Word Count: 791

Sunrise, Sunset,

Those Mountains Block the Days…

David G. Swanson

As most of you know based upon my enjoyment of playing in snow, I do indeed love winter in all its incarnations. Over the years I’ve learned to nurture, and hone my skills at gallivanting between the months of December-April in all sorts of great ways. At home, I’ve got a refrigerator magnet prominently displayed that says, “Are We Having Fun Yet?”. That pretty much sums my life philosophy on a year-round basis.

It may come as somewhat of a surprise to discover I also anxiously look forward to the end of winter in our little valley. In December when days grow shorter, darker, and Armageddon seems like it’s coming, but then the Solsticeoccurs and each day slowly, but surely goes in the opposite direction, and gets longer. Here in Silverton, that progression to longer days happens in a schizophrenic, and unique sort of way. These massive mountains surrounding us have everything to do with the way it happens too. Interesting how those sorts of things take place, isn’t it?

An example for all you pseudo-geographers out there; If we resided in a flat place like Florida (God forbid…), the sunrise happens earlier in the morning than Silverton. That monstrous monolith that is Kendall Mountain blocks out the sun as morning breaks and it inevitably creeps higher in the sky. Even though it’s light outside, and oddly enough, the sun still hasn’t peeked over Kendall. The calendar says Solstice is on December 21^st, but here in Silverton the sun is still on the other side of the mountain, and won’t even reach the apex of Kendall when it rises till sometime in late January, or early February? Days don’t even start getting longer till then either. Do some of us feel like we’re being cheated? Obviously, we are…

When the sun is setting in the afternoon, because of the its position in the sky at that time of year, the southern part of the valley sees sunset earlier in the afternoon. As a resident of this part of town, I can also attest to the fact that the temperature usually drops about 20 degrees in a matter of 15 minutes right after the sun has set.

Strangely enough, this is the exact opposite in late spring and early summer. At that time of the year, the southern end of town is actually the last spot in the valley to see daylight? This is due of course to the way Sultan blocks out that big yellow orb as it creeps lower in the sky. Another situation where you might feel like you’re being cheated in the winter? Of course, you are. As long as we’re going to blame someone for this, let’s accuse Mother Nature of committing this heinous crime against the inhabitants of this valley…

Here’s an odd example of the sun’s schizophrenic behavior; Up at the north end of town near the County Courthouse, friends tell me the morning sunrise happens TWICE? Now this sounds totally bizarre, doesn’t it? They witness this phenomenon at two different times of the year, in November as the days grow shorter, then once again in January as daylight increases. Another not-so-in-depth explanation for all you pseudo-geographers out there is in order.

On the day when it looks like the sun is exhibiting heavily-inebriated behavior, the warm, rounded, orb rises over Kendall around 9:15. Five minutes later, it hits a ridge on the north-side of the peak and is blocked. Things immediately go back into the shade and it looks like sunrise hasn’t even happened (technically, it hasn’t yet…). I’d also tell you the world is about to come to end when this takes place, but at this point neither my buddy, nor his wife has mentioned this to me.

Then the sun peeks over the summit of Kendall, and comes up again. Spring-time looks like it’ll eventually get to us, and life continues along its merry little way. Can you imagine what would happen if a clearly delusional, heavily inebriated, or drug-addled individual was walking up the street and witnessed this phenomenon? No, this is clearly the latest example of Mother Nature once again playing all sorts of strange tricks with our minds instead.

Soon, the morning sun occurs 45 minutes earlier, followed by it shifting and the addition of another 45 minutes at the tail end of the day. Life gets longer. Thankfully it continues to remain strange.

Rumor has it that Mr. Swanson may have been involved in some way with production of the Powder-Snow Essay that appeared in the 1/20/22 edition of the Silverton Standard & Miner. Our sources are unable to substantiate the claim at this time.