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#59178 - 03/21/09 04:17 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: ]
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Member
Registered: 08/30/06
Posts: 214
Loc: Visalia
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Telephoto effect aside, this is entirely plausible. The Great Western Divide is about 45 air miles from my house, and on the rare clear days here in the valley, I can clearly and easily pick out all the peaks - Kaweahs, Silliman, Alta, Eagle Scout, Lippincot, Eisen, Sawtooth, Florence. And all that is easily done without using binoculars. With a powerful telephoto you can bring them up close and personal. As long as there is nothing higher between the valley and Half Dome, it should be clearly visible. I drive though Denair fairly often, so the next time I'm there on a clear day I will have to check it out.
I remember seeing that picture at the Lick Observatory as I was driving home from my honeymoon in 1985. It is a cool picture.
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#59212 - 03/22/09 02:05 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: Ken]
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Member
Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 354
Loc: www.4jeffrey.net
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Several years ago, on a rare clear day driving south in the Central Valley when the Sierra peaks loomed in the distance but looked so close, I was startled to see what looked like domes at one point. I remember telling my wife what I saw as she watched the road as she drove. I guess I was right. They looked nothing like the high zoom photo, but not unlike the wideangle views. I now believe I saw the Yosemite area domes from the highway that day. This from the guy with that handle?  How did I know that was coming? I can't say for sure what I saw, but it looked like very large rocks concentrated in one area of the mountain range, and was spectacular even though obviously from a great distance.
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#59213 - 03/22/09 02:23 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: AsABat]
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Member
Registered: 01/29/03
Posts: 2446
Loc: Studio City, Ca
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Several years ago, on a rare clear day driving south in the Central Valley when the Sierra peaks loomed in the distance but looked so close, I was startled to see what looked like domes at one point. I remember telling my wife what I saw as she watched the road as she drove. I guess I was right. They looked nothing like the high zoom photo, but not unlike the wideangle views. I now believe I saw the Yosemite area domes from the highway that day. This from the guy with that handle? How did I know that was coming? I can't say for sure what I saw, but it looked like very large rocks concentrated in one area of the mountain range, and was spectacular even though obviously from a great distance. THOSE were a couple of those giant golf ball thingies at a driving range!
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#59216 - 03/22/09 04:40 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: ]
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Member
Registered: 12/14/08
Posts: 67
Loc: Visalia, CA.
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I agree with lambartiana. I live in Visalia and regularly can see the mountains clearly. I don't know them as well as John does, but I can pick out Alta, Kaweahs, Sawtooth, and others without any problem. When I was a kid in southern Utah, I could see Shiprock from my back porch over 300 miles away. I don't have any trouble believing you can see 67 miles on a clearish day in the valley. My only doubt was seeing into the Yosemite valley from the valley. Others have said you can so call me a believer.
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#59217 - 03/22/09 06:45 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: iseebergy]
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Member
Registered: 02/17/09
Posts: 383
Loc: Northern Ca
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At the risk of redundancy (and oversimplification) I was amazed, iseebergy, when I did a simple line-of-sight from the photo spot to halfdome on Topo(about 77 degrees from tru N) and realized that it was a straight shot with no obstructions. The rest of the facts and figures speak for themselves...
B
_________________________
The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
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#59221 - 03/22/09 12:33 PM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: iseebergy]
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Member
Registered: 01/12/03
Posts: 715
Loc: Charlotte, NC
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iseebergy,
I appreciate your comments. I've posted on this Board many times about the current line-of-sight photographic record is 190 miles, from Mt. Whitney to San Gorgonio. You stated "over 300 miles" from your back porch to Ship Rock in New Mexico. Your sighting could be a new land record in the United States, since even in Alaska the longest record is over 200 miles to Mt. McKinley (Denali).
Ship Rock's elevation, however, is 7,178 feet above sea level. Remember the little formula above: 1.22 times the square root of the height in feet gives the distance in miles? That formula shows your elevation in Utah had to be over 53,000 feet to see just 300 miles, let alone over 300 miles. If you would be interested, I might be able to tell you which peak you actually did see, since I have a database with about 70,000 named peaks in the United States. (If the peak is unnamed, I might not be able to tell you.) Just PM me if you would like.
