Sail Rock, Russia

The natural tall Sail Rock, is also famous as Parus Rock, is a natural sandstone monolith located on the shore of the Black Sea, in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, approximately 17 kilometers from the resort city of Gelendzhik. The rock is unquestionably flat and narrow, similar as the sail of a ship, and henceforth its name. It is approximately 30 meters tall and 20 meters long but only a meter thick. Contributing to its image lies the fact that this rock is upright to the coastline. If you look it from some distance, it looks like a boat with a huge sail has come ashore.

Adjacent to the base of the monolith is an unusual hole of unidentified origin. Some people have faith in that the rock was used as defense during the Caucasian War and the hole was formed to shoot through at the enemy. Though, this is unsure because Sail Rock is thin, and it is still not easy to puncture. Therefore this observation is well supported by an incident described by the Russian writer, essayist and journalist S.Vasyukov, where he saw a Russian battleship shoot four projectiles at the monolith. Though the traces of the cannonballs were observable, but the cliff was nowhere to be destroyed.

He wrote; why a battleship shot at such a remarkable natural wonder is something one will surprise. Appreciatively in 1971, the Sail Rock was declared a natural monument and is now protected, at least, from human’s harm, though as far as sea continues to erode the stack away. Aerial photographs of Sail Rock displays submerged rock extending as much as 90 meters away from the monolith indicating the "sail" was much longer at earlier times.

Spitbank Fort Hotel United Kingdom

A private owner invested £3 million and transform Spitbank Military Fort into a high-class luxury island retreat. Spitbank is located approximately a mile away from the coast of Portsmouth in Hampshire, United Kingdom. The gorgeous Spitbank Fort Hotel provides nine guest rooms that are nothing short of expensive along with three beautiful restaurants that come with bars, library, hot on rooftop, sun decks and a sauna. The unique idea consist of several original features from the fort have been retained such as the exposed brick walls, original fortress windows and a few cannons as well. Those who’re visiting the Fort hotel are met at Gosport and then taken to the hotel through a private boat. Therefore the second approach is to fly to No Man's Land Fort - big brother to the Spitbank and then take a boat ride lasting 10 minutes to reach the extravagance hotel. The Spitbank Fort provides twilight dinner and delicious Sunday lunch and both of which are experiences that you will never forget. The fort can be hired in private as well for sailing weekends, parties and weddings. But you must keep in mind that the stay at the hotel is extremely high with per head cost being £350.

Mount Babel Alberta, Canada

Mount Babel is a 10,173 feet (3,101m) mountain peak in the Ten Peaks in Alberta, Canada. As per Peakery data, it ranks as the 140th highest mountain in Alberta and the 258th highest mountain in Canada. The adjacent peaks are Mount Fay, Mount Little, Mount Bowlen, Tower of Babel, Quadra Mountain, and Bident Mountain. Mt. Babel is one of the most popular mountains in the Valley of Ten Peaks that beautifully surrounds Moraine Lake in Banff National Park. The smaller and less known Consolation Lakes lie just behind Mt Babel. 

The stunning lakes can only be reached by climbing across the rockslides that have tumbled down from towering Mt Babel. These images shows the gorgeous beauty of autumn colors of the golden yellow larches on the rocky slopes of Mt Babel and some of them are very big rocks that lie just at the edge of the first Consolation Lake. The dramatic Mount Babel rises vertically some 1000 metres above the Consolation Valley, and the mountain was the scene of one of the most dramatic rescues in the history of the National Park Warden Service. The rout to Mount Babel is really an impressive rock route, because it cannot be called a classic (having only been climbed twice) but it definitely offers a thrilling day's climbing. It could be an astonishing effort for the time when it was first climbed. The majority of the route is now free, with a limited points of aid that keep the grade reasonably sensible. 

Therefore the approach trail (Consolation Lake Trail) to the Tower of Babel is a commonly used trail among the tourists who are delivered in mass by bus to the Lake Moraine Lodge. The one of pictures shown below is actually stitched together from 15 separate images as it is not possible to get this enormous mountain at such close range into a single shot even with a very wide angle lens. The image is taken by standing on a small island in the wide outlet channel from the lake. The gorgeous Mt. Babel can be reached depends upon your fitness level, as you’ve to walked from one rock to another to cross to the island. For the time being, if you look closely you may see tiny companion sniffy stuck on top of a sharp and steep sided boulder middle foreground just at the water's edge. Mount Babel was first climbed by A Hart, Edward Oliver Wheeler, L. Wilson and H. Worsfold in 1910. 

Ten other mountain peaks nearby to Mount Babel 

1.            Mount Fay (3234 m)                         1.1 km

2.            Mount Little (3134 m)                        1.8 km

3.            Mount Bowlen (3206 m)                   1.8 km

4.            Tower of Babel (2221 m)                   2.1 km

5.            Quadra Mountain (3174 m)             2.2 km

6.            Mount Perren (3051 m)                     3.2 km

7.            Mount Allen (Canada) (3310 m)     4.3 km

8.            Mount Tuzo (3248 m)                         4.5 km

9.            Chimney Peak (3002 m)                    4.8 km

10.         Mt Deltaform (3424 m)                       5.4 km

Source: Charismatic Planet 

The Rock Formations of “Flatirons” Colorado

At Boulder, Colorado, there’re rock formations called “Flatirons” consisting five large numbered Flatirons ranging from North to South as well as east slope of Green Mountain.  The Flatirons were recognized as the "Chautauqua Slabs" circa 1900 and "The Crags" circa 1906. “The Flatirons often refers to these five alone. Moreover various additional named Flatirons are on the southern part of Green Mountain, Bear Peak, and amongst the surrounding foothills. It would be really hard to locate another location in the country where such a widespread variety, from scrambling to hard "Head Point" routes exist so close to a major metro area. Geologists believe the age of these rocks formation as 290 to 296 million years; they were lifted and tilted into their present orientation between 35 and 80 million years ago, during the Laramide Orogeny. 

There are two hypotheses regarding the origin of the current name, one based on resemblance to old-fashioned irons, the other based on resemblance to the Flatiron Building completed in 1902. The Flatirons comprise of conglomeratic sandstone of the Fountain Formation, which were subsequently exposed by erosion. Further manifestations of the Fountain Formation can be located in several places along the Colorado Front Range, including Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Roxborough State Park in Douglas County, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre close to Morrison. 

If it is your first time climbing in the Flatirons then you must try to take a guidebook and a map, or better yet, go with a local. Also, a headlamp can come in handy as well on the journey home, but that's a story for another day! There’re a few things that needs some attention, such as there is plenty of poison ivy in places for the sensitive. Also, there’re mountain lions & black bear that are well-known to wander these parts. Watch your kids, if you're climbing with little ones. The Flatirons on Green Mountain are popular destination among hikers and rock climbers with rock grades ranging from easy (5.0) till world class (5.14b).  The Flatirons on Green Mountain are ubiquitous symbols of the Boulder and abounds with photographs, drawings, paintings and sculptures. This symbol is normally used in advertisements and marketing materials and often referred to Tech industry as the “Silicon Flatirons”.