Heavy Snow Hits New Zealand

Crowds descended upon Canterbury’s ski fields for a “perfect snow day” on Friday, with Mt Hutt drawing over 3,000 skiers and snowboarders alone. “Today is the day we’ve been waiting for!” wrote Porters Alpine Resort on its website.

Fresh snowfall this week has revitalized South Island ski fields, and as the weather cleared, skiers hit the slopes in their droves.

Heavy blowing snow had caused significant disruptions across the region, with areas such as Fairlie, Hanmer Springs, and parts of Canterbury, all blanketed white, before the flakes shifted towards Marlborough.

Owing to the conditions, multiple severe weather warnings were issued, including for North Canterbury which was put under an orange warning for heavy snow.

As of Friday, all facilities at Mt Hutt Ski Area, Porters Alpine Resort, and Mt Dobson were operational, with access roads cleared.

Mt Hutt general manager James Urquhart had anticipated a large turnout, but Friday’s crowd “exceeded our expectations.”

“This is our busiest day of the season. It seems like everyone in Canterbury took the day off,” he added “There’s a lot of excitement on the slopes today.”

New Zealand Ski chief executive Paul Anderson remarked that Thursday was also an “amazing day” with decent snow bases reported across the South Island after the most-recent 24-hour storm, including the 83 cm (32.7 inches) at Mt Hutt.

Meteorologist Alwyn Bakker explained that a high-pressure system was now over much of the South Island, keeping skies clear and the temperatures low. Mt Dobson is noting -7C (19.4F), while Mt Hutt, slightly cloudy, is seeing -4.6C (23.7F).

“A lot of ski fields received a substantial snowfall from the recent storm,” said Bakker. “The low temperatures are helping to preserve the snow, making it a great time for skiing.”

This reality calls into question the myriad of predictions calling for catastrophic glacial demise in New Zealand.

One prominent forecast claims that a significant number of glaciers on NZ’s South Island will have completely melted by 2030.

“In a decade, we predict that many of our beloved and important glaciers will be gone,” said NIWA principal scientist Andrew Lorrey in 2022. “This will have far reaching impacts, such as altering our beautiful landscape, affecting the livelihoods of people who rely on these natural wonders for tourism, and flow on effects from decreased meltwater during periods of drought.” (WEF)

Chilean Ski Resort Remains Open Despite Volcanic Activity

The Villarrica Volcano, towering 9,383 feet (2,860 meters) above Centro Ski Pucon in Chile, has shown significant activity. Since late last year, Villarrica has been in an active eruption cycle, with a further uptick noted in July.

Last erupting in 2015, the volcano released three emissions on July 21 that caused “long-period earthquakes,” according to the Chilean National Geology and Mineral Service

Villarrica, located 470 miles south of Santiago, is one of Chile’s most active volcanoes and hosts Centro Ski Pucon, a modern ski resort. The town of Pucon, known as Chile’s “adventure capital,” sits at the volcano’s base, and has not yet been evacuated but is on alert.

Following the major eruptions in March 2015, thousands were evacuated, and the highest level alert was issued which prohibited all activities on the mountain.

Recent activity at Villarrica has exceeded normal Strombolian levels, with a yellow alert issued.

Despite the alert, the ski resort remains open during what is proving a record-breaking snow season. Already, some 400 inches of snow has accumulated since the start of the season, with another large storm expected Friday.

This is the story across many Chilean and Argentinian mountains this year; that is, unprecedented snowfall.

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Speaking to resorts in North America, Timberline on Mt. Hood in Oregon is the continent’s last open ski center.

Owing to strong snowfall and efficient snow management, Timberline has been running for over eight months now, surpassing Arapahoe Basin in Colorado for the longest season in North America.

The resort is expected to reach nine months, with August 22 set as its likely closing date.

Too Many Polar Bears In Greenland

Recent reports of an unexpected surge of polar bears onshore in East and Southwest Greenland have raised safety fears among locals and tourists.

The Polar Bear Specialist Group had recently estimated that around 650 bears are located in East Greenland, while a recent study identified an additional 234 bears in Southeast Greenland — numbers far greater than previously thought.

Former Prime Minister of Greenland, Aleqa Hammond, has attributed the unusual number of bear sightings and incidents near communities in recent weeks—including a serious attack on a German researcher—to abundant sea ice offshore.

Zoologist Dr. Susan Crockford adds on her blog, “None of the bears sighted have been described as thin or starving.”

This of course contradicts the predictions of polar bear specialists and AGW Party members alike.

Polar bears rarely venture into Southern or Western Greenland, but this year has been different. On Wednesday, two bears were even spotted near Nuuk, Greenland’s capital.

“There are bears everywhere in West Greenland this year,” Hammond told ExplorersWeb. “Quite a few have been dangerously close to towns in South Greenland this summer, too. Several polar bears have been shot in Qaqortoq, as the bears were literally in town.”

Another two polar bears had to be shot in Ittoqqortoormiit, one on Tuesday evening, the other on Thursday morning — the former was after the bear had approached a dog crate and then headed towards a soccer field where children were playing.

This comes after an attack last week in East Greenland involving a German researcher on Traill Island.

So far, problematic bear sightings and incidents have occurred in Ittoqqortoormiit (2 bears shot in the community), Traill Island (attack on a visiting researcher, East Greenland), Nuuk (Southwest Greenland); Qaqortoq (several bears shot, South Greenland), and the trail between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut (2 bears sighted, West Greenland).

There are so many polar bears in Greenland right now that locals are having to shoot them for their safety. The Greenlandic government is even being pressured to raise the annual hunting quota. This is some twist to the story that those coffee-spitting alarmists have been peddling for the past few decades.

For more, you can read Dr. Crockford’s article over at polarbearscience.com.

British Farmers Paid To NOT Produce Food

A British farmer describes how his government is offering to pay him not to produce any food.

“We’ve been offered £2500 to join a scheme for three years, where we don’t supply you any food.”

Why would a government incentivize farmers not to grow food?

“Control the food, control the people” …?

Thank you for your continued support.

Enjoy your weekend.

I’ll be back Monday, as always.

Best,
Cap