I really enjoyed this article and how reminded me of the first time I hiked in snow without crampons. I had to use fallen spruce branches to steady myself with each step on the way down. It was like walking on little brooms. It did the job well enough for a southern California native.

Yeah -- I learned to walk on dirty snow where I could when I didn't have snowshoes. The albedo makes the snowpack melt a little more than its surroundings and it makes a nice crust over what could otherwise be quite deep. Stepping onto clean snow and postholeing is quite an experience.

Clean snow is quite nice if you have a long downhill chute though because then you can just plunge step quickly down and let the snow cushion your quite large steps.

I had a pet jumping spider that came to me one day. She was magical. She used to make artistic scribbles in the (sometimes) foggy glass of her terrarium. The she escaped one day (I always left a little crack open at the bottom of her home to give her the option of leaving) and I never saw her since.