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How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style
- akg_67 10y agoVery 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.
- Animats 10y agoClearing 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-kills-including-mother-children-killed-car-buried-snow-drifts.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2287894/Japan-storm-...
- r00fus 10y agoI almost clicked the dailyfail link. Almost.
- dredmorbius 10y agohttps://archive.fo/U4tBx https://archive.fo/U4tBx Avoid the Fail.
- hkmurakami 10y agoI 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.
- Turing_Machine 10y ago"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.
- aqrit 10y agoValdez has a population of 4_000
- Florin_Andrei 10y agoSo what happens when all that stuff starts melting?
- jacquesm 10y agoMy 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.
- pwarner 10y agoNot nearly as deep, but the Sierra should have lots of snow this summer. Reference https://www.nps.gov/lavo/planyourvisit/fourth-of-july-weekend.htm https://www.nps.gov/lavo/planyourvisit/fourth-of-july-weeken...
- mc32 10y agoLassen 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-park-struggling-with-snow/ 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.
- arethuza 10y agoWe don't get huge amounts of snow in Scotland but we do get a lot of wind which can pack the snow into gullies giving impressive snow depths - I've seen claims of over 30m in places (the Ciste Gully on Cairngorm), the Cairngorm access road also has problems with snow as it tends to completely fill up at various places. Very frustrating not being able to ski because of too much snow! The tendency for what snow we do get to blow off elsewhere is why ski areas in Scotland have huge amounts of snow fencing (they are all above the treeline) to try and trap the snow in place.
- chrissnell 10y agoI 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 https://goo.gl/maps/XjyNapW3XRL2 [2] https://www.flickr.com/photos/defender90/27742972523/in/album-72157670098688360/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/defender90/27742972523/in/albu...
- poikniok 10y agoPresumably they don't let a 40 feet of snow or whatnot accumulate at once. If they just clear 1-2 feet of snow every night all that involves is having a plow that can throw up the snow high enough to the sides and out of the way, which seems plausible. I say this because I presume clearing 40 feet of snow is rather impossible.
- hourislate 10y agoI think they were referring to a road that is not plowed all winter and in the spring they send in the bulldozer to clear an initial path until a snowblower can handle it. >The first bulldozers will push and carry the snow forward, to areas where depths are lower and it can be pushed aside or dumped. Backhoes are used to help widen the road. When the bulldozers have come within six feet or less of the road, the rotary blowers can begin their work, and help to at last reveal the long buried asphalt.
- avenoir 10y agoLogan Pass in National Glacier Park gets similar accumulations of snow. Thia is off topic, but I would highly recommend this drive in the summer. One of the most stunning roads in North America.
- sushobhan 10y ago“This is a job and someone has to do it,”- this comment from the article just made my day. Hats off, such an awesome attitude and dedication towards work.
- Hydraulix989 10y agoIt's just like that one Mario Kart 64 level with the snow, except IRL. So that's where the Japanese level designers got their inspiration from!
- icebraining 10y agoThat was my first thought as well :) For reference: http://i.imgur.com/vlbUC.jpg http://i.imgur.com/vlbUC.jpg
- lb1lf 10y agoWe do have a few quite interesting mountaineous roads in Norway, too - matter of fact, a couple of minutes ago I heard on the radio that only two of the -hm, six? seven? I only ever use two of them- mountain crossings connecting eastern Norway to the rest of us were open due to lots of snow and poor weather in latter days. Those two are now convoy only. Have a look at this, for instance:(0) Not as elegant as the Japanese operation, but the photo probably predates GPS, to the Norwegian snow plow crews credit. I'd feel very small traversing down that road. Doubly so if I suddenly met a heavy truck, a bus or anything larger than a bicycle, really... I just stumbled upon a couple of nice photos of the current weather conditions at Haukeli, one of the passes currently closed. Just click the photo for the next one. (1) (0) http://www.gibud.no/auction/APUserImages/2015B105661F1LTLXUHPRVBPX.JPG http://www.gibud.no/auction/APUserImages/2015B105661F1LTLXUH... (1) https://www.nrk.no/hordaland/sa-vakkert-kan-det-vaere-a-vente-pa-kolonne-over-fjellet-1.13418573?index=0#undefined https://www.nrk.no/hordaland/sa-vakkert-kan-det-vaere-a-vent...
- mgv11 10y agoSorry slightly off topic. Crap! I think have crashed exactly by the Haukeli tunnel. It was years ago and we were doing a mountain crossing with convoy driving through the worst parts. I was behind some old geezer and just coming out of the tunnel he gets blinded by the light/snow and slams his breaks. Me too close and eager just behind him just somehow manage to overtake him in the narrow tunnel, but unfortunately had I too fast speed and bumped the next car slightly. There was just a small mark on the car, but they still did a full checkup and sent us the bill. My boss wasn't happy, but I didn't have to pay ,even if it was 100% my fault.The following mountain crossings since that I have taken bit more easily.
- bayesian_horse 10y agoI expected someone wielding a Katana to hack it away...
- gpawl 10y agoThat's a cartoonish misapprehension of Japanese society.
- jonah 10y agoIf you want to see some impressive snow[1] in the US, visit Crater Lake National Park in Southern Oregon during the winter. Last time I was there, the snow cuts looked just like these (though not quite as tall.) "The average snowfall at Crater Lake is 533 inches every year. That's about 44 feet. The greatest cumulative snowfall for one season was 879 inches (73 feet) the winter of 1932-33. The greatest depth on the ground at one time was 258 inches (21½ feet) the winter of 1983. Most of the snow usually melts by the beginning of August, although after particularly heavy seasons, there are drifts that fail to melt before the snows return again in the early Fall."[2] [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=crater+lake+snow&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=crater+lake+snow&tbm=isch [2] https://www.nps.gov/crla/faqs.htm https://www.nps.gov/crla/faqs.htm
- TorKlingberg 10y agoDoes this website (atlasobscura) ever do anything other than repost viral stuff they copied from around the web?
