65-foot towers of snow: Journey through these famous giants
The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, a sightseeing trail in Japan's Hida Mountains (Northern Alps), will reopen in the spring after workers cut through copious amounts of accumulated snow to offer people a sight of behemoth proportions
Many parts of Canada are used to seeing extremely high snowbanks and drifts every winter, but they don't get quite as high as this popular tourist spot in Japan.
A well-known trail, the appropriately named, Snow Corridor Walk in Tateyama, has been hazardous for many years and situated in the Northern Alps (Hida Mountains).
According to local media reports, the corridor on the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route receives up to 65 feet (19.8 metres) of snowfall each year, prompting crews to work feverishly to clear the area to ensure optimal safety.
Great canyon of snow on the Tateyama Toll Road, Tateyama Town, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. (Uryah/Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 3.0)
Because of the extreme conditions that create the snowbanks, the route is only accessible for a short time, lasting approximately seven months. Starting this year, the road will be open from April 15 to Nov. 30--at a height of 6,500 feet (1,981.2 metres) in the air.
The massive snow walls that pile up are reportedly visible until late June.
The clearing process involves workers carving the snow with help from a global positioning system (GPS), formulating a valley. Then, with the sun's help, the snow is reflected off the walls of the valley, creating picturesque scenery for locals and tourists alike.
Thumbnail courtesy of Uryah/Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 3.0.