Klimek - http://www.photoextract.com/plus-extract/2013/3/27

Let's go a little abstract today: The winter ascend to a mountain near the Gotthard pass in Switzerland leads to a frozen lake at approx. 2'600m / 8585 ft, directly beneath a glacier. I really like those mountain lakes in wintertime as they offer a field of generally unspoiled snow in an otherwise rough and rocky environment.

What attracted me most about this lake was the frozen snow waves. Formed entirely by steady winds, they add perfectly to the banks of this lake. I've chosen a rather narrow view here to work out the shadows and the light on these waves and to follow the lines they offered.

In the toplef... more »

2013-03-08 10:19:58 (81 comments, 13 reshares, 87 +1s)

Emerald Lakes Macun

Published in my blog: http://haferlandphotography.com/emerald-lakes-macun/

The 20 lakes of Macun are protected as a National Park of Switzerland. There are times when walking through this wonderful landscape is not permitted, e.g. when the summer season ends. It was a great opportunity to visit this place in summer - and get fresh snow as well. In general, few snow on alpine meadows generates visual clutter. Here, the clutter is very even, so it adds a certain structure to the landscape. 

Some of my best friends here on G+ know this image already from my early posting days, but this one features a slightly different processing and framing.

Hope you like it!

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+
#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 
#landscapephotography by +Landscape Photography +Margaret Tompkins    #E... more »

2013-02-23 20:19:46 (86 comments, 4 reshares, 122 +1s)

Piz Buin Snow

Published in my blog http://haferlandphotography.com/piz-buin-snow/

Lots of people know the name “Piz Buin”. This is mainly because of the sun protection brand of the same title. In fact, it’s the name of a mountain with a Swiss side and an Austrian side. I have the impression that the Swiss side is climbed by fast climbers in very small groups while the Austrian side is entered by large groups of less experienced people on a single rope (I wrote about country-specific differences before; this seems to be one of it: https://plus.google.com/108665887827650124203/posts/LQwTyuQFWqf). Piz Buin has a summit elevation of 3’312 m / 10 866 ft, being climbed in winter and summer. If you go in spring, make sure you choose the nice couloir between the “little” and the “big” Piz Buin ;-), it’s highly recommended!

Well, this image of Piz Buin andadjacent peaks wa... more »

2013-02-16 22:57:54 (148 comments, 26 reshares, 190 +1s)

Snowy Ridge Steps

Published in my blog http://haferlandphotography.com/snowy-ridge-steps/

Selected for 9 TOP Google+ Photos for February 6 http://photoextract.com/plus-extract/2013/2/6

Winter is blue. Well, a little white sometimes, but the absence of plants in higher regions makes for a lack of "standard colors". I love that. Especially in mid-winter season, we have a strong sun and a bit of haze in thin air. This produces a very special atmosphere of "all things blue".

Ascending in winter means to go up by ski as far as possible (or reasonable). If you can't ski down certain passages, you have to leave the skis below the summit. Just like here: The last steps followed a rather fluffy snow ridge to the summit cross. To give the whole composition a scale, I placed the first steps prominently in the frame. The winter haze in... more »

2013-01-23 17:14:59 (73 comments, 8 reshares, 100 +1s)

Halo above Austria

Published in my blog http://haferlandphotography.com/halo-above-austria

I like halos, and in the mountains you can see them sometimes in different appearances. This is a typical halo caused by the icy cloud type cirrostratus. The sunlight is reflected by zillions of tiny ice crystals, and as these clouds are stratus clouds (horizontal layering with a uniform base), the layer is quite homogenious. This helps to bring up the full ring of reflection. Additionally, this type of cloud signalizes an approaching warm front bringing rain in the next few hours.

I was lucky the terrain let me change my position to center the halo and the sun to the 2.5 meters high summit cross. The mountains you see below are mainly austrian, on the right side you can see the distant Säntis.

Hope you like my capture!

#spcfeature by +Swiss PhotographyC... more »

2013-01-22 17:10:43 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 27 +1s)

Thanks again

From time to time a little "thank you" is nice. Especially when we get used to things. No, I don't mean all the photographers who are selected by Jarek and may get used to it. We all are used to enjoy a fine selection of photographs day by day, and this is because of the effort +Jarek Klimek does. So, thank you Jarek!

Congrats to the good company I'm in, as this is
+Brian Matiash 
+benoit jansen-reynaud 
+Ruslan Hrushchak 
+Laura Balc 
+Eric Rousset
+Buck Shreck
+Neil Kremer and
+Jay Patel 

2013-01-21 17:17:28 (33 comments, 0 reshares, 62 +1s)

LAUBERHORN SKI WORLDCUP RACES
+Swiss Photography Club G+ Photowalk

On January 19, 2013 the +Swiss Photography Club G+ organized a photowalk at the well known Ski Worldcup Lauberhornabfahrt. Weather was better than expected and we had a few great opportunities to shoot the racers.

