Snow is massively overrated. The beautiful photos of snowcapped mountains leave me inspired and in awe, wanting to go visit those types of places for myself. Until I remembered snow is one of the most troublesome nuisances of my existence, especially in 2020.
The National Weather Service predicts a 60-70% chance of snow here in Moscow on Friday night, with a slight chance of snow continuing into Saturday. While I doubt the flying frosty flakes will be here for long because of the sunny days forecasted to follow, I’m still dreading the thought of the weather getting cold enough for snow already.
With the pandemic still running rampant, the cold weather is providing less and less opportunity to get outside and be active. I can no longer hike to the peaks I love so much because they will be transformed into those pretty photographs, leaving me longing for summer.
The gear I would need to buy in order to hike safely during the winter months costs an incredible amount of money I have already spent on basic survival, like groceries and rent, during the course of the year.
Winter is coming to Moscow much faster than I, and many others, are ready for. This year has flown by, leaving flashes of all the insane events that have happened so far. Winter is just one more obstacle and, unfortunately, it won’t be the way movies and photos portray it.
All of the cutesy Christmas movies with ice skaters on frozen ponds, snowball fights with hardly any competition, big snowflakes carrying magical wishes and whatever else comes with the Hollywood magic of snow are great. However, trying these things out in real life have, for me at least, proven to be rather miserable.
If I’m going to go ice skating, I would rather go to an ice rink where I know the ice is stable and smooth enough for my inexperience with the sport. Idaho has few easily accessible natural bodies of water where the ice is thick enough and smooth enough to skate on for fun. Ice fishing is the more dominant sport here.
I’ve never had a snowball fight end without someone getting a bit too competitive, eventually ending the brawl because getting too competitive results in either an ice ball to the face or wounded pride.
Even if these things were enjoyable for me, the circumstances of this year’s social scene have made the large clusters of ice skaters and wrestling snowball throwers impossible. Social distancing is going to be the hardest obstacle to overcome this winter, even with how much I despise cold weather.
With summer activities like swimming in the river or going on long strolls through the local forests being canceled by crappy weather, I’ve been racking my brain for things to do when the snow comes. Taking a walk during the winter months isn’t worth the frozen feet, spilled coffee and bruised tailbone.
Some of my favorite winter activities are parties, especially with the amount of holidays there are. In-person parties are out of the question this year, so Zoom parties will be my go-to for the pumpkin carving gathering and Christmas Eve movie night.
When there aren’t any holidays to celebrate, the duo of baking and exercising seem to work fairly well. Baking provides a way to heat up the house and eat some yummy sweets, while the exercise counteracts the weight I would gain and keeps me from moping on the couch.
Reading is another one of my favorite activities for being stuck indoors. There is so much flexibility behind it. You can listen to an audiobook while you do dishes, read a book over Zoom with your family or friends to make it a group event or you can simply curl up with a cozy blanket and a cup of cocoa to enjoy.
While my favorite outdoor activities will be nearly nonexistent this winter, there are plenty of creative ways to keep my mind active and occupied while I’m home. Maybe I could even teach myself to love the snow a little more.
Anteia McCollumcan be reached [email protected] on Twitter @antxiam5