A View From The Top

Last wednesday night I took another trip up Highway 395 headed for Mammoth Mountain. I was invited a few weeks ago to take this five day escape by my good buddy Blake Riboli along with his parents, the Gibsons from church, and another couple that are good friends of the Gibsons. We stayed in a slightly cramped, but cozy, condo that belonged to a co-worker of Kathy Gibson. Blake and I got two-day lift tickets for thursday and friday which turned out to be plenty of boarding time considering our legs flopped around like jello with each step when we climbed the stairs to the kitchen for a warm Saturday morning breakfast. The following evening the Ribolis and I went to a 7:30 showing of Watchmen. The previews looked really cool and I was really excited to see it. Well let me warn you, the previews are extremely deceiving. Not to say that the movie is bad, its incredible actually, but I don't recommend such a movie if you are squeamish to blood, buts and gore, or are easily offended with.... well lets say intimate scenes. As the nearly three hour movie progressed you can sort of tell when disturbing scenes are coming up, and I personally just worked through the awkwardness and appreciated the work that must have gone into making such realistic looking blood. Now don't get me wrong, I loved the movie. Especially the opening scene! Shoot, if you enjoy a good action flick fight scene with two macho guys throwing punches at mach 5, then you've GOT to see this. It'll blow your mind right out of your head as your jaw drops to your lap. Bottom line, absolutely stunning cinematography. 

So what does any of this have to do with the picture I've got sitting up there? Well I had an interesting thought just after I uploaded the picture. It occurred to me how much I take Mammoth for granted. The vast majority of people I know have never been to Mammoth and have all said that they would really love to go. The only thing stopping them is a 6 hour drive and a painful sum of money to rent a condo or hotel room. Its understandable, however, as to why its so expensive... Mammoth is a little taste of heaven if you ask me. For every month of the year, Mammoth offers an experience of fantastic beauty and adventure. I've been blessed to have a house only a couple blocks away from Canyon Lodge that we are able to visit many times a year. Before I was even born my family was vacationing in Mammoth. I've got such a great privilege and here I am rambling on about a movie that I could just as easily see in my own home town. 

As I looked through the hundreds and hundreds of pictures that I took over the five day period last week, I realized how beautiful Mammoth is. Unfortunately there was a pretty mean storm on friday, which is when I did the good majority of my shooting, and a lot of my pictures are completely dominated by white outs, but even the overwhelming whiteness comes off as beautiful. That kind of weather is so pure, the air up there is so clean and fresh, and the snow is just perfect, and its right here in our state of California. A state known for insanely hot summers and frustratingly dry winters. This might be a bit of a repeat from my last blog entry, but I really do think we ought to take a bit of a time out and appreciate what is around us. Take a look at the things we pass by everyday. Whether you're in the most urban parts of the city, the calm and collected suburbs, or up in the majestic mountains, we could all gain from studying our stomping grounds.