Yesterday was travel day. Once more I took my usual Delta flight from Amsterdam to Portland. Apart from sitting 3 hours in the plane while still on the ground in AMS (they were fixing a problem with the water system) and apart from finally having a few new movies on the entertainment system (with the start of the new month) it was a totally uneventful and photographically dull flight with one single exception: while starting the decent into PDX we passed Mount Rainier in very close proximity, and the top of the highest stratovolcano of the Cascades Range was raising above the otherwise solid cloud cover. Enough to warrant the seventh episode of my Monday Mountains. For more info about Mount Rainier and more photos continue after the jump….
Mt. Rainier is the highest mountain of the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest and the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Washington. This large active volcano located 54 miles southeast of Seattle has a summit elevation of 14,411 ft (4,392 m). According Wikipedia, Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. Because of its large amount of glacial ice, Mt. Rainier could produce massive landslides and flooding that could threaten the entire Puyallup River valley, and poses a grave threat to the southern sections of the Seattle metropolitan area, a city of over 650,000 people with more than 3.7 million living in its metropolitan area.
With 26 major glaciers and 36 sq mi (93 km2) of permanent snowfields and glaciers, Mount Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states. The summit is topped by two volcanic craters, each more than 1,000 ft (300 m) in diameter.
With an ultra prominent shape, Mount Rainier raises 13.210 ft (4,026 m) above its surrounding terrain, which is a greater topographic prominence than that of K2, the world’s second-tallest mountain. On clear days it dominates the southeastern horizon of the Seattle metro area.
It was first ascended in 1870. On a free weekend in the summer I definitely plan a visit to the mountain and its National Park.
The photos from the plane I took with my Olympus PEN-F with the 12-40mm F2.8 Pro Zoom, 1/8000 sec at f/4.5 and ISO 200 (from the high shutter speed you can see how incredibly bright it was outside facing south towards the sun). The bottom photo I took on a previous trip while driving from Portland up to Seattle, you can read about it in this post.
Summing up my travel day, we carried our 3h delay all the way to Portland, so there went my free afternoon and the hope for some sightseeing opportunity. I went straight to the Hotel, fresher up and went directly to the office for some Sunday evening prep meetings for a major downhill event early Monday morning. By the time I was back in the hotel my day has lasted 27 hours, minus 2 hours nap time on the plane. Business travel reality.
Have a great week!
Marcus
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Good one
Thanks so much 🙂 ! Marcus
You’re welcome Marcus
The photos you captured on the plane are breathtaking! I’ll be visiting Washington soon to do some hiking, and I have never flown/been to the West Coast yet. I’ll be flying from Charlotte, NC, and was told I would not want to sleep on the plane ride due to the views I’ll be seeing along the way. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much, Dominique, highly appreciated. Indeed, try to get a window seat on the right side of the plane (the light is better on that side flying westbound) and enjoy the views. Crossing the US is amazing, there is so much to see! Enjoy your trip to the PNW, looking forward reading about your experiences over on your blog! Enjoy your weekend! Marcus
AMAZING!!! Your airplane photography is stunning!
Thanks so much, Vicki. When you have seen all available movies due to constant flying you can focus on looking out the window 😉
Magnificent shots, Marcus! Great post.
Thank you so much, Jane! This means so much!
Beautiful Marcus! As usual. Enjoy your travels, and destinations!! 🙂
Thanks, Janet 🙂 There is not much to enjoy in a Portland week fully packed with meetings. No wonder at night I post about Nuremberg. Plus…it rains 😉
Awww. Sorry Marcus. Rain gets old fast. 😉
So beautiful from the air 🙂
Thank, Lynne :-)!
Great post, excellent information and photography!
Thank you, John! Much appreciated!
The earth is a beautiful place. Let us be careful with it.
So true, Jim! Love you comment! Thanks! Marcus
Lovely photos!
Thanks, much appreciated!
You’re welcome! Get some rest! 🙂
As usual some terrific photos Marcus and though air delays are a bind, its better to be safe than sorry! I was on a CX flight recently which was delayed departing because a bottle of cleaning fluid couldn’t be found, a 45 minute delay resulting whilst it was hunted down from where the cleaner had left it! Do try and visit Mount Rainier NP in summer, we loved our visit there when the children were small. Hope your week goes well and isn’t too exhausting. M.
Thanks, Marion, so much appreciated. Will def go close to Rainier in the summer. You have safe travels in Asia! Enjoy! Marcus