Photo Essay: The Cold Science of Mountain Winter

Winter on Roan Mountain can be brutal, with temperatures that can drop well below zero, and winds can be dangerous. Once the temperature drops below 32 degrees, the slow drips that trickle down the mountain start to form icicles as seen in this image. The cold also freezes the moisture in the air, forming hoarfrost, a deposit of ice crystals left on objects exposed to the free air, such as grass blades, tree branches, or leaves.

Blackwater Canyon, West Virginia, as captured during the first significant snow fall of last year, forming a blend of white and evergreen colors. A snowflake starts as a single crystal that forms when water freezes. The crystal will collide with other crystals lumping together and growing larger as they fall, forming the snowflake. All snowflakes are hexagonal, but part of the allure of snowflakes is that they are all unique.

These climbers were on an ice flow on the shady face of lower White Oak Canyon in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Flows form when water runs through the layers of rock in the ground and encounters a cliff face where the water exits the rock, where it is frozen by sub-freezing temperatures of the air. To create a large flow requires the ground to stay above freezing, but for the air to remain subfreezing for an extended period.

The blues and golds of winter are eerily refracted in this icicle from Blue Hole Falls, West Virginia. The ice bends the shades of blue light from the sky and brown light from the hillsides. The effect is a stunning kaleidoscope of color.

The main waterfall at Blue Hole Falls in the Stoney Creek area of Carter County, Tennessee, is at around a 2,240-foot elevation. Seven consecutive days of temperature well below freezing led to the surface freezing of the falls and much of its pool.

Hawksbill Mountain, at 4,009 feet, provides great views into North Carolina’s Linville Gorge Wilderness. The rugged terrain of Linville Gorge spared it from early 20th century logging operations because extraction was deemed unprofitable. In 1964, Linville Gorge was designated a Wilderness Area, protecting over 11,000 acres and preserving one of the few remaining old-growth forests in the southern Appalachians.

Atmospheric icing, also known as hoarfrost formed overnight near Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 361.2. The overlook is about seven miles south of Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi river in the United States. This overlook is about 2 miles north of Craggy Gardens visitor center. The elevation is 5,200 feet above sea level. Hoarfrost provides a wonderful opportunity for a photographer to capture an enchanting natural blend of color and texture.

This shot of Brasstown Bald, Georgia, was taken on one of the coldest mornings of the year in North Georgia, as it was 12 degrees when the photographer started hiking at 4 a.m. About 6 inches of snow had fallen and it was cold and windy enough for ice to completely encapsulate every branch and leaf.