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Alamy1 of 15
On Japan's Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, huge walls of snow tower over a 1,640-foot sightseeing path. The area sees an average 23 feet of snow each year and when the snow is cleared from the road, resultant snow drifts create walls 60 feet high. But snow walls aren't unique to Japan. Paths carved through tens of feet of snow create snow walls around the world, from Austria to Colorado.
At left, cars pass through Yuki-no-Otani (snow walls) in Toyama, Hokuriku, Japan.
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Alamy2 of 15
A tour bus travels the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route in Toyama, Japan.
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Alamy3 of 15
Snow walls surround the Otani walk in Toyama, Hokuriku, Japan.
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TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/GettyImages4 of 15
Kashmiri porters travel on horseback past walls of snow along the Srinagar-Leh highway in Zojila, Kashmir. The pass connects Kashmir with the Ladakh region.
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maty0609/Flickr5 of 15
A car pulls over next to a snow wall in Iceland.
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Photodisc6 of 15
A snow-covered road is surrounded by snow walls in Japan's Aomori Prefecture.
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balaam/Flickr7 of 15
Snow walls in Toyama, Japan.
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Yasu's Photo/Flickr8 of 15
Snow walls line the route to the Nozawa Hot Spring in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
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AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson9 of 15
A man stands in front of a snow wall at the Gross Glockner road in Salzburg, Austria.
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Nature's Harmony/Flickr10 of 15
A 13-foot-high snow wall towers over the road in Cedars Mountain, Lebanon.
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Tyler Ingram/Flickr11 of 15
Travelers take photos next to a snow wall at the Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada.
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Alamy12 of 15
A truck drives between snow walls near Keylong, India.
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iStockphoto13 of 15
Snow walls line a road in the Austrian Alps.
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tab2space/Flickr14 of 15
A snow wall in Arapahoe Basin, Colorado.
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Alamy15 of 15Next: 22 People More Sick of Winter Than You Are
A mountain pass curves through snow walls in Gotthard, Switzerland.
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10 Comments
I really feel globally warmed!
March 30 2013 at 11:49 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyGrowing up in Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado), I've seen snow drifts BUT nothing like these! WOW!
March 30 2013 at 11:23 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWow didn't know some of these places received that much snow --
March 30 2013 at 6:06 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe Walls are Amazing
I'm a ex-charter bus driver. No way would I have stopped and let my passengers get out. They could have been buried alive if those snow walls gave away and the head lines would have been different, 'tourist and bus buried alive'. All I can say is that God was with them.
March 30 2013 at 5:49 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Replythat's a lot of "No Yoddling" signs!
March 30 2013 at 1:49 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyI wonder how much flooding comes when Spring and Summer arrive at these areas.
March 30 2013 at 11:18 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyawesome drifts!
March 30 2013 at 10:15 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHow do they clear the road?
March 30 2013 at 7:52 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyOne way is a big snowblower on the front of a truck.
March 30 2013 at 5:34 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHuh ?
March 20 2013 at 6:45 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply