And don't forget leaving from a stop uphill.
In Italy the driving test is on manual transmission and many people use manual.
I trained in Rome, parking on the left side downhill (so backward is uphill), it was tough, but learned a lot of tricks in the process to prevent stalling. You also become very attuned to the clutch
I do love manual transmission, but the purpose is to have fun, not for daily usage.
Where I am it might snow or ice once a year. However I do own an SUV that has a snow mode. It starts in second to avoid spinning the wheels and will let you manually cycle through the 8 speeds if you want.
They have high mountains in there, including Alps, with highest peak at 2912 meters.
But yes, plenty of snow in many many places in Italy.
The 3 times I can remember there was snow in Rome the city would completely lock, with cars abandoned in the middle of the road (picture post zombie apocalypse kind of thing), so you can't drive even if you want to, because there is no room on the road.
In the end, it's up to the person.
How is driving uphill in a manual different than flat driving in a manual? (Serious question)
I remember an earlier discussion on HN where different people around the world learned different techniques for preventing the rollback. I remember lots of Europeans saying that's what the parking brake is for. Here in the States we're taught to let out the clutch until it starts to bite and then release the brake. You may still roll backward a few inches but that's no big deal.