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I live in Pennsylvania, far away from anything resembling a mountain. For years I've wanted to pack a camera and just spend some quality time out in the Elks climbing and documenting the highlights of my trip. So, after a little planning, I set out in late August of last year with high hopes (and a few fears) for two weeks of solo backpacking and climbing. I shacked up with a very friendly and gracious host at the T-Lazy 7 Ranch just outside of the Bells for the duration of my trip, which was a perfect launch point for my short 2-3 day trips into the wilderness. This wasn't my first time here; I had flown out once with my dad in 2008 and again a few years later to do the 4 Pass Loop with a few family members. Ever since then, I've been determined to return.
This trip was a serious challenge for me because of the filming aspect of it. I really didn't know if it was possible to take this much heavy gear on my back and not only carry it up, but actually use it effectively. I was the only person on this trip, so I was both starring in and shooting every shot. That's tricky enough at sea level, let alone at 12,000-14,000+ft. I guess in some ways I benefitted from not knowing what "couldn't be done." I can't imagine very many filmmakers or climbers would have predicted my having success on this kind of trip, knowing everything that I was trying to do. But I've been in love with the Elks ever since I first met them in 2008 and I was determined to tell my little story.
My camera weighed in at almost 11lbs. I was wide-eyed and optimistic all the same.
My main rig. I carried it everywhere, and it served me well.
It took a few months of editing, but I'm proud to say that my short film is finished. At the risk of being a little conceited, I think it's basically the only film of it's kind (at least as far as the Elks are concerned). I've benefited a TON from 14ers.com and all of the information here, so hopefully you guys enjoy it.
You can also watch it in 4K on YouTube: The Elks - 4K
What follows are essentially formalized notes from my field journal, accompanied by some stills I pulled from my film.
Maroon Peak
I've been in Aspen for 4 days now. I arrived late Wednesday (Aug. 27th) afternoon to mostly cloudy skies and a little bit of rain here and there. My flights were very uneventful but unfortunately by the time I got settled into my new home just outside the Maroon Bells, I was not feeling particularly great. I stocked up on some supplies (aka a suspiciously large amount of Nyquil) at the City Market and spent almost the entire day on Thursday in bed. I didn't miss much - the weather was poor and it would not have made for good hiking or climbing anyway.
Walking up to my cozy mountain home!
I woke up feeling much better on Friday and decided to pack up and head out to my first camp at the base of South Maroon Peak. It's not exactly a difficult or long hike, but the fact that I was doing it with an overnight pack and heavy camera equipment made it fairly intense. I was probably carrying in excess of 75lb. Also, all of my planned potential campsites near the bent tree were closed for revegetation, so I had to hike even further out towards West Maroon Pass until I found a suitable spot. Thankfully I now have a much better idea of how much stuff I need to carry, so I expect to be able to drop 15+lbs of gear for my next hike. I also won't need the bear canister, which takes up an ungodly amount of room in a 65L pack.
Do you see me? Overcast and pretty lonely out by Crater Lake.
I knew what awaited me on South Maroon - I had attempted it before about 6 years ago with my dad. The standard approach up the east slope is a brutal trudge 2,800ft upwards to reach the south ridge. I knew that I needed to gain the ridge by sunrise in order to have enough time for the more difficult climbing on the back (west) side of the mountain. I hit the trail at 4am and gained the ridge just after 6; perfect timing to stop for a quick snack and enjoy the sunrise.
One of my favorite moments - enjoying breakfast at sunrise on the ridge.
The real climbing starts at the ridge. Unfortunately, so do the effects of oxygen deprivation, especially for a recently-sick flatlander like myself. The oxygen deprivation was probably the biggest surprise for me; even after having been out here two times before. As I neared the summit, I could only move a few feet at a time before I had to stop and catch my breath. To top it off, filming while climbing turned out to be an even bigger challenge than I expected. It takes a long time to set up the camera, get a shot, and repack. In most cases a single 20 or 30 second shot took about 20 minutes to get. And time is everything when you're climbing. Not to mention, some areas of the mountain are seriously dangerous, camera or not.
Who doesn't like climbing the chimney?
It's amazing how deceiving the distance to the summit is once you've reached the ridge. It seems like I was "almost there" for two straight hours. Luckily, climbing up the gullies (one of the points at which my dad and I got a little turned around in 2008) was actually pretty easy and after that, the route to the top isn't so bad. After a few hours of steady climbing, I had finally reached the summit. I grabbed a few shots of myself standing out facing Maroon Lake, and even had a chance to meet some other climbers who summited shortly after me. With my confidence high, I started the long, slow descent back down to my camp. Once I got there, I opted to eat a quick dinner, pack everything up and hike all the way back out to my car. I didn't make it back until around 9pm, but it was worth it. A serious Domino's feast ensued. Well earned, if I don't say so myself.
