Snow

Tibet is sometimes called The Land of Snows, though not all areas of the Plateau see regular snowfall. In Ritoma, winters are too cold for snow and are more characterized by a blue sky, ice and a copper colored pasture. Snow prefers Spring or Autumn when it creeps in unsuspected, following a warm, sunny day. There is a sudden gush of wind, like a slap, and night clouds hide the moon. In the morning, the view is dominated by white, a blanket that covers the pasture as far as the eye can see. April snowstorms are plentiful, May ones occur often, sometimes even spilling into June, as it happened in Norlha’s early days, when a June snowstorm knocked down the tent that then housed the workshop. This snow melts quickly and by midday, the grassland is a patchwork of brown and white

Autumn snow comes early, light at first, beginning with mere flurries, then turning more serious and sticking to the frozen ground of the northern face of hills, which don’t receive sunlight. Animals like the snow, as rivers and ponds are frozen and the moisture, especially in the sunny areas, seeps into the ground.

At the workshop, snow also means snowball fights and for the children, the odd snowman.