Tour du Mont Blanc #4 Elena, Italy - Champex, Switzerland (European Alps)

Another beautiful day in the Alps starting with a gorgeous sunrise at Italian Val Ferret. It had been already a week since I began the 110+ mile Tour du Mont Blanc trail on the French side of Mont Blanc for a photo project. It was constant rain from the beginning with a surprising snowfall on the mountain pass. Finally, the sun came out after I entered the Italian side of the mountains. A spectacular view of the Italian side of Mont Blanc and Grandes Jorasses the day before, then Switzerland is ahead.

Leaving the mountain refuge early in the morning, I climbed up the Grand Col Ferret (Ferret Pass) where the Italian - Swiss border lies. My 30+ pounds camera gear pack is heavy for this kind of terrain... The scenery was well worth it! As I climbed up higher, the receding Prè de Bar Glacier looked much larger than it was from the valley below.
 

Entering Switzerland, I climbed down into Swiss Val Ferret with its bright green pastureland and more cattle.

 

A small church overlooks a glacier over the mountains in the village of Ferret.

Arriving at the charming Swiss village of La Fouly with chalet-styled buildings decorated with flowers.

Sunrise painted on I'A Neuve Glacier in golden red, viewed from La Fouly. Another beautiful day in Swiss Val Ferret.

Wildflowers in the meadow of Swiss Val Ferret.

Passing through the village of Praz de Fort. Old buildings and narrow alleys... felt like going back to centuries ago...

Arriving at Campex, Switzerland, a small resort town in the Alps. The alpine lake, Lac Champex, is located in the center of town, surrounded by wooded mountains. It is a resort town but quiet and peaceful. The lake was amazing with deep blue-green colors under the afternoon sun.

Sunset at Lac Champex. The last sun glows on the distant mountains with reflections on the lake... 

This story continues on the next blog update. Please check back.

 

Tour du Mont Blanc #3 Courmayeur – Elena, Italy (European Alps)

 

As my first European photo project, I hiked with my camera gear on the 110-mile Tour du Mont Blanc trail in July 2014. The first 3 days were done in drenching rain while I trekked the mountain pass. After crossing the French – Italian border, the weather slowly improved. After days of frustration, I finally was able to capture some of the spectacular landscapes in the Alps. Continuing from my last posting, I made it to the Italian side of Mont Blanc to the town of Courmayeur. 

 

After a few days break at Courmayeur, I headed back on the journey. It had been already a week since I began hiking on the Tour du Mont Blanc trail. Leaving the outskirts of town, the trail slowly climbed up through the woods. Then, the trail got steeper as I left civilization behind… The town of Courmayeur was already down below!

The dense forest opened up with a wildflower meadow.  I’m impressed with the abundance of colorful wildflowers in the Alps. 

As I climbed up higher, the south side of the Mont Blanc range showed up again with the majestic Grand Jorasses rock wall with glaciers. The long awaited sunshine brought bright blue sky above the mountains and the trail.

Under the sunlight, the vegetation was bright green and the colors of the flowers brightened up as the glacier and snow-capped peaks shined against the blue sky. Many times I stopped and set up my camera until I finally arrived at the mountain refuge for the night…

At the late afternoon, the clouds on the peaks slowly cleared out and the entire Mont Blanc appeared from its long absence! The Italian side, the south face of the Mont Blanc summit was different from the French side (North face).

Mont Blanc was still out the next morning.  Alpenglow painted the summit at dawn.

Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m; 13,806 ft) at sunrise.

 



Grandes Jorasses and Frebouze Glacier.

Another beautiful day in the Alps… More flowers along the way. Looking down Ferret Valley (Val Ferret) below…

This story will be continue on the next blog with new images, please check back.

 

Tour du Mont Blanc #2 Elisabetta - Courmayeur, Italy (European Alps)

 

In July of 2014, I toured, explored and photographed the Alps and after spending a few days in Chamonix, France, I began hiking the famous Tour du Mont Blanc trail, a total of 110+ miles. The tour circles the Alps' highest peak; Mont Blanc. Continuing from the last blog posting, I crossed the French - Italian border on a stormy mountain pass the day before.

 

After 4 days of bad weather, the rain finally stopped. It was overcast, but leaving the mountain refuge without rain was a good change. While walking down to the beautiful Veni Valley (Val Veni), the sunshine came through the thick clouds. The lights through the clouds created the pattern on the towering mountains.

 

This entire valley offered outstanding scenery.  Small lakes, surrounded by fresh greens, reflected the mountain range as a perfect mirror along the trail.  Vivid wildflowers bloomed everywhere in the valley. I just wished that there would be more sunshine and blue sky...  I could have spent many more hours photographing this area if the lighting was better.

The trail branched off to the higher mountain side which I climbed with my heavy pack.  The trail continued along the cliff which overlooked the valley and the south side of the Mont Blanc range with several hanging glaciers.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating again...  The clouds got darker, and it could rain at any moment... it wasn't desirable lighting for photography either.  I was frustrated by the lack of photo opportunities since the start of this hike.

The rain started falling again and got heavier as I was hiking down to the town of Courmayeur.  I climbed down steep muddy long switchbacks on the trail in the rain, finally, the town came into view.

Courmayeur is on the the Italian side along Mont Blanc. (Monte Bianco in the Italian language) Soon after I walked into town and I felt like I was transported back to medieval times! The town is made up of narrow cobble stone streets with old stone buildings and a chapel... The old part of the town, Dolonne, is a historic mountain village with a charming atmosphere. People are still living here without development as a tourist attraction. I spent a few hours photographing this old area.

 

Nice atmosphere at evening...

Here is the City Center, the tourist part of Courmayeur.
This story will continue to the next update. Please check back.

