John West Wrote:
===================================
> [Meals, Motels and miles] ... are the enemies of
> great photography.
As a fellow curmudgeon, I agree - to some extent.
> IMHO
Bernd and Pete did
their [his] best to
> overcome those challenges ... by ensuring we
> had little time to eat or sleep, and the miles were
> covered as best they could be in darkness and
> discomfort. In terms of the photographic results,
> I think it was all worthwhile.
Insofar as the sunrise photos, I agree 110% - enduring the chilly mornings - which could have been WAY colder had Mother Nature not smiled upon us - was well worth the minor discomfort. And I say this as one who, as a result of a minor skirmish with Chief Monte- (or Mochte-) Zoo-Mah missed his probably once-in-a-lifeime chance to photograph a glint-lighted loko-motive with a sunrise-silhoueted water tank to its right. I feel privileged to at least have observed said occurrence.
> Photo line discipline is a pain pleasure thing. A
> disciplined photo line will ensure everyone gets
> the same decent but probably mediocre result. A
> lot of us want to be more creative, and that
> clearly does result in an element of chaos. But
> usually folks work together reasonably well.
But when a very small minority of very vocal mountaineering yahoos (viehkerlen, auf deutsch) over-ride a reasonable photo-line halfway up the mountain, IMHO, that ISN'T reasonable ...
> The fact we had two leaders definitely resulted in
> some confusion.
REALLY, John?? You must be kidding!
But then, you were chasing in your car, and didn't hear Pete screaming,
"I am So Embarrassed! I am SO EMBARRASSED!!"
> But there simply was not enough time for Be[r]nd and Pete -
> from two different worlds - to totally coordinate their thinking.
> High risk, high reward. Perfect? No. Worth the try?
> I definitely think so.
I WHOLEHEARTEDLY DISAGREE. Pete, having at least basic familiarity with the C&TS and SFAIK having been forewarned about Bernd's disregard for reality, should have insisted on having veto power over totally unachievable scenarios.
> The Antonito to Cumbres day was long. Too long.
> About 3 a.m. I made a decision to motorcade rather
> than ride.
IMHO, and in spite of my skirmishes with Mochte-Zoo-Mah and his henchman Iupt-e-chuk't that morning (and after Alan took Bernd aside and laid down the law), 10/22 was by far the best day of the five, and - in retrospect - the only one for which I would have paid full fare, and I'm very grateful that Monday was the day on which Alan's usual photo-line assistant Ashley Holden was on board. I would gladly have contributed for a reasonable 'chasers pass' for the other four days, but Monday was the ONLY day for which a 'Ticket to Ride' was fully justified.
> That definitely was easier on my aging body,
> but I also missed a few great shots. But I also
> got a few good ones the folks on the train didn't.
... Such as the incredibly beautiful photo you posted on [ngdiscussion.net]
> Over all I consider the charters a big success
...
> JBWX
Again, I must STRONGLY disagree. Assuming that Curmudgeonliness includes the privilege of 'Speaking Truth to Power', I sincerely hope that you and Pete (and I'll help to the extent that I can and you'll allow me to) will organize a two-day charter in 2014 that will exclude the the negative elements and include the positive elements of the 2012 Charters and those aspects of TRDR that we bantered about last year.
SINCERELY,
-
Rüsso de los Locos de la Costa del Oro
p.s. This would be - in court - only hearsay
: a retired railroad official told me that he had observed Bernd (who had, I presume, signed a C&TS charter participant safety agreement) both boarding - and alighting from - the train
while it was in motion backing up for a run-by at Apache Crossing on 10/22. Said official declared that if he were in charge, the violator would have been immediately escorted off RR property.
pps. The following is NOT hearsay. IMHO, It's one thing for a FahrtFührer to endanger his (or her) own life in pursuit of 'that perfect photograph' (see above), but quite another when he (or she) exhibits a wanton disregard for the safety of others.
I was NOT kidding in my previous post about almost having a head-on collision with an 18-wheeled stainless-steel tank truck (a gasoline tanker, ya think?) as a result of one of the fahrt-führers (presumably) brow-beating the charter-bus driver into parking in a VERY unsafe manner on 10/23 to save the passengers thereon an extra 40- or 50-yard hike to the overview at mp 333. If it were up to me, Bernd Seiler's visa into the U.S. would be PERMANENTLY revoked.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2012 02:13AM by Russo Loco.