Many of you know that I'm extremely into high alpine landscape photography, but from time to time, I like to shoot action. This photowalk was ideal to do that.

The walk was a co-organization of +Fabrizio Vignali and me. Many thanks Fabrizio! I'd like to thank +Marianne Liniger, +Agnieszka Hollinger and +Mark Hollinger for coming, and sorry to all who couldn't make it this time. See you next time guys!

I'm sure +Klaus Binder, +Paul Turkowski and +Dalibor Pačić might like this as well ;-)

For the interested, you find the names of allracers in ... more »

2013-01-21 15:10:39 (70 comments, 12 reshares, 105 +1s)

Morning Light over Monte Rosa

Published in my blog: http://haferlandphotography.com/morning-light-over-monte-rosa

Selected by +Jarek Klimek for the 9 TOP Google+ Photographs for January 17: http://www.photoextract.com/plus-extract/2013/1/17

Swiss children learn in school at least two facts about single mountains in their country:

1. The mountain “Dom” is the highest mountain located entirely located in Switzerland. It is 4’545 m / 14 911 ft.

2. The mountain “Dufourspitze” is the highest mountain which stands partly on Swiss territory. It is 4’634 m / 15 203 ft.

The rocky peak shown here is “Dufourspitze”, seen in August 2008, at 4.55 am, from the “Signalkuppe” at 4’554m / 14 940 ft. I had the chance to visit “Dufourspitze” in spring 2011, ascending by ski and climbing the W – ridge. It was an overwhelmingexperience which I already ho... more »

2013-01-09 19:18:56 (73 comments, 6 reshares, 109 +1s)

Wintertime - Aletsch Glacier

Published in my blog http://haferlandphotography.com/glacier-at-wintertime/

I visit the Big Aletsch Glacier each and every season. It’s not only one of the most impressive ones, it’s situated in the center of the Bernese Alps so it’s hard to avoid seeing this glacier. I’ve posted many different sights of this glacier, and as we have wintertime right now, a snowy image suits well. These two groups of alpinists are heading towards the south and are going down the glacier. It seems even here because at the Konkordiaplatz three glaciers combine to one, resulting in a more than 900 meters thick ice pack.

Hope you like it!

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+
#plusphotoextract  by +Jarek Klimek
#BWFineArt +Black and White Fine Art Photography Gallery by +Joel Tjintjelaar 
#landscapephotography by+Landscape P... more »

2012-12-05 17:06:50 (71 comments, 3 reshares, 109 +1s)

Allalinhorn, 4'027m / 13 211 ft (view large to spot 2 people)

Let me continue my Mountain Portrait Series:
The Allalinhorn is one of the easier accessible 4000m+ peaks of Switzerland. Cablecars take people from the village Saas Fee to top station Metro Allalin (3'457m) in some 30 minutes. The normal route is not too difficult - good weather provided. The Allalinhorn offers different ascends, one of the interesting ones is the Hohlaubgrat (ridge). When you're short on time, or got a hurting leg from your last climbing accident, the Allalinhorn is always there for you. By now, I visited Allalinhorn many times. Seen from Feechopf, even the "little" Allalinhorn has a majestic appearance.

Recently, my friend +Dalibor Pačić posted an image of the "bench", located right side underneath the peak. This is how it looks at breakfast time fromFe... more »

2012-11-28 17:25:42 (66 comments, 5 reshares, 107 +1s)

Ridge Climbing with Crampons and 500 m / 1 640 ft air below

Ridge climbing is one of the most elegant, logical and interesting ways to summit a mountain. While on the ridge, you enjoy magnificient views to the left and to the right, the rock's most solid on the ridge, the route is (in some cases) out of question. Of course, ridge climbing means sometimes climbing on the shadow side, the windy side, the rock is crumbly and fragile or simply a mess where you don't see any logical route to climb.

In this case, shortly after sunrise, we had to evade a sleek rock wall and to enter the shadow side of the ridge, so we got into snowy and icy conditions. With your crampons attached it's fun. Amazing how different alpinist's schools and habits appear in different countries. The Swiss alpinists (like us) are used to climb snowy rock with crampons, while the french alpinists... more »

2012-11-14 21:55:46 (60 comments, 19 reshares, 146 +1s)

High Alpine Color - Mt. Alphubel, 4'206 m / 13 799 ft

Light is everything. Being in the right spot is everything too ;-). This shot was made while climbing Mt. Täschhorn, 4'491 m / 14 734 ft this summer with +Daniel Arndt. On the first day we went up from Saas Fee to Mittel-Allalin by cablecar. To reach the Mischabeljoch-bivvy which is nested in the saddle of the rocky ridge below, we summited / traversed Feechopf and Alphubel. The way down from Alphubel to the bivvy lead via the distinctive, light separating ridge in the center of the image. Next day we summited Täschhorn and made our way down to Saas Fee.

