The Climb Behind The Photos
What started with only hope and a little faith became something far more special and meaningful in the end. In a Facebook group I first saw a post about the aurora forecast so I grabbed my gear and packed my bag back so I would be ready to go once the aurora appears. The first night I didn't even touch my camera since the lights were not really visible from where I was standing. That's the reason why I had just a little faith in seeing the northern lights the next day. I was thinking about the perfect spot to watch and photograph the aurora and the only place that came in my mind was the peak of the Beaconsfield Mountain which is located near Pentiction at the Apex Mountain Resort. But there was a quite a challenge to it... I would have to hike up the mountain via the ski slopes without any kind of support other than my feet. Plus it was already pretty late so it was a race against the time. In the end I decided within 10 minutes to sent it, so I got my gear and started the steep journey at 8:53pm. I went through highs and lows but in general the vibe was amazing throughout the whole hike from the bottom to the top. After exactly 1h 1min I reached the summit at 9:54pm. I hiked a distance of 1,75km with an elevation gain of 618m. Now I was standing in the top but was it even worth it and was I able to see the northern lights or did I even had a clear sky? I don't think I have to answer that, on the basis of the photos you can make your own opinion if it was worth it or not.
Sony A7IV / 14mm Samyang / Rollei Travel Tripod
The Way Back Down
There was one thing left to do... The way back down to a warm comfy bed. This part was ending up super fun! Although it was pretty exhausting holding the balance without falling. I didn't want to risk falling on my back and with that on my gear. At some point further down I tried sliding down on my butt and it worked surprisingly good since it was steep enough. I soon noticed though that I was keep getting faster and faster and my only way of stopping was either run into a tree, a fence or slam my heels into the snow. Luckily the third method worked right away... I was not in the mood of stopping with one of the other methods. At one point close to the end there was no way of stopping since I entered an area where the snow was covered in Ice. My only way of exiting that slighty dangerous situation was trying to stand up and jump as far as I possibly could to the left onto the actual slope. Well what can I say... I am here to happily announce that I made that jump (Kind of, because I landed on my face and stomach). But hey, at least none of my gear was damaged!