Fire on the mountain

[Jimr1961]

This was a quick shot with my iPhone. The Rough fire near Kings Canyon was producing a fair amount of smoke over Mt. Ritter and Banner Peak that created an interesting effect come dusk. I didn't take my dSLR because the trip was focused on a search for evidence of a climber who went missing 3 years ago, so it was an intensive search around the glaciers and debris fields around the pictured mountains. I rarely shoot with my phone, but it was all I had. Heck, these moments appear and disappear so fast that unless I was ready, the big camera would have been of no use anyway.

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[Ziggy]

Hope you guys get some rain. Maybe when El Niño grows?

[IzzieK]

iPhone shot or not, this is scary...How far do you live in this firey area?

[Jimr1961]

I guess I should "clear the air". This shot is in the blue hour. The fiery yellow is the sun reflecting it's color onto the cloud formation and the red/orange tint outlining the mountains is the sun's reflection off of the smoke from the Rough fire 100 miles S/W. The smoke varied from day to day depending on which way the wind blew.

Izzie, I live about 300 miles south of this area.

[James G]

Have to ask, was the search in any way successful? Beautiful capture though.

[Jimr1961]

No. We searched last Sept. and again this Sept. Not a clue. That place can swallow a person up leaving no evidence behind. Personally, I don't think he is around Mt. Ritter. I think he's several miles south somewhere on the south chute of Kehrlein Minaret. I will be pushing (it won't take much) to climb up to the base and fly a drone around the chute. There's no way anyone is climbing up it or repelling down it. The hardest part will be finding somebody with a drone and the ability / willingness to hike into the area.

[IzzieK]

Be careful out there...when there is a fire, it is always in California. I think some of them are not nature based but people making stupid acts.