 

Tour du Mont Blanc #1 Les Houches, France - Elisabetta, Italy (European Alps)

 

After a few days of photographing/exploring the Chamonix area, I started my 2 week journey on the 110 mile (177km) Tour du Mont Blanc trail with a 32 pound (14.5kg) backpack. Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) is one of the most popular mountain trails in the European Alps and features dramatic landscapes. The trail circles around the Mont Blanc Range and crosses the borders of France, Italy and Switzerland. Traditionally, most hikers start this trail at Les Houches, France, south of Chamonix, and follow the trail counter-clockwise which was the route I took.

I left Les Houches in early July in the rain. On the first day, the 12 mile hike was mostly an up hill climb in drenching rain. The trail goes through a beautiful mountain pass decorated with colorful wildflowers but the heavy rain and fog blocked the view most of the time. If the weather was nicer, I would have photographed the dynamic landscape along the trail. Instead, I kept walking fast to reach my next destination.

 

The advantage of this trail is that the hikers have good options for accommodations along the trail. The mountain refuges offer dormitory-style beds, meals (four courses!), and warm showers at most places all at reasonable prices. Hikers don't have to carry camping gear unless they choose to camp. Many hikers were carrying only a day pack for the entire trail. It was great for a photographer, so I carried my camera gear with clothing but it was still heavy!

 

To satisfy the Europeans' cheese cravings, the hillsides of this part of the trail is used as a pasture with free range milk cattle looming everywhere along the trail. The cattle mind their own business while hikers pass by. The sounds of the cow bells were background music throughout this journey. I was entering the Contamines-Montjoie Natural Preserve, it continued to rain all day...
 

On day three of the trek, an unexpected snow fell on the mountain pass. The rain turned to snow during the night and covered the mountain pass ahead in the middle of July! Climbing up the steep snowy Bonhomme Pass (Col du Bonhomme) was challenging with a heavy pack. The misty rain causes bad visibility especially with snow on the ground. This section was supposed to be spectacular mountain scenery and I looked forward capturing the dramatic mountains. Instead, I was hiking on snow with a white out view. I didn't even pull my camera out during the day.

On the 4th day of the trail, I crossed the French - Italian border, which is located on Seigne Pass (Col de la Seigne), in stormy weather. When the weather is nice, Mont Blanc can be seen from the pass but unfortunately it was white out conditions.

Descending the Italian side of the pass, finally sunshine for a spell on the trail. It was magic, the wildflowers and the green meadows were vibrant under the sun! Time to set up my camera.
 

I found some familiar Alaskan wildflowers in the Alps; Forget-me-Not and Cotton Grass, in the another country on another continent miles away!

 

I love this blue flower; Blue Gentians.

 

Old ruins along the trail.

 

While the sun was out, I was hikied up close to glaciers (Lex Blanche Glacier and Estellette Glacier). I could see the climate change has been affecting European Alps at a high rate; the glaciers here are rapidly receding. Honestly, most of glaciers there were a rather disappointing sight...

This story will be continued in the next update. Please check back!

Aurora Reflections

 

The dark nights in Alaska are back. It is already late fall in Southcentral Alaska. The northern lights season officially begins.

After many rainy days, finally the sky cleared out, and the solar activity was high enough to display the northern lights north of Anchorage.

 

I was waiting at one of the lakes about 60 miles north of Anchorage. It was in the mid 30 degrees (°F), “warm” weather for northern lights photography. The lake is still not frozen yet this time of the year. It is a good time to capture the reflections of the northern lights.



Starting with faint lights on the horizon, the northern lights formed an arch around 2 am. Slowly, the arch like aurora shifted over the lake. The lake was still, like a mirror reflecting the lights on the surface. The light arch slowly waved and faded… then started all over again. It repeated several times. The lights weren’t as intense as I expected, but still a peaceful show.

On my next update, I will posts new images from the European Alps. Please check back!

Mont Blanc - The Highest Peak in the European Alps

 

Meaning “White Mountain,” the massive Mont Blanc lies on the border of France, Italy and Switzerland. When the summit of Mont Blanc and its glaciers appear under blue sky, it is breathtaking.

 

I was exploring the European Alps in July to photograph this massive Mont Blanc and surrounding landscapes. I hiked the entire “Tour du Mont Blanc” trail, 110+ miles (160+ km) circling the mountain with camera gear for 2 weeks.

 

I saw and photographed Mont Blanc from different angles throughout the walk. The French side, above the town of Chamonix is the most impressive. When it’s clear, the white peaks tower above the town. Since Mont Blanc is massive, the mountain creates its own weather, which is often covered with clouds, just like Alaska’s Mt. McKinley. Viewing the entire Mont Blanc requires good luck.

 

What is most convenient for a photographer in this area is that there are some transportation options to take us to amazing vantage spots in just a few minutes using cable cars. These close up images are from the top of Aiguille du Midi (12,605 ft/ 3,842 m). It was foggy and white out when I reached the viewing deck on the summit in the morning. The thick fog slowly drifted away, and Mont Blanc is seen slightly through the fog. It was a teasing. The strong breeze blew away its white veil and the entire mountain showed off against blue sky! The mountain was huge, shining white under the morning sunshine! It was very close to where I was! I kept shooting the mountain while the fog came and went… Then the mountain decided to stay out for a long period.

 

This is the Italy side of Mont Blanc (“Monte Bianco” in Italian). After some rainy days, the mountain showed off again just before sunset. The mountain was still out next morning. The summit was glowing in golden orange with the rising sun.

 

Another image from the Italy side. Old ruins along the trail.

 

Some more images from the French side. From Le Brévent summit (8,284ft/ 2,525m), across Chamonix Valley, the perfect view of Mont Blanc when it’s clear. After several rainy days, finally the weather was nice on my last day in the area.  

I will continue posting more photos from European Alps on next update.