Photochallenge #41- Landscape: SteemitPhotoChallenge Entry Number 3 "Obeisance and Benediction"

On the climb just before the alpine zone on Mount Algonquin

My dear Steemit explorer friends,
This photo was taken near the end of one of the most strenuous climbs on an Northeastern peak to date. My progress had been greatly slowed by a new layer of snow over the hardpack on which my snowshoes had been slipping for hours up the steep slope of Mount Algonquin. (It was also my first climb after being sick that winter with the attendant lack of conditioning that enforce rest creates.) At any rate at 3:00 pm, I was wondering, in my consternation and exhaustion, if it would be wise to summit at all with sunset approaching in less than two hours. I decided to climb until 3:30 pm and "see what I thought about it". At 3:30 this is what I saw. So I continued!

Here's a close up; you may see why I decided, in spite of conditions, to continue.

I arrived back at base camp four hours after dark after a long descent in crampons and the 50 pound pack...

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Please follow me if you would like to see more of the struggle and the beauty- from preparation to the heights...

• Taken with Canon EOS 70 D (18-55 mm hooded). I generally strap it to the shoulder straps of my backpack with rock rings and carabiners. In an emergency the camera gets stowed and the rings and biners are used for a rappelling anchor. It weighs a bit over a pound at the beginning of the day and about 15 pounds at the end :)