Album Your favorites from 2017

Nick

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There's still a bit left in 2017, but most of our trips are now in the rearview. Just like 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012's best of and best trips threads, this thread is for your personal favorite photos and videos of the year. This is not necessarily your best shots, or your most frame-worthy, but the photos, videos and experiences you liked the most for whatever reason. Maybe it was an epic trip you'd planned for a long time, or maybe you just really liked it. Be sure to tell us a bit about the photos and include links to trip reports if you posted one!

Here's a few of my favorites to get things started...


Waking up to fresh snow at a backcountry cabin in the Uintas in February was spectacular. Trip report: https://backcountrypost.com/threads/colton-guard-station.6713/
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Floating the Colorado River in Glen Canyon in April was an experience I'll never forget. Trip report: https://backcountrypost.com/threads/floating-glen-canyon.7185/
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Once again we headed out on the boat the first weekend of June and found the solitude, weather and scenery we'd come to expect. Trip report: https://backcountrypost.com/threads/so-long-barke-diem.7130/
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And then the %$&#!* YAMPA happened! Our first year trying to score river permits as a group and @Dave pulled the Yampa River in June! The Yampa is one of the toughest permits to win and one of the best whitewater floats in the west. I haven't made my trip report from this, but it doesn't really matter since Dave's is sooooo much better than mine will be. Check it out: https://backcountrypost.com/threads/six-days-in-dinosaur.6943/
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Then back to Glen Canyon in July. This was not a bad place to wake up on my birthday. (Same TR link as above Glen Canyon pic)
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And then we spent 6 incredible days floating Desolation Canyon. I was alone on my raft through all of it, and I loved it. Trip report coming this winter...
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Now let's see some of yours!
 
An overnight trip in the Smokies (Mt Leconte) the clouds were disappointing, but a good trip with overnight low about 10 degrees
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My first overnight kayak trip, Laurel River Lake in southern KY, beautiful sunset and a scary storm that night
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Kayaking in the Smokies (Fontana Lake) but the hightlight was finally making it up the Bone Valley Trail to the Hall Cabin (the most remote place in the park)
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The total eclipse was awesome, no good photos :)
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Packrafting the Big South Fork TN/KY, I've been looking at the map and imaging this trip for a couple years.
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Annual car camping trip with friends (this year near Grayson Highlands in SW VA
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Lake O'Hara in the Canadian Rockies
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Two nights of backpacking with my oldest two, this is them digging in the sand underneath a 40 foot waterfall
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Solo backpacking in Grayson Highlands and an amazing sunset
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Hopefully have 2 or 3 more backpacking trips in the next month, including one this weekend with forecasted snow flurries and overnight lows in the low-teens. Winter is finally showing up in KY.
 
I love seeing everyone's posts in these albums. Here are mine.


Little Water Peak in March. It was a fantastic winter for my snowshoes, but this was my favorite time out there.
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Death Hollow and the Boulder Mail Trail in May. One of the best trips I've been on, in spite of the ridiculous wind and blowing sand the first day.
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Slickhorn Canyon in late May. An awesome introduction to backpacking for our friends visiting from DC. I had other pictures I liked more than this one, but I accidentally deleted all of them, so this one will have to do.
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Allsop Lake (@WasatchWill's trip report) with Will, @Parma, @Blake Merrell, and Brett. My first backpacking trip with people I met through BCP. It was a nice two nights up there, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.
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Dayhiking in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness in early August. This area has always been special to me, and it was an ideal morning/afternoon with family, other than the smoky skies.
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The Teton Wilderness in early August. Remote and wild. I can't wait to get back there.
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Can't wait to see what 2018 will bring.
 
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Moab/Canyonlands Bikepack trip in early spring. This photo actually made its way into a the April 2017 Cycling Utah edition. Ha! I didn't know until I saw it at a bike shop in Driggs, ID. Made me smile.


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Visit to Southern Utah to ride one of my all time favorites with my two favorite people on this earth. Thunder Mountain.

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This one is not so much a favorite...but a profound moment. Death touches you in ways that you least expect. This was a tough ride. Beautiful but very emotional.

