billy barr (who prefers his name not be capitalized) has lived alone in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, CO for 50 years. He began keeping detailed weather and snowfall reports to pass the time, living in his hand-built cabin, surrounded by old movies and weather instruments. What began as an exercise in boredom has become a treasure trove of information for climate scientists around the world, and his work has become invaluable to nearby researchers studying the rapidly drying American West. 


Photographed for The Washington Post

GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: billy barr pauses on the walk to his home in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested Butte since 1972, has kept detailed snow reports, weather reports, and animal sig
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: billy barr’s home in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested Butte since 1972, has kept detailed snow reports, weather reports, and animal sightings for decades, and
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: Weather monitoring equipment outside of billy barr’s home in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested Butte since 1972, has kept detailed snow reports, weather reports
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: billy barr updates weather reports for the day at his home in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested Butte since 1972, has kept detailed snow reports, weather report
CRESTED BUTTE, CO - NOVEMBER 3: A weather station at the Crested Butte ski resort. The weather station, installed by the SAIL research program at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, will help accurately forecast winter precipitation, and will also b
MT. CRESTED BUTTE, CO - NOVEMBER 3: A weather station at the Crested Butte ski resort. The weather station, installed by the SAIL research program at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, will help accurately forecast winter precipitation, and will al
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: A shelf of DVD’s in a homemade movie theatre in billy barr’s home in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. In the decades of living alone, billy would travel into nearby Crested Butte to purchase dvd’s to pass the time. b
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: billy barr at his home in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested Butte since 1972, has kept detailed snow reports, weather reports, and animal sightings for decades,
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: A stack of weather notes on a table at billy barr’s home in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested Butte since 1972, has kept detailed snow reports, weather reports,
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: billy barr holds a photo of his younger self at his home in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested Butte since 1972, has kept detailed snow reports, weather reports,
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: billy barr’s home office in his cabin in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested Butte since 1972, has kept detailed snow reports, weather reports, and animal sightin
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: billy barr reads through old weather notes at his home in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested Butte since 1972, has kept detailed snow reports, weather reports, a
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: billy barr walks back to his home in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested Butte since 1972, has kept detailed snow reports, weather reports, and animal sightings f
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: The Rocky Mountain Biological laboratory in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. Researchers at the lab frequently use barr’s meteorological data in their studies. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 2: billy barr clears snow off the several solar panels that power his home in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado. barr, who has lived alone in the mountains above Crested Butte since 1972, has kept detailed snow reports, w
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 3: The SAIL research site at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado in the mountains above Crested Butte. The goal of SAIL is to better predict yearly precipitation in important wate
GOTHIC, CO - NOVEMBER 3: Ken Williams inspects sage brush in a field outside of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory near Crested Butte, Colorado. (Chet Strange for The Washington Post)
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