I love those morning colors in the high alpine regions because of their bold blue-orange contrasts. Another nice thing: Being that high, you look down on literally everything, even on a 4'206 m / 13 799 ft peak. +Johan Peijnenburg picked this theme in his postea... more »

2012-11-07 23:32:36 (127 comments, 62 reshares, 201 +1s)

Ridge Climbing Bietschhorn, 3'934m, Valais

There are 4'000m peaks in the alps, and there are peaks slightly below the magical 4'000m line. The wonderful Bietschhorn belongs to the latter. A mountain being not quite 4'000m leads many people (and even alpinists) to the wrong conclusion that it's not worth to climb it. Totally wrong. Okay, well, if you've climbed most of the alps 4'000m + peaks, the pressure of filling your personal summit book has gone.

Bietschhorn is a very majestic mountain located between the Bernese Alps and those of the Valais. It's a long and high climb, taking about 13 - 15 hrs r/t. To me, climbing this mountain was a dream which came true. What I liked most about this climb was the persistant ride on top of the ridge. I hope this photo conveys this feeling a little!


#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club... more »

2012-10-24 16:38:27 (63 comments, 11 reshares, 116 +1s)

First Snow Mt. Rote Wand in Austria, Vorarlberg

I love snow. Fall is a very nice time even in the mountains. The first snow is already there, but you can still climb on dry rock. This time we went to Austria, Vorarlberg, which is located in the east, seen from Switzerland. We don't know all the mountains there yet by their shape, but we are recognizing more and more. Austria is beautiful too, and I guess my friends +Paul Turkowski and +Stefan Lutz can confirm this :-).

The mountain "Rote Wand" is good for wall climbing in it's south side, but much more "alpine" from the north. It is 2'704m high and has a small glacier, therefore  it gets some snow and conserves it. Hope you like the first snow!

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+
#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek
#landscapephotography by +LandscapePh... more »

2012-10-19 16:25:23 (35 comments, 4 reshares, 65 +1s)

Axalp 2012 Live Fire Event - Super Puma Flare Dropping

This is the moment the experienced visitor of the Axalp Live Fire Event is waiting for when it comes to the Super Puma display: The drop of flares. As you might know, flares are part of the self-defense system of military aircrafts. Being an aerial countermeasure against heat-seeking missiles, they are pretty good for a show effect ;-)

Previous posts:
https://plus.google.com/108665887827650124203/posts/4JrCUAEtpo5
https://plus.google.com/108665887827650124203/posts/VMAo2dJjHAQ
https://plus.google.com/u/0/108665887827650124203/posts/cwkcvLEvUmM
https://plus.google.com/u/0/108665887827650124203/posts/3wsagxyZRkG

Comments are switched on today. Thank you all for your support over this week of frequent Axalp posts! Hope you liked it!

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+
+10000... more »

2012-10-18 16:36:14 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 57 +1s)

Axalp 2012 Live Fire Event - Double Super Puma Water Dropping

Enough highspeed-jets posted, day 4 is for helicopters. These two Swiss Air Force Aerospatiale AS332M1 Super Puma helicopters display a nice water dropping aerial firefight scenario. I got a nice row of images of this demonstration, but it only makes sense within a fast slideshow ;-).

In the background Lake Brienz again with the second visitors area, the Axalphorn.

Previous posts:
https://plus.google.com/108665887827650124203/posts/4JrCUAEtpo5
https://plus.google.com/108665887827650124203/posts/VMAo2dJjHAQ
https://plus.google.com/u/0/108665887827650124203/posts/cwkcvLEvUmM

Comments are switched off again. Tomorrow I will enable them again... Thank you!

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+
+10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS around the World by +Robert SKREINER#... more »

2012-10-17 16:58:04 (1 comments, 5 reshares, 96 +1s)

Axalp 2012 Live Fire Event - F/A-18 Hornet Roll / Dive

This is part 3 of 5 of my Axalp 2012 album completion. What I definitely like most about this No. 3 image is the highly visible and translucent wing vortice. There's a huge g-force load for this high performance aircraft and the pilot to handle. No background visible today ;-).

Previous posts:
https://plus.google.com/108665887827650124203/posts/4JrCUAEtpo5
https://plus.google.com/108665887827650124203/posts/VMAo2dJjHAQ

Comments are switched off like yesterday. If you +1 it, I'm glad anyway. Thank you!

