Climatic (not climactic) Undertakings

What do the Atacama Desert (in Chile) and Naeba, Niigata, the place where Ashlee and I went skiing this past weekend, have in common? The same reason why the Atacama Desert is so dry also causes truckloads of snow to fall on the mountains of Niigata. As storm fronts move across the Sea of Japan, the cell picks up steam (figuratively) and moisture (literally) and becomes obesely saturated with water. When it comes to the western coastal mountains of Japan, the storm front needs to lose some weight and gain some altitude, so it dumps enormous masses of snow. This creates a superb ski location conveniently located about 3 hours away from me. Many of you may remember from geography class that the Atacama Desert in Chile is influenced in a similar way except that the Andes prevent any clouds with moisture from entering the desert region. Thus, the Atacama is drier than most old peoples' skin. In fact, if I were to fly over the Atacama Desert and spit out of the window, the annual rainfall for that year would quadruple and meteorologists and environmental activists from all over the world would probably conclude that El Nino has returned or that global warming and the Apocalypse are joining forces (Note: I take no responsibility for the credibility of the theory discussed above, unless of course it is completely correct and deserving of an award and/or cash prize).


Anyway, yeah, so I went to Niigata. Some of you non-Japanese residents may recognize the name Niigata because Niigata is the prefecture which has been getting pounded by record snowfalls this winter and making world news. There has been so much snow this winter that even the famous "bullet-trains" could not penetrate the fluffy, white powder at times. And although the "bullet-trains" may not have been able to penetrate that snow, I just needed two skis, two poles, and some warm winter clothing to master that bunny hill and graduate up to the green runs. Black Diamond, here I come!

No, seriously, the skiing was great. It was totally different compared to Andes Tower Hills Ski Area that I used to ride the 4-wheeler to everyday after school as a pre-driver's license teenager in rural Minnesota. The longest run there took about 30 seconds. I guess the biggest difference was being on a mountain, and not a hill. This place made hills look like North Dakota (i.e. anti-hills). Anyway, if you look to the right, there is a picture of me and my beloved 4-wheeler. Gosh, I wish I had a 4-wheeler here in Ueno!

Skiing was good. I wasn't quite in peak shape, but alas, I did ok. Some highlights included finding two bottles of white wine packed into a snowbank at the top of the mountain (yes, I kept them of course), skiing down the mountain with two bottles of wine in my pockets, falling down with two bottles of white wine in my pockets, and collecting my skis and poles that littered the mountainside after falling down and realizing the two bottles of white wine were okay. And the best highlight of all about skiing: taking off the ski boots; it makes it seem as if you lost 20 kilos but gained some permanent wrinkles from your pants and socks being stuffed down in there.