Wonder Spire by Paul Zizka.
I shot this self-portrait earlier this week during an overnight adventure into a rarely visited corner of Kootenay National Park. Fellow photographer Natalie Gillis and I had planned a traverse we'd both wanted to do for quite some time: the crossing from the world-famous Lake O'Hara, in British Columbia, to the even more famous Moraine Lake, in Alberta. This is a trip that is undertaken by a handful of parties every year and typically done in a long-ish day. Our own adventure would require a twist of sorts. For one, the two roads leading to the lakes were no longer in operation due to the tardy time of year and the incoming winter. Furthermore, halfway between the lakes, tucked between Opabin and Wenkchemna Passes, lies an improbable, spectacular tower called the Eagle's Eyrie. And we really wanted to photograph it at night, which would require lingering after dark and then making our way up and over the second of the passes at first light.
We started off by hiking 11km from the TransCanada Highway to Lake O'Hara. This was Nat's first-ever visit to the majestic lake. Although I'd been there many, many times before, it truly is a place that never gets old, and it was such a joy to introduce Nat to the area. We took a small detour by Lake Oesa and the Yukness Ledges to deepen Nat's appreciation of that part of Yoho National Park, and then we crossed the Opabin Plateau, cramponned up the Opabin Glacier, and descended scree into Kootenay National Park, beelining for the massive limestone tower that stands tall above the valley floor. The Eyrie is special in many ways: its sheer size, its isolation and its aesthetics among others. It even happens to have what looks to be a stone eagle perched on the top!
We were thrilled to finally have arrived at our main photographic subject and got to work right away, shooting the last remaining hues of the sunset. Later on, once we got the JetBoil going for a quick backcountry dinner, Nat noted that the moonlight had started to hit the surrounding peaks. A quick iPhone test shot confirmed the incredible potential for photography right there and then, and so I abandoned my Backpacker's Pantry lasagna and hurried over to a different side of the spire that would allow me to silhouette it against the moonlit walls of Curtis Peak. Immediately I was struck by the symmetry and decided to try to build an image that would showcase it, as well as the scale and grandeur of the spire. I moved my feet a little to centre the spire with respect to the background skyline and then waited until the shadow of Wenkchemna Pass would create a saddle of light behind the Eyrie. Once the timing got close, I proceeded to enter the frame, as I often do. I locked focus on the tower, set the camera to f/2.8, ISO 3200, 15 seconds, and put the intervalometer to work. Mother Nature took care of the rest. The sky turned out nicely with the moonlight giving it a blue cast, and the clouds racing past the peaks.
I hope you like the result. I'm hopeful this image will take me back to that night and location for many years to come, as it was truly a special moment in the Kootenay backcountry!