Recreational blizzard

To educe last winter and some of the fun, made me think of some really great activities that can help you get that extra calorie burner in for the day. 

As December hits in Utah, snow regularly fills the once hiked on trails. (unless it is like last winter, cough cough) This makes life really difficult for those of us who love hiking. However, thanks to the genius who decided to put tennis racket looking things on his feet, we can now enjoy hiking all year. Yes they are called snow shoes, use them. Last year this became something that I really enjoyed. Although "enjoyed" is a word to be taken lightly. It was fun don't get me wrong but it is a good warning to remember that snow makes the load a lot heavier so it is a little more work than your regular hike, but well worth it! The first time I went was for a date and we went up American Fork canyon. If you decide to go snowshoeing for your first time, I recommend that you do not dress too warm. The snow tends to play tricks on us and it is not quite as cold as it appears. 

Snow boarding is another winter passion I have. For those who have never been it is hard the first couple of times and then it becomes the most fun thing you will ever do. For the workout aspect of it, you get a great thigh, glut, and abdominal workout. Beginners will also probably have an arm workout as well. If you are one of those people who have lived in Utah their entire life and still have never been snowboarding but still claim to be a Utahan, then I would advise you to take up this great hobby soon. As a college student, snowboarding may be out of the budget but Brighton does night boarding 2 for the price of 1 nights so we can all participate. The way it works is you go to your local Arctic Circle and get a ranch burger asking for the Brighton night boarding pass. They will give you a 2 for the price of 1 pass for every burger.  Then 2 people get in for the price of like $34. It comes out to be like $17 each. I will be the first to tell you it makes for a great date! 

Last but not least, our beloved sledding. Sledding will be my favorite past time from child hood for ever. The list of memories from sledding seem to appear never ending. I remember running in the door from school changing with my siblings into our beat up, hideous old snow clothes and busting back out the door to run to our neighborhood park where there was a huge hill. The hill would be covered with kids of all ages and we would all sled till our parents forced us home because we could no longer see it was so dark. The fun didn't end their though, we would take off the wet clothes and replace them with PJs so we could eat dinner, drink hot coco and watch movies.