It started out as several small ice rivulets and an icicle or two where seeping groundwater, moving down the rock seeking a lower level, froze in the falling temperatures. Then it snowed, a heavy wet snow. And froze. And thawed, and froze, and thawed, and froze... Then it snowed again. And thawed, and froze, and... Then it rained for half a day, and then the temperatures dropped and it snowed half a foot more. And froze. And thawed. And froze again. And what was once just some ice on a rock face has become a cathedral wall of great depth and complexity.
First, the complete icefall:
The center core of icicles in the icefall:
Close in on a "smooth" section of ice:
And even closer in on that smooth section:
Ice upon ice upon ice creates some fantastic effects, doesn't it?
© 2009 by A. Roy Hilbinger
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Comments: 25
Thanks for posting to the group.
The backyard is kind of pretty as it has shiny white frozen snow in places still.
Animal Glitter Pictures
Charles, you ain't kiddin' about the driveways. Or the sidewalks. We just had a pouring rain the other day, but all it did was wash away the snow, which you could walk on, and leave behind the sheets of ice. Walking around town these days is a tricky proposition!