In the last week of the roller coaster year of 2021, something rare and magical happened in Vancouver. It snowed. In that strange period of time between Christmas and New Years, a thick blanket of powdery white snow blanketed the city of rain, transforming it into a beautiful winter wonderland. After a year that saw the city experience a record-breaking heat-dome; somehow it seemed almost fitting that we would also see a record snowfall to cap off this year of extremes. In more normal years; the sight of this much snow would cause a great deal of anxiety among city natives – who would be preoccupied with the practical inconveniences of dealing with this much snow. The city isn’t known to function well – or at all – with snowfall. But this wasn’t a normal year. With the Omicron variant shutting down most workplaces again, a window of opportunity opened to take advantage of a rare winter wonderland in Vancouver – without worrying about all those pre-Covid considerations about what all the snow meant for our “normal” life activities such as “commuting to work” or “getting to that NYE party.” With year 3 of the pandemic on the horizon, “normal” is a bit of a distant memory. While a winter wonderland in Vancouver wasn’t normal; it sure was memorable.
“How am I supposed to get around in all this snow?” I remember thinking, and then chuckled to myself, “Well it’s not as if there’s anywhere to go anyway.” The city didn’t even have ploughs to clear the walkways. It was that thought that triggered the weird and wonderful idea of cross-country skiing through the city. As much as I love my Poor Man’s Peloton; I had been cooped up inside for quite a few days due to the extreme cold temperatures (by Vancouver standards), with only my stationary bike as a form of exercise. When I saw the sun peak out – my mind was made. I was going to go cross country-skiing in Vancouver.
I skied my way along unploughed city streets to Trout Lake – a popular park in East Vancouver – with people giving me the thumbs up on my city ski idea along the way. I also startled a good number of dogs, who were probably wondering why there were these long sticks attached to this weird human who was gliding by. There’s a 2km trail system that runs around Trout Lake that turned out to be an ideal circuit to ski around a few times. I arrived at the park to the scene of a proper Canadian winter wonderland. Multiple spontaneous hockey games were taking place on the frozen lake, and more makeshift ice-rinks were being cleared by any group that had a shovel and the desire to skate. “How is this Vancouver?” I thought as I glided by numerous smiling people who looked like they had not a care in the world except for enjoying the snow and sunshine.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one with a spare pair of cross-country skis and the idea to take advantage of this rare winter wonderland in Vancouver. Multiple cross-country ski tracks of other skiers who had evidently arrived at the park before me cross-crossed the pristine snow. For a few hours the shadow the Omicron variant cast on the end of this turbulent year dissipated in the minds of those enjoying the unusual snowy, sunshine-y day. It was one of the most memorable and amazing days I’ve ever had in Vancouver. I ended up skiing 10KM one day, and another 8KM the day after – it was an absolute blast, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if the unusual opportunity presented itself again.
As we head into 2022, I hope we all can adjust the twists and turns that inevitably lie ahead like Vancouver adjusted to being turned into a snowy winter wonderland. In normal years, this wintery scene might not have been the same – there would have been too many other things to do, and places to go. Seeing so many people outside living in the moment and turning what in other years might be seen as an inconvenience, into an unforgettable few days of wintery fun brought me a measure of joy to close out the crazy year, and hopeful that we will adapt and make the best of 2022 no matter what storms blow our way.