Mt Redoubt

Mt Redoubt erupted 19 times in 18 days. This is a picture of Mt Redoubt from Anchorage taken just days before it blew the first time. The clearly visible steam plume in this picture rises to about 15000 ft. Since this photo was taken, Mt Redoubt has been cloaked in clouds and ash and we have not been able to "enjoy" the spectacle.

Photo by Susanne Kruse.

I was skiing when the ash was coming down. It only lasted 10 minutes. My skis went from pretty fast to extremely slow in a few minutes. That's all it took for a thin layer of ash to cover everything. Fortunately, we only got a dusting. But it was enough to turn the fresh snow gray. Here is a shot of my tire-tracks in the driveway upon returning home.

After this, the snow will melt very fast because of the increased heat absorption of the darker surface of the snow.