"Nature's secret revealed" by Culture Check

Nature's secret revealed

Blog: Culture Check

November 21, 2010

You didn't really think that was frozen water packed on top of mountains, did you? Consider the weight of a keg of beer and you'll quickly realize that hauling any liquid straight up a mountain — and then somehow freezing it! — is just plain crazy.

Here's how snow-capped peaks are — shhh! — really made:

1. The pre-fab caps are assembled by Industrial Fluff & Fiber in Edmonton, Canada, and floated south on jetstream currents. IFF's caps rank 9.5 on the International Fluff Scale, just below a freshly laundered chinchilla (maximum fluff). Mission Ridge and the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce spend thousands of dollars each year to ensure their surrounding peaks are capped by Thanksgiving.

2. The floating caps are wrangled into position using commercial leaf blowers. Usually the higher peaks get capped first because they're easier to reach. Lower ridgetops, such as the one pictured, are the last to receive attention.

3. Using specially-designed spatulas, Industrial Fluff crews pat the cap into place, then anchor it around the edges with big rocks. In spring, after the fluff caps have tattered and blown away, you can still see the big rocks up on the hills and mountain tops.

Want to comment on this story? All Wenatchee World members are invited to comment on stories, by using the form below. Please know that we at wenatcheeworld.com hope our site is useful, entertaining and civil. So we'll delete comments that are obscene, abusive or way off topic. We appreciate it when readers use the "suggest removal" button to flag inappropriate comments. For more about interacting with the site, see our Use Policy.

JimboBear 1 year, 6 months ago

Nature's secret revealed

Hahahahaaaa! I'll certainly view that phenomenon in a different light from now on Mike. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your in depth scientific explanation. Not bad subject matter for your photography skills and your literary expertise either.

BLOGS