12.07.2009

snow on mt. diablo

Taking advantage of one of the most extensive snowfalls in recent bay area history, I pedaled the faithful Atlantis up Mt. Diablo.

false peak
A false peak on the way up, the snow line seemed around 1200 feet.

ridge, clouds
lots of cloud cover throughout the day

storm rolling in
looking off the mountain, I'm about to push up through the storm cell you see on the right...

storm in
in the clouds

pushing up through the storm
though i'm reticent to discuss such things on here, climbing a mountain in a snowstorm lends a certain perspective on the quality of a ride.

looking out near the junction
the storm cell moved on and the snow calmed down.

atlantis, snow, firetrail
I bypassed the road closed sign by using a firetrail above the ranger station.

below juniper
It was worth it.

climbing
Approaching Sunset.

long shadows, atlantis

sunset wide
Sunset

sunset close
20 minutes later.

Riding in snow is quite fun, and I'm glad I had the chance to do it regularly once upon a time. Here, it's nice to be able to descend out of the bitter cold at the end of the ride, though the descent takes much longer when one has to dodge ice.

7 comments:

Rene Sterental said...

Great photos and a fabulous ride! Let's hope the snow holds and/or we get some more... :-D

While you were riding, I was picking up my Bombadil at RBW!

René

ProfDevGEA said...

You didn't include a picture of the light at the top of the mountain which is only lit on the day of your ride!

Beautiful shots :-)

Ray in CT

Apertome said...

Absolutely stunning. You've outdone yourself ... again!

Marmot said...

Agreed. Beautiful.

The Lucas said...

Erik, Great shots of the show riding. We're getting pounded here as I type this. I don't think riding may even be possible, but I will find out tomorrow. Man, that looks like it was a great ride! Of course it's even better that you get to ride out of it into fair weather once you drop your elevation. Not fair.

About the lenses. It's a Sigma 15mm but I have used it on a cropped sensor for years before I got the 5D MkII. It's not bad on a cropped sensor, but it's really not doing much justice as a prime, 180 degree fish eye.

If you want something ultra wide, I have heard and read that the Tokina 11-22 f/4 is the best bang for the buck. It's cheaper than the Canon 10-20 and stays at an f/4 throughout the range.

joseph blanket said...

Gorgeous!

Douglas said...

The "before sunset" images are outstanding.