Quest For Snow - Part II - Sunrise

The sun slowly rising behind the horizon, casting warm light on the valley below

Last post was concluded as we were exiting Mas'ada, It was getting brighter and warmer by the second, and we rushed to the lower entrance to the Hermon site, where there is a military checkpoint which we are about to wait who knows how long for it to open.

Luckily since we started driving there at 3am, we got there just on the nick of time before the sun actually started rising, and we were 6th in line to get into the Hermon once it's opened. The ETA given to us was 2-3 hours, so we waited. Alex's car is the red mazda, 6th in line to get in

Minutes before the sun really started rising, I was able to catch this chill moment, with the sun painting a streak of gold just above the horizon.

Sunrise Selfie, with Alex and his sister in the background

A stitched high res panorama of the valley, with the sun peaking behind the horizon

Single lens Panorama captured just as the sun fully emerged behind the distant mountains.

Same kind of wide angle panorama 2 hours post sunrise

This waiting game is not new it seems. The entire winding road leading to the first checkpoint are littered with "street vendors" selling Druze snacks and winter clothing for the poor souls that forgot to bring gloves or knitted hat. Here is "Queen of Pita", with people playing cards while overlooking the valley, waiting for the site to open for visitors for the day

And a closer inspection of the background

On the way there I was thinking the trip was hard enough. 200KM, at winter time, at night, trying to catch the first light... Only to discover this drive was merely just half of the wait. 3 hours drive, and then, 3 hours wait. At first we were thinking that we should turn around, go look in the area and come back later if it's open. Since we concluded the only snow in the area is up the steep mountain, we decided to wait, how ever long that might take.

Alex and his sister managed to catch few precious minuted of shuteye, I on the other hand am not capable of falling asleep in a small car, so it seems, so I walked around, had a leak, a smoke, a toke... Took pictures of the sun rising and the huge-ass queue to get into the site. We suspected that we were waiting for nothing, and that eventually they will tell us the site is still closed. Luckily it wasn't the case, and after more than 3 hours of wait, the gate was opened and the card were let inside.

I will be covering our descent to the snow covered mountain and seeing snow up close for the first time in IDK how many years in my next post, the 3rd part of the Hermon series. Stay tuned.