Excuse me for jumping back and forth between continents, but today I didn’t really feel like posting another himalayan shot. I’ve been busy planning another patagonian adventure that’s supposed to take place during the next few months and so I thought I’d upload another image from last year’s trip…

Before I tell you about the image I would like to ask you a question, though: Do you guys like to get up in the mornings? I don’t – except for when I’m somewhere out there in the wild on a photography trip. But even then it’s not as easy as it may seem. Whenever the alarm goes off, I still have to fight my inner resistance which unsurprisingly seems to be reversely-related to temperature. If you have ever spent a night in tent at colder temperatures (say below 0°C) you probably know what I’m talking about (btw, is it just me, or are you guys trying to get dressed inside your sleeping bag, too?).

Over the last years I have learned a few lessons, though. For example, the much loved snooze function of my alarm is a no-go on photography trips – you wouldn’t want to lose precious time. On the contrary – and that has helped me on many occasions – as soon as the alarm goes off, I first and foremost take a peek out of the tent to check the weather. You wouldn’t believe how much faster I’m out of my sleeping bag, when I’m sure that favourable conditions are awaiting me outside.

In the seventh week of last year’s Patagonia trip we found ourselves on a rather relaxed backcountry trek alongside Lago Viedma. After hiking through a less visited part of Parque Nacional los Glaciares (see “Last Moments of Light” and “Dawn of the Apocalypse”) the week before we didn’t want to go back to the crowded camps around Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. Instead we spent a few days exploring the lesser known surroundings of El Chaltén. The second of our treks took us to the beautiful Paso Huemul, from where the views of the southern patagonian icefield are nothing short of spectacular (given the weather cooperates). A bit further down from the pass we found a campsite inside a sheltered lenga forest which we had to ourselves. A pleasent location and also not far from a viewpoint overlooking Lago Viedma, which seemed to extend all the way to the horizon.

On that particular morning in Patagonia’s Parque Nacional los Glaciares, a faint glow in the east, coming from a break in the clouds was all I needed to see. The first reassuring peek out of the tent had me dressed and ready to go within less than a minute.