No snow yet in Lebanon

By now, all ski resorts should be open, and ski lovers should be skiing, snowboarding, skidooing, any snow activity you can think of, they should be doing, and even have fashion shows and competitions . Yet, there is barely some snow in Arz (Cedars) and Sannine and a couple of other high mountains, of which only their summits is covered.

Faraya ski resort is still not open. Most Faraya residents rely heavily on the winter season to draw their income. Last year was one of the worst years (I even joked that Lebanese will start skiing in Dubai), as there was a bit of snow during January, but at least all major ski resorts were open. However winter 2009-2010 is worse than 2008.

Comparison of Faraya ski resort taken from skileb.com between 9 Jan 2008 and 9 Jan 2009.

Could we be heading to desertification? Climate change experts warned of this some time ago. They warned of many things, but because of our imperialist / capitalist forces out there, the December 2009 Copenhagen negotiations led nowhere.

According to BBC News, many airports in Europe such as UK, France and Dublin's closed because of the icy weather. In other countries such as Sweden, Poland, Germany and others many people have been reported dead due to the very cold weather, they froze to death, most of them are homeless. Crazy traffic jams were caused, bus services decreased and trains halted because snow powder entered under the hood, and some engine oils were frozen.

The current big chill is a result of high pressure over the polar region, which has pushed cold air out of the Arctic towards much of northern Europe, parts of Asia and the US. Winds from the north and north east, rather than the south and south west, have brought freezing temperatures to the UK.

However the temperature degree in some parts of world decreased compared to the last 30 years, others are warmer, such as Alaska, northern Canada and the Mediterranean.

As they say, God Save Us all. We are heading to the worst. And our chances were blown less than a month ago for actually doing something about it.

Lebanese soon to be skiing in Dubai

One of the greatest traits in which Lebanon is known, is its white vast winter to spring lasting snow. I remember the school trip we had every year and I remember from which region seeing the snow begins.

It's been a couple of days that we have been having a relatively warm weather, a spring like weather, no one denies that it's actually a great weather, but it's not the time for such weather yet. There is a system, there is a cycle. Lebanon is widely known for its 4 diverse seasons. What happened?

It's been sunny for the past 4 days, a large part of the snow has melted because it wasn't that deep in the first place. We went there today for a ride on a snowmobile, and to our surprise, we reached the beginning of Faraya there was no snow. When we reached the ski slopes, we found many brown patches.

This is not very normal, it's scary to think that we're going to lose this amazing privilege we have. The weather is not changing, it's the climate. I am not sure how much Global Warming has as an effect on other countries, but I saw its impact in my own eyes today.


Having said that, whatever is left of the snow attracted thousands of people to Faraya today, skiers, snowboarders, riding ATVs and snowmobiles, picnics... and best of all? Just look at the picture below, Lebanese people never seize to enjoy themselves, relax and be cool. It is crazy! So much traffic, so much crowd, it was a beautiful thing to see, I felt Lebanon was alive. The snowmobile was indeed exhilirating and most fun.

Would you like to play with the snow?

Nothing is as fun and warm (if the sun is shining) like a day spent on the snow. This is one of the things I like about Lebanon, even though I don't know how to ski or snowboard, but I still like the sight of snow, and especially the sight of the cedars in the snow. Like to ski? Visit this post that I've written sometime ago. It's a part of the series "Where to go when you visit Lebanon".