termination dust

[pescana]

Not a great picture, but it gives the idea. This is the mountain near Lemon Glacier that you could see from my sister's bedroom windows back when we lived here. It's not until the termination dust hits all the mountains that I'm going to worry about snow. Oh, and it's termination as in the end of summer. At least that's my understanding.

Comments

[starfishchick]

Really breathtaking!

[pescana]

It is! And there's termination dust on all those mountains now, not just the ones closest to the glacier. It's nippy out, but so beautiful!

[starfishchick]

I have to say, though, that the phrase "termination dust" is a little creepy...

[pescana]

It is! It's been part of my vocabulary so long I hadn't thought about it until yesterday. And of course now I've got it running through my head constantly, it's my new word phrase to play with. I'll stop soon, I promise. I think it's the black humor of Alaskans knowing they're heading into the really miserable cold, dark, looooong winter.

[seriouspenguin]

Beautiful shots! And thanks for the explanation of "termination dust." I thought it must be something along the line, but it's good to know for certain. Sounds like the title of a mystery novel.

[pescana]

I'm glad you like them! It's hard to tell sometimes, the pictures fall so short of the reality.

As for mystery novels, I'm pretty sure Dana Stabenow used "termination dust" in her Kate Shugak mysteries and kept the term more fresh in my mind. But yeah, as starfishchick said, it's kind of an ominous term. But then winter is more than just a little harsh in Alaska.

(Winter, dammit! Not winer.)