After years of dreaming, I finally reached the summit. Amazing.
Capitol Peak
The views from the trailhead are amazing.
"So are you on a vision quest?"
"That's probably the most apt analogy," I replied.
I met Donna just a few hundred feet from the Capitol Creek trailhead. After starting out alone on the Ditch Trail, I realized I had forgotten my cell phone and decided to run the 1/4 mile or so back to get it. I'm glad I did, because I ended up getting pretty decent cell reception at Capitol Lake (AT&T).
It turned out that Donna was also planning on climbing Capitol the next day, so we became de facto hiking buddies for the ~6 mile hike from the trailhead to Capitol Lake. We spent much of the time commenting on the staggering beauty of the Capitol Creek valley, in addition to occasionally complaining about the weight of our packs. In either case, we were probably trying to mask our growing nervousness as we neared Capitol Peak. The hike is truly beautiful, but if your purpose is to climb, it is tempered by the mountain's sobering, magnetic aura. Better words escape me, but the phrase "impetuous vortex" comes to mind.
Her gaze is upon you for the entire trek.
I woke up at 3am the following morning. After eating a quick breakfast, I donned my headlamp and set out for the trail up to the saddle. By luck, I happened to be venturing out at precisely the same moment as a guide and his client (I didn't realize that until later). After about two hours of mindless elevation gain and rock hopping, we had reached the rocks just below K2. It was still dark and I was freezing, so I opted to stay behind and warm up for a little bit. Plus, I wasn't thrilled about the prospect of negotiating K2 (or anything after it) in the dark.
Climbing to the top of K2 at sunrise.
After getting an epic sunrise shot, I made my way up and over K2 for my first look at the infamous ridge leading up to the summit. From the top of K2, the magnitude of the task before you is almost overwhelming; it takes an incredible amount of resolve to push forward after seeing it. The exposure is as advertised: make a mistake and die. I'm not joking.
"We've only just begun..."
I have to imagine that only fools and freaks feel no fear on that mountain. True, the rock is far more solid than on the Bells, but too often there is only a few inches of it between you and eternity. And the route is relatively straightforward, but only because so much of it requires hopping along a narrow, 2,000ft tall balance beam. I can't tell you how many times I looked forward and said to myself, "No, that can't be the way. There's no way you have to climb that," when in fact, yes, you do have to climb that.
One of the many, many exposed ledges.
One of my biggest regrets for the trip was not getting any footage of myself crossing the knife edge. There was just no place that I could find where I felt comfortable setting up the camera unattended while I scurried out and back. Really a missed opportunity, but...better safe than sorry, etc.
For all its faults, though (or probably because of them), Capitol taught me something about myself that I can't say I knew before. Yes, I can be consumed by fear. And yes, I can conquer it.
Victory.
Pyramid Peak
My original plan was to climb Pyramid Peak second - after Maroon Peak - due to the fact that Capitol is widely considered to be the more (most?) difficult climb. In some ways I think climbing Capitol beforehand gave me a little bit of overconfidence; I felt like Pyramid was going to be a walk in the park in comparison. But while I wouldn't say it's a particularly difficult climb, it's definitely not easy.
I first attempted Pyramid on Friday (the 5th). I set my alarm for 3am and was on the trail by 4. If you have any lingering fear of the dark left over from childhood, it really comes to the surface while hiking out in the wilderness alone. It's basically pitch black save for a few feet that your headlamp illuminates in front of you. But it's really the wildlife that makes me nervous. The whole hike out I could hear coyotes howling and barking, and I knew that there were probably bears, mountain lions, and moose lurking in the shadows as well. It may seem odd to lump moose in with bears and mountain lions, but apparently they have a nasty reputation as being aggressive. Part of the Maroon Lake trail was actually closed because moose were in the area.
I didn't have a proper DSLR with me, so this was the only shot of the night sky I managed to get.
It's tough to see, but I'm there, standing at the turnoff for Pyramid Peak. Note to self: don't cheap out on the
On Friday I made it up to about 13,600 feet, but I elected to turn back because the clouds in the distance were making me nervous. No storm ever materialized, and in retrospect I would have been OK to push on to the summit. But I knew I had time to try again and that's exactly what I did. So today (Sunday), I was once again on the trail by 4. I made much better time hiking up to the amphitheater and before long I was back climbing on the East side of the mountain, bathed in morning sunlight. I found the ledge and the "leap of faith" to be a little overrated, but maybe I am just feeling a little desensitized after the hair-raising exposure on Capitol.
The amphitheater. In the words of everyone else who has gone through there, "F#$k these rocks!"
Crossing the ledge, multiple times for the camera!
I believe I made the summit right around 9 or 9:30, which turned out to be good timing because weather was once again brewing in the distance. I got my obligatory "diving board" shot (which turned out to be one of my favorite shots from my trip), had a little snack, and then started making my way back down. Coming back down the slope into the amphitheater I actually got snowed on, but luckily it didn't last for much more than 15 or 20 minutes.
