New Year's Fireworks (from atop a mountain)

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phyco126
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New Year's Fireworks (from atop a mountain)

Post by phyco126 »

I took these while at work. Every New Years Eve/Day, at midnight, they fire off a volley of fireworks. I swear the fireworks get smaller and less spectacular every year, but it's still pretty cool. The first picture is of Pikes Peak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikes_Peak) right at midnight. The two lights you see are the summit lights on or part of the summit house.

http://www.phyco126.com/images/DSC_00304.JPG

At first I was worried that they cancelled the fireworks (they did cancel our 4th of July fireworks show that we've had for many many years). A few minutes later, I saw the the fireworks. They just ended up being a little late. :)

Here are the fireworks itself (well, one of several). http://www.phyco126.com/images/DSC_00396.JPG

Sorry for the horrible quality. I had my tripod, but I forgot the small piece that actually attaches the camera to the tripod itself. D'OH! I was still able to use the tripod to steady the camera enough for those shots, but they still ended up blurry.
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- "Sometimes life smiles when it kicks you down. The trick is to smile back."

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GhaleonOne
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Re: New Year's Fireworks (from atop a mountain)

Post by GhaleonOne »

So I was about to make a post about how that's pretty hardcore that someone climbs Pikes Peak in the winter to shoot those off. Hiking a 14er in the summer isn't even easy, but climbing it in the winter would be a pretty nice achievement. However, I checked the Pikes Peak website, and didn't realize they keep the road to the top of Pikes open year-round. They close down the 14er drive up Mt Evans drive from pretty much Labor Day to Memorial Day. Still, I'm sure it's pretty pimp to watch them from down on the plains.

And yeah, that sucks about leaving the tripod head. If you could have done a slower shutter speed to show the firework in full motion that could have pretty pretty sweet! That's one regret I have about Wichita. It's so flat here that 4th of July fireworks don't yield great photo opportunities. There's nowhere to get high enough up to shoot the city skyline with fireworks. Maybe next 4th I'll head your way to Boulder and we can shoot from the top of a mountain!
-G1

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phyco126
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Re: New Year's Fireworks (from atop a mountain)

Post by phyco126 »

G1, if you do that, that would be epic. I could take some pretty epic pictures. I'm slowly learning how to use the camera for events like fireworks. I also ordered a remote shutter trigger, since some pictures can still be ruined just by pressing the shutter on the camera itself (it took like, 5 tries before I could get a stable picture of the Constellation Orion.

As for Pikes Peak, I didn't know the road remained opened during dead winter. I do know that they are paving the whole road to the very top, something that has long been a dream for many (since the road was only paved halfway). It'll be interesting, since parts of the road are a stiff drop hundreds of feet down, with NO protection from going over. However, unless the website says otherwise, I'm certain that they actually hike up to the top of Pikes Peak.

As a matter of fact, I remember an article in the news paper at least a couple of years ago about the 3-day hike to the summit, through snow, with fireworks on their back. They may have only done that if the road was closed due to weather, but I can't say for certain.

Edit: G1, I was right, they do hike the fireworks to the peak, instead of using the road OR the railroad that goes to the summit. http://www.gazette.com/articles/adaman- ... -peak.html and http://www.adaman.org/ . So yeah, hardcore to do it in the dead of winter, at night, climbing the whole thing on foot. At the peak, its over 30 degrees colder than Colorado Springs, which means its somewhere below 0 when they hike, set up, and fire those fireworks.
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- "Sometimes life smiles when it kicks you down. The trick is to smile back."

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GhaleonOne
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Re: New Year's Fireworks (from atop a mountain)

Post by GhaleonOne »

Yeah, I couldn't live without my remote shutter. Sounds like you're taking your stuff up a notch. And yes, hardcore to the max to do a 14er in the dead of winter. Not that lots of people don't do it, but it's far more hardcore than a summer climb. One of these days I'll give it a shot, but it would require more snowshoe practice than I've had I'm sure. The fun stuff is to hike a 14er with ski's, then ski all the way back down. Some of the people that do that are absolutely insane with the stuff they ski down.
-G1

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phyco126
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Re: New Year's Fireworks (from atop a mountain)

Post by phyco126 »

I want to climb Pikes Peak this summer, but I said that the last two summers. *sigh* However, I'm hardcore enough to do a Winter climb. Someone just needs to point me the way and what not.
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- "Sometimes life smiles when it kicks you down. The trick is to smile back."

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GhaleonOne
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Re: New Year's Fireworks (from atop a mountain)

Post by GhaleonOne »

Consider yourself pointed:

http://14ers.com/routelist.php?peak=Pikes+Peak

You can even join their forums and find a hiking partner sometimes.
-G1

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phyco126
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Re: New Year's Fireworks (from atop a mountain)

Post by phyco126 »

Awesome!

By the way, fun fact, if I ever become a multi-billionair, I'm buying Pikes Peak, building a castle on it, and declaring myself Emperor of Colorado. Hopefully state troopers won't shot me during my proclemation (inside joke).
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- "Sometimes life smiles when it kicks you down. The trick is to smile back."

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