Sierra Nevada Spain

[jasoncapecod]

I am in Granada Spain. We decided to make a detour for a half day skiing at Sierra Nevada ski resort.
The pics are in order of the day's events

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[Admin]

Nice. I'm particularly liking the gigantic microwave dish in photo number 2. I see those in the wilderness all the time!

 

[Tony Crocker]

That's supposed to be a substantial area, big enough to hold World Cup events I think. Snowfall is probably erratic, though it's high and should preserve well.

 

[jasoncapecod]

It was cool to drive two hours and be sitting on the beach in Marbella

 

[jasoncapecod]

What's up with tony posting under my name?


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[Tony Crocker]

It was cool to drive two hours and be sitting on the beach in Marbella

Some of us can do that anytime. Both pics below from Jan. 26, 2008

Unfortunately around here the skiing part of this exercise has mostly been on manmade groomers the past few years.

 

[Tony Crocker]

What's up with tony posting under my name?

Mea culpa. I must have inadvertently hit the edit instead of the quote button. Now corrected.

 

[jasoncapecod]

No issues. The ski area is huge. Very steep on top. With decent snow, it would be a total blast.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Since Jason can't be bothered to provide info on HIS trip report :roll:, here is a quick overview. 4,000 continuous verts.
http://www.sierranevada.co.uk/index.php ... 16&lang=en

 

[Tony Crocker]

Interesting map. Even that far south the tree line appears to be below the 2,100 meter base elevation. Is North America the only continent where trees grow in high elevation snowy climates?

 

[jasoncapecod]

Where is the tree line in northern Japan?

 

[Tony Crocker]

Where is the tree line in northern Japan?

At Niseko latitude 43 I would say about 3,000 feet. In Hakuba latitude 37 about 6,000 feet. On Mt. Fuji latitude 35 about 8,000 feet. In all cases those numbers are about 4,000 feet lower than in North America. An extremely snowy microclimate can lower the tree line, which I'm sure is the case in Hokkaido.

 

[Admin]

Where is the tree line in northern Japan?

At Niseko latitude 43 I would say about 3,000 feet. In Hakuba latitude 37 about 6,000 feet. On Mt. Fuji latitude 35 about 8,000 feet. In all cases those numbers are about 4,000 feet lower than in North America. An extremely snowy microclimate can lower the tree line, which I'm sure is the case in Hokkaido.

That's a very west coast-centric point of view. In New England at latitude 44 it's around 4000 feet, which is not 4000 feet higher than at Niseko, and I'm certain that variations in indigenous species of trees can explain the minute difference between the two.

 

[Marc_C]

Interesting map. Even that far south the tree line appears to be below the 2,100 meter base elevation. Is North America the only continent where trees grow in high elevation snowy climates?

Let me understand this.... You're actually assessing tree line from an artist's rendering of an interpretation that has ski runs and lifts as its primary objective???

You might want to take a look at this page - in particular the table that lists world-wide tree-line elevations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_line

 

[jasoncapecod]

Here's a pic from the access road. The area is 100 % above the tree line

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[Tony Crocker]

You might want to take a look at this page - in particular the table that lists world-wide tree-line elevations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_line

That's an informative article. I do note a contrast in tree line between Sierra Nevada Spain and Yosemite at similar latitude of almost 4,000 feet. The Spain comment "precipitation low in summer" is not terribly illuminating since California summers are not exactly wet.

The most common reason quoted for tree lines, cold vs. warm summers, does explain most cases, and in particular the unusually high tree lines in the US Rockies vs. anywhere else in the world at comparable altitude/latitude.

The 9,500 quote for Japan Alps seems high, as I personally saw it at 6,000 in Hakuba and 8,000 farther south on Mt. Fuji. Chronic high winds could depress the tree line on Fuji, but the highest Japanese Alps peaks are right behind the Hakuba ski areas.

The Hawaii comment, "no local tree species with high tolerance to cold temperatures," applies to many Southern Hemisphere locations, notably Australia.

The Wiki article makes the Northeast a bit of a puzzle, as summers are both warm and wet, which it says are the key contributors to tree growth. Wind is probably the explanation for a lower than expected tree line in the Presidential Range of NH.

 

[tseeb]

Nice. I'm particularly liking the gigantic microwave dish in photo number 2. I see those in the wilderness all the time!

That is not exactly a microwave dish. It's a 30m radio telescope that may look like a gigantic microwave dish because it is not pointed skyward. See http://www.iram-institute.org/EN/30-meter-telescope.php and following picture.

 

[Admin]

I somehow knew it wasn't a microwave dish, but I didn't really know what to call it!

 

[jasoncapecod]

Wish I took more pics of it. The thing is absolutely huge and was always moving..