THE THREE SISTERS VIEWPOINT AT THE CENTER OF GLENCOE : TWELVE IMAGES STITCHED TOGETHER BARELY GET THREE OF THE MOUNTAINS IN ONE PANORAMA, AND IT IS FOUR TIMES AS WIDE AS IT IS TALL.

This week I would like to take you on a virtual journey to one of the most incredible places in the Scottish Highlands, the valley of Glencoe. I can honestly say that this must be one of the most incredible landscapes on Earth, and in some sense one of the most accessible to ordinary human beings - at least those lucky enough to be able to make the journey. Glencoe serves as one of the few gateways to the Highlands, which constitute the majority of empty Scotland north of Edinburgh and Glasgow.  While it is not impossible to avoid a passage through Glencoe on the way north, it is pretty hard - there are just not that many roads in the Highlands. Any detailed map of Scotland will reveal vast areas with no roads at all, and the fabled A82 through Glencoe is one of the few ways to travel north into Scotland's wilderness.

                BUACHAILLE ETIVE MOR (ISN'T GAELIC JUST CHARMING) IS AN ALMOST STEREOTYPICAL MOUNTAIN THAT STANDS AT THE EAST END OF GLENCOE

A good American analogy to this route is the Transcontinental railroad. Just as this rail line sealed the fate of the American Indians, the road through Glencoe was built through one of Great Britain's major mountain ranges as a tool to subdue the Scottish Highlanders forever. As you travel this route today you are mostly impressed with the absolute desperation of the Crown willing to create a route of conquest that might as well have reached to the ends of the Earth. Compared to England's "green and pleasant land", Glencoe is absolutely frightening, even over the few pleasant days Fran and I were privileged to stay there on our way to the Isle of Skye. We deliberately planned to return one month after our initial visit because it doesn't take much You Tube research to realize that a visit to Glencoe might turn out to be one giant sodden mess. it's not rare that all of these scenes I will show you this week would be hidden in the clouds and the wind and the rain. The only thing comforting about a journey through Glencoe , even in the snow,  is that the authorities must keep the road open, since there are no alternative routes.

                LOOKING BACK EAST TO THE ENTRANCE OF GLENCOE

Glencoe is so spectacular that it is exceedingly hard to convey its power through photographs. While these mountains are not very tall - they are only one quarter as high as Mt. Hood - the concentration of ten major named mountains and numerous foothills along two sides of a two-lane road over just a few miles will take your breath away no matter how many times you drive through. Like the Grand Canyon or Crater Lake, this sudden appearance of a wilderness along a little road is almost beyond belief. It is just too big to take it all in, and a camera lens, no matter how wide, can not reveal the breadth of the view.

                ANOTHER VIEW EAST THROUGH THE GLEN - THIS IS THE ONLY CONVENTIONAL IMAGE IN THIS ESSAY

                TWO OF THE THREE SISTERS LORD IT OVER THE GLEN

Thus a photographer can only focus on portions of the landscape, large and small, and rely on their memories to convey the real extent of the valley. Only one of these images of Glencoe is in fact a single photograph. I have relied on the computer to stitch together multiple photographs, ranging from only a few to double-digit in number, to begin to convey how these scenes felt in person. These stitched panoramas go far beyond what is possible with any wide angle lens, and do not reduce the apparent size of the subjects at hand. The first stitched panorama is four times as wide as it is tall, and still only covers the central portion of the valley. There are two major mountains on either side of this scene, just beyond the frame, and three on the other side of the road. The road itself is so insubstantial that it doesn't appear to be much more than a path through the mountains. The hiking paths can only be discerned if there are people on the trails down in the valley. Most of these trails do not venture very far from the road, and are better for recreation than achieving viewpoints very different from those that can be seen right off the road. At best you might be able to place the tiny river Coe in the foreground. At worst you will be engaged in real mountain climbing in order to explore the areas further into the mountains beyond the road.

                  AONACH DUBH, THE LAST OF THE THREE SISTERS NEAR THE WESTERN END OF THE GLEN

                                         A MONTH LATER, A SLIGHTLY HIGHER VIEWPOINT HIGHLIGHTS THE A82 IN THE FOREGROUND AND LOCH ACHTRIOCHTAN IN THE DISTANCE. CHANNELING YOUR YIDDISH PRONUNCIATION REALLY HELPS DEAL WITH GAELIC.

                                                                  A DETAIL OF THE EAST EDGE OF BEINN FHADA WITH LARGER BUACHAILLE ETIVE BEAG IN THE DISTANCE

I hope that these images have conveyed even a little of the drama of Glencoe. I humbly suggest that you give stitching images as try, as it seems to be the only way you can begin to convey the majesty of places like Glencoe. It is not that hard to do at all, since the computer does most of the work - just get a cup of coffee while it "thinks" about what you are asking it to do. And the more modest your stitching is, the easier it will be to display the final product. There are very few places on Earth that can require a 4:1 frame, and Glencoe is one of them.