The "diving board" does not disappoint.
Just to prove I carried this sucker up there. No joke.
And that, my friends, concludes my trip report. Cheers.
Joe
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
That was a great story with great picts and a provocative video.
May I make a comment?
Is it possible to be both honest and superficial? Are we not superficial with most of our day to day contacts? Are we not truly honest with only a special few?
I don’t really know. In 68 years I have had a chance to be wrong about a lot of things, but it is worth thinking about.
Well done on the video Joe! Beautiful shots, angles, and editing. What a remarkable and special experience you must have had during your 2 weeks solo in the Elk Range.
I totally agree with what your Dad said, and feel the same way.
I sometimes wonder why we find so much beauty in random piles of loose rock, but most of us do find solace there. Good work on the video. In winter we start our hike from the T–Lazy 7 ranch, I’ve often been tempted to rent one of their snowmobiles.
I have a question about the Kickstarter project: Is the funding for a movie that you plan on releasing commercially? If so, have you read up on the strict federal laws on commercial filming in Wilderness areas? Chris Davenport ran into this with his 14er ski movie and was never able to release it commercially because he failed to get the required permits ahead of time, so the government prevented his release.
Thanks everyone! I’m very happy that you guys enjoyed it.
Bill – if we somehow manage to fund our project (a HUGE "if"), then yes, we will try to do as much with it as we can, including film festivals and some kind of commercial availability. The NPS/NFS rules on commercial filming are a little vague and hinge on definitions of words like "props" and "actors." So for example, a tripod is expressly not considered a "prop," and a photographer taking a selfie is not considered an "actor." I will essentially argue that our project falls more on that side of the spectrum (thereby not requiring permits). In any case, it is something we’re prepared to deal with and the permit fees are worked into our budget if we have to pay for them. Luckily I think it’s only $150/day, so we’d be looking at somewhere around $900–$1200.
Joe, the key is to talk to the Feds and get those permits ahead of time, if they say you need them. IMO, if you’re filming wilderness and plan to charge people to see it, you’ll need the permit(s) and if you go for them after the fact, you could very well be prevented from releasing it commercially.
Just trying to help you avoid the roadblock Chris Davenport ran into. You might want to read up on what he went through. He also didn’t have any props or actors and spent a lot of time dealing with the Feds only to remain blocked.
Not to worry Bill, it’s something we’re planning on addressing if the need arises. For now, we’re just trying to get the word out to see if there’s even any interest in having a film like that made.
the only thing I might worry about is the subject area of the film suffering a similar fate to the area depicted in the movie 127 hours: some copy–cats getting into trouble trying to recreate the misadventures in that similarly unforgiving area, also un–experienced people have worsened environmental impacts there, graffiti is now showing up in remote canyons, etc.
This is not meant to imply that you had misadventures or take anything away from your beautiful photography, just that it depicts an area that in reality many people have gotten into trouble in. This area is fragile & already suffers from over–use, so more attention top it could actually be negative in certain ways. It can be hard to see that when you are seriously in love with a place and want to share that.
Most people will probably disagree with me, though...
The impact people have on the environment is definitely a concern, and it’s something that I would address in the film if it ever were to be made. Maroon Lake is often packed with tourists and the effects of that are not difficult to see. And that was the case even at the much more remote campsites at Capitol Lake. My site alone had a pile of trash that previous campers tried (poorly) to cover with rocks. (I packed it out)
Stewardship and personal responsibility are inextricable parts of mountaineering. That’s part of the message I hope to get out there.
I’ve put together a few of my own films of climbs to show routes and conditions and what Colorado is like for my friends and family in Texas, but this film is on a completely different level. Thanks for putting it together, best of luck with your dealings with the Fed and funding for your future project. I’ll be sharing this one extensively when I run into those members of my social circle who ask me why I spend my holidays and vacations alone in the wilderness.
Thanks Tim! I’m glad you can appreciate it. Even despite concerns about overuse of these beautiful areas, so very, very few people will ever get to see what what sunrise looks like from the top of K2, or how beautiful it is to watch morning colors wash through Maroon Valley while you enjoy breakfast at the top of Maroon Peak’s south ridge. I would like to think that my film is the next best thing to actually being there.
Amazing footage. With these three on the list of my remaining 11 for this summer, it really amped me up. Best of luck to the project. Thanks for sharing.
video (just viewed it on U–Tube)... is excellent... Thank you...
We did Pyramid last year around the same time you did... a great climb. I loved your photos for the memories it brought back. I think your comment in the video... "that the mountains don’t lie" is quite profound. It puts into words what I could not express for myself. Best....
I am super impressed with your video. Thanks for sharing!
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