Above Treeline

Sitting on the shoulder of Little Haystack.

Looking from Little Haystack to Haystack.

Looking back on Little Haystack from the shoulder of Haystack.

On the summit of Haystack.

Panther Gorge.

Marcy.

The Great Range.

On the summit of Giant.

Rocky Peak Ridge.

Bondcliff.

Bond's summit.

Some stuff from out West.

Dave,

Your pics are great! You have skillzzzzzz.

Good stuff.

Thanks for all the pics everybody.
David H.: Haystack is one of my favorite peaks in the northeast (others are Gothics, Basin in ADK and Adams in NH).

David,

Those are some gorgeous photos of the snow capped mountains with the lakes.

You should seriously consider adding some captions to the photos to give a better idea of what was going on.

Your photos already clearly convey the story of what was going on.

Thanks for sharing them.

-Tony

> there is a much more abrupt switch from the trees to the meadows, with the meadows covering a huge area.

hey Ross,

I remember that very comment from you. We met at refuge de la Leisse on the GR55 last august. I saw your Granite Gear packs and thought you must probably be american. Actually, after I left that day I kept thinking you looked a lot like some BPL member and I even remembered your name :)

I hope you had a wonderful trip and expect to see those pics.

(Sorry all for the OT but Ross does not have a PM address)

Mather Pass- 12,100 ft
Looking at very remote Upper Basin–
UL Terrorist have some what Highjacked my thread-If you can not beat them–then join them.

Jay- I would say a "below" tree line UL terrorist

Your right Tad–I spotted a few trees in those awesome pictures…No buddy is perfect!!

Evolution Lake,JMT 10,852 ft

Are the meadows in the Alps caused by cows and sheep? Could be. I thought of that too. There is no doubt that they contribute to it (we saw plenty of both everywhere). But it is also a "which came first" thing. The cows and sheep were sent to the high lands because there were meadows up there. I think the word "alps" comes from the meadow, not the mountains. It is possible that the meadows might have started small and then grew with livestock, or maybe they were big to begin with (we did see plenty of forest as well, with a very distinctive tree line, which would imply that it was climate, not livestock that contributed to most of the meadows).

Maybe it is because the summers are warm over there, with many sunny days. If so, then they are like the California Sierras (which also has a big alpine area). Whereas the Cascades (and Canadian Rockies) have very short summers. Maybe the European Alps are like the California Sierras, with the addition of some really high peaks to add to the glaciers.

Anyway, here are some pics — All of these are in the Vanoise:

If people are curious, I have a bunch more pictures on Flickr (and you can see bigger versions of these):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rossbl/sets/

I haven't gotten around to the rest of the Alps, but almost all of our hiking was above treeline.

Ross, That second picture is really nice…Camera technology these days is excellent…

Parker Pass looking at Mono Lake

Since the Sierra is well covered, some other places that I've been hiking this year…

Israeli friend hiking under Cho Oyu, Nepal

Gokyo Valley, largest glacier in the Nepal, the lodges are visible below.

Hiking in fresh snow over an 18,000ft+ pass.

A seasonal village below the Annapurnas.

A very dangerous trail above treeline in Nepal.

One from the USA. On top of Sawtooth Pass, Sierra Nevada.

I am really enjoying this theme and must complement all of you on the fine pics.

@Miguel – I especially like your style and choice of shots – thanks for sharing!

To keep around the globe a bit – here are some from the Middle East, near the borders of Iran, Armenia, & Turkey – you can almost catch a glimpse of Northen Iraq as well. All are from a Casio EX-V8 point + shoot in, taken in between 12,000 and 17,000 ft., although I'm not sure where the treeline ends and the desert begins ;)

Aaron, nice pictures. What country and mountain is that exactly? Dayhike or multiday?

@ Jack – Büyük Ağrı Dağı is the mountain. Multi-day (multi-year actually – see http://www.vonbora.org for our archaeological + lingustic work up there) Feel free to PM me with any questions also.

Sequoia & Kings Canyon

North Palisade-14,242 ft

Dusy Basin

Mt Franklin, NH 5001′ on the AT

Tuckerman’s Ravine, Mt . Washington, NH

Cairns mark the trail across the top of Tuckerman’s …”the Lawn”

On Tuckerman’s Lawn…about to find out why the cairns are so close together

Summit of Mt. Hight with Mt. Washington and the Presidentials in NH White Mts. in the background.

Well a few feet shy of 11,000 Goodale Pass is almost above and quite barren (just west of Silver Pass on the JMT) Climbing to Forester Pass, N to S, with clouds filling the valley below camping between Helen Lake and Muir Pass , JMT Map 5 (shelter is Six Moon Design — Wild Oasis)

Ross on p. 2 asks, "Are the meadows in the Alps caused by cows and sheep?"
I beliefe they were casued by the glaciers, but…

From a Sierra Club Guidebook on the Austrian Alps by William E. Reifsnyder

"In this Upper Zone (timberline), there are extensive pastures, or alms, which are used for grazing cattle and sheep in the summer months. There is considerable evidence that the natural tree line has been lowered about 600 feet because of the heavy grazing."

To add to your (Ross) comments on climate, from the same source:
"…because the mountains (Alps) are oriented east-west across Europe, they permit the flow of moist maritime air from the Atlantic Ocean deep into the continent. Thus, the climate is wetter and warmer that might be expected for such latitudes…..The southern slopes of the Alps, though at the latitude of Mont Tremblant in Quebec, have a climate that is much closer to that of southern Sierra Nevada in California…"

The german word "alpe" and "alm" does translate to high meadow and high mountain meadow.
"Alpen" translates to alpine.

Not quite as high as Jay's but nothing green.

Just south of Sonora Pass on the PCT.