Ett problem är dock att många fastighetsägare reagerar för sent – många inser inte att snön blir ett större problem när temperaturerna sjunker. Nyfallen torrare snö väger 30-100 kilo per kubikmeter medan packad snö kan väga upp till 300 kilo [sic]. När det töar och snön blir blötare kan den väga upp till 400 kilo per kubikmeter och då ökar risken för skador på tak och byggnader markant.

My own translation:

One problem is that many house owners react too late – many don’t realize that snow becomes a bigger problem with lower temperatures. Fresh, dry snow weighs 30-100 kilograms per cubic meter while packed snow can weight up to 300 kilograms [sic]. When it thaws and the snow becomes wet it can weigh up to 400 kilograms per cubic meter, and then the risk of damage to buildings increases dramatically.

(emphasis mine)

Yet once again we have the issue of snow magically becoming heavier. The article doesn’t even seem to be fully clear about whether it is talking about weight or density. Say that 1000 kg of (dry) snow falls on a roof. Now, with everything else constant, the temperature goes up and it begins to thaw. The question is now: How much mass does the snow have now? (assuming that no snow yet left the roof in liquid form).

Anybody who has shoveled snow knows that it’s much harder to lift a shovel full of wet snow compared to when it’s still cold. Therefore, they assume that the snow is “heavier” when warmer, and assume the same applies to the snow they have on the roof. While the observation is correct, the conclusion is wrong. Because it is just the density that has increased, the molecules are more tightly packed and the weight per cubic meter has gone up. There’s still the same mass of snow lying in the driveway. With higher density, a larger mass (and therefore with a larger weight) of snow can fit in the same shovel, increasing the force you must use to lift it.

Back to our question: Of course it still remains at 1000kg. That’s not even basic physics, its just plain obvious. The mass of snow never increases without snowfall, and while density changes with temperature, the total weight stays the same. The weight of any object depends solely on the number of molecules in it, and a different temperature doesn’t magically make new molecules appear. I’ve seen the myth of increasing weight repeat all over the place, especially during this weather conditions. I was hoping for the editor to have some common sense, especially with these kind of newspapers. Come on! (The article briefly speaks about lower temperatures too, but the above reasoning also applies to when it becomes colder.)

So, if your roof was crushed under snow during thawing temperatures, it didn’t have as much to do with temperature as it had to do with the amount of snow to start with. That it happened at that temperature was just a coincidence. Okay, it could have been that snow melted in one part of the roof, slid down to another part and joined forces with the snow already there, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.

Now, there are real dangers that arise with melting snow, but they are of a completely different character. Falling ice and snow blocks is a real danger to people underneath, and many have become hurt this winter. Stay clear of high buildings, especially downtown, and avoid getting crushed.

More articles: VLT, Corren and DN (all Swedish, sorry)

The first stop was the Canton of Jura, the youngest canton in the Swiss federation. (For an interesting piece of contemporary history, check out the “les Béliers” Jurassic separatist movement.)
The little city of St. Ursanne was just what I was looking for; a picturesque walled city with an old stone bridge. Being on the countryside of the French-speaking region, I had to revive my school French to be able to strike up even the simplest of conversations. Everything in the city here was made out of stone, and while the streets were almost empty, the few people I met were most friendly and always greeted me with “Bonjour, Monsieur”.

Progressing deeper into French-speaking territory I then made my way to Neuchâtel to arrive just in time for the beloved blue hour.

I was lucky that day, for the skies were clear and displayed the most beautiful shade of cyan for a few precious minutes. The weather wasn’t going to be that good the coming days. I spent the night in Lausanne, after meeting “ze Frenchmen” again. I woke up late (eight) and decided that I still had time to visit Geneva before going back to more familiar Alemannian regions. The entire day was plagued with heavy fog and rainfall; no good day for photography. After a very brief visit to Geneva and Montreux (of jazz festival fame!) I took the GoldenPass train to Interlaken and Grindelwald. Both Grindelwald and Interlaken were very disappointing, just filled with tourists and dense, impenetrable snowfall. Instead I made myself on the way to Valais, crossing both that Canton as well as the Lötschberg basistunnel off my checklist.

The tradition of Fasnacht continues to this day, and while different regions celebrate this on different weeks of February I was able to see the final day of the “Bärner Fasnacht” taking place in the capital, Berne, on Saturday.

Looking for a good place to watch the sunset, I went on a hunch, boarded the express ICN train to Romanshorn and Lake Constance in the northeastern part of Switzerland. Again, it was just in time for beautiful, blue light.

February is still skiing season, and so I couldn’t find a hostel room for the night; they were all full. There was nothing else to do than go home to Zürich and stay in my own room. Not optimal, but cheap!

