We had a wonderful Christmas week here in Whitefish. Temperature inversions flipped the tables in many ways and we had four days of skiing above the clouds at Whitefish Mountain Resort. High pressure forces the clouds to the valley and it was in the upper thirties and low forties at the summit of the mountain (7000-feet elevation) while cold (in the 10s and 20s) and damp on the valley floor (3500-feet elevation).

Sometimes the temperature gradients are such that incredible optical illusions happen with the mountains on the horizon -- called Fata Morgana, a medieval reference to the fairy sister of King Arthur. It is also called the “towering effect” for the way it seems to stretch mountains into towers. If you look at the images I have posted you can see this amazing illusion on the Cabinet Mountains in the distance. Essentially the image of the mountains flips upside down so you get these elongated-looking plateaus rising up.

It’s a really strange feeling to look at these familiar mountains and not recognize them. In the early morning and late afternoon the show was the best, and as we traveled down the mountain, the images changed form and then went back to normal depending on the elevation we were viewing them from.

Whitefish is a magical place and this has been a magical week.