Snow to a Venezuelan is a mythical creature, the thing you hear tales of but never actually end up seeing.
So let me share the Super Obvious lessons I learned from my second trip to a place with Snow (though considering the conditions of the first one, more like… first practically).
Wear sunglasses
Did you know snow is white? Did you know that the color white reflects light a lot?
I knew all of this and the realization I should’ve brought Sunglasses still shocked me.
Which leads me to…
Put a polarized filter in your camera lens
Same as above but for the camera’s eyes instead of your own.
To be honest though, the edge cases where a polarized lens is a detriment are so minimal you probably should use one anyways.
Wear gloves
This one is obvious to think about but in my mind it was more about “oooh snow cold” instead of “the cold wind will peel your skin off”.
Actually, related to that.
Undergloves are a thing.
I always thought those thinner sportsy gloves were just that… thinner sportsy gloves that sucked at insulating.
Knowing they’re supposed to be used in conjuction with bigger gloves is so painfully obvious, especially already wearing at least one undershirt and at least two long underpants.
Snow can slap you in the face
I lost count of how many times in 4 days I was violently slapped in the face not by the snow falling from the sky but the loose snow piled up and being lifted by the wind.
Snow is a treacherous bitch
Fresh snow? you won’t slip but only god knows how deep your foot will go when you step.
Compacted snow? Congratulations, that’s just Ice.
Solid ground? No it’s not. Deep enough in the winter it’s impossible to know if you’re actually standing above 50 geologically-separated layers of snow and the actual ground is actually two of God’s very own meters below you.
Frontload your insulation into your coat
Assuming you’re not going to the actual Antarctic or aren’t gonna spend the whole day skiing and such, it’s better to have one really good really thick coat, because the moment you enter a building they’re gonna have the heating on full blast and those four layers of shirts you’re wearing will be the end of you.
Whiteout is the scariest shit ever
And I didn’t even experience it directly! I just had a couple of moments where the taxi or the bus would go through a hill and for a brief moment my whole sight would be all white.
My sight being blocked with a single color is already something that gets me to my core, I’ve woken up panicking in hotel rooms because I woke up facing a wall. The idea that it can just happen on a stroll is dreadful.
Traction in your shoes is most important
I decided to not use my hiking shoes in favor of shoes that were more covered in order to prevent my feet from getting too cold… as a result I ended up slipping all over the place because what few notches the sole had were as good as smooth on the snow.
Also they were big enough I was forced to take my shoes out at the airport which is always annoying.
If you can use one of those soccer shoes with the big nail-like notches on the sole, I would recommend those assuming you’re not using actual snow shoes… whatever those are.
Always carry spare socks
Good advice for any hiking or outdoors activity, but one I took to heart when I tried to go to Tomakomai last year, my foot fell into a puddle of freezing water, and I skipped in one foot for like three blocks until the nearest Seven Eleven.
God bless Japanese conbini carrying almost any piece of clothing you’ll ever need…
Snow is like sand
It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere in the way it clings onto you. In some cases it’s even worse because at least Sand you can shake most of the moment you get dry, but snow does as snow is wont to do and cakes itself layer after layer.
Also, when it melts, congratulations! Now you gotta deal with water!
Don’t let the tone of this post fool you though, I had a BLAST in Niseko and the cold and snow was part of the fun. Like I said, I come from a country where snow is “one of those things gringos have” or that you plan a whole family trip to go up the highest peak of the country just for the experience of snow. This is more a list of “I now know what to expect next time” stuff.
God knows I’d hate snow with a burning passion to get me through winter if I lived there though.