It's A Thing
Reposted from my September 2022 newsletter, edited for this platform.
An Alaskan thing, really.
According to the Dictionary of Alaska English (yep, that's a thing, too), Termination Dust represents the end-of-summer snow that falls on the surrounding mountains.
Historically, Termination Dust signaled to contractors and miners that it's time to prepare for an end to their work season and depart before winter's arrival. Of course, that's no longer the case; these trades have long been fully capable of continuing their work throughout the year.
According to Anchorage climatologist Brian Brettschneider, there are four main criteria to count as Termination Dust (specific to the Chugach Mountain Range in Anchorage):
Must occur on or after August 1st;
Peaks in the front range above 4000' must be covered in solid snow;
The light snow fall must stick to the peaks for at least 12+ hours; and
There can be only one Termination Dust event per season.
You might know this term where you live but it's a new concept for me. So, last year I watched with wonder the seasonal change in Alaska, from summer to fall to winter.
This year, I caught myself feeling a little excited with anticipation, watching the peaks for that first blanket of light snow, like magnets pulling it right out of the air.
We've had so many dark, cloudy days producing lots of rain the past several months, obscuring the peaks for days at a time.
When the clouds lift and the summits are revealed, it's like holding your hands out with closed eyes, waiting to see what's there.
Is there going to be snow? How much? Will it stick?
The image above right is from the Denali Highway (near MP 68), not to be confused with the Denali Park Road; two different places.
You can read my text on the page... this is a vast landscape of miles and miles and miles and miles of open land. It is one of the quietest places I've ever been. This is Ahtna Athabascan land.
On the left is a sketch of Kings Mountain, located on the north side of the Chugach Range, along the Glenn Highway just south of Chickaloon, a community on Dena'ina Athabascan land.
Ahtna and Dena'ina are both Athabascan Native Peoples, linked by the Athabascan language. While here, I am trying to learn what I can about the land and its native cultures.
It will take a while to amass even a rudimentary understanding of the land I now inhabit but, try I will. Below is a map that shows the major groups and their lands across the state.
I digress, but for good reason. You can learn more about Alaska land acknowledgement here and here.
September is filled with color on the slopes around Anchorage! It creeps in quickly. Further north, along the Denali Highway, the color exploded while at the same time in Anchorage (mid-September) the color was just starting to drop in.
It doesn't take long, though, for the colors to morph into what I equate to beautiful, dark neutrals of November, except we'll see them in October, contrasted by the white of fresh winter snow.
Our little road trip, last one of the year for us, found winter and fall all at once and it was breathtaking!