Old Man of the Mountain

[John Satterlee]

This might seem like a silly question, but here goes:

I was in a restaurant on Block Island the other day and saw a photo of the Old Man profile on the wall. The photo showed the profile's face facing right which meant it would have been taken from the south, but it was a perfect outline of the profile.

Since every picture I can remember seeing shows the profile facing towards the left I was wondering if this was a printing mistake or was it possible to take a photo from the south that showed the profile as clearly as the typical photos taken from the (left facing)north?

 

[David Metsky]

Since every picture I can remember seeing shows the profile facing towards the left I was wondering if this was a printing mistake or was it possible to take a photo from the south that showed the profile as clearly as the typical photos taken from the (left facing)north?

It could simply have been a reversed photo. I don't think there was a place where you could get a similar view from the south.

 

[nartreb]

I agree with Metsky. The reverse angle might have worked from a spot right beside the Old Man up near the top of the cliff, but I doubt that's the photo you saw. I don't think the angles would work from anywhere on the ground (the cliff would be in the way).

 

[peakbagger]

It has to be a reversed photo as the features of the old man were not all in the same plane. When viewed from the traditional locations, the features lined up but as you went south down the parkway, the features didnt line up.

The proposed memorial (stalled due to lack of adequate funding) is to have a series of large granite pylons in a row with what appear to be random features on each pylon. When viewing the pylons from one end and looking at the former Old Man location, the random features will recreate the profile.

 

[Dragonfly]

I was reading a book on the Old Man a couple of weeks ago and if I recall correctly it showed pictures tkaen from the other side (aerially I believe) which also showed the profile. The book is at our condo at Loon Mountain and I am in Mass or I would double check.

 

[1HappyHiker]

Hopefully, this will not be considered to be that far off-topic, but if it is, then simply ignore my reply.

Anyway, this thread reminds me of a topic that I've meant to post on this Forum but never got around to doing. The topic is as follows. It would be of interest to me (and probably others as well) to see any photo(s) of the Old Man that were taken from a non-traditional viewpoint, such as while bushwhacking on the Eagle Cliff Ridge, etc.

 

[erugs]

I, too, have seen pictures of the Old Man as taken from the other side. The profile wasn't exactly the same, but it was there, just the same.

 

[JohnL]

A non-traditional viewpoint. Taken from the top of the Old Man's head. Note the ring bolts and cables holding the rocks together.

JohnL

 

[1HappyHiker]

. . . The proposed memorial (stalled due to lack of adequate funding) is to have a series of large granite pylons in a row with what appear to be random features on each pylon. When viewing the pylons from one end and looking at the former Old Man location, the random features will recreate the profile.

Just happened to run across the link below which provides some additional info about the memorial mentioned in peakbagger's reply.

http://oldmanofthemountainlegacyfund.org/

 

[erugs]

I'm having trouble scanning it in, but page 10 of the book, Saving The Great Stone Face, has a small photo showing "the south profile (top left), visible only from the air" -- the photo of the "south profile" is attributed to Dick Hamilton.