Five Soldiers Saw a Huge Shape Above a Snowy Mountain

Five soldiers at Fort Carson in Colorado looked toward Cheyenne Mountain. Above the mountain, they saw a white shape about the size of a passenger jet.

The shape stayed in place. As the soldiers watched, it slowly changed, then vanished, even though they kept their eyes on it. A later investigation suggested a surprising explanation: sunlight reflected off snow may have illuminated clouds. But investigators could not say for sure that this was what happened.

A Shape That Stayed Above the Mountain

The soldiers said they saw the shape about six miles away, above Cheyenne Mountain. It appeared white, slightly transparent, and shimmering, with clearly defined edges. They described it as angular and asymmetrical, like a potato.

It looked as large as a big airplane but remained in place above the mountain. While it hovered, its shape changed slightly. The soldiers kept watching, then it suddenly disappeared. The report says five soldiers saw it; it mentions no other witnesses.

How Can Snow Illuminate Clouds?

The soldiers saw the event in 2022 and reported it the following year to a U.S. agency that investigates anomalous sightings. The investigation suggested that sunlight had struck the snow on the mountain and reflected upward. In other words, the snow may have acted like a surface redirecting sunlight into the sky.

According to this explanation, the reflected light could have illuminated the undersides of low clouds. An illuminated cloud might have looked to the soldiers like a distinct white object. The soldiers said the sky was clear, but weather reports from that morning indicated clouds. Even if the explanation is correct, a small change in the clouds or sunlight could have caused the light—and the shape—to disappear.

What Remains Unknown

Investigators did not conclude that this was what had happened, and expressed low confidence in the explanation. They did not know exactly how many clouds were in the sky, how much snow covered the mountain, or what each soldier saw from their vantage point. The case remained unresolved as of June 2026.

Light on snow, a cloud above a mountain—and what exactly did the five soldiers see?