Winter activity spotlight

With winter right around the corner and the promise of snow, the idea of barricading the doors and sitting in front of the fire with a book and cocoa, cocooned in a blanket, sounds really nice. But there are so many outdoor activities that one can do here in North Idaho. Why sit inside when you have an abundant supply of snow? Throw on some warm clothes and get outside.

There are your basic winter sports: skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, sledding and ice skating.

NIC student, Carrol DeMartini can’t wait for the white stuff: she loves to cross-country ski.

“It’s a way to get out and enjoy the outdoors while exercising,” she said.

But here are a couple of activities that you might not have considered: snowshoeing– it’s basically hiking but with a racket-like device attached to the sole of the shoe, and don’t forget about ice fishing too.

Now for a few wacky winter sports which can also be enjoyed in the cold outdoors. How about ice-blocking? Get a block of ice from the grocery store, find the nearest slope, grab the block of ice, sit on it and away you go.  If ice-blocking isn’t your cup of cocoa, then get ready for shovel racing. Put on some snow pants for this one, a helmet is advisable too, wax up your snow shovel then find a snowy hill and get ready for the ride of your life.

Riders and adrenaline junkies beware: you may reach speeds up to 60 mph. Want to slow down the pace? Try skijoring. Picture mushing behind a couple of dogs while riding on a pair of skis. For variety, try a horse in place of the dogs. The dogs or the horse are the engine, they pull the skier along.

If the idea of the cold puts you off, no worries you will soon forget about it with these fun activities.