Hiking US Grant Peak & V4 via Ice Lakes Basin, San Juan Mountains, Ouray Colorado in 4K!

[@MJ-uf9tl]

Having climbed the highest 200 pks in Colorado back in the 80's and 90's, I have to compliment you on your work. You really captured the entire experience so well. It is fortunate that modern technology is in capable hands like yours and allows many who walked those trails and climbed those routes decades ago to enjoy the experience. Your work is meaningful and impactful. Thank you for your efforts.

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

WOW, that is an incredible compliment coming from a man who lived this lifestyle a little while back. I'm truly humbled by your words. Thank you sir. Karl 👍

[@alperry7180]

Awesome Video

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

I have always been awestruck by the San Juans and Ice Lakes Basin! Thanks 👍, Karl

[@chelseaadams4151]

That's me! So much fun hiking with you!

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

I am so glad you found me! That was one great adventure! I hope Columbine lake was greatl for you too. That was one long STEEP start. That video is up as well if you're interested in a bird's view of it? I though I saw you on insta but now gone? I'd like to learn more about your trip to Costa Rica! May have to do something like that but on a motorcycle. . . . Please hit me up. . . Did the video meet your expectations. . . I did talk that the talk. . . but, did I walk the walk? Definitely climbed the climbs. . . LOL!

[@chelseaadams4151]

@@KarlDeckerPresents Columbine Lake was so pretty! So was the second lake! I'll check out that video for sure!! You found me on Insta, yay! I have been to Costa Rica, but not the photos you were referring to! Definitely recommend Nicaragua or Guatemala over Costa Rica any day. The video is incredible!! I've shared it with all of my friends and made the joke that I'm famous! lol Definitely walked the walk and climbed the climbs!!! Can't wait to see all of your future adventures!! The video made me want to go back and climb those peaks (and you know how I do with heights LOL)

[@iloveadventures6710]

@@chelseaadams4151 You ARE Famous Now!!!

[@GFields-DigitalPhotoCreations]

Another awesome video!

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

Thank-you! And more to come. . . for sure.

[@petr-podrouzek]

Fantastic, my friend :-)

[@PilotEJ401]

You've upped your game again, this production is amazing. We are grateful to be able to experience such beauty along with you!! Thank you 👍

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

Thank you Eric! You guys are a big piece of my motivation! I’m also grateful to do and share these trips as well as capture the memories. . . In 4K. . . Man, is the bar high now, lol!

[@iloveadventures6710]

@@KarlDeckerPresents Only as High as you can Summit! Breathe... Flow... You Got this!

[@CarlosRodriguez-oc6hw]

Dope! AF!

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

Thanks! One of my personal favorites, incredible area!

[@JessicaKwon]

this is magnificent

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

Thank you, please come visit again. I've been on a roll lately and very lucky! Lots of really cool stuff coming up. Honestly, the last 2 published came out quite well too. I did check out your channel, well done! Excellent camera movement, deliberate and smooth! One trick I use, I shoot in 30FPS and edit in a 24FSP time line at 80% and it is just enough "slow mo" to give it that extra dreamy feel with out being obvious or too slow. . . . I know how hard it is to get smooth footage, nice job. . . .Cheers!

[@iloveadventures6710]

@@KarlDeckerPresents Awesome tip!

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

@@iloveadventures6710 keep that to yourself. It's one of our secret weapons. . . .

[@dansouth2088]

Simply stunning and epic!! Very well done!! The San Juan's are so beautiful.

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

Appreciate that Dan, this trip was truly amazing! The view of the lakes from up top is worth the effort by itself, and yes, those hues are real! Thanks 👍

[@diana.goes.hiking3276]

Wow the views are incredible!!! Another one on the bucket list. Thank you for sharing your journey!

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

It was truly an outstanding trip with the lakes being a major highlight. Getting above them was just awesome, peaks or no, I definitely recommend seeing them from above and wished I'd had the vision to do so more for Ice lake though the route I used was not totally conducive. . . hmm, I'll definitely be back there! It is so cool and motivating to know when I'm up there my friends are going to be there with me. Thanks for coming!