The entire final day of the trip was spent south of the alps, in the wonderful town of Lugano. I found a great panoramic view (on a rooftop, actually) with a view over the lake, Monte Bré and the city. Waiting for more than an hour for the perfect light was rewarding, there was only minimal haze in the air, and the deep blue sky contrasting the yellow sodium lamps gave nice photos this time as well.

With this being the final day before the new semester, I celebrated the last day of freedom by going out to eat in a nice Lugano restaurant.

Then I took the train home with myself.

All and all, in four short days and an unlimited train ticket I visited every corner of the country but the easternmost one. Eight new cantons added to the list, I seem to have a good chance of visiting all 26 before this year runs out.

Swiss challenge
Zürich, Bern, Luzern, Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Zug, Fribourg, Solothurn, Basel Stadt, Basel Land, Schaffhausen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Sankt Gallen, Graubünden, Aargau, Thurgau, Ticino, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, Genève, Jura

Anyway, last week I had my final exams for this exam period, and I had the sudden freedom of having a week-long holiday. As it turned out, some of my currently-studying-in-french-speaking-contries classmates from LiU were free as well, and we decied to meet up. Viktor (currently in Nancy), Jesper (Montpellier) came to visit Switzerland, me and Li (who’s in Lausanne). All and all, four of us “Yi” students met up here in Zürich.

After arriving in the  Student Hostel, we threw a little reunion party and made Semla. And when I say “We” made semla, I mean Li and Jesper. Viktor ist just pretending to work, and I’m just taking photos.

My room is only 12 square meters, so three people staying over was quite cramped. I was happy have a nice bed, the others slept more or less on the floor.

The next day I showed my guests around the city. I begun by taking them up to Uetliberg, 500m above the city. There were low clouds haning over the city, but at 900m you were above most of it.

After a tour of Polybahn and the ETH we went to see the old town and the lake. Jesper was fascinated by the swans.

By the lake at Bellevue, watching the (foggy) Zürich cityline.

Zürich is very expensive, and to convey this feeling to my guests I took them to the main shopping street, Bahnhofstrasse. First off, we tried Sprüngli Café and their Luxemburgerli. I thought these were somehow special to Zürich, but we ended up arguing whether or not these were plagiated French Macarons.

Further up on Bahnhofstrasse, we stopped to look at Swiss watches. I think Jesper pondered using this year’s CSN money on a particularly nice Rolex…

What’s down there?

Even I got to be in a photo!

We ended the day in a restaurant, trying Rösti with Zürich-style Geschnetzeltes. After that, they went to Lausanne to continue their holiday in more French-speaking regions.

Thanks for the visit, guys! I hope you enjoyed Zürich.

Oh yes, time to go back to the lecture notes, I’ve got to learn those polynomial ring theorems.

Normally, access to WiFi hotspots like the one I am on right now costs money, but once again I realize how good it is to be a student at the ETH. Without having to pay anything I have direct access to the university VPN network, a nice deal between the ETH and most Wi-Fi providers around Switzerland. That means that I can work with schoolwork and surf the web for free.

It seems like there’s about 30-40 cm of snow in Västerås today, hopefully there’ll be a white Christmas this year. So nice to have a bit of holiday!

Two of the people I’ll meet are Daniel and Marc, of whom I took this photo this summer. They are in action doing some jazz improvisation on Marc’s balcony, spreading music all over Bäckby. It is difficult to put it down in words how much fun we had that evening, singing and playing music in the open.

Why the organizers decided that Paradeplatz was the place to be is really beyond me. The protest was all about the situation at the University of Zürich (that means, unrelated to the ETH at which I am enrolled), and now they wanted to show their disgust…with the banks? And if they didn’t lose enough credibility doing that, there was only one banner about the university issue. The rest was all red flags with stars and logotypes of leftist and communist groups. Talk about a failed protest.

Anyway, I’m not taking any side in the demonstration, my mission was to take photos. And there came a great opportunity, because as the march was just about to enter Paradeplatz several police vans raced to the scene and out jumped fully-equipped and armored riot police. Their intent to block the entry to the financial center was made very clear.

As a photographer it is important to be observant of what is going on around yourself. Where is the action taking place? Which lens and which angle should I use in the current situation? Getting close to the action is crucial to get the best photos, and I made sure to do just that. In the above photo I stood just a few meters behind the police. Two seconds later I was thrust back into the crowd; I guess I stood in their way. It was alright – I already had my winner photo and was satisfied.

The demonstration was eventually allowed to continue out to Paradeplatz. Here the left-wing demonstrators really got up to speed, and all I could see were communist slogans and waving red flags. The goal of being at Paradeplatz was apparently to block the trams and poke fun at the banks.

I don’t think any of that contributed to their cause, upsetting hundreds of commuters (Paradeplatz is one of the most important junction points in the tram network) and requiring the above-mentioned large-scale police response. (It should be added that the demonstration looked peaceful, whether that was its nature or if that only was because of the power demonstration of the police remains unclear)