Gambling on a sunrise
Is watching the sunrise, mountaintop to mountaintop, worth a 4.15 a.m. wake-up call?
Getting up very early to experience or accomplish something is a gamble few of us make. After pondering the long list of considerations revolving around the possibility of satisfaction, one is left with good old opportunity cost, “Would I be better off sleeping?” If you can catch such a sunrise any day then maybe you would trade the early rise in summer for a later rise in another season. But my husband and I can’t.
After we’d bought the tickets for Mammoth Mountain’s inaugural Sunrise from the Peak in July, friends of ours breezily advised, “It’s only sleep.”
Of course, they opted not to join us.
There is magic even before the sunrise, watching blue-black sky and landscape fade as we dove to the Adventure Center. First, mountain ridges etch against the sky then color leaches into trees and rocks and grass.
The blokes operating the gondola (all men, that day and the next) were surely hired for their enthusiasm. They sent us up the mountain with rousing calls.
Hot drinks at the base were repeated at the summit, with the addition of fresh fruit, pastries and doughnuts. Certainly this was value for money.
At the summit, most people scattered to vantage points but a few waited for Peter Morning and his photography tips. We set up a few hundred meters from the gondola, grabbed knowledge from Peter and began clicking under his guidance. Atmospheric conditions created streaks above the horizon – a little drama for the photographs. At about 5.35 a.m., a tiny but intense sun blipped over a distant peak. We courted it directly then turned our backs and captured its handiwork.
The summit offers 360° views. Such a vantage point makes a map of the landscape: the large lakes, the town, the golf course, roads, valleys were laid out below. But, that morning, the rays did not find the many small lakes scattered around the ranges so they remained hidden – something for another dawn. At our feet, dew created jewels of grasses.
There comes a point, with exposure to the chill, when hands stop functioning meaningfully. It’s time then for the optional half-hour guided walk. We discovered the surprising story about how Mammoth Lakes was named and learnt that, although the mountain is geographically part of the Sierras, geologically it’s like the Sesame Street song where one of the items doesn’t belong.
There’s no compunction to return via gondola at the 7 a.m. conclusion. Some people opted to walk off; others remained to enjoy the vista or visit the interpretive center. The Morning Scenic Ride participants were beginning to arrive when we left.
Choose your own time to visit the top but dawn, affecting one’s entire day, is perhaps the richest and most fulfilling.
It’s the beauty of wilderness. It’s the pleasure of doing something different; the joy of being present as the world assembles itself; the quiet before everyone else starts; the knowledge gained. For some, it may even be the satisfaction of being one of the few.
It’s definitely not the lack of sleep.
Anne Young is a freelance writer. annieyoung2@gmail.com
