TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Taiwan saw snowfall on at least six mountains over the weekend, sports commentator Max Shih (石明謹) posted this photo of his father skiing on Hehuanshan when it used to have a ski resort 50 years ago.

Over the weekend, Taiwanese snow chasers eagerly flocked to the mountains to take photos with a dusting of snow. In response, Shih on Sunday (Jan. 10) posted a photo on Facebook of his father skiing at a ski resort on Hehuanshan in 1971.

Shih pointed out that Taiwanese must now go abroad if they want to ski. He recalled that before the era of global warming, Hehuanshan had an excellent ski resort and that there was an extended window during which people could ski there every winter.

Shih said his father was a paratrooper at the time and was trained in skiing by Taiwan's Army Aviation and Special Forces Command on the mountain. The training was part of preparations to realize "Old Chiang's" (Chiang Kai-shek, 蔣中正) dream of taking back China. Shih added: "Of course, that was just a dream."

On Monday (Jan. 11), the mere 6 centimeters reported on Hehuanshan was hailed by local media as the "biggest snowfall of winter." By Tuesday, the mountain had accumulated 10 cm of snow, but that was a far cry from the amount seen 50 years ago.

(Max Shih photo)