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#59241 - 03/22/09 09:55 PM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: iseebergy]
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Member
Registered: 07/03/03
Posts: 1309
Loc: SoCal
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I don't have any trouble believing you can see 67 miles on a clearish day in the valley. My only doubt was seeing into the Yosemite valley from the valley. You are not looking at the Valley floor. You are looking at a point about 4000 feet above the Valley floor. The square root of 8800 feet is over 93 before you get to the 1.22 part, so 67 miles is possible.
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#59245 - 03/22/09 11:45 PM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: ]
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Member
Registered: 12/14/08
Posts: 67
Loc: Visalia, CA.
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Wayne, Way to go and destroy a childhood memory!!  Okay my dad told me it was 300 miles. I just looked it up, it was around 100 miles give or take. Still more than 67 miles. The point being the air was very clear in that part of the country compared to the SJV. Versatile Fred, I love that name by the way what are you Versatile in? I know that you can't see the Yosemite valley floor but a point elevated above the valley. Sorry I didn't speak as clearly as I should have. If there is a clear line of sight to the area photographed I believe it is possible.
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#59253 - 03/23/09 03:37 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: Doug Sr]
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Member
Registered: 02/17/09
Posts: 383
Loc: Northern Ca
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Benjamin Colonna?
"The line from Mount Shasta to Mount Helena is 192 miles long, or 23 miles longer than their longest. And the glory is ours; for America, and not Europe, can boast of the largest trigonometrical figures that have ever been measured on the globe."
B
_________________________
The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
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#59265 - 03/23/09 06:08 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: Doug Sr]
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Member
Registered: 02/17/09
Posts: 383
Loc: Northern Ca
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YIPPEEE!!! My friends make fun of me for being the keeper of useless information (sure to win me the non-prize prize some day) While I was rooting around for line-of-site records as they related to this windy conversation about Half-Dome, I ran across this great NOAA site that had actual excerpts of Benjamin Colonna's 9 days on Shasta -- its a great read that took me completely off the subject, but onto another favorite mountain. Thanks for the opportunity to show off < http://www.history.noaa.gov/stories_tales/shasta.html.> B
_________________________
The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
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#59267 - 03/23/09 08:04 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: Bee]
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Member
Registered: 03/08/03
Posts: 447
Loc: Sparks, NV
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Bee all stirs it up, doesn't she I was thinking about how far you can see, and then went and dug out some photos of my Whitney summit from '05, here's one photo I came up with. Looking south from the summit, Keeler's goodie bag plainly present, with Muir, Langley and all our friends including smog from SoCal in the distance:  And with a little bit of contrast enhancement on the horizon, same photo with cropping and button pushing on the sky, I get this. I put a flappie red ribbon above it. Could it be...??? Bee? You will see some dark spots, I'm not real handy with a trackball and rock-dodging. 
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#59278 - 03/23/09 06:22 PM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: iseebergy]
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Member
Registered: 02/17/09
Posts: 383
Loc: Northern Ca
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The verdict is officially in on Half Dome (thankx to FF on Yosemitenews.info for the link) http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/B
_________________________
The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
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#59284 - 03/23/09 08:13 PM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: Doug Sr]
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Member
Registered: 01/12/03
Posts: 715
Loc: Charlotte, NC
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Doug, I reported on Commander Garner's line-of-sight record from Mt. Shasta to Helena two years ago, which can be seen HERE. It was a record, but Helena was NOT photographed. James Samson currently holds the photographic record for the lower 48 States, with his photo of San Gorgonio 190 miles away from Mt. Whitney. And Iseebergy, you are a great sport! I figured your childhood memory was pretty much as you described, and I'm sure you could see just about forever from your porch. What a view you had! It's just in this thread we have been trying to prove the veracity of Tony I's Yosemite photo from Denair, and, as I think you would agree, we don't need to add too many other distractions to the discussion. Regardless, you, like no one else on this Board, know exactly what you used to see, apparently fairly often, from your porch in Utah. And I'm sure the view was pretty spectacular. As my Aussie friends would say, "Good on yuh!" And thanks for sharing.
