+++ The Weekly Landscape Thread - #54, 2026.02.20

Excellent. A unique force of nature! I have enjoyed ALL of your previous posts on this subject. You have really captured the essence of it (#2 especially). Totally classic... perfect documentation. Is this an annual occurrence? I looked it up, and "AI" seems to think it is not a regular/annual happening. What do you think? Has it been colder in Tallinn this year... compared to average or normal? DO A B&W CONVERSION... push things a little to wild edges... and post in the B&W thread! I'm thinking it would be cool.

LOL! THANKS! for the positive encouragement. For me, this is THE POINT... to get out and shoot something worthy of a weekly post. Or... even semi-worthy. Whatever you can get! Just get out. Better than NOT shooting! :-) And also see the cool shots that others have taken. A guy from Paris on DPR (BratPix) got me going on a "P52" in early 2024... it has been a great motivator. And fun.

That's messed up -- the Austrians named a mountain after me?! Rude!

Just back from my latest trip to the French Alps...Not seen the amount of snow dumping in the last 20 years.

200226 albiez by softmarmotte, on Flickr

200226 chalet view by softmarmotte, on Flickr

I love this curious phenomenon! In this one the clouds repeat the ice shapes nicely. Maybe try a crop from top and bottom to emphasise that?

Ha Ha!
Don’t be so hard on yourself, I’m sure you are not😊
By the way , this mountain’s name doesn’t come from “being a loser”.
It is an Austrian dialect word for “listening to” or even “eavesdropping”; the mountain sort of looks like a big rabbit’s ear that can hear anything all around and from far away😉

This winter has been somewhat different here in Estonia and also in Europe with its cold lasting 2 month in row, future will tell if it is one time fluke or due global climate change (and AMOC slowdown). Previous winters have been warmer and sea does not freeze every winter, but it's not very rare situation either, as Baltic sea is not very salty and water here freezes more easily than in ocean. So I'd say that at least on every second winter one can get such images. Here is one I got 5 years ago, I titled it "we came here in peace" :D

I definitely think they count as landscape. I really like the 2nd and 3rd one, especially the subtle green in the last one.

There's been quite a bit of snow here in Austria too. And it's dangerous snow this year, lots of avalanches!
Another 7 died this last weekend, I think that makes 24 fatalities already this year; terrible !
Apparently the conditions this year led to the snow being "layered" in a bad way, with the lowest layer not “glued securely” to the upper layers, so that only a little bit of new snow or a lone skier can trigger a big avalanche. The prepared alpine ski slopes are pretty safe, but people do like to go off-piste into the pristine snow of the back country.
The avalanche warning danger scale, maps are published daily, and has been up to 4 on a scale of 5! , Not many will go out under such conditions but some just ignore the warnings and go out off-piste anyway!

Surprisingly though, it is level 3 that has more fatalities; it is not as dangerous, but there's a lot more people out there enjoying the snow. The mountains definitely need to be treated with respect & caution

Anyway, back to your lovely images.
The first has that picturesque scene with the snow covered roofs under a dramatic sky. Looks like the sun has just peaked out through a gap in the clouds and is lighting up the village I can imagine walking along the paths down there, and feeling the snow crunch under my feet while breathing in the crisp dry air. The birch tree gives some good contrast and depth to the image. A good place to be.

The second shows the majesty and mystery of the mountains, appearing through the wispy clouds. It’s inviting but at the same time also a little ominous. Nicely framed with the shrubs. Good detail and lighting.

We even had a couple of avalanches above the village. Never seen in 20 years...As you say terrible that you'd lose your life from just walking or skiing in the mountains. Even in summer I see numpties going for a hike with flip flops and no wet weather gear...

The second is actually a view from our living room window. I am a lucky boy

Good to hear about the snow (quantity). Very sad to hear about the avalanche fatalities. We have also had similar occurrences here in the Sierras (California) and in the PNW (locally). Tragic. On a lighter note... I like the international flavor of the threads. I have learned two new (fun!) adjectives this week... "numpties" (from softmarmotte) and "belter" (from wormsmeat). A bunch of numpties! That's a perfect way to characterize the clueless folks. If it's OK w/you, I'm going to use the term over here on the west coast. :-) THANKS. LOL.

Beautiful. I'm not seeing a chairlift to the top of that peak -- although it would spoil the view. That aside, I'd like to commission YOU to build it and be the first skier down the mountain! Although... it looks to be avalanche prone.

You would indeed be unwise to attempt to ski that...The cleft in the middle is a regular avalanche risk. It's actually just next to Le Corbier ski resort

Interesting that every noun in English has a collective variant ... murder of crows, exhaltation of larks etc...so bunch of numpties definitely fits as does as arse of snowboarders