Comments on: Fishing for mountains

By: Martin Ystenes

Martin Ystenes — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:52:35 +0000

Re. the circular rainbow:

Thus is a socalled “fog bow”, which has a different explanation. You will find a photo I made from a similar experience, with an explanation here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ystenes/4018637345/

By: Porsche Bosch

Porsche Bosch — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:24:06 +0000

Helpful information. Lucky me I discovered your site by accident, and I am stunned why this coincidence did not came about earlier! I bookmarked it.

By: An Ceann Bliadhna : i, cjw ~.::.~ hiking and climbing in japan

An Ceann Bliadhna : i, cjw ~.::.~ hiking and climbing in japan — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:36:58 +0000

[...] Climbing over a farmer’s gate. An unmarked path through thick heather. The unfamiliar prick of gorse thorns against our legs, and the half-frozen peat bogs which threaten to suck the boots from our feet. Black faced sheep gaze with yellow eyes as we pass. Yuka demands their attention, but they turn and walk away. Above an icy crest, a thin cloud bank furls across the mountain; she sees her first brocken. [...]

By: I-CJW

I-CJW — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 07:29:06 +0000

Thanks Billy (& apologies for taking so long to acknowledge your comment – things have been kinda busy recently…!)

By: Billy

Billy — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:30:07 +0000

incredible photos. I can almost smell the fresh air…almost.

I’m bookmarking this site!

By: cjw

cjw — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:02:27 +0000

Congratulations on sighting the Brocken! Sounds like that other hiker didn’t have much romance in his soul.

Tanigawa-dake must have been beautiful yesterday…

By: KamoshikaBob

KamoshikaBob — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:55:26 +0000

This may be a bit after the fact, but I just saw a Brocken’s Spectre yesterday (Sep. 23) on the traverse north from the peak of Tanigawa-dake. The “sharpness” of Japan’s mountains might make Brocken a more common sight than elsewhere. The clouds were swirling back forth on both sides of Tanigawa, and about halfway between the peak and the next (equally high) peak of Ichinokura, I looked down to the right to see a circular rainbow on the clouds at our feet. It being around 1:30pm, the sun was still high, but the valley was so deep, and the ridge we were on was so steep (precipitous, even) that Brocken had an easy time showing up. Having read your blog in May, I had been led to believe that it was an unusual phenomenon, but just as I was yelling exultantly and waving my arms to see the shadow, another hiker comes up and says, “oh, a Brocken” and keeps going. Still, it made my day, even if I can barely walk today from choosing such a long route.

By: cjw

cjw — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 03:49:32 +0000

Aye, it was pretty special, tornado28. When I saw it last year, it was against a solid, and unmoving, cloud bank. But this time it was projected against much thinner cloud, which was moving fast across the lip of the ridge, so the shadow really did seem to have a mind of its own. Really took me by surprise for a few minutes..

By: tornadoes28

tornadoes28 — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:00:21 +0000

The photos of your shadow on the clouds is amazing. I had never seen that before. I can imaging what a feeling it would be to se that while climbing in the mountains, especially if you are by yourself.

By: cjw

cjw — Wed, 28 May 2008 07:47:15 +0000

Ted – glad you like my random literary ramblings.. I’ve added your blog to my RSS reader too. I’m very jealous of your location down in Kyoto.

Hi Wednesday – the mystery of the Brocken solved! The men in knicker-bockers I’m not so sure I can help with…

Red Yeti: LOL, personal time with the Brocken, I love it. I read that pilots often see them, which makes sense. I’m fast coming to the conclusion that the phenomenon is a little more common than Jim Wickwire made out.. Either that, or he was most unlucky!