- lazyasciiart 10y agoI know someone who has sold content directly to them, so yes.
- DanBC 10y agoWhere was this copied from?
- Xylakant 10y agoIsn't that perfectly fine as long as they have an agreement with the original copyright owner (paid or unpaid)? It's called curation and I very much enjoy places that curate and collect stuff (see kottke.org)
- frik 10y agoCopy cat from Europe invention. This snow blower were invented many decades ago. The original vehicles from the 1930s are still in use in winter in the Alps - on mountain roads and trains.
- 24gttghh 10y agoDid the article claim the Japanese invented the snow-blower?
- frik 10y agoHave you even read the article? The headline already suggests "japanese style" even though it's just a common practice used for decades around the world. And the articles goes in great length mentioning a 600 horse power machine that is common elsewhere as well. And Japan was very well known for their "tourists" that took photos of everything oversees just to clone and rebuild it in their home country. (well nowadays other countries do that)
- scott_karana 10y agoIt's the use of GPS followed by a fleet of dozers that's unique, as far as I can tell.
- yomly 10y agoTateyama or Mt. Tate but never Mt. Tateyama
- rangibaby 10y agoThe repetition makes sense to me because it works in both languages. Mt. Tate would confuse locals. Mt. Tateyama satisfies the need to make it "english" and also works in Japanese because they can just ignore the Mt. part.
- yomly 10y agoBut people are fine with Mount Fuji... Incidentally, most people are also fine dropping the "Mount" prefix for Everest, Kilimanjaro amongst others...
- rangibaby 10y agoMt Fuji works because of the historical context. There are plenty of words and loan words now that would be different if they were translated using best practices today. I for one am fine with dropping the Mt prefix. Most of the people mountains are named after are dead now so there is no need to disambiguate them. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this issue; signposts here translate e.g. 長良川 as Nagaragawa River. I thought it was silly, but if you talked about the "Nagara" I bet 100 yen that you will get a sideways look.
- yomly 10y agoI can see your point, but and maybe I'm being fastidious, but I Nagaragawa River also irritates me. It's only born of ignorance - no one calls it Mt Montblanc. I get it - the original meaning of the word is as relevant to its name as is the combination of the words forming its proper noun. To the Japanese Fujiyama is Fujiyama, and so there goes an argument for transliterating the name. And as point out, good luck communicating with a local when you ask where the "Nagara" is. But look at the converse: Loch Ness 尼斯湖nisihu in Chinese ネス湖 nesuko in Japanese
- ben_utzer 10y agoyoutube has some videos on how it's plowed on the alps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzzwEQF84WE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzzwEQF84WE
- vasira 10y agoThis place is full of snow but hats off to those people clear the path !
- chiph 10y agoI'm looking at the vertical sides of the cut, and I'm really surprised it doesn't collapse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_repose https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_repose
- krkoch 10y agoOn packed snow like that, you can even have an angle > 90 deg.
- jpindar 10y agoWant to see more about supposedly impossible angles of repose in sand? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0olpSN6_TCc&list=PL4jYkQtnRH6xMOf6N9Zp_b2zkCFFN2hJU&index=5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0olpSN6_TCc&list=PL4jYkQtnRH...
- bahmboo 10y agoMt Baker WA 1998/1999 season 1140 inches and that was just at 4200 feet at the resort. Road snow canyons is cool.
- shagie 10y agoFor some US background on deep snow plowing: * Yosemite: https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=F99C47BC-DA5D-5DB6-9B080585218403F4 https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=F99C47BC-DA5D-5D... * Glacier: https://glaciermt.com/blog/plowing-glacier-national-parks-going-to-the-sun-road-2/ https://glaciermt.com/blog/plowing-glacier-national-parks-go... * More Glacier: http://flatheadbeacon.com/2016/05/11/pioneering-the-road-to-the-sun/ http://flatheadbeacon.com/2016/05/11/pioneering-the-road-to-... General National park: http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2014/03/videos-offer-plow-operators-view-challenges-spring-road-openings-parks24844 http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2014/03/videos-offer-pl...
- trafficlight 10y agoBeartooth Pass in northern Wyoming is intense as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTdrGQiE5EM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTdrGQiE5EM https://www.nps.gov/features/yell/slidefile/history/1946_1999/npsemployees/Images/13191.jpg https://www.nps.gov/features/yell/slidefile/history/1946_199...
- kolbe 10y agoI drove the beartooth highway this summer. IIRC, signs said it was closed all winter.
- trafficlight 10y agoYeah, typically opens in June and then closes at the first healthy snowfall, which is probably September.
- kazinator 10y agoBy contrast, Vancouver, BC's idea of clearing one inch of snow is to dump two inches of river sand on it that will still be there in July, destroying your bicycle's drive system.
- johansch 10y agoWhenever british friends get frustrated about Heathrow turning into meltdown mode because of 5 mm of snow I enjoy posting them this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myaH9ClDjW8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myaH9ClDjW8
- chha 10y agoAlso see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxAvHdrK6U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxAvHdrK6U for a nice video. Although not as much snow, there are still locations in Norway where you can find similar conditions.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- zurp 10y ago“I remember when I was in high school there was a lot more snow,” says Tanikawa, who is now 50. “In the morning snow fell and it would fall all day while we were at school. When I came back home there would be 40 to 50 centimeters of snow to clear.” “My children,” Tanikawa adds, “have not had that experience.” And he had to walk 10 km uphill both ways to and from school, I'll bet.
- Kalrune 10y agoHuman ingenuity never stops amazing me.