Top Gear Episode (Season 24, Episode 2): Supercars for all Seasons

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A kindred spirit of the blog, The Stig, has mysteriously communicated that a segment of this weeks episode of the BBC show Top Gear will be of interest to my readers. The Supercars for all Seasons episode has something called the "Four Seasons Challenge" which starts out in Las Vegas goes through Death Valley to the High Sierra to Mammoth Mountain. Part of the challenge ends up at Bogart Curve on Whitney Portal Road as seen below:

The episode has already aired in the U.K. and should be airing this Sunday night on BBC America. However, check your local listings to find out dates and times.

I'll just say The Great Silence Blog had a tiny little influence on some of the ideas in this episode. Not whole lot, but it was there. While watching the episode I was amazed at how they used some of the concept ideas that I knew of before they filmed it and how the final product came out. It was really well done. There is this point where they travel by Owens Lake, which really isn't a lake anymore, but the reflections and the scenery make it very powerful! So be sure to check it out.

A few of my related blog entries on some of the spots used in the episode:

Bogart Curve.

Mammoth Mountain

As far as this blog is concerned. I've been a bit lazy in the past few months. I should have a minor project up in a few weeks. The big project that I meant to have up by the end of last year then delayed is...still delayed. I haven't forgotten about it, but need more time on that one.

It is nice to know the the drought is over in the High Sierra at this time. Lots of ice this time around. This is good. I'm excited for this season!

Mt. Whitney Area ( Part 4): Bogart Curve

(GPS: N 36° 36.290 W 118° 12.960)

As I was driving back down Whitney Portal Road I stopped off at the area that some call Bogart Curve. The reason it is called that is it is the area that Humphey Bogart drives around in the movie High Sierra at the end avoiding the police behind him. However, keep in mind from what I have seen in the movie that it was highly unlikely Bogart was actually driving the car during this scene. It was probably a stunt double running up the mountain at the end of the movie. The scene that Bogart is shown on a mountain was probably taken near Mt. Wilson in Los Angeles. Okay, so with that out of the way let me just show you where the final climatic scenes of the movie take place.

This is Bogart Curve where he turns around this sharp corner:

When I was there I was actually standing on the rocks at the right and shooting down on the corner just behind the car above.
After that sharp corner the camera shows him going further up:

My picture is of the same area. In the movie it shows him go further up and then pans down as you can see the police coming from the road below to the corner.

The clouds were all over the place and it was very grey that afternoon. Keep in mind it had snows at Whitney Portal while I was there ten minutes earlier. This is a shot of the town Independence in the distance.

This is a shot looking down to the Alabama Hills and Lone Pine.

Anyways, this ends my little series on Mt. Whitney until I climb it next summer. I did not think I would drive up there, but for a few hours I was in heaven there! I had to miss out on a few things at the festival, but I needed to smell the pine tree air! I drove down shortly after this picture and then got a little lost on the private properties on the southern side of Alabama Hills. I eventually took a scary road out and headed home. I can't wait to go back to this area.