What: Boulder and our Sister City, Yamagata, Japan are both mountain-valley communities shaped by winter. While Yamagata is famous for some of the deepest snowfall in Japan, Boulder relies on high-country snowpack to store water for the dry season ahead. In both places, snow is far more than weather — it is culture, identity, and survival. 

In this program, we’ll explore how snow supports ecosystems, winter wildlife, food traditions, and community resilience. We’ll compare adaptations in snow country species, like Japanese serow to Colorado elk. Through hands-on activities, discussion, and reflection, we’ll consider how warming winters are shifting snowpack across the globe — and what it means when the future of snowfall itself becomes uncertain. From snow cellars in Yamagata to spring melt in Boulder, we’ll discover how winter moisture is a vital link connecting our two cities — and how protecting snow today safeguards water, culture, and life tomorrow. 

Join OSMP Naturalist Devyn Palm-Trujilo for a 2-mile hike around Panorama Point on Flagstaff.

• Details:

  • This program is free and open to the public. You will meet at the Halfway House shelter across the road from the Flagstaff Star. Come prepared for cold weather, dress in layers, sturdy winter boots, and microspikes for traction. Sign up here.

• When: Saturday, February 21; 1:30-4pm.

• Where: Panorama Point, Flagstaff Rd., Boulder, CO.