Depressing view? Try the new FlyingCracker WishCam.
Whetstone Mtn. as seen from Crested Butte South. Most of our weather comes from this general direction. The camera is mounted above FlyingCracker headquarters, pointing due West (magnetic). In the foreground is our wood stove chimney. Immediately to the right, a group of evergreens marks the confluence of the Slate and East Rivers. Below that in the photo are wetlands and beaver ponds. Most mornings you can see mist rising from the (relatively) warm ponds. On the far right of the photo, the most distant peak is the upper section of Red Lady Bowl on Mt. Emmons. Highway 135 runs horizontally through the photo approximately 2/5ths up from the bottom. At night in winter you often see the headlights of weary skiers returning home to the sleepy bedroom community of Crested Butte South.
The peak of Whetstone is 12,516 feet above sea level, 354 feet higher than Mt. Crested Butte. Mt. Emmons is 12,392 feet ASL.
The camera is a Mobotix M1.
Time Lapse Videos (.WMV format only)
| Seasons: January - December 2005 | This is an overview of the entire year. We used one photo taken in the late morning from each day. The clip runs from January 15th to December 7th 2005. Look for the beaver pond snow to recede in early April and then follow as it slowly disappears up the Whetstone hillside. In September watch for the beaver pond bushes and aspens to change color. | 320 x 240 (3.4 MB) | 640 x 480 (12.7 MB) |
| January 27, 2005 | This is a typical partly snowy, partly sunny day in C.B. At 6:45 am note the waning moon peaking briefly through the clouds above Whetstone. Around 7:45 am things brighten up a bit and we see crazy cloud action above and on the flanks of Whetstone. Around 12:30 pm snow begins slowly sliding off the FlyingCracker roof. Throughout the day, but especially starting at 2:40pm, snow flurries appear on camera. | 320 x 240 (2.6 MB) | 640 x 480 (8.9 MB) |
| January 24, 2005 | Beginning at 5:00 am, the nearly full moon sets over Red Lady bowl. If you watch this video in a darkened room you can faintly see Whetstone Mtn. in the moonlight. Note the reflection of the moon in the beaver ponds around 5:40 am. Just before the moon sinks behind Red Lady bowl the sun brightens the sky. Bluebird day throughout. Mist rises from the beaver ponds until around 9 am. Clouds drift in from the southeast around 2 pm. Short sunset flash. | 320 x 240 (2.19 MB) | 640 x 480 (7.47 MB) |
| January 15, 2005 | Beautiful sunrise, followed by snow flurries on Mt Emmons and Whetstone Mtn. around 9:00 am Lots of upper level cloud movement from the west finally clearing in mid afternoon. Classic Crested Butte weather. | 320 x 240 (2.48 MB) | 640 x 480 (8.46 MB) |