Trail to Peak: The Adventurous Path
Hiking, Exploring, Travel & Adventure
Hoar Frost: Nature’s Jewel Encrusted Crown
[Nope, not whore, hoar! — From the Old English, meaning “showing signs of old age,” as in old, wizened and white haired.]
If we’re lucky, about two times a year in this dry, cold, wintry climate, we are in for a spectacular treat. When conditions are just right… when we have cold temps and moist air… when desublimation can occur and not simply the formation of ice… the landscape is blanketed in a magical coat of glistening white crystals. 
Sometimes they form the most delicate frost feathers. Sometimes, they form mini skyscraper cities of tall, rectangular blocks. But always, they paint the world a luminous white and transform the landscape, like magic.
I’ve been holding my breath, hoping that I didn’t miss it this winter with the time I’ve spent away from home. And on our way back to Edmonton yesterday, driving through a thick blanket of nighttime fog, I just knew that this was it.
The next morning, the world would be transformed.
It’s as if the fog creeps through the forest with silent footsteps, it’s breath snagging on every trunk, limb, branch and leaf, caught in a glistening, crystal-covered, suspended animation. You can even see the direction that the fog moves through the landscape by the direction in which the crystals grow. It is like magic. Our immediate, little world becomes a living, breathing thing of beauty.
A part of me feels like I’ve been holding my breath, waiting until I could experience this year’s display. Now I can breathe….
14 Comments on “Hoar Frost: Nature’s Jewel Encrusted Crown”
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These are gorgeous photos. Makes me forget about how uncomfortable the cold is and want to dive right in.
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Yup… and if that sun will just come back out (the way it usually does with our winter days here), then everything sparkles!
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Sounds amazing! Does the sun come out much in the winter? PS – I shared the link on my twitter account , and people are really responding positively to it!
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We have exceptionally sunny winters here. That’s what makes some of the extreme temps we get (-25 to -35C) so bearable. It’s actually unusual when we get 2 or 3 overcast days in a row. [Thanks for the share. 😉]
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How interesting! So unlike the winters I’ve experienced in colder climates. Lucky you guys! 🙂
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These are amazing photos, and your prose paints a very vivid picture as well. Really enjoying your blog!
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Thank-you! This world has such tremendous beauty in it. I’m so glad you’re stopping by and enjoying the little bits I’m experiencing & sharing, Gabe. It’s not great story telling (like your piftie piece) but it is describing something that inspires me. My hope is that it inspires my readers to get out there & explore the world in whatever meaning-filled way they can.
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You absolutely do inspire.
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Btw, how do you turn your photos into art the way you do?
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I’m an amateur digital painter with an iPad Pro, and Apple pencil (along with lots of help from filters and editing). The painting app I use is called ProCreate. Ha! This is starting to sound like a sponsored comment, but I’m really just trying to say that even someone who doesn’t have that much talent (like myself) can use tech to help transform decent paintings into something a little bit better.
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It’s really quite neat. Thanks for the info.
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Who says frigid is always a negative? Beautiful stuff.
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Breaking you out of your Portland comfort zone, I see… 😉
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