Each winter seeping groundwater creates columns of ice that grow to unbelievable proportions in a deep cut railroad bed that lies slightly north of Keene. Ice climbers call this place “the icebox” and come here from all over New England to train. The New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Mountain Club also holds ice climbing clinics here. I don’t climb; I just come to see beauty of a kind that I can’t see anywhere else.
Some of the ice is blue. This example looked very solid and climbable.
Some ice is green. This example was on its way to being big enough to climb but I don’t know if the ice climbers will climb green ice. I’ve only seen them climb blue ice, which is very dense.
This ice formed a kind of shallow cave or grotto that I could have stepped into if I wasn’t so wary of falling ice and stone. It happens fairly regularly here and you don’t want to get hit by it.
Most of the groundwater seeps through cracks in the stone but in places it runs in small streams and this is one of those places. One of the constants here is the sound of trickling water, winter and summer alike. The ice in this photo was formed by splashing water and was crystal clear. This place has taught me that there are differences in the clarity of ice, depending on how it has formed.
The drainage ditches that the railroad engineers built 150 years ago at the base of the ledges still work as they were designed to and carry the water away down the gentle grade, keeping the rail bed high and dry. As the snow gets higher these ditches get deeper. I often put on knee high rubber boots and walk in them to explore the rock faces, but I didn’t do so on this trip. It was the ice I came to see.
The water in the drainage ditches never freezes completely and its movement cuts off the ice on the ledges at water level. This means that the ice that looks like it’s hanging from the ledges really does hang and isn’t supported by the ground at all in many places. When it comes free from the walls and falls sometimes it’s as if a crystal tree fell across the trail. I wonder what the railroad did when such large pieces of ice fell on the tracks when the trains were running.
Last year the ice in this spot was bright orange but this year it leaned more toward orangey brown.
Mineral stains on the rock faces tell part of the story of the colored ice but there are many reasons that ice can be colored. Even a higher density can turn it blue.
There are other colors on these rock walls but they aren’t in ice. This orange patch is caused by green algae called Trentepohlia aurea. Though it is called green algae a carotenoid pigment in the alga cells called hematochrome or beta- carotene, which is the same pigment that gives carrots their orange color, hides the green chlorophyll. I’m not sure if the algae color any ice here.
Large areas of stone are covered in places by liverworts but they don’t seem to mind being encased in ice for the winter. In the spring you wouldn’t know they had seen any ice at all.
Many mosses turn a yellower shade of green in winter but otherwise ride it out with little change.
This fern was completely encased in ice. Since it is an evergreen fern it will most likely lose its leaves in spring when new growth begins.
I think there must be soil washed along in the groundwater for ice to look dirty like this example does.
I was hoping this shot would convey a sense of how tall this ice is but it really doesn’t. These ice columns are too small in diameter to climb but the ice climbers go for the taller ice I’ve noticed, and these were plenty tall.
Much of the ice was half what it was last year but we still have February to get through. One of the things that made last February so memorable was the extreme below zero cold that went on and on for most of the month. If that happens this year this ice will become huge like it was then.
This past week has been the coldest we’ve seen this winter so I’m sure the ice has grown some. I’ll have to visit it again before it all starts to melt away in March. When I leave here and write a post about the place I often marvel at having virtually no memory of how cold it was, so captivating were the colors, sounds, and shapes. When great joy passes through you inconvenience slips away. You remember the joy but not the inconvenience.
One moment the world is as it is. The next, it is something entirely different. Something it has never been before. ~Anne Rice
Thanks for stopping in.
This is always my favorite of your posts! I, like Laura, really must get out there one day to see the colors and shapes.
The idea of one of those falling on the rail bed is very scary. It would be interesting to look back through history and see if there ever was an incident.
Like everyone, I vote for a shot with a human so we can appreciate how tall they are. The ledges behind my house are 30+ feet tall but I can never get a shot that really shows the scale.
Thanks Martha. I think you’d be amazed if you saw this in person. I can’t think of another place like it in the area.
