Driven by a love of glaciers and a need to see them before they disappear, Garrett Fisher piloted his 1949 antique airplane across the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, photographing remaining glaciers in the American Rockies.
From Rocky Mountain National Park to the Wind River Range, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Park, the Rockies contain a surprising number of glaciers tucked away in wilderness areas…that is, until they are gone. Scientists predict that many of these treasures will disappear not only in our lifetimes, but in the near future. A feat of aviation, Mr. Fisher gets up close and personal with glaciers glued to the sides of rocky summits, flying as high as 15,000 feet while getting buffeted by strong winds and extreme cold, all the while hoping the propeller would keep spinning, as many of these mountain ranges were in wilderness bear country. His airplane lacks heat, weighs less than 800 pounds, and produces 100 horsepower on a good day. Containing 177 aerial images, the book is organized by mountain range, with detailed maps identifying the location of each photograph. With images ranging from scenic landscapes to detailed zooms of glacial texture, the work appeals to hikers, scientists, or anyone who loves the great outdoors.
Excerpt:
"Since the first time I laid eyes on a photograph of alpine tundra and snowcapped peaks as a kid, I felt an irresistible attraction that can only now be described on a level that borders on the spiritual. There is something incredibly powerful about reaching mountain heights that protrude so far into an inhospitable atmosphere that a quantity of persistent cold and snow exceeds that which summer sun can melt, resulting in a literal river of ice that grinds and crushes everything in its path, forming very severe mountain ranges that are left behind. While on one hand a glacier can represent an environment where humans cannot live permanently, on another it represents the beginning of a cycle of life, where snowmelt can form the basis of our major river systems, which support agriculture and therefore life as we know it. I cannot help but feel a part of this entire paradigm when viewing a glacier."
About the Author:
Using the most ill-equipped aircraft possible for such adventure flying, Garrett Fisher has based his antique Piper PA-11 Cub Special in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the highest airport in North America in Colorado, an elitist airpark near Yellowstone, the busiest airport in Germany, and now a secluded hideout in the Spanish Pyrenees. In the process, he has flown to an exhaustive list of rugged and dangerous places in America as well as some of the most beautiful sites in Europe, amassing an enormous collection of aerial photographs. Perpetually clueless about what is coming next, he continues wandering in the airplane, blogging about his adventures at www.garrettfisher.me.
