UFOs over the Front Range?

Lenticular Invasion. Rocky Mountains, Colorado, 2012

Remember that old 1964 film, Robinson Crusoe on Mars? Well, those evil space ships that were zapping the stranded astronaut and his buddy, Friday (as well as the poor martian slave laborers), made an appearance over the mountains this week. I wonder how many phone calls the local newsrooms received about huge alien spaceships hovering over the Front Range.

These things are called lenticular clouds and they sit stationary over mountains at the invisible crest of the high-speed air wave that is rolling over the tall peaks. It usually means very high winds aloft…or maybe a storm approaching…usually both. You can even have wave clouds downwind of the mountains and over flat terrain as the air continues to ripple as would a stream after flowing over a rock. There is often a lot of turbulence associated with waves and lenticular clouds, although the odd brave sailplane pilot will seek out standing waves (though not the ones with clouds) to gain altitude.

And speaking of sailplanes, here’s an interesting fact: The current absolute altitude record for these flying machines was set by Steve Fossett (and his co-pilot, Einar Enevoldson) and stands at over 50,000 feet. Wearing astronaut-style pressure suits and breathing supplemental oxygen, they used the wave lift generated by the Andes mountain range down near Patagonia, a place famous for its winds. Pretty impressive. You can read a short summary of the flight here. And, yes, that’s the same guy who was the first to fly solo around the world in a balloon and who also ended up disappearing in his light plane somewhere over Nevada in 2007.

But, I suppose I digress…For me, I am content to admire these unstable weather conditions from right here on terra most firma. The autumn and winter are usually prime seasons for wild weather and even though you might get some uncomfortable conditions for shooting, you’ll find some great image possibilities as well. Sunny days are usually pretty boring for landscape photography–so, along with your camera, keep your jacket, gloves, and wool hat handy!