Treating snow-water ... who does it?

Show of hands ... who here treats snow melted for drinking water? There doesn't seem to be a general school of thought on this. Some do, some dont. I personally have not, and haven't gotten sick .. but maybe I'm just lucky? I can certainly see old nasty Alpental parking lot snow harboring pathogens, but what about your run of this mill Cascade corn sitting untouched on the side of a volcano? As a kid, I ate snow all the time (still do, occasionally) and it didn't kill me. Of course, I also downed plenty of untreated Connecticut stream water, so maybe I'm a special case.

if it ain't strawberry colored snow (algae) or yellow snow      i don't give it a second thought to add the snow to my water bottle without treating it. 

though i think i've usually thrown a purification tablet or two into my water if i'm using old snow thats in the vicinity of Camp Schurman or Muir.

Thanks Pete,

Skiing so close to the road "down here below the 45th" i just carry my 100oz bladder on day trips. When doing an overnight on a on a slog up a "dog walk", I always boil for drinking. In the "way BC" It may only bubble on the bottom and not "10min" boil, but I was told years ago that not many 'wee-b-g-bee's' can live above 180f or so.

Pin'

I almost never treat water here in the Cascades. The only time I can remember treating water is when hiking with my son. I'm cautious about filling my bottle in high-traffic areas (like popular lakes or the streams that flow out of them), but I don't hesitate to drink from streams that flow out of snowfields or low-traffic sources. I'll put snow in my water bottle to drink without hesitation. I've never gotten sick locally. I did get giardia in Nepal once.

You mileage may vary.

as far as I can remember, the only time I've ever filtered my melted-snow water was during a March backpacking trip in Bryce Canyon NP in Utah, where we got a good portion of our water from livingroom-sized snow patches.

as of yet I've never camped at places like Muir or Schurman though.. when I eventually do I'll probably boil or iodinize. ya never know whats in that thar snow...

I've never filtered my water unless it is for summer hiking in the lowlands and I've never gotten sick, although I have taken a few big risks. Hell, whitewater boating, I've drank out of nearly every creek in the state!!! And there's some, I'd never drink by choice, that's for sure.

I've heard in the rockies its easier to get sick?