Spring Time Snow... Skiing Perhaps Not, But....

3rd April, 2009 - As mentioned before, it was definitely past winter by the time we arrived in Sapporo... but that doesn't mean that you can't have some winter fun in the snow. Of course, at this time of the year the snow's pretty crappy, and no one bothers to ski (the season's well and truly finished). Heading off to Mt Teine, not that far away from Sapporo (about 22km), you can still enjoy some good sledding adventures. Especially if you're two years old.

Below is roughly where Teine sits relative to Sapporo... and if you want to check out my own adventures on Teine.

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And this was L-kun's first experience with snow....cold cold tsumetai cold snow. And how to describe his first reaction? Confusion I think described it. I mean, what sort of freezer must have produced all of this ice? And why did someone leave it lying all over the ground. Actually, he was having quite a good time playing with the snow itself.

Then again, the whole freezing your feet off, may have been a bit disconcerting as well...

And then we tried him out on the sled...or toboggan as some people call them. Well... daddy had quite a good time, but alas, it was not quite the most exciting "introduction" to snow (and sledding) that we were perhaps expecting. As L-kun glided down the hill towards obaachan and ojiichan, he wore the stoic expression that said... I will be patient - one day you will be in a retirement home and completely powerless to stop me doing embarrassing thing to you. For now, however, L-kun... you must endure the challenges set by your heartless but happy father.

I hope someone is going to catch me....

It makes me wonder - how might I have reacted at two years of age coming from a dry hot place like Australia into a cold (almost winter-wonderland) Sapporo snow mountain? I suspect I'd be similarly world-view challenged... where ice was the thing you put in your drinks, and if you were lucky was made out of cream. 

As our next trip in 2011 see's T-chan and L-kun arriving in March, we're hoping they'll have even more time to have fun in the snow. And L-kun is already asking to play in the snow (having seen the snow outside grandparents house). Fingers crossed it's not a warm or early spring in 2011. If you're in Sapporo in early Spring (noting that Spring doesn't really start to the end of April proper with the coming of the Sakura), and you have some mobility... you may want to check out the vestiges of the snow on some of the surrounding peaks, especially if you don't get a chance to see snow often.