THIS IS NOT AN IMAGE OF A UFO
I stumbled across this image and could not let the assertion that this is a UFO go unchallenged. I am probably uniquely qualified to debunk this as an
expert on both Mt. Washington and stereoviews of the White Mountain region of New Hampshire. I'm also a climber who has summited Mt Washington many
times in all seasons including winter.
BACKGROUND
1. The image is a heavily-cropped portion of a genuine stereoview taken during the winter of 1870-1871 by photographers A F. Clough and H.A. Kimball.
Cropping has removed key contextual information, which would immediately disprove this as a UFO photo.
2. From Nov 1870 to May 1871, an expedition under the US Army Signal Corps spent the winter on Mt Washington making scientific observations. There was
great public interest in this adventure and their exploits were telegraphed daily. Clough and Kimball were two NH photographers attached to the
expedition who made many interesting images which were distributed widely.
3. This expedition was documented in a book called "Mount Washington in Winter". It describes their research and the difficult living conditions in
one of the world's most extreme environments. No UFOs or paranormal events were documented. Read it yourself here:
books.google.com...
4. There were a number of structures on the summit at this time including two hotels, and the train depot where the observers overwintered. No wooden
fences as these would blow away
5. Mt Washington is famous for its ferocious weather especially wind which sculpts snow and ice creating strange and beautiful formations which were
common subjects of White Mountain stereoviews. Rime ice forms on all vertical surfaces exposed to wind and can appear milky or cloud-like.
6. In wintry conditions, ground, sky, and clouds can all blend together creating a disorienting effect on observers and climbers and it can be
difficult or impossible to scale objects properly. This is why viewing a cropped image might lead some people to think they are looking at clouds.
7. I own one of these images and have seen several others. The "mystery" object is present in the original photograph and has not been caused by
retouching, camera trickery, or damage.
THE ORIGINAL IMAGE
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?
In the foreground are frost formations on Lizzie Bourne's cairn, just below the summit of Washington on a day with high overcast. (A cairn is a
purpose-built pile of rocks). This is a very close photo. The "mystery" object is only a few inches long. There is a clear demarcation between
ground and sky in the background on what was a rare winter day with moderate visibility. The background below the horizon line is wind-sculpted ice
and snow, not clouds.
WHAT IS THE MYSTERY OBJECT?
Using a period stereoscope or magnifying glass and/or having some familiarity with the gear and/or process a scientist would use, it is perfectly
clear that the object is a wooden "standard". That's just a fancy name for a ruler, in this case, a folding ruler. Expedition members carried them
to make observations like snow depth, rime accumulation, etc. They even complained about losing or breaking them in poor weather. You are looking at a
ruler placed on a snow-covered cairn to scale an object in featureless terrain. Yes, it is that boring. No mystery zeppelins here. Sorry believers,
it's another hoax.
Here are a few examples of folding rulers from about this period:
CONCLUSION
This is not a UFO. What you have is a not-so-clever crop of a real image by an unscrupulous person perpetuating the UFO myth. The person who cropped
it probably thought he was looking at something unique, but this photo is not even especially rare.
[edit on 26-12-2008 by atc_eh]
Excellent work. 
