鈥淥h look,鈥� sneered my co-worker from Toronto. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a 麻豆传媒映画blizzard.鈥�
I pivoted to look outside our office window with excitement, only to see it ever so lightly snowing. You know the drill: when and if snow falls in 麻豆传媒映画in any given winter, you can be assured that every smug easterner you know will inevitably tease you for it, lording their decades of weather suffering over you.
鈥淰ancouverites have no clue how to deal with winter,鈥� a friend from Winnipeg attempted to explain to me over burritos at Tacofino. 鈥淎 little bit of snow should not cause chaos in the streets.鈥�
Torontonians might mock us, but 麻豆传媒映画handles its snow days just fine, thank you very much. Photo Dan Toulgoet
Now wait just a West Coast minute. I have news for you, Prairie Princess: Winnipeg is a FLAT city. Here鈥檚 another bulletin: that tony Winnipeg neighbourhood of River Heights? It鈥檚 at the exact same elevation of the rest of your city! You鈥檝e been duped! 麻豆传媒映画Heights between Highway 1 and Boundary Road? That鈥檚 a Heights!
In fact, most major Canadian cities outside of Vancouver, Halifax and St. John鈥檚 are all pretty flat. Here in Vancouver, we have these things called聽hills听补苍诲听mountains聽to contend with. I would love to put a recently planted winter warrior from Oakville onto Oak Street, driving north to West Sixth Avenue on a blanket of fresh snow (if only for the satisfaction of seeing them plow into the duck pond of Charleson Park).
You see, I actually think that born-and-bred West Coasters are pretty damn聽good聽winter drivers. Many of us have grown up frequenting the local mountains and, in turn, have dealt with steep, wet, snowy conditions every winter for our entire lives.
I鈥檒l never forget the time a band from Saskatchewan stayed over at my parents鈥� home in hilly West 麻豆传媒映画during my years as a teenaged promoter. It had snowed, and when the band attempted to steer their van onto my parents鈥� steep street, they lost control and smashed through a neighbour鈥檚 fence. They came to rest in the middle of our neighbour鈥檚 front lawn, the van completely entangled and illuminated in a holiday light display. The only one hurt was a flattened snowman.
When I found the band, they were still sitting inside their van.
鈥淲hat happened?鈥� I asked.
鈥淲e started sliding so I hit the brakes,鈥� the driver/drummer told me. 鈥淏ut鈥� we kept going!鈥�
鈥淵ou mean you didn鈥檛 lightly pump the brakes, gear down, and turn into the skid?鈥�
The Saskatchewanian rocker stared at me with a blank expression.
What many Canadians living east of the Rockies also fail to acknowledge is that our West Coast white stuff is often heavy, wet and slick, which is great for snowmen and toboggan runs, but not so fortuitous for driving down Thurlow Street to the Burrard Bridge.
Rare snow days are cause for excitement in Vancouver. Photo Grant Lawrence
On the rare snow day here in Vancouver, there is often a crackling of excitement from locals. You can hear it at work, on the radio, and especially if you have young kids. On Sunday afternoon, mine were pressed against the living room window marveling at the delicate flakes falling from the sky, eager to get outside and play, play, play and play some more.
We鈥檙e lucky enough to live close to a park that boasts a big, broad hill that becomes the neighbourhood toboggan course with every significant snowfall. Local kids have gathered here through the generations, and now my children partake in the joyful tradition.
And with a fresh snowfall the likes of which 麻豆传媒映画saw on Sunday evening, with it comes a layer of still beauty that we see so little of in our dark, blustery and rainy winters.
There is a special kind of light that a blanket of snow gives off at night, reflecting the street lights and the moon, allowing kids to stay out just a little bit later than usual on these special snowy occasions.
There is a special kind of light that a blanket of snow gives off at night, reflecting the street lights and the moon, allowing kids to stay out just a little bit later than usual on these special snowy occasions. Photo Grant Lawrence
So ignore those glib easterners, Vancouver. We shall continue to embrace our city鈥檚 rare snow days with a happiness usually reserved for the kids. Just avoid driving Tolmie Street down to Spanish Banks 鈥� you could end up in Burrard Inlet.
