![]() ![]() The Brocken Spectre has been manufactured with robust – but light – waterproof fabric designed to withstand a lifetime of adventures.ĮCOPAK™ is the world’s only durable and waterproof fabric made from 100% recycled polyester fiber and film. Then add in the details that make all the difference a hydration sleeve, trekking pole attachments and you are good to go. Throw in some external storage for quick access to a water bottle or snacks. The 17 litre main compartment is the perfect size for mountain essentials like spare layers, a map, lunch and a camera or binoculars. Minimalist in style, but big on the features that matter. This may be seen in early morning when the low angle of the sun casts the shadow of the head far from the observer and the halo is caused by light reflected from the dewdrop.The Brocken Spectre is a streamlined daypack, designed for taking to the hills. This appears as a bright white ring surrounding the shadow of the observer’s head on dew covered grass. It was probably a manifestation of the Brocken spectre with Whymper exaggerating the detail for dramatic effect.Ĭould the Brocken spectre be the reason that saints have halos? Did someone in ancient times come running down the hill thinking they had seen a Holy man or woman?Ī somewhat similar solar phenomenon, Cellini’s Halo, could be the cause. "Pale, colourless, and noiseless, but perfectly sharp and defined seemed like a vision from another world and almost appalled, we watched in amazement the gradual development of two vast crosses." In Edward Whymper’s account of a famous disaster on the Matterhorn, he records seeing a mighty arch rising high in the sky. If the observer stretches out his arms the rings expand correspondingly.Įven when climbers are standing side by side each can see only his own shadow. The shadow is often surrounded by coloured bands or rings caused by diffraction of sunlight by the water droplets in the cloud. The apparent magnification of the size of the shadow created by the spectre is an optical illusion, the observer judging his shadow on the cloud bank to be at the same distance as faraway land objects. The technical term for the Brocken spectre is the anticorona. Was this the first actual report of a Brocken spectre? Probably. He was satisfied that what he saw was merely his own shadow in the fog. This time it has been reported that Hogg experimented, removing his hat and observed the figure do the same thing. ![]() He fled home in a panic, and when he went back the next day to collect his sheep, the ‘monster’ returned. I was actually struck powerless with astonishment and terror." The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui in the Gairngorms, is perhaps the most famous mountain wraith in the UK, and he’s been ‘putting the wind up’ walkers for several centuries.Īs far back as 1791, the poet James Hogg was tending sheep on the mountain, and saw the following: "It was a giant blackamoor, at least 30 feet high, and equally proportioned, and very near me. ![]() They can often be seen when you’re in an aeroplane and you look straight down at the aeroplane’s shadow. Glories are circular, multiple-ringed rainbows caused by the backscatter of light when looking directly away from the light source. In many cases, a solar glory surrounds the spectre’s head. The Brocken spectre manifests itself as a very tall, very thin figure of a human, usually with disproportionately long legs. Silberschlag found that in foggy conditions with uniform water droplets and sufficiently strong sunlight penetration from a low enough angle, his own shadow was visible on the fog itself. It’s spooky to say the least and probably accounts for most stories of saintly apparitions and hillside wraiths.īrocken spectres have probably been frightening people for thousands of years, but it wasn’t until 1780 that Johann Silberschlag, a German member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, first characterized them after observing them on top of the Brocken, the highest peak in northern Germany. This a true phenomenon and only occurs when the sun is low in the sky and immediately behind your back, and further, that the clouds in front of you have a certain density of water droplets causing your own shadow to look like a giant ghost surrounded by a shining rainbow coloured halo. Misty conditions can sometimes do this to you, especially if you’re up in the mountains and occasionally amazing things can happen if the conditions are just right. Looking out on a wet and misty hillside in Padfield, I could see what appeared to be a very large bird far away, before rubbing my eyes and realising that it was a smaller bird close to, a carrion crow in fact. ![]()
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