I climbed Yosemite’s Half Dome towards the end of a 65 mile backpack through the High Sierras of California. So my legs were a bit weary when it came time to scale the precipitous granite walls of this iconic rock face. Thankfully, the National Park Service had installed chains and boards to the seemingly vertical approach. Like most things in California, there was a waiting line and I hate lines. The only thing I’m willing to wait in line for anymore is a hot dog at Pink’s in LA.
The wind was whipping at about 40 miles per hour and just in front of me was a 1,200 foot drop to certain death. The trail I was on was covered with ice and snow. A mountain lion was stalking me throughout this shoot and the sun was setting fast. I knew I had to act quickly! Luckily my carbon fiber tripod acts as a weapon and scared off the mountain lion and that I brought along some crampons to negotiate the ice and that I was carrying a really good Black Diamond headlamp to light my way to the canyon floor at Zion National Park. This image has a companion time lapse video and can be seen at http://wp.me/p1XNt4-f4