Picture of the day - January 28, 2008

"Mountain Shelter"

Photo courtesy of Craig Hanson. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to measure the snow outside your door in feet instead of inches? Well, here's your chance to see what such a scene looks like. Photographer Craig Hanson took this intriguing photograph of a mountain cabin "peeking out" from under a fresh snowfall in the Cascade Mountains. The following is his story behind the image: "I took this photo while out cross country skiing in the Cascade mountains the other day at a place called Santiam Pass. The weather was beautiful and there was about 10 feet of snow on the ground. Lots of virgin powder everywhere! We only saw four other people and one dog all day long! The mountain in the background is called Three Fingered Jack. The hut, which was half buried in the snow is called Brandenburg Shelter. It is quite warm inside, out of the wind, and comes supplied with a stove, firewood, and even some matches in a waterproof container! A great place to relax and enjoy lunch after a hard morning's exercise on the trails."  --Craig Hanson Thanks to an abundance of moist air flowing in from the nearby Pacific Ocean, snowfalls of this magnitude are not at all uncommon in the Cascades. In fact, in 1999  Washington State's Mount Baker received 1,140 inches of the white stuff - that's a whopping 95 feet - the most ever recorded in a single season anywhere on the planet! How's that for a world record?   Click here to comment on this picture.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"