What a view!

On Avion Ridge in Waterton Lakes National Park. by Eric Fletcher

While on a horse trek within Waterton Lakes National Park, we had ridden up 720 metres to the highest point along Avion Ridge on a clear and warm day in late July (2014). Even the horses seemed to be interested in the 360° view, so I was inspired to capture the photosphere above.

One side drops off almost vertically to a hanging valley ~300m below; the other is a steep slope of scree that eventually becomes another vertical cliff. Our guide, Josh Watson of Alpine Stables, reassured us by pointing out that his horses had 4 feet and likely were just as eager to avoid slipping as we were. Okay... but there were certainly a number of heart-stopping moments as the trail came to within a metre of the edge as the fairly strong wind blew towards the cliff side!

The photosphere is a composite of ~40 images stitched together by my Nexus 7 tablet. The result is a 3D immersive image that allows you to drag the view around as if you are inside a sphere. You can roll the mouse to zoom in or out.

This image was selected for inclusion in Google Maps, so anyone exploring this part of southern Alberta will see a thumbnail of it and others nearby along the bottom of the screen (click the Explore button in the lower right).