[@iloveadventures6710]

How many bucket list items do you have left? I have a bunch as I am sure others do too... Maybe you start a club? I guarantee more will join!

[@iloveadventures6710]

@@KarlDeckerPresents Start a Club Bro!!! I'll join anytime you are in Colorado or when I'm on my 20,000mi hike! I just may use a rope on anything 5.6+ ... I'm surprised your Balls of Steel don't weigh you down bro!

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

@@iloveadventures6710 I've got a BUNCH more objectives! I was hoping we'd hook up. Please shoot me your e-mail to [e-mail] and we can get something cool figured out. 5.6 is my threshold too, that's perfect.

[@edmiller999]

Can't wait until you make a trip to Vestal Basin, Would love to see a video of the trinity traverse

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

You are SOOO right Eric, if I had not ruptured my biceps ligament earlier in the season I was planning a solo on Vestal, Wham ridge, as well as more peaks there! I do wish I had a climbing partner for that especially since it is a no drone zone and down climbing class 5 is lots of extra work. By next season I bet I will have that support. . . Thanks for coming along!

[@huskerhank6231]

I guess you could down climb Wham but the cracks may be solid but they're narrow and I would hate to try to find them on a downclimb. What I have done is go down the south face of Vestal which is an absolute nightmare even by San Juan standards. Cut to the east toward the Trinity's for a rough but short section of Class 5 and then descend via a steep loose gully. If this is your taste try the north ridge of West Trinity which is sort of a mean little brother of Wham. No carins, no other people so a premium on route finding.

[@A10Cobra]

We hit Ice Lake a few times prior to 2020. What an amazing place! One of the coldest swims I have done. Thanks for sharing. Drone footage is great! My drone struggled with the altitude.

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

Thanks again man, it's an amazing area, planning for more than a couple adventures in the San Juan next season!

[@Squidinc2]

Sensational Karl. Particularly loved the opening scenes & soundtrack. Your drone flying in this was in my opinion as good as it gets! Technically perfect. Corkscrews, reveals, dolly zooms, speed ramps, manual dronies, it had the lot and then some! Complemented by the jaw dropping scenery and climbing this was brilliant cinematography on all counts. I always watch your videos on my Sony 4K OLED widescreen and it just made it so real. And that lake! Wow is that blue or what! Great job Karl 👍🏻

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

Huge thanks Paul, I think I'm turning another corner, more focus on artistry now that I have a strong foundation of camera, drone and editing skills. I did have one minor set back more recently and it highlights a major point in drone videography. When I got the new Air2s the firmware to use one controller with both of my drones, like I use to with the Air 2 and Mini 2, does not work anymore with the 2s. That's not a huge deal but definitely a PITA to carry two controllers and re set the phone even time I want to switch digging in my pack on the side of a cliff. The big deal was updating and reinstalling everything on every piece of drone equipment and loosing all my advanced gimbal setting in the process. . . all to find out that the updates won't fix the problem in the first place. I only realized in the field on top of a huge mountain that the flight and gimbal characteristics felt like crap. . . and my setting were gone. I got it to work anyway but definitely another big PITA, thanks DJI. . . But, lemons to lemonade, not only is taking a screen shot of you advanced settings an invaluable lesson, it also forced me to value them more and hopeful make even better use of them in the future depending on the "style" or "Feel" I'm looking for and how all that can be even further improved with dramatic effect in the editor! I sure wish I had the original settings though, I was totally accustom to that "feel." Thanks for joining me brother! More EPIC is on the way!

[@ruggedland]

Absolutely beautiful. This is becoming my favorite outdoor channel. Thanks for such great content Karl

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

I have finally found a process and unique artistic style of shooting and editing that I can call my own. It will be evolving and growing much easier now too since I now have all the editing skills and camera equipment/knowledge that I need. Much thanks my friend! I've got some very cool stuff to come as well!

