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By the Light of the Mountain

December 3, 2007 at 8:27 AM

On nice days we go snowshoeing sometimes.

The longer we stay out, the more we begin to blend in with the surroundings, all covered in frost and tinged in blue.

The sun doesn’t make it out to see us much; not once in seven hours' travel do we stand in its light. But while hiking in the shadow of one mountain, another, luminous like the moon, provides an ambient glow.

Wow! Beautiful pics. Thanks, Emily.
Very cool. Er... literally.
Like peppermint!
Aww, those are beautiful!!
Thanks for both the photos and the verbal explanation. I would never have guessed that light can come from a mountain when the sun is below the horizon. How many hours a day of sunlight do you have now?
Would you explain "the more we begin to blend in with the surroundings, all covered in frost and tinged in blue" and the photo that goes with it?
Pauline, we have about six hours of daylight right now. The sun lies extremely to the south, though, and travels in a sideways motion, barely clearing the trees. This explains why you won't see it if you're nestled on the north side of a mountain, but the south sides of the peaks will catch more than six hours of daylight (since they sit above the horizon).

No one actually turns blue, but everything looks blue because of the lighting. We do, however, get covered with frost--little crystals like the one in the photo (which is an example of surroundings being covered in frost and tinged in blue).