"The Mountain"

The locals here simply call it "The Mountain." At 14,411 feet, Mt Rainier is the tallest mountain in the cascade range. You would think a mountain that high would be hard to miss, but in reality, clear days in Western Washington are sometimes few and far between and if you didn't know better, you wouldn't think there was a mountain there at all. I remember when I first came to Seattle six years ago, I was here almost a week and a half before I even saw the mountain and I remember I just about wrecked my car the first time I saw it. I couldn't believe how big and beautiful this mountain was.

The beauty of Mt Rainier is deceptive however. It is, after all, an active volcano with the potential to literally destroy a good portion, if not all of this region if it ever decided to let its hair out. Even with a moderate eruption, several towns located in the valleys here would cease to exist. They would literally be washed away by the gigantic mudflows called Lahars that would come crashing down through the valleys with little warning. In fact, most of these towns are built atop old mud flows deposited from previous eruptions. Its all pretty scary stuff, but I guess most of us here just don't think that much about it as we go about our daily business.

Living in this area year round we tend to take the mountain for granted. It's always been a constant beacon, never changing. You always know what direction you're heading simply by looking at the mountain. As a photographer, the mountain is like shooting the Eiffel Tower or some other big landmark, it's great once or twice but once you've shot it over and over you tend to shoot other things in other directions. Every now and then though, you'll catch it in the right light and it hits you again how truly magnificent this mountain really is.

Usually this time of year I try to get over close to it and get shots simply because in a couple of weeks the rains come in heavy and you'll be lucky to see it at all. This past few weeks I've been taking a closer look at "The Mountain." Here's a few of my favorites both from this past week and from past shoots.

Shrouded in Fog, this is one of my all time favorite shots of the mountain.

Taken from the parking lot of a church along the Mountain Highway near the little town of Kapowsin, WA. This is a great example of being in the right place at the right time.

After getting lost one day, I stumbled upon this great view of the mountain, across the Carbon River Valley, just outside of Wilkeson, WA. Most of the forest in the foothills here has been logged out and the trees replanted. The taller outcroppings of trees indicate how tall the original forest would be.

A very cold, early morning in the Ohop Valley near Eatonville, WA