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Love in so many ways. I need more weekends like this in my life.

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And this two people I adore tied the knot, in the hot pools, in the dark with close friends surrounding them. Makes me almost believe in love. Best wedding I have ever attended. May the live happily ever after!

There you go my top 5 for 2017.




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Thanks to all the wildfire smoke in the air, being able to watch the sun slowly crest the horizon and rise above the mountains with my naked eye. I'll never forget this.

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Thanks for the opportunity to assess and review my year!. There was just something special running across this tree in Zion NP
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Bear Claw Poppy which grows only in this deathly terrain around St. George, UT
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This was a pretty wonderful day for all of chandlerwest. Moving @Scott Chandler to his new job near Moab. Scott is in the van, @Jeffrey Chandler is in Scott's car and I'm herding along in the rear.
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Some interesting cones in the early morning light.
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Looking down to the East Fork of the Virgin in Parunuweep Canyon, Zion NP. That rock has to be the size of a house.
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Watching this marmot sneaking up on @Jeffrey Chandler while I set up the shot was hilarious. Glacier NP
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I had to give it a portrait. I got home and saw the squirrel and was triple pleased.
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My first Pine Martin
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Wildflowers in Glacier are my thang..........(sorry). I waited for that shadow.
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Looking up Trout Lake
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From Sun Point at St. Mary Lake
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Baring Creek Drainage - Glacier Lilies
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Smoke from the Brian Head fire provided moody brilliance to Bryce Canyon NP
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The Zion Narrows is spectacular.
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Epic @Jeffrey Chandler on our Reynolds Mt. climb in Glacier.
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From Reynolds Mt.
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Getting to where I could capture the winding of Camas Creek through Rowe Meadows in Glacier.
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I liked getting lucky on this shot. I don't even mind the lens flare.
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Awhhh
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The unique red makes the view from Ptarmigan Tunnel pop.
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Trying to get those lake rocks to jump out at me.
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The North Rim of the East Canyons of Zion was my project of the year.
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The texture of this rock blew me away.
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What a wall!
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The extra effort to get to this shot of Hidden Canyon gives a lot of value to the memory.
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Exploring up into the last major scrambling drainage I had in Zion NP. Gifford Wash.
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West Temple from the top of the ridge.
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We thought this juniper was huge but then we saw the window of fall colors!
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This weekends Super Moon. There are damn towers photo bombing the shot.
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Thanks to all the BCP members for sharing their experiences with me!
 
One of the Thompson Fins above Thompson Creek near Carbondale, Co:

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Along the Colorado:


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Further along the Colorado:


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View towards the Maroon Bells from West Maroon Pass:


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From my deck:


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Some great shots here everyone! Here are a couple of my own faves...

From a snowshoe trip in January with some old college friends. We've been out of school for a while now, but still plan a get-together every winter to ski and/or snowshoe:

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In July I planned a trip to Glacier with another group of friends. Every time I've been to Glacier I have looked in awe at Reynolds Mountain, and this was the trip that I finally got a chance to climb it.

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Finally, this trip with my brother to summit Mount Borah. My first state highpoint, and first time above 12K.

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Love all the pictures in the 2017 favorites album. 2017 has been an awesome year for me. I met some great new people through wasatch peakbaggers to hike, backpack, and climb peaks with. I was also able to get out with family and enjoy some beautiful places here in Utah.

