Upcycle Progress: Mount of the Holy Cross

Mount of the Holy Cross is one of the fourteen 14,000 foot mountains in the Sawatch Range of Colorado. The mountain looms above  ‘The Bowl of Tears’ at 14,011 feet. I’ve had the opportunity to visit this mountain two times. On my first visit my partner and I got stuck in a storm near the peak before getting lost in a thick fog and struggling to find our way back to the trailhead without summiting the mountain. On my second visit I was able to enjoy the beauty of the mountain and summit the 14er before any Colorado thunderstorms chased us off the peak. The Mount of the Holy Cross is one of my favorite mountains and is the inspiration behind my upcycle project.

For my upcycle project I intend to upcycle cardboard and make a model of the Mount of the Holy Cross. In doing so I will apply two aesthetics that other students explored earlier this semester: the aesthetics of maps and the touch of color aesthetic.

The model will be made up from multiple sheets of cardboard set up such that the planes of these sheets are parallel. I will then cut an outline of the mountain on each sheet – not the same outline but one that varies in shape and size so that when each outline is placed parallel to its adjacent outlines, they sum together to make a 3D model that represents the Mount of the Holy Cross.

This project will adopt the aesthetic of maps since the model it self will be a representation of the mountain just as any map would be. Furthermore, the model will be built with the assistance of a topographic map. A topographic map will be a crucial aid in helping me properly outline the shape of the mountain.

This project will also include the touch of color aesthetic. While I intend to keep most of the cardboard used to build the mountain uncolored, I will use color to highlight one of the most significant features of the mountain – the Holy Cross. The Cross of on Mount of the Holy Cross is visible year round and is what the mountain is named for, thus I find it important to make this feature really stand out.

Hopefully my upcycle project will render a model of the Mount of the Holy Cross that can allow people to enjoy another perspective nature and art.

 

 

Sources for images in the order of appearance:

1. http://images.summitpost.org/original/250025.jpg

2. http://www.climbingolder.net/~stacey.bender/maps/Holy_Cross.jpg

3. http://www.mountainphotography.com/images/large/holyCrossAlpenglow.jpg

14er, model, mountain, Upcycle
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2 Comments. Leave new

  • This is a cool idea, and I’m excited to see the final product. I have actually never been to the Mount of the Holy Cross, but now I am intrigued and hope to go there one day. How are you planning to cut the cardboard, and how large will the cardboard structure be?

    Reply
  • Sam Van Dreser
    February 5, 2017 9:11 pm

    Hey Alex! This is such a great idea! What a great way to incorporate topo maps and cardboard in a project. Curious, are you planning on modeling just the peak itself or are you incorporating a few of the surrounding features as well? It might be pretty neat if you model it like the picture with the lake, although you cant see the cross. Cant wait to see how this turns out!

    Reply

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