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Gigapixel view from the summit of Pt. 5,269 (elev. 5,269') outside of Skagway, Alaska. A fantastic clear view shows typical endless dramatic Coast Mountain scenery of icefields, thick forest, hanging valleys, scoured bedrock, jagged peaks, & glacial-fed inlets below. A well-developed trail leaves Skagway to reach Upper Dewey Lake & Devils Punchbowl, however it is boulder hopping & scree-climbing up steep slopes to reach this peak. There were some large boulders & exposure to negotiate as well but to me it's a labor of love to catch views like this. Many of the peaks in sight do not have a name but they exhibit sheer vertical faces & spired tips depending on where the sunlight is.
Views of Upper & Lower Dewey Lake are visible below as well as Taiya Inlet & the cruise ship docks at Skagway. Look in the midst of the large glacier is a dog sledding/mushing camp where every hour or so I'd see helicopters flying out of Skagway & meadering up the Denver Glacier before landing on the ice (as seen here) to drop off tourists. The glacier in view is merely a small lobe as the Denver Glacier is quite extensive going south. Three teams of mush dogs can be seen in the distance making circular loops around the camp & occasionally when the air is dead still one could hear them all distantly barking.
Look to the southwest horizon to get a glimpse of the prolific Mount Fairweather some 88 aerial miles distant from here, also known as Boundary Peak 164. At 15,300' (4,664m), it sits on the US/Canada border & is both the high point of British Columbia & the extreme northwest point of the Alaska Panhandle. The peak is the 26th most prominent mountain in the world & lies just 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean, making it one of the highest coastal mountains on the planet. It was named by Captain James Cook on May 3, 1778 for having unusually good weather at the time, however that is often not the case for this region.
Gigapixel panorama (2.109 gigapixels), 463 photos, 64948x32474 pixels
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The capital of Canada is Ottawa, in the province of Ontario. There are offically ten provinces and three territories in Canada, which is the second largest country in the world in terms of land area.While politically and legally an independant nation, the titular head of state for Canada is still Queen Elizabeth.On the east end of Canada, you have Montreal as the bastion of activity. Montreal is famous for two things, VICE magazine and the Montreal Jazz Festival. One is the bible of hipster life (disposable, of course) and the other is a world-famous event that draws more than two million people every summer. Quebec is a French speaking province that has almost seceded from Canada on several occasions, by the way..When you think of Canada, you think of . . . snow, right?But not on the West Coast. In Vancouver, it rains. And you'll find more of the population speaking Mandarin than French (but also Punjabi, Tagalog, Korean, Farsi, German, and much more).Like the other big cities in Canada, Vancouver is vividly multicultural and Vancouverites are very, very serious about their coffee.Your standard Vancouverite can be found attired head-to-toe in Lululemon gear, mainlining Cafe Artigiano Americanos (spot the irony for ten points).But here's a Vancouver secret only the coolest kids know: the best sandwiches in the city aren't found downtown. Actually, they're hidden in Edgemont Village at the foot of Grouse Mountain on the North Shore."It's actually worth coming to Canada for these sandwiches alone." -- Michelle Superle, VancouverText by Steve Smith.
