It may come as a shock to some of you that there’s very little to do in a desert during the middle of winter. One of the few outdoor activities, believe it or not, is skiing. The city of Karamay is an oil city and despite its desolate location it has the excess cash to paint a desert with snow.

For most people accustomed to real skiing in the mountains, the hills here would be described as bunny slopes. Still, I can’t deny the fun factor. Equipped with a “chairlift” that is actually a rope and a disc you fit between your legs, you can slowly climb the hill to get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding desert dotted with oil rigs. Two minutes later you’re at the bottom ready to start the process over again.

That’s not to say that there aren’t great places to ski here in Xinjiang, I just don’t live near the mountains. I never skied much before anyway. I would be remiss if I failed to tell you that less than 10 seconds after this photo was taken (that’s me in the blue) I sustained multiple bruise injuries and a jammed thumb during my inadvertent – yet beautifully-executed – cartwheel on ice.

Did I say bunny slope? I meant a black diamond…really.