billy barr spent 40 years alone in the woods – collecting compelling evidence of climate change

billy bar (“I spell it small b i-l-l-y, small b a-r-r”) has lived in a small cabin in a ghost town called Gothic, in the Colorado rockies, for over 40 years

“Picture this, it’s a snowy day, it’s dark & cold, & you make a fire & you’re sitting by the fire, & you’re reading with a cup of tea … & it goes on for nine months.”

“I started recording things just because it was somethin’ to do.”

“A researcher at the lab wanted to look at it, & then once he started looking at it scientifically, then all of a sudden, like, these decades worth of data were being used for more than my own curiosity.”

“The trend I see is that we’re getting permanent snowpack later, & we get to bare ground sooner.”



The Atlantic – “The Hermit Who Inadvertently Shaped Climate-Change Science”
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/01/billy-barr-climate-change/512198/ / he spent over 40 years alone in the woods and now scientists love him the Snow Guardian of the Rockies man named billy barr prefers name spelled all lowercase lived alone small cabin Gothic Colorado coldest most isolated places United States began recording snow levels 1973 main thing interacted with weather animals just started recording things just cause it was something to do short film The Snow Guardian Day's Edge Productions climate researchers Rocky Mountain Biological Lab discovered barr’s detailed records showed compelling evidence climate change data has been vital understanding severe impending effects global warming climate change the hermit who inadvertently shaped climate change science Billy Barr moved Rocky Mountains four decades ago bored one winter decided keep notebook has become the stuff of legend life alone Colorado Rocky Mountains Billy Barr began his recordings curiosity task busy his mind during winter skied down from his cabin use the nearest phone vital database climate change scientists climate change 1973 Barr had dropped out of college home abandoned mining shack base the Snow Guardian Gothic Mountain 12,600-foot stone buttress cold winds blew shack’s wood slat walls bare dirt floor skunk pine marten Barr moved from the East Coast Rocky Mountains solitude boredom measured snow levels animal tracks spring first calls birds returning filled notebook observations another notebook continued now for 44 years Barr’s data tinkerings amateur scientist close to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory RMBL most important phenology research sites in the world scientists RMBL become fascinated with climate change impact plants animals in the high alpines scale their discoveries into broader lessons about life warmer earth research long-term records Gothic spring snow seemed to melt a little earlier flowers blossomed a little sooner without historical context little changes understood RMBL 1928 biology professor summer pilgrimage of scientists researchers lab laboratory university department presidents students long-term conservation studies lab’s longest-running studies wildflower research project ecologist David Inouye Gothic’s only permanent resident research used in many studies particularly important understanding how climate change alters flower blooming times animals depend on them Gothic Mountain’s ecology high alpine environments RMBL Barr’s 40 years of data research student studying environmental science Rutgers University conservation RMBL eccentric mountain man stabilizing getting to be around quiet after a few years I had something to compare each winter with /