#mountainmonday Peyto Glacier, Banff National Park, Alberta
Snowshoeing up Peyto Glacier, our group is wearing harnesses, the rope you see is connected to myself and the next person behind me and so on, trekking up in single file in order to stay on a path that has been tested as safe by the leader.
As the glacier flows down the mountain, it bends and cracks, as a result crevasses large enough to swallow a human can form in the ice, but not before a thin layer of snow can cover the tops, creating the illusion that there is solid ice all the way up. The leading man pokes the trail ahead and walks with care, should the surface break away, the rest of the group can put on the breaks and haul him out on the rope.
It took quite a few hours, and due to a few obstacles like the bridge being washed out we almost had to abort our trip, as climbing the glacier would be too hazardous without being able to see where we were.
Photographic Details: I don’t think a plain scenery shot would have been interesting here, I wanted a photo that would tell a story of adventure and place their viewer in the photographers (snow)shoes. Taken with a wide angle lens I get the scenic view and the dramatic perspective of the rope attached at my hip. Also take note of the slight rainbow effect of the ice crystals in the sky, and clouds.