[@huskerhank6231]

The two peaks between V4 & Vermillion are Golden Horn & Pilot Knob. Golden Horn looks insane but is quite solid and a lot of fun. My golden retrievers had no problem with reaching the twin summits. The peak with the raggedly looking summit ridge is Pilot Knob. I have done 47 of the 50 highest peaks of the San Juans and I am grateful I didn't try the final pitch. Usually crappy rock up to the summit block but to actually summit Pilot Knob you have to traverse a 45 degree hard packed slope full of very loose BB type rock. Put a rock on the summit block & go home. The very first requirement of a bucket list is that it doesn't put you into a bucket.

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

! The San Juans are my favorites, I hope I can visit as many summits. I am planning on the knob and horn next season. They look like my kind of climbs for sure! I’ll definitely do my best to stay out of the bucket!

[@huskerhank6231]

Minimal snow this year so it should be a great climbing season. If you are in the San Juans drop me an email and maybe we can meet. WARNING: My favorite song is Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen!

[@andrewwisener2060]

Awesome video Karl, thanks for making it! We’re visiting ice lake this weekend. Would you recommend the V4-Grant saddle to get to Grant, or is the V2-Grant saddle any better to access Grant peak?

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

Definitely take the standard route up US Grant, the way I went up from V4 I think it was, . . The way I went down was convoluted, loose and tough, nice views. The standard ascent is also well marked and very cool! Way more pleasant!

[@whiplashingitis]

Those drone shots are amazing! Good job man! How many batteries did you end up using?

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

Appreciate that! This is an amazing place for sure, think I used the one battery pack. Check out Mt Garfield, good comments on that drone work, let me know what you think! Karl

[@whiplashingitis]

@@KarlDeckerPresents I'm planning Grizzly Peak and Garfield Peak via Independence Pass this summer. Should be an interesting ridge hike. Colorado has a lot of copycat names for some reason. I also noticed someone posted a ridge route on Alltrails for Ulysses Peak via the Ophir Historic Pass by cresting V1, South Lookout and Point Giesecke. No idea how that works based on what I saw with my own eyes from the V2 saddle, but sounds like another epic challenge worth trying. I might buy a skydio soon because they have a really easy preplanning route generator and obstacle avoidance, only issue is it's not foldable like the DJI's. Some mountains just look utterly spectacular from the sky, like Grant, and I want to capture that like you did!

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

@@whiplashingitis I looked at that grizzly/Garfield adventure, but I was discouraged because of the wilderness area blocking drone flight. I also saw the all trails, that route to Ulysses will be in intense, my down climb on Ulysses was loose easy class five. It’s not good to get too technical in the San Juan’s because it’s so brittle and loose. And that route would have a lot of it. Where are you located? Do you have a map of all the wilderness areas?

[@whiplashingitis]

@@KarlDeckerPresents I'm from VA so I don't get out there very often. Forgot it was a wilderness area. I don't have a drone yet, man just another government regulation to deal with! Class 5 downclimb?! Dang I heard it was only a 3 maybe 4. I was going to climb the south western ridge between Ice and Island lakes up to V4 and then across Grant to make a mini-loop and big figure 8 from the car.

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

@@whiplashingitis there may well be an easier way. . . I just free balled it down and took the first spot I knew I could do. Even then, it was like a 30 step/drop of 5 easy. The thing I don’t like about the drone Regs is one size fits all. Big Drones can be pretty loud but my mini 3 is pretty quiet and none intrusive. . . Happy adventures!

[@edwardfrisk6638]

What drone do you use? Mavic 3 pro? This production is top notch!

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

So I've been through a lot of them, but I was using a 2S at the time, now I use a mini 3 pro. Love it!! Karl 👍

[@mordecaimcafee3729]

what drone are you using to shoot your footage?

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

That was the air 2S, I love the drone!

[@jiggystardust]

6:17 ice lake is as blue as your shirt!

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

True that!

[@iloveadventures6710]

Do you ever just use your drone to decide which way to go bro?

[@KarlDeckerPresents]

I should have on that one fuck up but honestly the right way was obvious, faint trail, but I wanted to do battle on the ridge, and got beat back. . .