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CAPTURED BY GOPRO
Alabama Hills and the Eastern Sierras
01
THE BEST STORIES COME FROM PLACES ONLY A GOPRO CAN GO
Alabama Hills has been filmed as the ancient Roman plains, the American South, the deserts of Afghanistan, and Krypton. When you see these rocks, you feel like you’re on another planet.
Dylan Efron and Wil and Haley Dasovich are childhood friends who chose Alabama Hills as the starting point of a 4-day backpacking trip into the High Sierras. It's been years since they've been together. They each have their own lives and careers now, but once they started climbing these rocks, it was like they were kids again.
In places as remote and rough as this, only their GoPros would help them capture and create new memories.
Sometimes, they just stopped at the top of the highest boulders and stared at the Sierras in the distance.
Maybe the snow-covered peaks had them in awe, or maybe it was the knowledge that tomorrow, they would have to climb them.
Haley captured Dylan in stunning detail with this 23 megapixel photo on HERO10.
Dylan used the bite mount for hands-free capture. And when HERO10 fell off the top of the cliff? No problem. It still captured stunning images and video.
They climbed boulders and jumped through caverns like they were back in a time when they built kingdoms in sandboxes together.
Shot on HERO10: Output RAW - ISO Min/Max 100/10 - Sharpness Medium - Flat Color
02
TO THE LAKE
This is an ancient place born by glaciers and volcanoes and armored with prehistoric quartz, pine, aspen, and waterfalls, all guarding seven lakes.
Mountains are deceiving in a way. They seem like tall rocks from afar, but you discover intricate and untouched ecosystems once you climb them. You know you are a visitor, and you begin to take on the habits of one: aware of your noise level, mindful of your steps and grasps, and grateful to be living this experience.
They became time travelers–
going toward something permanent and stationary, toward something that was alive before humans and will be here long after.
HERO10's waterproofing held up against every drop and dunk.
03
AT THE LAKE
The wind was brutal and rushed down the frozen mountain, plunging into the valleys and resisting their climb. But, they fought back and made it to a cliff that overlooks the lake.
The lake rests at the foot of two dramatic peaks only visible from this proximity: one wide and sloped with curved edges; the other, taller, dark, narrow, sharp, jagged, and leaning over the lake. The mountain commands attention even from the lake, where water is collected from the melted, blue runoff.
You can’t help but look at it, simply out of fear that you may never see something like this again.
Dylan used Volta for a stable Night Lapse Photo: ISO 1600 - 60s interval - Sharpness Low
They were battered by winds that threatened their tents during the night, even with stones weighing them down. It makes you wonder why someone would want to do this.
No matter the amount of rest, waking up at this location is a transformative experience.
Shot on HERO10: Output RAW - ISO Min/Max 100/100 - Sharpness Medium - Flat Color
04
BACK DOWN
They climbed down the mountain in about half the time it took to go up. They forgot about their tired legs and lungs to be proud of themselves for completing something many would not attempt. But mostly, they reminisced with each other.
New adventures and journeys like these become the stories we tell; they crystalize our relationships with people. Through these stories, we immortalize ourselves.
The best stories come from places only a GoPro can go.