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+
+10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS around the World around the World by +Robert SKREINER 
Ok, it's not monday, but the theme just fits:
#aviationmonday by +Mike Criss 
#midairmonday by +Jeff Moreau 
#militarymonday by +JoeKai... more »

2012-10-17 20:07:36 (0 comments, 25 reshares, 123 +1s)

Axalp 2012 Live Fire Event - F--5E Tiger Climbing

As written yesterday, this week I'll fill my Axalp 2012 album with shots. This is No. 2: In the background you see one of the two official visitor areas on Mt. Tschingel, and the Lake Brienz. This F-5E Tiger climbs up to my head for a canopy down pass. One second later he was already gone... I love that!

I decided to disable comments on this daily posting of jet images 'cause you have better things to do than commenting each of a series of similiar images. If you +1 it, i'm glad anyway. Thank you!

#spcfeature  by +Swiss Photography Club G+ 
+10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS around the World by +Robert SKREINER 
Ok, it's not monday, but the theme just fits:
#aviationmonday by +Mike Criss 
#midairmonday by +Jeff Moreau 
#militarymonday by +Joe Kaiser  
#actionmonday by+Action... more »

2012-10-16 15:22:52 (71 comments, 9 reshares, 82 +1s)

Axalp 2012 Live Fire Event - F/A-18 Canopy Down Pass / Roll

Most of you know my high alpine landscape photography work. Some of you know that I'm very much into everything fast which produces lots of  g-force :-).

(Nearly) every year in October the Swiss Air Force shows its capabilities in a live fire event, something quite unique in Europe. I love the precision of the pilot's flights and navigation between the mountains. 

After attending the event in the regular visitor's areas in 2010 (2011 was cancelled), I decided to hike up the 2'800m-peak above the theater. The jets perform an outstanding maneuver in flying directly to the summit of this peak, roll and dive down the valley behind the peak. This means you have them heading to yourself highspeed and passing you only some meters above your head... 

This shot of a canopy-down pass of aF/... more »

2012-10-02 16:27:12 (10 comments, 4 reshares, 40 +1s)

Time To Say Thank You

We all enjoy the daily selection by +Jarek Klimek of outstanding photographs here on G+. From time to time we are happy to enjoy the selection of our own work. It's overdue for me to say "Thank you Jarek", not just for picking one of my shots, but much more of keeping up all the effort it means to choose some great photographs day by day. This is the way to learn about other, great work and top photographers.

I'd like to say "Thank you" to all the outstanding photographers for showing us their wonderful work each day. I'm happy to be mentioned in such a great company. Thanks and congrats to +Eric James Leffler, +Jason Odell, +Kees Smans, +Ron Niebrugge, +Philippe Sainte-Laudy, +Aaron Reed, +Garry McCarthy, +Richard Franco and +Stephan Amm! Make sure to visit each of those guy's profiles and don't forget to tag yourg... more »

2012-10-02 16:14:39 (99 comments, 26 reshares, 166 +1s)

Dent Blanche Morning Rise: Be There!

Selected by +Jarek Klimek for http://www.photoextract.com/plus-extract/2012/9/27

As you might have noticed, I love colors in the mountains. Of course, they are most rich in sunrise and sunset (sure), so "be there" is the key. Luckily, this is rather easy as all big routes demand you to leave the mountain hut or bivouac in the night. So the most challenging thing is to stop climbing when the sun tips the rocky ridges. Good time for breakfast!

This image was made during the climb of Dent d'Herens with +Daniel Arndt, showing Dent Blanche (4'357m / 14 294ft), Weisshorn (4'505m / 14 780ft) as well as the huge glacier flank of Dent d'Herens in the foreground.

Hope you like it!


#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+ 
#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek #... more »

2012-09-19 17:17:37 (102 comments, 11 reshares, 105 +1s)

See what I see (View large for details)

Most climbing images are seen from a distance, so let me present what the climber sees by himself. This image might be a small visual challenge as this view is rather uncommon. 

To keep reading short, this photo was made while ascending the last steep snow passage underneath the summit of Dent d'Herens 4'171 m / 13 684 ft. We are standing in the SW-face of this beautiful mountain. To those few people who are not familiar with alpine climbing ;-), you can see ice screws and other safety gear hanging down from my harness. Right side I placed my ice axe to keep my hands free for my camera (a D800E body in this case).

In the right lower corner you can spot +Daniel Arndt on the other end of our rope. Just the fact that you see no safety gear in the snow shows that the face is not as steep as the photo suggests, but I likedt... more »

2012-09-14 02:52:17 (85 comments, 26 reshares, 130 +1s)

Little Big Matterhorn

Thought you've seen enough images of the iconic Matterhorn already this summer? Not yet: Let me introduce the back side of this wonderfully shaped mountain, showing the Zmutt-Ridge (left) and the Lion-Ridge.

