Chances are, you probably don’t live in a place where snow gets massively out of control. It may blizzard once in a while and dump heaps of the fluffy white stuff on your yard, but after a quick go-through with your snow blower, everything’s more or less taken care. That’s not quite the case for these 7 places, which get more than their fair share of snow. If you’ve ever wanted to move to a winter wonderland, Snow Blower Source brings you some places to get your passport ready for.
.
Aomori City, Japan
With its glittering skyscrapers and reputation as a world leader in technology, you may not think Japan is a place known for its snowiness. However, that’s not the case, as some places get crazy buried in snow. Take Aomori City, for instance, which gets an average snowfall of 312 inches each year. That’s 26 feet of snow piled high, making for a tough job for even the biggest snow blowers.
Paradise Ranger Station, Mt. Rainier, Washington
Washington State has a stronger reputation for snow, especially on Mt. Rainier. But even that doesn’t prepare visitors for the sheer amount of white height they’ll see at Paradise Ranger Station, which is a historic station that used to provide visitor information services (now, climbers self-check in there before a hike). According to the National Park Service, this place averages 641 inches of snow a year, or 53.4 feet.
.
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Because of its location, Japan is the snowiest place on earth. Just think of it as the lake-effect snow but magnified by a lot, and you’ll get an idea of the snow that hits this country. In particular, the island of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost one, holds the city of Sapporo, which gets hit annually with an average of 191 inches of snow, or 16 feet.
Alyeska, Alask
When you start counting snow in tens of feet instead of inches, you know you’ve arrived at one of the world’s snowiest places. This town, just 40 miles away from Anchorage, receives an average of 636 inches of snow each year, or 53 feet. However, sometimes the clouds get a little out of control and dump way more than usual, like the 876 inches (73 feet) it received in 2011.
Chamonix, France
This Alpine commune is most commonly known as being the first place to host the Winter Olympics, which took place in 1924. But the more weather-astute among us will also know it as an incredibly snowy place where a good toboggan ride is almost as guaranteed as the sun coming up the next day. This commune receives 377 inches of snow a year, or about 31 feet.
.
Mt. Fidelity, Glacier National Park, British Columbia, Canada
Canadians and snow go together like fish and chips, and it’s no surprise the country has a fair bit of snowy cities. But of all the places in this vast land of igloos and caribou lies Mt. Fidelity, a backcountry skier’s dream come true. It snows for almost half the year (141 days) with an average of 546 inches falling each year, or 45.5 feet.
Kirkwood Mountain, California
California is one state that’s full of surprises, and record snowfalls is one of them. Some like to stay firmly in the south, where it’s sunny and warm all the time, while more adventurous souls head north to ski and snowboard. And of the latter group, a small portion of them will head to Kirkwood Mountain, where it snows an average of 473 inches a year, or 39.4 feet.
