08 March 2009

The Snow Goes on Forever (and the skiing never ends)

I love March in Butte Montana: America's finest St Paddy's day celebration is just around the corner; there's lots of snow in the mountains; and troutfishing on the Big Hole River and elsewhere is good.

We are into this great weather cycle. The sun goes down, temperatures drop from the 30s deg F to near zero, it clouds up, a little powder snow falls, and the sun shines brightly the next day. Thsi weather also makes for a great local phenomenon called "Pit Fog." Here is a major cloud rising up as the dawning sun heats the valley; silhouetted against the fog is a mining head frame, aka "gallows frame" [view east from my house]:

The fog comes from the relatively warm water of the Berkeley Pit Superfund Site, an abandoned mile-across/1,000+ foot deep open-pit mine that has filled with water to become America's largest toxic lake [this pic is from Vulgare]:

As morning spreads over the Silver Bow Valley, Pit Fog creeps upon the lower Butte area known as The Flats:

By the time breakfast is over, the sun is bright and it's time to ski. View here is looking West to the Pintler Wilderness:

RTD (RolyTheDog) is waiting on me for a change, first tracks!

And away we go:

Daughter Emily is home on spring break from college this week--maybe we'll go fish the river some afternoon. Quork out! [this pic from "LED"]:
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousSunday, 08 March, 2009

    Beautiful photos! We're moving up to a house just under the Mountain Con in April. Can't wait for the increased views!

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  2. CountryDreamingSunday, 08 March, 2009

    The first three panoramic views look decidedly and enticingly surreal.

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  3. tsduffMonday, 09 March, 2009

    That deep mine pit with its color of horrifying shades is shocking.

    And just as shocking (but in a fabulously great way) is that young raven mug - love it. I'm not sure how well I would do in a snowy environment, but the pictures you have of the scenery are gorgeous.

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  4. troutbirderTuesday, 10 March, 2009

    Its also near zero here this morning and that toxic pit is what gives me the chills. Unfortunately there is a superfund site a few miles from here as well.

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  5. EcoRoverTuesday, 10 March, 2009

    Thanks for dropping by, neighbor Cynthia--I look forward to seeing more of your stunning Butte city & sky photos on your blog.

    CD, this is beautiful place, and my little snapshots hardly do it justice.

    TSD, well, the Pit is horrifying, but in a weirdly & deeply aesthetic kind of way. Something like Yeats talks about with his phrase, "A terrible beauty is born." (Easter 1916)

    TB, don't you love a crisp morning that freezes your nose hairs? think I read on an EPA site that something like 50 million Americans live within a few miles of a Superfund site. The good news is that oftentimes, with good local public participation, we can find remedies.

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  6. pharmacyMonday, 22 August, 2011

    good!!

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