• Wednesday-What'sUP February 8 - 10:03 pm

Ashlee Harvey was recently in Copper Harbor and it's common knowledge that you can't go to the Harbor and not check out the Lighthouse, so that's just what she did. Both from a distance and then with a zoom lens. Sure is a nice shot with the sun shining on the building, the snow on the ground and blue of the Keweenaw sky for a background.

A few weeks ago someone was questioning the ice in the harbor up there, so with Ashlee's third photo, you can see what the conditions are like this past week. Correct me if I'm wrong, but to me it looks like it's not a sheet of connected ice, but rather broken up ice all bunched together. When the ice is in this condition, it can move in and out with the wind and waves, so it's ever changing, just like the weather UP here.

All I know is, I wouldn't walk on it Mary.....

Brash ice is what it is called.

Does anyone have pictures of this year's Winter Carnival at Tech?

Mary says: I'm wondering the same thing, Tom. I hope to have some shots for you to enjoy on Saturday's Pasty Cam. I'm going on a field trip there, with my Grandson's Preschool class on Thursday! So stay tuned...

Tom (Tom):

"Does anyone have pictures of this year's Winter Carnival at Tech?"

It's still a bit early, unless you're looking for pictures of "work in progress".

The "all nighter" is tonight; work must be completed by 8:00AM tomorrow, with judging to follow shortly after 9:00AM.

You can get a glimpse of some of the statue construction via several web cams at MTU. The recent warm spell has put the pressure on. I suspect many plans are being downsized.

http://www.mtu.edu/webcams/walker/motion.html

http://www.mtu.edu/webcams/view/motion.html

http://www.mtu.edu/webcams/campus/motion.html

http://www.mtu.edu/webcams/townsend/motion.html

That's such a beautiful old lighthouse! Thank you, Ashlee, for braving the cold to share that view of Copper Harbor. And thanks to Sharon Smith, we have a 'window' on the Harbor to enjoy year-round.:)

Great photos!
Thanks, Eddyfitz, for the brash ice I.D. I hadn't heard that term before, and got curious and found lots of good reference on different names for ice types and how they form.

Wonderful pics, Ashlee! Eddyfitz, I would have thought it was called Float Ice. lol I've been watching the construction of the carnival statuary, wishing I could help out and do the Heikki Lunta dance. Can't wait to the finals tomorrow!

What wonderful pictures of the lighthouse in the winter time, with the ice in the harbor makes it even more beautiful.

The pictures are not of the harbor - first picture is probably from Hunter's Point, taken across the inlet to the harbor. The harbor would be to the right. The third pictue is of the open water of Superior - the harbor is actually behind the picture taker; a few hundred feet overland.

About the ice on Copper Harbor: the east end of the harbor is ice-covered and evidently thick enough to walk on, since there have been a couple of ice fishermen out here lately. In the middle, where Ashlee took her pictures, it's slushy to open. Right in town, there is still open water. It hasn't been cold enough long enough to freeze over the entire harbor.
I agree with Capt. Paul: I wouldn't walk on it, even at my end. It's a long way down to the bottom and the water is awfully cold.

After reading Sharon's description - I have the wrong location. Pictures are from the harbor, in line with the inlet to the harbor. Hunter's Point would be to the left.

MTU should truck in a few tons of vanilla ice cream to help with the sculptures. They could make banana-splits afterwards to celebrate.

Beautiful photos; thank you, Ashlee & Mary! They look like they were taken from the beach of the little picnic area outside of Fort Wilkins State Park, facing the lighthouse. We try to visit that area most times we are up there, so we have lots of photos from that angle.

LOL, Alex. Heaven knows they need more snow & cold this year!

Hi
I also went looking for ice types, after Eddyfitz gave us the term brash ice. I found "fast ice": an ice cover which remains fast generally in the position where it originally formed. My attention was caught by "generally"; as some of us have learned through experience, there's always a chance that ice on the Great Lakes won't remain fast.

I love the lighthouses in winter. I have almost the same view of the Copper Harbor Lighthouse in February from a couple of years ago. I'm really missing getting out in the snow to take lighthouse pics but we have had hardly any snow in southeast Michigan. I have shoveled only once and it wasn't much.

Beautiful combination. Winter scenes AND a lighthouse.

You are correct, Mary. I will add, however, that even when the ice is more solid and in sheet form, it is quite dynamic and will move in and out of the harbor with currents and wind. These photos do show the extraordinarily mild winter the UP's having, tho. I have some photos from right near this spot taken in April a "few" years back with thick ice still filled in completely out to the lighthouse and beyond.

Eddyfitz, having sailed for many years I'm sure you've seen your share of brash ice. It often accumulates in the Locks! I have a DVD of the ice-breaker, Mackinaw on her last ice-breaking trip where they encountered an abundance of brash ice. I believe they said it was more dangerous to cut through than 'solid' ice in some instances.

Beautiful photos Ashley! I like the different perspectives.

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