Photo: Brutal Argentinian Winter

UPDATE: The Associated Press says: "August 9, 2006: The worst snow storm in Argentina in a decade which began five days ago."

ORIGINAL POST:

As you probably have figured out by now, I am a bit obsessed with extreme weather. So today I bring you a photo from the brutal winter in Argentina (a nice find, I presume, by our Senior AP Photograph Selector Action Steve Penstone (PREMIUM | PRO):

Winter Wonderland - Aug. 7, 2006 - Workers clear snow off a road in Laguna Blanca, Argentina, some 1,300 kilometers (812 miles) south of Buenos Aires, Monday, Aug. 7, 2006, after a three-day snow storm. (AP Photo/ Pepe Delloro,Telam)

The New York Times picked up (as did IHT) an article today about the typical winter in the Andes Mountains, paying special attention to the problems on the main road which winds through the mountains. Some highlights of the "choke point" from the article:

- On the border between Argentina and Chile
- Most-important point in the continent through which cargo passes
- Road reaches as high as 12,671 feet up in the Andes Mountains
- Cristo Redentor Tunnel is about 9,000 feet long at a height of about 9,000 feet (Wikipedia)
- Highest non-Himalayan peak "Aconcagua" just to the northeast at 22,840 feet
- Up to 5,000 trucks have been stranded at one time
- On average, the road is closed for 40 days per winter
- Road was closed for more than a week last month
- Truckers slept in their trucks for up to 12 days in late July
- 1,200 trucks (the worst 60 feet long with 50 tons of cargo) pass through on a busy day
- $1.5 billion tunnel has been considered as the replacement
- Last winter, 48 feet of snow fell and an avalanche buried 12 trucks, sweeping some over the side of the mountain

Now that, my friends, is a harsh winter. Just a little something to cool off the folks from the recent North American and European heat waves.