Matthew Hagen, Don’t Look Down (February theme: Unusual angles)

Pictured is the cusp between Life and Death on one of the World’s most renowned hikes, Angel’s Landing, Zion National Park. Along the ascent of the 5790 foot tall, knife edge rock formation no wider than a few feet in some areas with drops as far as 1000 feet, I was pushed back to the Ledge in a bottle neck in order to make way for a large group of unprepared hikers, fleeing from the heights back to the start of the trail. Inches from the Edge, the effectiveness of the new permit system was immediately in question. The fame of Angel’s Landing insights a familiar problem known by the National Parks System, overcrowding. 13 poor Souls have died from falls along this trail, may the introduction of permits discourage anymore loss of Life.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.