In a remote patch of Colorado's Gunnison National Forest, four miles from the nearest ploughed road, a man known simply as Billy Barr has spent 52 consecutive winters recording daily snowfall, temperature and weather observations from his off-grid cabin at roughly 9,600 feet. Barr first began jotting down snow measurements in 1974, shortly after graduating from Rutgers University with a degree in environmental science, initially just to keep himself occupied through the long, isolated winters near Gothic, a former silver mining town now home to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.

Explore the remarkable story of Billy Barr, a citizen scientist who measured snow for 52 winters in Gothic, Colorado. His meticulous records have significantly contributed to…

In a remote patch of Colorado's Gunnison National Forest, four miles from the nearest ploughed road, a man known simply as Billy Barr has spent 52 consecutive winters recording…