Come on, this is unbelievable! Ridiculous! It is December 15th. and we have no snow here in Helsinki (Finland)! I do not know what to say, this is so unreal. Al Gore seems to be right, the climate is changing fast. Back in the 80’s it was so much different. We used to have real winters on December, nothing like this. In my home town in Lapland temperature used to go below -40 centigrade few times a year, but nowadays that phenomenon is very rare.

I Recently saw two Finnish researchers discussing in television about the climate change, and they said that according to the worst case scenario 40-50% of the planet will be like a desert. It sounds bad and I believe in climate change, but I cannot comment about that statement. I’m just an amateur when it comes to climate change issue. All in all, it looks like skiing in Helsinki is not going to be a popular hobby in few decades. May be surfing will take over from skiing. Not bad actually..

So what the heck you can do while waiting for the snow to start dropping?

While waiting for the snow, I do some other things to enjoy my life. Naturally skiing is not everything, but I would like to see some snow already on December. People go skiing in Europe and United States, but here in Finland it keeps on raining day after day. So what could you do if there is no snow? Let us find out what I do to kill my free time.

What to do while waiting for snow? - Set up a band with your kids

I have been working too much, way too much. I promised my wife and kids that I will spend more time with them. It is sad to realize that you like to do something else instead of spending time with your family. Well, at least I have noticed and realized it. Anyhow, I play music with kids. My wife does not like that too much because of the noise, but we are rock n’ roll dudes and we don’t ask women, right? My band includes four people. I sing and play the flutes, while our 13 years old son plays the electric guitar. Our four years old son plays the drums and the piano, while our two years old daughter overblows my flutes. You can guess how many decibels there are..

What to do while waiting for snow? - Meet other family men and talk about cars

Family men are “car men”, at least most of them. With a “car man” I mean those who are keen on discussing about cars with other men. They are passionate about cars. I am a software engineer and 99% of the engineers I have met are “car men”. Well, I am not. It would be easy to realize if you would see my car. I am not interested in cars at all, they are just boring for me. That is why I do not join the “car discussion groups” at work. I rather go back to my desk and share my thoughts in ski or music forums, myspace, facebook, various blogs, or I just simply listen to some new albums

So, what all this has to do with “what to do while waiting for snow”? Well, a couple of “car men” came to have a dinner with us. We went smoking outside and the guys wanted to present their cars. After checking out their fancy SUV’s, they wanted to see mine. Well, I was forced to present my Renault Laguna from 1997 which was full of skis and bags and such. It was also dirty because I have been too lazy to keep it clean. Hah! What a moment. Guys were so proud of their SUV’s and I was like “was this enough? Shall we go for a coffee?”. Even though it was a bit embarrassing, I found it funny. Next time someone visits us, I will ask “shall we go and compare our cars”?

What to do while waiting for snow? - Check out the new mountain bike models

Mountain biking is another great hobby I love. I start riding my bike in early spring, before the snow has melted. Mountain biking is fabulous, fantastic, great, awesome. Are there more words to describe it? I really love it. I have been riding my bike in France and Switzerland (in the Alps), and of course in Finland, and I always get kicks from it. If you cannot go skiing, you can surf in the net and check out the new mountain bike models. I have always ridden Kona bikes and Kona’s King Kakapu Deluxe is a bike for me. Unfortunately I have no money enough to purchase a new bike, so I am forced to ride my good old Kona Kula. Anyhow, I can always surf in the net and dream of King Kakapu and other great mountain bikes.

What to do while waiting for snow? - Write your blog and complain about the lack of snow

When there is no snow, you can write your blog and complain about the lack of snow, just like I am doing right now. Have a great day and enjoy skiing if you can. If you cannot, enjoy other things, such as good music and your life. What do you do when there is no snow? Just drop a comment. I would like to hear how you kill your time when you suffer from the lack of snow.

Photo: lfabresm