Winter 2016/17: Let it Snow!
One of the first things you learn when moving to Vancouver is that the rest of the country doesn’t consider you quite as “Canadian” as they are. You don’t have to shovel snow, break ice or wrap up in temperatures that include bigger numbers below zero in the winter than we get above zero in the summer. We don’t get snow very often, but when we do the city tends to grind to a halt amid cries of ‘we never get snow!’. As someone who has only lived here for six years, I know that is not technically true. It was snowing as I got off the bus from the airport in January 2011 and it snowed again in November 2014, as proven by my instagram feed.
Saying that, I do agree that this winter’s snow has been particularly awesome/awful (depending on your reliance on public transit). The first snowfall was in early December and it stuck around long enough to make the city look beautiful…until it turned to slush.
A few days later, all anyone could talk about was the ‘snowmageddon’ that was predicted for the weekend. It was nice to have another smattering, but it wasn’t quite the blizzard that was expected. Still, we made the most of it.
The biggest snowfall came in mid-December and this time it did turn much of the city into a winter wonderland. Walking the dog was like something out of a movie as every area of open space was full of children making snowmen, dogs running around off the leash (shocking!) and snowboarders riding down the small slope to the beach. At was just before this snowfall that I ordered a new winter coat. As soon as I put it on I felt a bit stupid as Vancouver winters rarely call for anything more than a standard coat, however this fresh snowfall validated my purchase and kept me warm during all the morning dog walks.
The highlight of December was of course our annual pilgrimage to Mount Baker, WA where we celebrated Christmas with four days in a cabin. We were slightly nervous about the roads as we knew it had been snowing pretty hard down there, but we arrived safe and sound and enjoyed our whitest Christmas yet.
Vancouver was welcomed into 2017 by some more snow, which put a freeze (geddit?) on many people’s New Year’s Eve plans but did make for a pretty first dog walk of the year the morning after.
Unfortunately for me this week, what comes down then turns into a thick layer of ice that has left barely a sidewalk, road or path uncovered. I had an embarrassing (and only mildly painful) fall on the seawall this week, and the worst part was that I lost my apartment key during the process. D’oh! Those Vancouverites who are better at me than balancing on ice have been pictured skating on frozen streets and lakes in scenes that look like a Tim Horton’s commercial. Who’s Canadian now, eh?
There’s no more snow forecast for the next couple of weeks, which is probably a good thing as Vancouver has become somewhat of a joke on the national and international meme circuit. Either way, the weather has already done to justify my wearing of my new big coat for the rest of the winter. Which of course, is the most important thing.
The Search for the Missing Winter (hint: it’s not in Vancouver)
To say it’s been a mild winter on the West Coast is putting it lightly. Temperatures have hovered in double figures, our heating is now off during the day and I ate brunch outside on a patio this weekend. Down in the city it’s been amazing to have spring arrive so early, but it’s not so welcome in the mountains. All three local resorts have suspended their winter operations, and it sounds like Whistler might not be far behind. I have a season pass at Grouse Mountain and managed to make it up three times before they closed. If I’m honest, February has been so busy that I would barely have had time to make it up once a week anyway, but that doesn’t stop me feeling a bit cheated by Mother Nature. Nowhere near as cheated as the resorts must feel I’m sure, especially as there’s nothing they can do about it. Grouse have offered winter pass holders unlimited ziplining and tours of the viewing platform at the top of their wind turbine which I actually think is a pretty cool gesture and one I can’t wait to take advantage of. Unlimited ziplining!
This still leaves me with the issue of a snowboard and no snow, a problem that I had to go further afield to solve. The man and I decided to swap sunny Vancouver for snowy Vernon over the February long weekend, and guess what. We found winter! When we arrived at our Air BnB apartment our host told us that the area is experiencing record snowfall – the highest in 83 years. Unfair, much? Although it was a particularly warm weekend (such is life), there was still lots of snow on the ground. We walked in it, hiked in it and finally snowboarded and skied in it when we took a trip to Silver Star Mountain Resort.
The stunning view of Kalamalka Lake from our Air BnB balcony in Coldstream
Snow Puppy!
The first Vancouver snow of the winter!
I should have written this post two weeks ago, when the snow was actually here. Instead, I was mostly running around the seawall being really excited about winter and Christmas. I know it sounds crazy being excited about snow when I live in Canada, but when it comes to the white stuff I might as well be back in Southampton. We hardly EVER get snow, so it’s kind of a big deal when it happens. SO much so that I forgot to write this post. Then the snow went, December happened and life got in the way. Oooops.
It’s been weirdly mild this week (the temperature is back in double figures) and although the warmer temperatures are nice, it’s ruling out any chance of the current torrential rain turning into snow. There’s now less than two weeks until I’m back at the Washington State cabin for Christmas so it better get colder soon, at least south of the border, so we can have our white Christmas. Until then, I’ll remember the blissful two days when we had snow in November.
Climate Control
This week I’ve been lucky enough to have not one but two days off work as a result of ‘adverse weather conditions’ (just about the only positive thing about working for a UK University at the moment – the ConDems can take our funding but they can’t take our snow days). Every time the snow starts to fall within inches of our coastlines the buses and trains stop running, the schools start closing, and every man and his mother has something to say about how terrible it is that we’re so unprepared for winter weather. This usually involves comparing the UK to somewhere like, for example, Canada.
Whilst it’s true that other countries seem to fare much better during ice and snow, Vancouver was also taken unawares at the end of November when an unexpected drop in temperature caused delays on the SkyTrain, Vancouver’s public transit system. The SkyTrain is an electric and fully automated train line that operates largely on an elevated tracks across 47 stations on three lines. It seems that an accumulation of snow and ice on the SkyTrain’s power rail is enough to temporarily cripple the service, which is unfortunately what happened when two trains stalled in separate places on the Canada line during the morning rush hour (read the full story here: http://tinyurl.com/2umht3s).
This Canada Line train couldn't cross Vancouver's Fraser River Bridge because of ice and snow.
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Marmite to Maple 