In April I was able to go on my first winter mountaineering type climb and climbed pfeifferhorn for the first time. I was very excited for this one as it was my first time using crampons and an ice axe. My good friend @AbinadiWitness who I met in the wind rivers last year put the climb together.
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I have had Druid arch and the Needles on my list for awhile so I was very happy to get my son to join me in April to visit canyonlands and go on a 16 mile day hike to Druid arch and Chesler park.
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In May I also had the pleasure of climbing lone peak for the first time. I was happy to go when the ice axe and crampons were still needed. 369D9DB0-3FFF-4D3B-961F-1AEFAB57693B.jpeg
One of the items on my dads bucket list was to hike the Zion narrows. I was very happy to obtain a permit and do a Zion narrows top down day hike in June with my father, son, brother and his family.
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One of my highlights for the year was to climb my first Fourteener. I had the pleasure of climbing Mt Sneffels in Colorado in August with my good friend @AbinadiWitness. Loved the beautiful blue lakes in the Mt Sneffels wilderness area.
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I always look forward to going on a couple of backpacking trips a year. This year I was able to join my good friend @AbinadiWitness on a splendid trip he planned to the Chicago Basin in August. I was happy to hit 4 more Colorado Fourteeners. The highlight of the trip for me was to sit on sunlight peak.
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For my second backpacking trip of the year I was happy to climb up Texas pass and visit the ever popular cirque of the towers for the first time over Labor Day. I had seen many beautiful and inspirational posts on this site and therefore popular or not it had to be done. Camping in the cirque and watching the Rock climbers was quite a treat. I was joined by another great friend who I had met in wasatch peakbaggers only earlier this year. This was his first backpacking trip.
Love the wind rivers so it gets two pictures.
Smokey view of the cirque from Mitchell Peak.
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Love the view of East Temple Peak from deep lake.
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In September I was invited by my good friend @AbinadiWitness on a 21 mile day hike through the beautiful buckskin gulch.
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This year I also got to go to Bryce Canyon in April, capital reef in September, and little wild horse canyon in October with my lovely wife.
The ever popular Thor’s Hammer in Bryce.
479F3550-1D44-4D39-AD20-492C6F6EB81A.jpegThe oh so popular Hickman bridge in capital reef.
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Here is a shot of the beautiful muddy water in little wild horse canyon.
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Looking forward to more grand adventures in 2018.
 
01 - Mount Elbert Solo Winter Summit - January.jpg
Solo summit of Colorado's state highpoint, Mount Elbert (14,440 feet) in January. This is currently my highest elevation point I've stood on. :)

02 - Chasing Bucket List Destinations - March.jpg Chasing bucket list destinations...this was my first of two trips to this area this year.

03 -  Slot Canyon Exploration in Grand Staircase-Escalante - April.jpg Exploring slot canyons in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

03.5 - Mountaineering Ascent of Pfeifferhorn - April.jpg Mountaineering ascent of the Pfeifferhorn (11,326 feet).

04 - 24 Mile Custom Route with my younger Brother in Canyonlands National Park - May.jpg 24 Mile day hike on a custom route through Canyonlands National Park with my younger brother.

05 - Taking the path less-traveled in the west desert... - May.jpg Photographing the second biggest "pure vertical drop" in the lower 48 states (right under Yosemite's El Capitan) at sunset. The big wall is 2,200+ feet tall, not including the lower reaches that step down to the canyon floor a bit.

06 - Enjoying great scrambling with a great friend in a great place - June.jpg Lots of sweet scrambling was had on many peaks with lots of friends throughout the year; this is an early season picture on top of a favorite Wasatch Range peak I've summited several times that has an excellent knife-ridge approach to its summit.

07 - Starting at 3 AM to be on the high ridge for sunrise... - June.jpg Starting to hike at 2:00 AM to be on a high ridgeline for a glorious sunrise...

08 - Taking my sister to her first mountain summit ever - July.jpg Taking one of my sisters up to the top of a mountain for her first summit ever. She's got some health challenges that make it tough for her to exert too much, but we found a suitable place out in the High Uintas Wilderness that afforded some great summit views and we had a great experience together out there in the high country. :)

09 - Realizing dreams on remote peaks in the High Uintas Wilderness - July.jpg
Standing on another dream summit I'd been wanting for years: the challenging Mount Beulah (12,557 feet), deep in the High Uintas Wilderness in northeastern Utah.

10 - First Via Ferrata Route Ever - August.jpg
Having a blast on my first via ferrata route in Telluride, Colorado. :)

11 - Mount Sneffels via SW Ridge in great company - August.jpg Summiting Mount Sneffels via the super-fun SW Ridge route with a great group of friends, including @danger02ward.

