chuck a snowball at a passerby or rattle down a hillside
shrieking with exhilaration. Who hasn’t wished for a
snow day, just once in a while? So, the next time you
wake up to a white blanket of snow, here are three
ways to make the most of it:BUILD A BRILLIANT SNOWMAN
At the risk of sounding like Network Rail, the wrong
kind of snow won’t work for the building of snow
people. That dry, powdery stuff just won’t stick
together. You need slightly wet snow that tumbles in
large, f luffy f lakes around temperatures just a degree
or so above freezing. Do a quick test – press the snow
together in your hands; if it stays in a compact ball that
can be thrown in the air and caught, you’re good to go.
Choose the right ground surface for your
snowman. Build it in a shaded spot, away from the
melting effect of direct sunlight. Pick a relatively f lat
surface but avoid asphalt as it absorbs more heat from
the sun than other hard surfaces or grass, causing
snow to melt more quickly.
Pack a large snowball by hand first – try and get it to
about a ruler’s width (30cm), densely packed together,
before you put it on the ground and start rolling.
Decide where you want your snowman to sit and
have enough space to roll the snowball so you end up in
therightplace.Starttheballrolling. You’llnoticethat
you’re creating a cylinder not a sphere, so you’ll need to
keep turning the snowball through 90 degrees.
Get the ratio right. The optimum snowman ratio infeet is 3:2:1 from bottom to top. The base needs to be
strong enough to support the combined weight of the
upper body and head, but after a certain size snowballs
can lose stability as you can’t apply enough pressure to
pack the snow tightly enough. If you’re struggling to
lift the body on top of the base, prop a plank against the
base and roll the body up into place.START A SNOWBALL FIGHT
The same kind of snow that’s good for snowmen is also
good for snowballs –not too powdery – although the
heat of your hands can help melt the ice crystals and
stick them together.
Knitted gloves are better for snowball fights than
mittens. This is because you can exert more packing
pressure with your fingers kept separate and gloves
tend to lose more heat than mittens. You can also grip
the snowball more tightly with a glove, allowing for a
more accurate throw.
Don’t try and create your snowball in one
squeeze. Gentle pressure and constant turning of the
snowball (like making meatballs) give you a rounder,
more compact shape and lessens the risk of it exploding
in your hands if you squeeze too hard.
Before throwing, take a few tips from baseball
pitchers. Stand with your feet a shoulder’s width
apart. Turn ‘side on’ to your target and grip the ball
with your fingers not your palm. At the start of the
throw hold both hands in front of your chest. When
you throw, turn your chest to face your target. As you
release the snowball, point your fingers towards your
target – it’ll improve your aim.MAKE A COSY IGLOO
Here’s a simple, pared-down version for your back
garden – just for fun, not for survival. You need two“No other weather can transform
a shabby office block or street
into a pristine wonderland”
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES; SHUTTERSTOCK; STOCKSY