In addition to carefully monitoring the weather forecast, asking for information from local people, Ms. Trang believes that luck is an important factor in hunting snow.
Ms. Thu Trang, living in Hanoi, has been able to watch snowfall on Sa Pa (Lao Cai) 4 times in 2014, 2015, 2016, and early this year – 2021.
During her trips, she always goes to Sa Pa, then moves to neighboring areas such as O Quy Ho pass, Y Ty … to get many beautiful pictures. Ms. Trang shared that she likes to welcome snow because she loves to discover and conquer new things. She used to have the opportunity to experience snow abroad, but hunting snow in Vietnam has a much more thrilling and exciting feeling.
According to Ms. Trang, snowfall in a country located in the tropics like Vietnam can be considered rare, but in the last 10 years, it has been quite frequent. So every winter, she carefully monitors the weather forecast, especially the strong northeast monsoon. In addition, she also had to check information from local people. Recently, there have been many inaccurate pictures of Sapa snowfall, some people have recovered old photos posted on social networks, causing the tourism community to be “disgusted”.
In 2014, when she accidentally read the news that it was snowing in Sa Pa through the backpacking community, Ms. Trang immediately checked the information with her tourist friend in the town and took a bus in the night. Seeing the scene of white snow falling for the first time, she and her friends cheered excitedly. Inexperienced, the group only had time to bring warm clothes and sketchy photography, so there were no photos. From the following years, she prepared quite well in advance.
With many years of experience in snow hunting, Ms. Trang shared that snow usually falls between the first and middle of January every year. At that time, visitors need to monitor the weather forecast closely, specifically waiting for the news that cold air moves from the east to intensify. In addition, snow often falls during the second or third monsoon in winter. The cold air mass carries moisture, causing rain, plus the weather pattern converges in the west wind, it is easy to rain and snow. This year, at the end of December, the mountains have snow, Ms. Trang predicts that in January, the snow will be easier to fall. One feature is that snow in Vietnam often falls for a short time, so the condition is that you have to leave immediately.
Some beautiful destinations for easy snow viewing are in Y Ty forest (Bat Xat district), Fansipan peak (Sa Pa), and some other mountains in the Hoang Lien Son range. Another experience of her is asking people. “If the fingertips and toes quickly become numb when going out, it is already deep cold, it is easy to snow. If it is very cold but it warms up quickly the next day, it usually won’t snow,” she said.
When the weather conditions are suitable for snow hunting, she and her friends will go to Lao Cai a few days in advance to take the initiative. However, the journey does not always go as planned. In 2016, Ms. Trang and her friend went to Y Ty a week ago and still did not see snow. When the group was very disappointed to go home, it snowed again in Sa Pa. Therefore, she believes that luck is also an important factor.
Drivers do have not much experience on snow and ice in Vietnam, it is very slippery, leading to loss of control. This is also what Trang worries the most about every trip. Therefore, she said that she should only drive to the safest place, and then walk. Traveling in Y Ty is the most difficult because the driver has to cross many passes into the old forest.
Snowfall is also when the temperature drops deep, sometimes 0 degrees Celsius, so visitors need to keep their bodies warm to avoid colds and respiratory infections. For the best warmth and ease of movement, visitors should wear several layers of thin layers of clothing, one by one, a sweatshirt, a sweatshirt, a sweater, and outside with a windproof and waterproof life jacket. Feet walking on the snow also need to keep warm, so wear 2-3 thin pants, thick socks. Note, choose snowshoes, cotton lining, anti-slip sole. In addition, visitors should not forget towels, hats or earplugs.
To save photos with snow, you should prepare backup batteries for electronic devices. The air is humid and cold, so it is easy for the devices to dissipate heat and generate energy, leading to power failure. Ms. Trang has learned from experience since 2014 when the group did not have a photo taken because the phone could not be used.
Many opinions condemn tourists for being indifferent to the snowfall phenomenon, when local people are suffering from the cold, agricultural production is affected. However, Ms. Trang believes that climate change is inevitable, so the locality can take advantage of natural phenomena to attract tourists and generate additional revenue.
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