12 - Catching this view and then summiting that big peak the next day - August.jpg Catching this beautiful view of Colorado's Uncompahgre Peak and then summiting it the next day and getting caught in the wildest backcountry storm I've ever hiked in on the way back...The storm hit us on the high plateau on the back of Uncompahgre Peak, over 13,000 feet up and included intense lightning and thunder, driving hail, 30 mph sustained wind gusting up to 50 mph or so, and lots of rain too...There were drifts of hail piled up on the ground, on the peaks, and on our tents when we made it back to our high camp at 12,400+ feet hours later, completely soaked. The storm hit us at 9:30 AM.

13 - Jumping off the summit blocks of Sunlight Peak - August.jpg Making this super-exposed jump on Colorado's Sunlight Peak (14,059 feet) after sitting on the even more exposed summit block. @danger02ward and I summited four peaks out here over 14,000 feet on this trip (including North Eolus in that number). We also summited Utah's Mount Peale since I knew the route up there and it was Dave's first time. Great trip.

14 - Summiting Middle Teton with great folks - September.jpg Summiting Middle Teton in Wyoming with friends and The Grand towering behind us. I summited this peak as a day trip with this group of friends after driving almost all night to get to the trailhead. I was going on about 1.5 hours of sleep.

15 - Buckskin Gulch - Wire Pass to White House in a Day - September.jpg Another trip I shared with @danger02ward when we joined another group of friends and hiked Buckskin Gulch from Wire Pass to the White House trailhead in a day. This was the deepest pool we waded that day; lots more wading that was knee to waist deep and lots lots more wading that was between ankle and knee deep. Unforgettable hike! :)

16 - Exploring New Places - October.jpg
Always fun exploring new interesting areas. This has been a great year with a good balance of new experiences and revisiting a few old favorites as well. Looking forward to a host of awesome things to come in 2018! Happy trails, all! :)
 
Maybe not exhaustive ( if I find more, I'll post again) but certainly some highlights from the year.

One of my favorite spots during a hike in the Maze this spring, between Chimney Rock and Pete's Mesa
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Certainly a highlight of the Maze trip... The harvest scene.
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My first look at the top of Music Pass in the Sangre de Christo mountains on a solo overnight in June. Got sent to Colorado for work (what a shame!) and was able to snag a couple extra days to myself.
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Morning at Lower Sand Creek Lake
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Goats along the Beartooth Highway
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Probably my "best" shot of the year, according to me. Had this one made as a 20x30 canvas and... it's fantastic. Gave it to my parents. And I was doubting what an APS-C sensor would do...
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Hailey Pass, Wind River Range.
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Without a doubt, the eclipse was the highlight of my year. Maybe my life so far. Here's my "failed" pic from the event.
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Took this one the morning before the eclipse. It's actually my favorite, overall, from that little adventure.
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Why not... One more from Colorado. I was able to knock Pike's Peak off the bucket list. The Adventure Pickup works well at 14K feet elevation.
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One of my favorite threads! I love looking at everyone's photos and enjoying their work. Personal favorites from 2017, off the top of my head:

Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley. Technically taken in 2016, but I got the idea to convert this to monochrome in 2017 so it goes here. :D

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A too brief trip to White Sands National Monument in February. 2.9.17 WS Glowing Bush.jpg

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Coyote Buttes South in May:

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Kayaking on Lake Powell:

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Hiking the West Fork for the first time, but definitely not the last:
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A spontaneous trip to Sedona to shoot the monsoon:

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Fall in the Eastern Sierra. California's long, dry season had started and there was nothing but blue skies the entire week, but I still found some beautiful, filtered light:
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Finally, an amazing workshop in Aravaipa Canyon:

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On to 2018!
 
In 2017 I was lucky enough to make a few trips.
In April I did an overnight solo backpack to Reflection Canyon.
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In July we had a nice family vacation to Zion & Bryce Canyon area. This trip was very special to me, since this was our first family vacation in Utah with my low functioning autistic son and he loved hiking, especially slot canyons!
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In September I visited Colorado again with my best friend from my native Denmark.
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