Winter in the north

Temperatures have been dropping in Alta. Once the top of a mountain gets covered with snow, people in Alta think believe that winter would come sooner or later. This year, in the middle of October, we received our first snow of the season in Alta. Snow is one of the most important elements in the winter season in Norway. We can go skiing, build a snowman, or just enjoy the beautiful white moment.

In the Northern Norway, the winter starts in November and ends in April (Heimtun, 2015). But this year the winter season has come to Alta earlier since snow has already covered everywhere in October. I am really surprised with it. I had never had snow in October before I came to Alta. I am from Japan and we have only few days of snow falling between December to February in my hometown. Snow was quite special for me when I was in Japan because it was rare. Here in Alta a huge amount of snow is everywhere in the winter season. I still like snow, but it becomes a normal stuff for me now.

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Alta is a good destination in the winter season because we can see northern lights and we can do a lot of winter activities. But I expected that winter in Alta was very dark and people got depressed because Alta has the polar night for two months in the winter. I would say that the winter in Alta is not darker than I expected. This is because there are a lot of snow everywhere. Snow makes the city white and bright. Last November, it was quite dark because there was no snow, but once we got snow on the road, it became brighter. The polar night is dark, and it makes many people depressed. But it is not very bad as long as we have snow.

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Granås (2018) mentions that climate and snow conditions in Finnmark are unpredictable. It suddenly starts snowing, becoming colder, becoming a strong wind. Sometimes it becomes -30 ℃. So, you need to carefully choose what clothing is proper for the day. In the winter season, I would say that Crocs, which is my everyday shoes, shows itself at its best. Many people believe that Crocs is not proper on the snow. But in my opinion, Crocs has great grip even on the road covered with snow. Crocs is sometimes better than the trekking shoes in the city centre. One of my friends who wore trekking shoes slipped and fell down on an icy road, but I did not although I wore Crocs. But you should not put too much confidence in Crocs. Of course, your feet get frozen if you are outside for one hour with Crocs and you get a little bit snow coming inside to Crocs. Crocs is not proper shoes for outdoor activities. But no problem with just 5 minutes walking to university and study.

Each person has different feeling for snow. And snow bring winter and polar night in Norway, which are annoying for some people. But snow has some good roles to a certain extent. You can even enjoy the dark season with sno w. Anyway, just bear in mind, CROCS!!!