This photo was made while climbing the W-ridge of beautiful Dent d'Herens, 4'171 m / 13 684 ft. last weekend. The Swiss view to Dent d'Herens is mainly hidden by the Matterhorn, so this mountain is unknown to many people. Absolutely wrongly, because it is one of the most multifaceted peaks in the alps. It looks different from any angle, from any orientation. If you're summited the Zermatter Breithorn (Hi friends +Deborah Vos and +Johan Peijnenburg!) you can see it left to the Matterhorn, from Zmutt valley you have a view to the magnificient, even North Face, to be seen in the center of my photo. One of the most welcome facts ist... more »

2012-09-06 16:32:46 (45 comments, 1 reshares, 63 +1s)

The River (view large)

The first snow already covered the mountains in the alps (for a short time), so let me post another snow-free glacier image until the next snow blankets even the Big Aletsch Glacier.

This photo shows my favourite model coming from our Aletschhorn climb, walking down the Mittelaletsch valley. The Mittelaletsch valley is only accessible via glaciers and mountains. I really liked the visual compression of the scene, it doesn't reveal the width of the glacier which is 2 km / 1.25 miles. It also reminded me on a floating river, amplified by the colour of the ice. So let me sing "Going down to the river"...

Thanks!

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+ 
#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 
#landscapephotography by +Landscape Photography +Carra Riley +paul t beard +Ke Zeng +David Heath Williams and +MargaretTompki... more »

2012-09-04 17:19:47 (105 comments, 12 reshares, 155 +1s)

Glacier Crossing (View Large)

Thank you +Jarek Klimek for selecting this one for
http://www.photoextract.com/plus-extract/2012/8/22 !

The Big Aletsch Glacier is the alp's largest glacier. After our recent trip to Aletschhorn (4'195m), we had to cross the Aletsch Glacier. It's a more than 2km / 1.25 mi long walk/climb through ice peaks and ice valleys. This glacier is so huge that it offers so many photo opportunities you could spend many days on it's surface. I did a lot ;-).

We discovered this beautiful stream in the center moraine of the glacier, only accessible with the proper equipment (crampons and ice axe, as you can see). So, unfortunately, we couldn't visit this one at the recent +Swiss Photography Club G+ Aletsch Glacier Photowalk last weekend with +Athena Carey, +Anette Mossbacher, +Christa Niederer, +Deborah Vos, +JohanPe... more »

2012-08-21 12:04:54 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 66 +1s)

Philipp Weimer and 6 others were tagged in Wilfried Haferland's album.

2012-08-15 19:37:28 (115 comments, 32 reshares, 204 +1s)

Moiry

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+ 
#landscapephotography, +Landscape Photography by +Margaret Tompkins 
#amazinglandscapes by +Rolf Hicker 
#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 
#mountainphotos by +Mountain Photos 
#10000photographersaroundtheworld by +Robert SKREINER 
#hqsppromotion, +HQSPPromotion by +Carina Marsh, +Marina Versaci, +Syuzanna Avetisyan, +Mukundh B, +Thierry Raemaekers, +Rinus Bakker  
#exposedphoto  #mountaineering   #mountainclimbing   #snow 

Almost exactly 2 years ago I went to Moiry for a nice climb to Pigne de la Le. We expected dry rocks, but a summer snowfall changed conditions. We had a strong foehn wind, but the tour was nice anyway. Even nicer was the sky and the light, I had the impression of a ver dark atmosphere. Of course, I considered this while post-processing this image :-).
Besides the... more »

2012-08-09 20:44:42 (85 comments, 14 reshares, 130 +1s)

Matterhorn Sunrise

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+ 
#landscapephotography, +Landscape Photography by +Margaret Tompkins
#amazinglandscapes by +Rolf Hicker 
#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 
#mountainphotos by +Mountain Photos 
#10000photographersaroundtheworld by +Robert SKREINER 
#exposedphoto #climbing   #mountaineering   #mountainclimbing   #matterhorn  

A few days after the Zermatt Photowalk of +Swiss Photography Club G+, +Daniel Arndt and me climbed Mount Täschhorn, 4'491m. Starting before sunrise, the alpinist photographer has the pleasure to catch first light first.

