“Northwest face of the Devil’s Thumb. “Like the Sirens who lured Ulysses to a blissful yet certain death, the northwest face of the Devil’s Thumb continues to tempt the alpinist onto her flanks" Dieter Klose. Late night alpenglow adds a soft touch, however few peaks inspire the same mix of fear and respect as the Devil's Thumb. A relatively low altitude peak at 2,767 m (9,077 ft) the notorious northwest face rises 2,042 m (6,700 ft) from its base. With an average angle of 67 degrees it is considered the steepest wall of that magnitude in all of North America.
While the peak itself was first climbed by Fred Becky in 1946, the northwest face remains unclimbed after five decades of attempts by scores of climbers including some of the world’s top mountaineers. Most never even made it to the start of the face, while at least three teams have perished in the process. Dieter Klose who in 1982 made it halfway up the route, higher than anybody else alive, commented in the American Alpine journal that ‘as a rock climb it’s a perfect place to commit suicide”. The warm coastal winds, extreme Alaskan precipitation levels, and Patagonian style variability in weather all combine to make the conditions on the face notoriously slippery and prone to avalanche. A small theoretical climbing window is possible during the spring transition when storms can create thaw-freeze conditions and stabilise the face however many believe the level of weather variability is so extreme that it will never be climbed. No one has attempted the face since 2003 when two Canadian climbers perished.”
SECOND PLACE (20% of this post’s SBD): @dymtrokorol
“Moving on the National Road 258 we have seen different seasons on a short distance of 27 km. From summer greens on the beginning to snowy winter with a ski resort closer to the end and the summer again down in the valley.”
THIRD PLACE (10% of this post’s SBD): @fotogruppemunich
“You can see here the Zugspitze. This is germany's highest mountain.”
HONORABLE MENTIONS (5% each of this post’s SBD)
@alevaskye
“My favorite stretch of highway in Alaska. 💙”
@dolomitidreaming
“An amazing reflection of the Becco di Mezzodì (2603 m) in the Federa Lake (2038 m) in the Dolomites nearby Cortina d'Ampezzo. A not expected jewel in the heart of these beautiful mountains. A hike that you cannot miss if you come and visit this area.”
@photovisions
“One of my favourite shot of this peak called Pap of Glencoe with nice reflections in waters of Loch Leven, Scottish Highlands. Perfect weather conditions when heavy, rainy clouds are mixing together with low, autumnal sunlight.”
@mrprofessor
“Torres del Paine national Park, Chile. The granite peaks seen in this picture are the Torres del Paine (Towers) and can go up to a height of 2,900 m. One of the most amazing places I've ever been.”
@scottshots
“Mountains x2. This fiery sunset was photographed at Donner Lake in Truckee, California. Donner Summit can be seen in this distance. There are also many great photo opportunity spots from that mountain looking back down at the lake.”
@sjarvie5
“The beautiful Tetons in Wyoming. The clouds were making a abstract looking scene as we drove around the lake.”
@vtravels
“The mountains Rest and be Thankful in Scotland, and what a wonderful place to rest and be thankful in!”
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS!
Your upvotes and resteems will bring the talented photographers a better reward. If you enjoyed this gallery, please show them your appreciation!
DAILY THEMES
Mountains Monday - #mountainsmonday
Trees Tuesday - #treestuesday
Water Wednesday - #waterwednesday
Textures Thursday - #texturesthursday
Flora and Fauna Friday - #floraandfaunafriday
Simple Sunday - #simplesunday
For more details, please see the Introduction.
The Nature Photo Contest was created and is maintained by @shadalene.
Awesome mountain shots everyone! Thank you for the honorable mention @caseygrimley and @shadalene!
Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:
https://www.robertdowniephotography.com/Landscapes/i-9H6PFFt
Thanks for selecting my shot for this. Mountains Monday is my favorite !
Congratulations on first place @intrepidphotos! Cool shot, looks like an incredible place for photo fun (just not climbing fun...)
Thanks mate ! Your not signing up for the climb?
Not this time...
Yes congrats such a great picture!
Thank you so much!
Amazing thank you so much!! Congratulations to the winners!
Thank you so much and congratulations everybody for the beautiful pictures! :)
What a beautiful collection! Congratulations to all the participants.
It's an honour to be amongst such great photographers, thank you very much.
Great photos everyone! Congratulations @intrepidphotos