Ethan Shaw
@cutoffmountain.bsky.social
Naturalist. Landscape: physiography, ecosystem geography, etc. Wallowa-Blue Mtn Snowfield Project (Insta: wallowasnowfields). Wisconsin to the Columbia Plateau.
Snowpatch fieldwork up in the "Skyland Block"...
September 2, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Snowpatch fieldwork up in the "Skyland Block"...
One lonesome snowpatch still shining in this high-country viewshed...
August 23, 2025 at 5:24 PM
One lonesome snowpatch still shining in this high-country viewshed...
Summit: weather-beaten Curl-leaf Mtn-Mahogany & Douglas-fir...distant N-face snowfield beacon across the valley
August 17, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Summit: weather-beaten Curl-leaf Mtn-Mahogany & Douglas-fir...distant N-face snowfield beacon across the valley
Hunting out final snowpatches in an obscure range, amid crown-of-spikes snags & wolf sign...
August 8, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Hunting out final snowpatches in an obscure range, amid crown-of-spikes snags & wolf sign...
Boiling skies & a faroff semidesert landmark: two kinds of towers.
July 28, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Boiling skies & a faroff semidesert landmark: two kinds of towers.
Subtle skyline imprint, but an important, ancient caldera highland in profile...
July 20, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Subtle skyline imprint, but an important, ancient caldera highland in profile...
Roiled yesterday of high-based thunderstorms over Northern Intermountain West, and more today brewing...
July 9, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Roiled yesterday of high-based thunderstorms over Northern Intermountain West, and more today brewing...
The sky-island cone in dark evening cloud-shadow
July 2, 2025 at 4:34 PM
The sky-island cone in dark evening cloud-shadow
Late March —> late June
June 25, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Late March —> late June
The White Bird Snowfield, ridgebrow wings spread...
June 25, 2025 at 6:08 PM
The White Bird Snowfield, ridgebrow wings spread...
Seasonal snowfields up on the big ridge, dimmed by fall of summertime snow pellets...
June 21, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Seasonal snowfields up on the big ridge, dimmed by fall of summertime snow pellets...
The Undertaker Snowfield, early-summer guise
June 9, 2025 at 6:24 PM
The Undertaker Snowfield, early-summer guise
NE-face snowfields on semidesert rim far to the south
May 31, 2025 at 4:15 PM
NE-face snowfields on semidesert rim far to the south
Cloud shadows playing on the great barren anticlinal ridge of Lalíik (Rattlesnake Mountain), one of the Yakima Folds & a legendary house of wind.
May 28, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Cloud shadows playing on the great barren anticlinal ridge of Lalíik (Rattlesnake Mountain), one of the Yakima Folds & a legendary house of wind.
Mist-raked, freshly snow-dusted massif
May 18, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Mist-raked, freshly snow-dusted massif
A seasonal spring snowpatch: mid-March-->late April.
April 28, 2025 at 12:47 AM
A seasonal spring snowpatch: mid-March-->late April.
On this inaugural World Day for Glaciers, thinking of the only recently de-glacierized cirques of the high Wallowa Mountains, and of the continued importance of perennial snowfields & icepatches in these alpine environments: hydrologically, geomorphologically, ecologically—maybe even culturally.
March 22, 2025 at 3:06 AM
On this inaugural World Day for Glaciers, thinking of the only recently de-glacierized cirques of the high Wallowa Mountains, and of the continued importance of perennial snowfields & icepatches in these alpine environments: hydrologically, geomorphologically, ecologically—maybe even culturally.
Classic roiled spring skyscape, broken light on the Windhead Saddle Snowpatch
March 18, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Classic roiled spring skyscape, broken light on the Windhead Saddle Snowpatch
The Hanging Bald, early spring
March 14, 2025 at 12:34 AM
The Hanging Bald, early spring
As meteorological spring unfolds, snowpatches pattern the foothills & uplands while the mountain snowpack continues to stockpile water…
March 3, 2025 at 7:30 PM
As meteorological spring unfolds, snowpatches pattern the foothills & uplands while the mountain snowpack continues to stockpile water…
Wind + snow + cold: formula at play on the upland ridge-crest.
February 12, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Wind + snow + cold: formula at play on the upland ridge-crest.
Deep chill ahead of slight warmup & more snow (thankfully). Thinking of the perennial snowfields & icepatches up in the high country, currently buried under the seasonal snowpack...
February 12, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Deep chill ahead of slight warmup & more snow (thankfully). Thinking of the perennial snowfields & icepatches up in the high country, currently buried under the seasonal snowpack...
Right on the cusp of the next snowmaker...
February 7, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Right on the cusp of the next snowmaker...
Pattern shift incoming...
January 31, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Pattern shift incoming...