This photo was made at 5.57 am while climbing the SE-ridge of Täschhorn. Hope you like it, and don't miss all the wonderful matterhorn photos made at the Zermatt photowalk by my fellowphotographer... more »

2012-07-29 09:47:57 (63 comments, 12 reshares, 118 +1s)

Bad Weather Climbing

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+ 
#landscapephotography, +Landscape Photography  by +Margaret Tompkins  
#amazinglandscapes  by +Rolf Hicker 
#plusphotoextract  by +Jarek Klimek 
#mountainphotos   by +Mountain Photos 
#10000photographersaroundtheworld by +Robert SKREINER 
#exposedphoto
#climbing   #mountaineering   #mountainclimbing   #greysky  

July is high season for high alpine climbing - if weather permits. As this is rarely the case on weekends this year, you have to be flexible. Starting in Grindelwald, there is a nice climb up to Schwarzhoren, which features a short via ferrata.

The light was not perfect, but this scene looked quite interesting to me. The small dots below are two other climbers ascending the ridge. Blue sky is not interesting for photography, clouds are. But is"grey&quo... more »

2012-07-24 16:18:59 (8 comments, 3 reshares, 59 +1s)

Alpamayo (5947 m) at sunset, Cordillera Blanca, Peru

Be sure to click this link for the full immersive panorama experience: http://files.danielarndt.com/2012-Peru-Panoramas/pano-AlpamayoHC4/pano-AlpamayoHC4.html

This is what they call the "blue hour".  It's that special post-sunset light.  I had scouted this spot -- about 15 min uphill walk from the high camp you can see in the picture -- earlier in the day with the plan of being there for sunset.  However, the sun sets quickly in Peru and fast walking at that altitude is not an option.  So I arrived a bit late for the show... 

#widewednesdaypanorama  by +Charles Lupica , +Jason Dell , +Ken McMahon , +Andrew Marston , and +Lucille Galleli (sorry I'm late posting too)
#travelpanowednesday  
#amazinglandscapes  by +Rolf Hicker 
#panoramaphotography  
#spcfeature  by... more »

2012-07-19 15:45:53 (63 comments, 12 reshares, 96 +1s)

Glacier meets Lake

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+ 
#landscapephotography, +Landscape Photography  by +Margaret Tompkins 
#thirstythursday  by +Mark Esguerra +Giuseppe Basile 
#amazinglandscapes  by +Rolf Hicker 
#plusphotoextract  by +Jarek Klimek 
#turquoisethursday  +TurquoiseThursday
#10000photographersaroundtheworld by +Robert SKREINER 
#exposedphoto
#water   #lakeside   #ice

The Big Aletsch Glacier is the largest Glacier of the Alps, some 24 km long and approx 900m thick at a maximum.

There are several spots where the glacier shows very different faces, on this one, it holds a small lake. I really like this place, and it's a good start for a walk on the huge glacier itself. The +Swiss Photography Club G+ organizes a photowalk on the glacier surface on August 18, 2012. However, thiswonderful spot ... more »

2012-07-19 15:49:14 (63 comments, 7 reshares, 99 +1s)

Spring has come!

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+ 
#landscapephotography, +Landscape Photography by +Margaret Tompkins  
#thirstythursday  by +Mark Esguerra and +Giuseppe Basile
#amazinglandscapes  by +Rolf Hicker 
#plusphotoextract  by +Jarek Klimek 
+TurquoiseThursday by +Tatiana Parmeeva  
#10000photographersaroundtheworld by +Robert SKREINER 
#water   #lakeside   #ice #snow  

As you can see, in the mountains there is always some spring and some winter - it just depends on the altitude. Last weekend I had only one day for the mountains, so I didn't go far up in the winter region. Instead, I did a nice ridge-walk to Mt. Casanna, Grisons. I've seen this wonderful little lake from the summit and decided to go there and shoot it. It reminded me a little (just a little) of the wonderful country myfriend +Dominiqu... more »

2012-06-29 14:25:00 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

SELECTED NATURE & LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHERS (version 7)

Here is version 7 of the Nature & Landscape Photographers circle. I reviewed about 700 profiles for this update and selected the 375 photographers I liked best. There are about 130 new additions! I will list  them in the comments ...

To get into this circle, you don't have to re-share it, circle me back or send me candy. Just make sure to share awesome nature and landscape images. It's that simple!!!

Want to be (re-)considered for inclusion? Leave a comment or contact me directly, if you feel you meet the criteria: posting primarily good nature and landscape images on G+ on a regular basis. Next update: end of August 2012

Tag:  #NLPV7

Related list: http://www.group.as/nature+and+landscape+photographers/

Share and Enjoy! 

#circleshare #s... more »

2012-06-28 16:48:26 (63 comments, 6 reshares, 78 +1s)

Crushed Ice Anyone?

#spcfeature by +Swiss Photography Club G+ 
#landscapephotography , +Landscape Photography  by +Margaret Tompkins 
#thirstythursday  by +Giuseppe Basile and +Mark Esguerra - ice cubes :)
#amazinglandscapes  by +Rolf Hicker 
#plusphotoextract  by +Jarek Klimek 
#mountaineering ,  #glacier ,  #ice ,  #skiing 
+Damn Near Died Thursday  by +Dan Ballard 

In the mountains, making the right decisions means a lot. If they are wrong, it could have been your last trip at all. But "right" is always synonym to justifiable.

