MINARET MOON

Words By Blake

Snowmobiling from the main lodge of Mammoth Mountain out to the Minaret Vista one dark and early morning, it was a bone chilling ride in -20 °F in search of a very special shot. The moon was setting on the horizon, and I was out to make an image with the full moon over the Minarets. I arrived, guided by my friend Marco, and could see looking over at the moon that my planned location would not allow the Minarets and moon to line up. Sitting on the snowmobile together I explained to Marco that we were in the wrong place and quickly calculated that for my shot to line up, I would need to be at least another mile up the ridge. I thought it was obvious we would simply ride up there though Marco protested. He explained to me that we were on a heavy snowmobile, made for wide groomed trails and that where I wanted to go was a narrow trail, not only up a steep hill but also the way was concealed by the deep snow and dark forest. We would need a whole different type of sled built for the backcountry. Figuring I had about 20 minutes before the moon would set, I threw my backpack over my shoulders and replied that I guess we better start walking then. I turned towards the direction of the ridge and began to huff it through the snowpack. To my surprise after about a hundred steps I heard from behind the sound of the sled’s engine firing up. I turned around and he rode up, signaling me to hop on! We then proceeded to motor up through the difficult terrain. With much effort we made our way through the maze of narrow trees and into the steep section, where we had to lean far forward up the hill to keep from flipping the sled. We arrived just in time, and I set up my camera, managing to capture this shot as the moon dropped alongside the grand jagged spires.