I wonder if there is a way to find information like that about trains. Maybe the Historical Society would know.
I agree that it’s hard to tell the scale of almost anything from a photo, but there are very few people out there. Maybe one day I can persuade an ice climber to pose for us.
I am wondering if the trains and their rumble and vibration though the narrows would cause the ice to crash down or maybe not build up because of the disturbing traffic? thanks again! Chris
That’s something I’ve wondered too Chris. I think the ice would have still formed with the trains running. When it fell it wouldn’t have been strong enough to push the train off its tracks but it could have dented the cars, which were skinned with aluminum. Snow removal alone must have been a real nightmare, because there’s no plce to put it. It would have had to have been taken out of the canyon somehow.
I am just amazed at the frozen waterfalls, and even more amazed that people climb them….I guess people love a challenge in the natural environment. Thanks for an interesting post, so very different to Australia, which makes it all the more fascinating.
You’re welcome and thank you. After seeing the huge chunks of fallen ice in the trail in spring it’s a bit unnerving to see people hanging from the giant ice columns in the winter. I always want to ask them questions but I’m afraid I’ll break their intense concentration if I do. Apparently they do love a challenge!
What great ice formations! I know what you mean about losing track of time. I was out on Friday for two hours photographing ice on the stream and it felt like no time at all and I wasn’t cold despite the windchill being below zero. The ice just captivates!
Thanks Eliza! Yes, we need to keep our wits about us when it’s that cold! I’ve done the same many times but have luckily never gotten frostbitten.
Good clothing certainly helps, thanks to lined boots and down coat!
I agree!
Somehow, the first photo reminded me of Tivoli’s fountains in Italy… except that the water ran fresh when I saw them. You sure have a great eye to capture beauty. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome and thank you. I’ve never seen Tivoli’s fountains in Italy but the water here is very fresh and clean. There are liverworts and other plants here that won’t grow unless being watered by very clean water. There are plenty of minerals in it though.
An amazing series of photographs of these ice formations.
Thanks very much Mary. The ice in this place is impressive.
There’s ice and “THEN there’s ice!”
This is the biggest that I’ve seen.
It’s fascinating how we humans are attracted to water in all forms. There is something about frozen moving water that is especially beautiful. Must be cold for climbing, though.
Thank you, I agree. One only needs to read any Holy text to find that our fascination with water has been with us since the dawn of time. Personally I think water is the most beautiful when it freezes into any one of a countless number of forms. I wouldn’t want to climb it but when I want to be amazed all I need to do is follow a stream in the winter.
This continues to be a fascinating place, this old rail trail…no matter the season. What is the deepest it goes, Allen…or, possibly more accurately in this case, how tall are the tallest columns of ice?
I’ve felt that same fascination while out making photos of the ice over Little Cottonwood Canyon stream a few years back…it was absolutely freezing cold over the stream with its continual breeze coming down the canyon, but I was so amazed at what I was seeing and what I had captured in the camera, that the numbing cold on my fingers was nothing compared to the treasure of being out there.
Thank you Scott. Some of the ice climbers I’ve talked to have said about 50 feet but I’m more inclined to say maybe 40 feet. It’s high enough so that a moose that fell from the top got killed one year. I’ve never been up there and don’t plan to go anytime soon!
Ice can be fascinating and it’s easy to lose yourself in its beauty, and that’s one of the dangers of being out there in winter. Sometimes it’s too easy to lose track of where you are and how cold it is, as you found out.
You’re welcome, Allen…and I had no idea the walls were so high…and yes, I can imagine that falling 40 feet would be enough distance to be fatal for a moose…goodness.
I’m going to have to find a way to show the scale of the place. Maybe I can ask an ice climber if he or she wants their picture taken.
That would work….
Same for us on the coast cold, bitter cold and the yard is engulfed in ice but with 40’s heading our way I will need to sand oops! lol Boy did we miss a huge storm hoping just piddly ones hit us this year 🙂
We haven’t seen too much real cold weather. I don’t think we’ve even been below zero all winter. It’s been cold enough though, and I’m not complaining.
