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Chasm View and Denver

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Midnight rules at Chasm View, not far from the summit of Longs Peak. Invisible by day, distant cities light the horizon like false dawns. You know it’s summer by the cigarette glow of forest fires. It can be war and peace up here, with hurricane winds or wild lightning striking so quickly your ears ring. A confession, not so manly: in this very spot, I’ve pissed my pants more than once from terror. Nietzche once said that What does not kill me makes me stronger. (Or was that Conan the Barbarian?) Stronger, I don’t know. Wetter, yeah.

In the distant future, when someone writes the inevitable guidebook to the top twenty most scenic vistas in the Solar System, I hope they omit Chasm View on Longs Peak. Let me suggest, instead, Mons Olympus on Mars, at 72,000-feet (three Everests tall) the highest mountain in the known universe. Or Moretus, rumored to be the most beautiful real estate on the Moon, (though the Romanian astronomer Lupu Victor makes a strong case for a neighboring crater, Gruemberger.) With their sharp vertical relief and the possibility of including a very blue Earth in the frame, one or more of these lunar craters would make dandy substitutes for Chasm View. (For more of my astro-geophysical advice about great photo locations on other planets, see my post, “Photography Guide to Best Off-Earth Landscape Locations”)

Perched at 13,000′ on the ridge connecting Mount Lady Washington and the East Face of Longs Peak, Chasm View requires a stiff 5 or 6 mile hike that includes some fancy boulder hopping and a bit of scrambling, with a good chance of altitude headaches or nausea and foul weather. Factor in the distance from the parking lot in relation to either of the Golden Hours (sunrise and sunset,) plus the summit fever that may suddenly infect you before detouring up to the ridge, and Chasm View seems pretty safe from big crowds. (see my post “Feeding Frenzy at Mesa Arch)

Filename
THE DIAMOND AND DENVER
Copyright
Jeff Long
Image Size
4290x5363 / 23.7MB
Contained in galleries
Midnight rules at Chasm View, not far from the summit of Longs Peak. Invisible by day, distant cities light the horizon like false dawns. You know it’s summer by the cigarette glow of forest fires. It can be war and peace up here, with hurricane winds or wild lightning striking so quickly your ears ring. A confession, not so manly: in this very spot, I’ve pissed my pants more than once from terror. Nietzche once said that What does not kill me makes me stronger. (Or was that Conan the Barbarian?) Stronger, I don’t know. Wetter, yeah.<br /> <br /> In the distant future, when someone writes the inevitable guidebook to the top twenty most scenic vistas in the Solar System, I hope they omit Chasm View on Longs Peak. Let me suggest, instead, Mons Olympus on Mars, at 72,000-feet (three Everests tall) the highest mountain in the known universe. Or Moretus, rumored to be the most beautiful real estate on the Moon, (though the Romanian astronomer Lupu Victor makes a strong case for a neighboring crater, Gruemberger.) With their sharp vertical relief and the possibility of including a very blue Earth in the frame, one or more of these lunar craters would make dandy substitutes for Chasm View. (For more of my astro-geophysical advice about great photo locations on other planets, see my post, “Photography Guide to Best Off-Earth Landscape Locations”)<br /> <br /> Perched at 13,000′ on the ridge connecting Mount Lady Washington and the East Face of Longs Peak, Chasm View requires a stiff 5 or 6 mile hike that includes some fancy boulder hopping and a bit of scrambling, with a good chance of altitude headaches or nausea and foul weather. Factor in the distance from the parking lot in relation to either of the Golden Hours (sunrise and sunset,) plus the summit fever that may suddenly infect you before detouring up to the ridge, and Chasm View seems pretty safe from big crowds. (see my post “Feeding Frenzy at Mesa Arch)