Do you pack your tripod?

[Helen B]

Alfred has winter confused with summer - those pictures show winter snow, not summer snow. Bleeding obvious, but accuracy doesn't seem to be Alfred's strong point.

How much will you use a tripod? On those occasions on which you might use it, will something else serve the purpose?

I've spent rather a lot of time in the Alps in all seasons, and I've never carried anything other than a tiny, good quality table-top tripod. You don't need one for sunsets or sunrises. To be fair, I have used one of my skis or my ice axe as a rudimentary camera support for self-portraits (tiny ball head bolted through the hole in the tip of my ski or head of my axe) but I have never thought that a real tripod was worth carrying.

It does get chilly at altitude at night and when it snows, but you just need a fleece. You could carry it onto the plane rather than pack it if you are short of room.

Here, for reference, is a sunrise on summer snow at altitude. Hand held, Kodachrome 64.

Enjoy yourself, and don't carry too much.

Best,
Helen

Edit. Oops, sorry. I missed your post about having already been and having used it once.

 

[Helen B]

Oh, and I've just looked at the data embedded in Alfred's photos:

"Photo/Marwan Naamani (Photo credit should read Marwan Naamani / AFP / Getty Images)"

Welcome to the forum, Marwan.

Best,
Helen

 

[DollyBuster]

Alfred has winter confused with summer - those pictures show winter snow, not summer snow. Bleeding obvious, but accuracy doesn't seem to be Alfred's strong point.

You can shake hands with Alfred then, Helen: so, according to you, those are girls in bikini in the winter....?

FYI: not even the Inuit do that, dear!

You ought to go on holiday to the Alps yourself one day, Helen. You might learn a lot of new stuff.

 

[Overread]

You can shake hands with Alfred then, Helen: so, according to you, those are girls in bikini in the winter....?

FYI: not even the Inuit do that, dear!

You ought to go on holiday to the Alps yourself one day, Helen. You might learn a lot of new stuff.

well they do say that fashion renders the mind dead at times (as can a large paycheck)
but its the people in the background (shot 2) without shirts on that makes one think it might be a little warmer

 

[Helen B]

You can shake hands with Alfred then, Helen: so, according to you, those are girls in bikini in the winter....?

FYI: not even the Inuit do that, dear!

You ought to go on holiday to the Alps yourself one day, Helen. You might learn a lot of new stuff.

Thanks for the ignorant condescension.

Yes, those girls were walking around in bikinis in March 2007. They were just north of Beirut*.

As I mentioned above, I've been to the Alps many times in all seasons. I have lived in both Courmayeur and Chamonix, the towns on the Italian and French sides of Monte Bianco/Mont Blanc. I used to be a very active mountaineer, ski-mountaineer and extreme skier. I'm less active these days, but still skip out onto the hill every now and then.

In winter in the sun it is not unusual to strip off at ski resorts to catch a few rays on the parts that don't normally see the sun in public. If you went to the Alps in winter, you would observe this behaviour. The air temperature may be close to, or even below, freezing but the radiant heat from the sun keeps one warm.

My comment was not aimed at the skin, but at the carelessness with which winter snow was shown as summer snow. The Inuit would not get that wrong.

Best,
Helen

*Faraya, Mt Lebanon, to be exact.