Sierra Nevada

I have only been to the snow 4 times so I was extremely excited to be going again. We were going to Sierra Nevada for snowshoeing. Snowshoeing is hiking in the snow with what looks like tennis racquets attached to your shoes. They have sharp spikes under it for gripping the snow and ice.

Never have I ever seen snow so soft before. Basically, the snow had been there for a few days already meaning there was a thin layer of ice over some parts of the snow. Under the ice layer was snow that was softer than icing sugar. Felt like how a powdered marshmallows might be. The only bad thing about this was that the snow could not be compacted to make a snowman or have snowball fights.

Our guide explained to us about the different skiis, snowboots and avalanche rescue methods. This was an incredible learning journey as I always thought there was only 1 type of ski. No! There are skiis that are for downhill skiing, cross country skiing, attachments for skiis for going uphill skiing and skiis for going through difficult paths or for going super fast. We learnt that the average speed for competition skiers are 80-90km/h. So, imagine going faster than that! The danger of such a sport was seen when a man zoomed past with one arm in a sling. I think I know where and how that injury occurred. We saw the people and snow dogs who were training for avalanche rescues. The dogs help find the people buried in the snow and the people are trained to dig them out in a specific way so the snow does not collapse and the person is safely extracted.

It was amazing to see the workings of the ski mountains. From the little 4 year olds skiing to the dogs and people at training, rescuers, the locals and us who were just taking it all in and have a magical time. Seeing the amazing views and hiking through the powder snow and seeing all the skiers wizz by made me want to learn how to ski.Read more