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#59297 - 03/24/09 12:38 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: Doug Sr]
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Member
Registered: 01/12/03
Posts: 715
Loc: Charlotte, NC
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Doug, humor appreciated! I'll drink to that!
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#59312 - 03/24/09 04:25 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: Bee]
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Bee, I followed the links on the http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/ site, and there was a reference to a Turlock High School teacher's commentary about taking kids hiking around the peaks they could see from Turlock. He has a web site with contact info, so I emailed him today. Here's part of his reply: I cannot believe that this debate is still going on, but find it amusing that my ramblings are referenced on other sites (and that people actually find a high school teacher credible). I have to say that the USGS line of sight program is something else. I have not yet run across it in my experiences, and I am really digging the results you posted! I actually send my geoscience students down our canal to Verduga Road to get extra credit for seeing Half Dome. MAP LINK BELOW http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=37.498593,-120.819955&spn=0.024106,0.038624&t=h&z=15&msid=108449678809482497378.000465d35e97af6d6253c Perhaps I can add my two science cents to the needless debate and hopefully silence the naysayers. I) The relative size of Half Dome looks gigantic in this photo due to a Ponzo illusion, something akin to a full moon looking huge on the horizon. The telephoto lens used in this photo gives a foreground reference that makes Half Dome appear much larger than it is. No Photoshop needed, just a little brain trickery. II) I've seen some naysers state that there should be some atmospheric distortion in the frame. While this is generally true, the day that the photos were taken had several "perfect" atmospheric conditions allowing for a clear shot. 1) Post-storm-> rain cleared atmosphere of pollution (and haze created by scattering). 2) Cold, High Pressure system -> after the storm blew past, a very cold, high-pressure mass of continental polar air sank from the north into the valley. High pressure makes for sinking, very stable air that counteracts any parcels of air trying to rise off the warming surface. Thus there were no atmospheric waves to distort the Longview to Yosemite. III) I think this debate has risen because people are either A) new to the valley or B) have not asked their elders about the topic. I'm a fourth-generation Turlocker. My mom recalls that the norm in the 1950's was seeing the sierras and Half Dome. Now modern pollution/construction has obscured the views as well as the memories of anyone younger than 40 living here. Thanks for letting me in on the topic! I have my own website with hikes & photos at www.mrhollister.com if you're ever interested. One day when I get a bazooka lens I too will take a shot of Half Dome from there. His Verduga Road location is a little more than a mile south of the line extending from Half Dome through Tony Immoos' camera location.
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#59316 - 03/24/09 05:49 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: ]
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Member
Registered: 02/17/09
Posts: 383
Loc: Northern Ca
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Steve,
This is SO neat!! I mentioned the defraction/full moon argument early on in a verbal discussion and I was laughed at. I feel a bit vindicated by this point. Do you think that you could please post this on the Yosemite site? I don't feel that its right/fair that I just cut and paste it as if I did the research (besides, some of the regulars are starting to rib me on both boards for stirring things up a bit)
I really enjoyed the teacher's posting/explanations.
Newsflash: today(an exceptionally clear day scrubbed by N wind), 3/23 one of the guys went to the exact same spot at the original photographer (Tony Immoos, who was also there) and states that El Cap was clearly visible to the unaided eye (halfdome was hiding behind clouds)photos to follow...
(its fun to be an optimist!)
B
_________________________
The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
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#59319 - 03/24/09 11:27 AM
Re: Half Dome view from Denair CA
[Re: Hike of your Life]
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Member
Registered: 01/12/03
Posts: 715
Loc: Charlotte, NC
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Hike of your Life,
I think the peak you marked is Maturango Peak, about 55 miles from Mt. Whitney. Telescope Peak at 72 miles, to the left of Maturango, is totally obscured from the bad "seeing".
If you were thinking of picking up San Gorgonio, it is on the other side of Mt. Langley.
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