How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
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How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
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Re: How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
#2Very interesting. I wasn't familiar with Toyama. But I spent last December and January in Sapporo. People mentioned last year in December they had most snow in last 15 years. I was comparing my experience in Sapporo with living in Ottawa. Both places seem to have similar winter. I can see myself living in Sapporo in winter but not in Ottawa. The main difference was the snow ploughing of roads and sidewalks. It was much better in Sapporo than Ottawa. Also Sapporo has very good subway and underground walkways so your exposure to winter conditions is somewhat reduced.
Re: How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
#3Clearing doesn't always work. Here are photos from Hokkaido of cars with people in them buried in snow drifts.[1] Six deaths. One train derailment.
Note the poles over the road with the downward pointing arrows. That shows where the road is, when it's buried.
[1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2287894/Japan-storm-...
Re: How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
#4I was in a car to Niigata (near Toyama) a few years ago in february, and the walls were about 10 feet high.
First time I'd ever seen them, and I was definitely in awe.
Btw Toyama has great water and consequently is home to some of the finest sake distilleries in the country.
Re: How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
#5Clearing doesn't always work. Here are photos from Hokkaido of cars with people in them buried in snow drifts.[1] Six deaths. One train derailment. Note the poles over the road with the downward pointing arrows. That shows where the road is, when it's buried. [1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2287894/Japan-storm-...
I almost clicked the dailyfail link. Almost.
Re: How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
#6"Syracuse, New York, often dubbed the snowiest city in the United States, receives, on average, 117 inches of snow a year. "
Not even close. Valdez, Alaska averages 305.8 inches per year.
Re: How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
#7My first introduction to Canada was something like this. The winter I got there the first time was some of the worst weather in decades, the trip from Dorval airport to Montreal was through a canyon just like the one in the picture. The only thing sticking out of the snow was the tops of the lampposts.
1997/1998 was quite the introduction to the concept of 'winter' for me. In NL a harsh winter might see one night of -15 and the rest of the time a bit below or around freezing. That winter saw one of the worst ice storms in Canadian history, lots of electrical infrastructure went down under the weight of the ice, power grid pylons breaking off like match-sticks.
Another place where these snow canyons are made in winter is Alaska.
Re: How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
#8Not nearly as deep, but the Sierra should have lots of snow this summer. Reference https://www.nps.gov/lavo/planyourvisit/fourth-of-july-weeken...
Re: How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
#9I would love to see that first bulldozer at work. I'm a little amazed because snow becomes incredibly heavy and hard to move/push when it's packed. As the blade moves forward, that dozer will quickly have to use incredible force to move forward.
I experienced this first-hand last summer when I was driving my old Land Rover across the country. I was solo, way up in the very remote Henry Mountains [1] of Utah, about to reach the crest and continue east. I came around the bend and there was a massive drift of snow covering the trail. [2] Foolishly, I thought I might be able to drive through, or at least ram-reverse-ram-reverse-ram my way through. I should have known better. I drove into the drift and my tires sank and the face of my front axle compacted the snow ahead and just stopped. The entire front of the truck was encased. It had been a warm day and was rapidly chilling in the evening light and the wet snow froze around my axle and my truck wouldn't move an inch. I spent the next hour digging out the front of the truck in fading light and by some magic, was able to free myself and back down the precarious cliffside road to a spot where I could turn around. Lesson learned: snow is really heavy.
[1] https://goo.gl/maps/XjyNapW3XRL2
[2] https://www.flickr.com/photos/defender90/27742972523/in/albu...
Re: How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
#10Not nearly as deep, but the Sierra should have lots of snow this summer. Reference https://www.nps.gov/lavo/planyourvisit/fourth-of-july-weeken...
Lassen NP can also have snow canyons[1] after they plow the snow in late spring. Nothing like 60' but 20'
[1]http://www.nationalparksblog.com/lassen-volcanic-national-pa...
Edit, looks like your sierra ref is mostly about Lassen which is not really the sierras but an old volcano n.west of them.