Drive on · 18 October 2026
Alpenglow, five ranges
The sun left the ground ten minutes ago. It hasn't left the summit yet.
Five mountains, five continents, the same ten minutes: the top still burning while the base is already night. That gap is alpenglow. Not paint, just geometry, the last direct light finding what is still tall enough to catch it. It never lasts as long as you want it to.
What is happening
There is a ten-minute window each evening when a mountain is in two different days at once: the summit still holding direct sunlight, the valley floor already in night.
Alpenglow is not the sunset itself. The sun is already below your horizon by the time it happens; it is still hitting the rock because the rock is higher than you are.
For your next mountain trip: check the peak about 15 to 20 minutes after the valley goes dark, not before.