In the Mont Blanc area, you can ascend the huge Glacier des Bossons towards Mont Blanc and other peaks. You can ski down the same route back to the hut. Just be aware of a giant ice shield break-off zone far above your head, sending down towers of ice randomly. We decided to take anotherroute for the a... more »

2012-06-18 17:40:15 (56 comments, 14 reshares, 117 +1s)

Mt. Jungfrau, Schneehoren and Silberhorn

#MountainMonday by +Michael Russell
#NatureMonday by +Rolf Hicker
#PlusPhotoExtract by +Jarek Klimek

The current summer temperatures let me post a rather cool photo this monday... LTR: Jungfrau, 4'158m / 13 641 ft, Schneehoren, 3'402m / 11 161 ft and Silberhorn, 3'695m / 12 122 ft. If you need some ice, go there ;-)! 

2012-06-14 16:32:24 (26 comments, 1 reshares, 78 +1s)

Lee Wave Clouds

#PlusPhotoExtract by +Jarek Klimek
#SilhouttesOnThursday by +Siddharth Pandit

You know, I love the white and blue of high mountains and ice, and I love to do most of my photographic work up there. But I also like infrequent occurences, especially when beautifully colored. To give you a small break from my favorite color combination, let me share this not-so-alpine capture of evening Lee Wave Clouds. Hope you like it anyway!

2012-06-07 18:01:23 (87 comments, 7 reshares, 95 +1s)

Taking Photos When You Should Sleep

Some weekends ago, +Daniel Arndt and me went to Chamonix and ascended the  hut Grands Mulets. As we planned to start the next day as early as 1 a.m., we went to bed early. The weather was closing in that evening, so no photo opportunities. While being already half asleep, we noticed a deep red light shining through the hut's windows. Instantly, we were fully awake, grabbed our cameras and made some shots. This one shows a part of the ridge leading to Aiguille du Goûter.

On this trip I met +Alexandre Buisse, completely by coincidence. I regret that we didn't have time to talk more because this could have been a quite interesting conversation. But in the end, it might have been better to still catch some sleep.  

2012-05-30 17:20:00 (42 comments, 4 reshares, 73 +1s)

Sunrise at Aiguille du Midi

Many of you already visited Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix, France. Aiguille du Midi provides the second highest cablecar top station of Europe with 3'777m / 12 391ft (Klein Matterhorn top station is 3'820m / 12 532ft). You have a beautiful vista there.

This photo of Aiguille du Midi was made during the ascend to Dome du Goûter, 4'304m / 14 120ft, via it's snowy north ridge. Most of the climb that I did with +Daniel Arndt we had to carry our ski on our backs, but the ride down through huge ice seracs was magnificient. Unfortunately two people ascending with us lost one ski and had to return. However, sunrise is one of the most wonderful experiences up there.

For a wonderful photo of the glacier crossing the crevasses just visit +Daniel Arndt's post: https://plus.google.com/103350718269700384071/posts/9cYNJRrmeEn

2012-05-23 15:30:44 (27 comments, 1 reshares, 53 +1s)

Buddha Shaped Rock / Titlis Region

You all have learned about this Buddha from +Athena Carey as she introduced this place with a brilliant, mystic and beautiful photo in her post https://plus.google.com/110258598415939907971/posts/X9XUrmpaKEc .

What makes me post one of my photos of this Buddha rock is a coincidence. Some days ago, we have been on a ski tour from Sustenpass to the rocky summit of "Fünffingerstöck" (five-finger-rocks). As we reached the last terrain step and entered a small plateau, I was quite surprised: I stood face-to-face to the Buddha rock!

This gave me the opportunity to make some close shots. As these recent close shots are just of documentation quality, I decided to post a photo I made last winter instead which might be a little more compelling. If you're interested in the close view photos anyway, you can find them here:more »

2012-05-16 16:36:33 (47 comments, 4 reshares, 70 +1s)

Seracs Mt. Grand Combin, 4'314m / 14 153ft

Spring is ski touring season for the higher summits of the alps. As an exception this year's May, the forecast promised a non-rainy Sunday last weekend. What? No rain? Ok, +Daniel Arndt and me got rain, but only at day one, as we made our soaked ascend to the hut, carrying our skis mostly on our backs. But Sunday was brilliant.

