TheSnowpit.com News Blog

Global warming on Mars
Two avalanche fatalities at end of Canadian season
Avalanche burial simulation 'Robocoaster' at Les 2 Alpes

Welcome to the first of (hopefully) many Recent Snow News Roundups from Calgary, Alberta, Canada! It is a pleasure to finally be here. And although waking up to 7 degree (Celsius) temperatures in early September might not give creedence to any sort of warming, global warming has had a few new interesting notes about it lately, so I'll start with it. Science Daily is talking about polar bears being found 60 miles offshore as their homes melt, and the Telegraph in London ran a story about satellite photos from mid-August showing, for the first time in human history, that the Arctic ice cap has become an island and the Northwest passage a reality. Yikes!

But, at the same time as things are changing on Earth, things are also changing on Mars. We know from Russian research a while ago (2005) that global warming is also occurring on Mars - at least by indication of its solid carbon dioxide 'ice' caps receding. And a more recent study from Science Daily hints that the major glacial valleys on Mars are undergoing some of the same changes as those in our very own Antarctica. Mars...eh? I guess it's because of all those cars they drive there...

Remember, the ice was much thicker on this planet about 15,000 years ago, but as to the ebb and flow of the last major ice age, well, we might not have even finished the last one. Which means before it gets colder again, it probably will continue to get warmer still. But despite that, when I read headlines like Glaciers in the Pyrenees will Disappear in 50 Years, the snow lover in me cries a little. But as long as some glaciers keep growing (as do Shasta's glaciers) and doing crazy things like nearly damming up enormous rivers like the Alsek in Canada, then there will be plenty of interesting snow things to talk about.

Unfortunately as much as I'd like to just report on global warming and other natural occurrences, an avalanche on Mount Athabasca region killed two German climbers in the last weekend of August. The avalanche ran to the ground (up to 80cm) and buried the climbers 1.5-2m deep. The timing puts the incident in the 2007-2008 season (bringing the Canadian total up to 18 for the year) since the 'avalanche season' loops over September 1.

But in preparation for the upcoming season, wild and wacky training ideas are already coming out of the woodwork. Les 2 Alpes has announced an avalanche simulator known as the Robocoaster will be available to guests this coming season. Essentially, it seems to involve being in a dark snow cave alone for 20 seconds with "the sounds of a dog scratching". The resort calls it "both fun and educational" so I'm curious to hear what folks think of the experience this winter.