10Dsnow removal
Tamugimata village where I live in is one of the
heaviest snowfall areas in Japan. In a snowy winter we have more than 4 meters
of snow. This winter we havenft had that much snow until now, but still it is
very tough to remove the snow from the roof. Now is mid-February and I have
already done the removal 6 times. It takes 7~8 hours at one time, so sometimes
it doesnft end in a day. The upper part of the snow is light and I can scoop
and throw the snow easily in the beginning, but the snow becomes heavier and
harder as I go on to the bottom. Moreover I have to throw the snow longer as I
come to the center of the roof. I always get tired in the end.
I had a dreadful experience when removing the snow. Before I moved into
this village I had lived at the foot of the mountain not so far from here.
And my large hawk hut was near my house. One day I started removing the
snow on the top of the roof of my hut. That day the temperature was higher
than usually and I knew the snow could slide down easily. I was scooping
the snow carefully, when it suddenly began to slide under my feet. I slid
off the roof with the snow in an instant. A mountain stream was around
the hut and it was about 15 meters high from the top of the roof to the
stream. There were some big trees and stumps along the stream. While I
was falling I thought I might be seriously wounded. Fortunately I fell
on the snow that had piled up on the stream and I breathed a sigh of relief.
But then the snow fell on me from the roof with a thud. I was completely
buried in the snow and I could not breathe. I thought I would die for sure.
There was no one around. Both legs and left arm were stretched and they
did not move at all. I could barely move right arm because it was bended
a little. I moved right arm desperately. And at last I could stick it out
of the snow. Then I removed the snow on my face and breathed finally.
We sometimes hear
the news of mountain climbers that were killed by the snowslide. Guess how much
snow could kill you? Only 30 centimeters of snow laid on you.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@Matsubara Hidetoshi