Mt. Grand Combin is one of the higher alpine peaks in the french speaking part of Valais. It's quite remote, discrete and heavily packed with glacier shields. Since the most logical route is very prone to massive ice fall (we speak of huge ice blocks crashing down), the safest way leads over a 400m high, 40-45° steep ice flank, mostly snow-covered in winter. The crux is to climb the blank ice zone at the seracs under the summit snow cap. The rest is easy, skiing down the flank was pure fun.
more »

2012-05-10 17:03:33 (47 comments, 7 reshares, 63 +1s)

Alluvial Soil, Glacier de Moiry

#natureartthursday by +Trisha Standard and +Dane Clingan
#ThirstyThursday by +Mark Esguerra and +Giuseppe Basile

#turquoisethursday by +Tatiana Parmeeva
With a little light, colors are everywhere, even in my much loved blue-white dominated high alpine mountain world. The melting waters of Glacier de Moiry, located at the beginning of Val d'Anniviers in Valais, are of a distinguished green-turquoise color and carry a lot of sediments. I like the feeling of walking on that alluvial surface made by the waters as you can sink veeery slowly into it. It's not dangerous, just fun.

Further down, the waters add to Lac de Moiry, a mid-size reservoir lake. If you decide to go there (by car, it's possible!), choose autumn. In that season, the water-level reaches it's maximum and you see only milky green-turquoise. Send... more »

2012-05-03 17:37:13 (56 comments, 4 reshares, 62 +1s)

Cloudy Walk on a Giant Ice Pack

#travelthursday +Travel Thursday by +Laura Mitchum
#silhouettesonthursday by +Siddharth Pandit
#natureArtThursday +NatureArtThursday +Trisha Standard +Dane Clingan

Last week, +Daniel Arndt and me escaped spring by going to the Alp's largest glacier area, the Aletsch region. As I wrote before, the Big Aletsch Glacier is the Alp's largest one. It's fed by 3 glaciers which unite at "Konkordiaplatz". This place is 6 km² large and consists of a giant ice pack of 900m / 2952ft thickness. I love to be there.

On this cloudy morning we went from Konkordiaplatz to a high mountain pass from where we'd ski down to Valais. The clouds lifted more and more and revealed this almost mystical view of the icy flank of Mt. Sattelhorn, 3'745m / 12286ft. A great moment!

2012-04-24 16:13:35 (33 comments, 3 reshares, 75 +1s)

Easy climbing - Via Ferrata

Vie Ferrate are pre-defined pathes through a mountain wall or face with a pre-installed cable and artificial climbing aids. You wear a harness and a special biner set, so you're anytime safely connected with that pre-installed cable.

Vie Ferrate like this one in Kandersteg are good for recreation days between "real" mountain climbs. For my taste, newer installations tend to provide too much metal and climbing aids like these bolts shown here. I prefer climbing on rock instead of metal. However, I enjoyed this Via Ferrata on that rainy day, and it made for a photo as well ;-).

2012-04-19 17:14:53 (38 comments, 4 reshares, 97 +1s)

Traverse Breithorn Zermatt, 4'164m / 13 661ft

Traversing Mt. Breithorn is a classic 1-day-climb. You climb several peaks en route and arrive at the Western Summit, one of the "easiest" to ascend 4'000m-peaks of the alps. This gurantees you a mass photo shooting when entering the Western Summit via this wonderful ridge. The alpinists shown here are traversing the ridge in the opposite direction than us, ready to climb some rock ;-)

I enjoyed this climb together with +Daniel Arndt. After the climb, we have been 20 minutes too late for the last cablecar. Luckily, some guys in the big snow cats took us way down to Zermatt. Thanks!

2012-04-13 11:37:36 (1 comments, 4 reshares, 32 +1s)

Resharing this image of Sunset on Nest Point for the #widewednesdaypanorama curated by +Andrew Marston +Lucille Galleli +Ken McMahon
#vibrantwednesday curated by +Ajay Hatti
#plusphotoextract curated by +Jarek Klimek
#landscape #panoramaphotography #scotland

2012-04-11 17:02:52 (24 comments, 5 reshares, 66 +1s)

Looking into the vertical depths of 2'300m / 7500ft

#amazinglandscapes by +Rolf Hicker

The weather was mixed the morning of the last day of Easter in Zermatt, so we decided to choose a "small" ski tour, starting at the top station of the Stockhorn installation, traversing Mt. Stockhorn and entering Mt. Torre di Castelfranco - another country border walk.

From the Swiss side you can enter Mt. Torre di Castelfranco easily by ski over an unsteep, friendly glacier. Arriving at it's summit, you instantly hold your breath: The mountain's flank at the italian side is steep, very steep.

The Alpe in the center is at 1'900m asl, the green bottom of the valley in the background is some 1'300m asl (village Macugnaga). From our peak of 3'623m, this makes for a 1'700m to 2'300m alt. difference.

Best viewed enlarged.... more »