Yes, I was glad that was a southern storm. I still remember shoveling nearly every day last February!
I would think, if one of those ice stalactites fell on you it would be like being shot with an ice arrow. Beautifully dangerous.
Yes, some are big enough to easily crush a car, so I stay away from them when the temperature rises above freezing. I sure won’t be climbing them!
I always like to see your ice falls. It has been too warm here so far to produce much ice, and the FWP is advising everyone to stop ice fishing until we get some really cold weather and stay off the lakes for now because several have already fallen through the thin ice.
Thanks Montucky! The same has happened here. Our big lake, lake Winnipesaukee, has an ice fishing derby each year but this year it hasn’t frozen yet so it looks like it’s going to have to be cancelled.
Very interesting about the colored ice. That is a very hardy fern to stay green in such a spot into the winter.
Yes, it even changes color from year to year in spots, which is a bit confusing when you’re trying to figure out what colors it in the first place.
There is a surprising amount of green here, even in winter. We have a few different evergreen ferns and they are indeed very hardy!
I look forward to your ‘ice-box’ posts, Allen. The different colours of the ice are so fascinating – it must be quite breath-taking to be there in person.
Thank you Clare. The colors weren’t quite as bright as they have been in the past but yes, it is still breath taking to see. I know of no other place like it, but I’m sure there must be.
You’ll have to take a ‘selfie’ in front of one of the ice falls to show us just how high they are. It is hard to get a true sense from the pictures. They are certainly worth a visit.
I’ll have to borrow an ice climber one day. The thought of a selfie makes my skin crawl.
Gosh, Allen! some of these photos are stunning. Wow. Aint nature grand?
Thank you Cynthia, it sure is!
That looks magical. I like the way that although the ice thickens up, the outside surface is still formed from small flows giving it such lovely texture.
It is a magical place like no other I know of. The groundwater seeps through the stone no matter how cold it is and it flows down the outside of what starts as a small icicle, gradually adding girth and length. It’s amazing to visit the place every couple of weeks through winter to see how fast it grows. It happens faster than I ever would have believed.
I love these photos of nature’s sculptures done in ice, especially since they come in different colors!
Being warm blooded, it’s hard for us to imagine being encrusted in ice, but the plants probably find that the ice covering them protects them from the cold dry air of winter. I know that farmers have found that spraying crops with water so that they are covered in ice protects them from late seasons freezes.
You may have to return to the “Icebox” sooner than you planned, the long range forecasts are predicting a very warm February through April for the entire northern tier of states. That won’t hurt my feelings any after our last two winters.
Thanks Jerry! That’s true, a lot of plants are protected by ice and evergreens certainly don’t seem to mind it. I’ve seen photos of even oranges covered with ice to protect them.
Thanks for the long range forecast. That’s the best news I’ve had in a while! Ice can be beautiful but so can flowers, and I’m ready to see a few of them.
A homage to ice. 🙂
Yes, big, big ice!
🙂
The wind is blowing outside and the snow is still falling as we work our way through an uncommon blizzard. I got even colder as I read your posting, Allen, and marveled at all of the different kinds of ice there. There is nothing that could convince me to climb a column of ice–it’s hard enough to walk on it.
Thanks Mike. I’ve been thinking about you and that area as we’ve heard about the coming blizzard. My son is in Delaware and he has to plow airport runways, so I’m sure he’ll be getting very little sleep this weekend. I hope it’s not as bad as they expect. We don’t even have a flurry here.
No, I wouldn’t want to climb ice either. I have to walk on it all week and that’s enough for me. It can be beautiful though!
The ice formations we’ve been admiring recently are very small in comparison.
Yes, these formations grow bigger than any I’ve seen.
Such a vast variety of ice colors and shapes. One of these days I am going to have to get over there to see it in person!
If you only have one chance to go it should be in the winter. But the liverworts in summer are pretty special too!
Wonderful images of the ice in all it shapes and colours, thank you for getting so cold on our behalf.
You’re welcome, and thank you Susan. I’m glad you enjoyed seeing the ice.