The Reality of Canadian Winters
Greetings,
As some of you may or may not know, I’m back in Canada for a Canadian ski trip this winter and the holidays happened to be close so I came back for them too. I do like the holidays and love ski trips more than you know but this day to day deep freeze is a straight up downer. The basic equation to know is that snowstorm + ski slopes = great but freezing temperatures + day to day life + windchill =miserable. Let’s discuss the reality of Canadian winters…
Fantasy / Holiday Reality of Winters in Canada
The fantasy is great for a 1-2 week trip, it involves friendly fairies and snowflakes made of sugar that cure diabetes and clear your debt. It’s snowing but you’re NOT cold and drinking that hot choco as your sleigh is pulled by unicorns and you snuggle with your partner under some fine Canadian blankets knitted by a grandmother. People wave at you and you favorite music comes on, it’s as though your sleigh is floating
Ahh, bliss. You arrive at a small candle lit ice castle where you dine on the very finest Canada has to offer. You return to a massive roaring fire where you and your sweetheart share secrets and turn on some Barry Manolo. Life is great and in the morning you ski some fresh powder before having a salmon steak at the very summit and a cold drink as the sun sets over the mountains…
That’s what life is like if you come here on vacation, recommended!!
The Reality of Canadian Winters for those living here
It’s 6:30am and you have a 9am meeting, naturally it’s still dark outside. You’ve done a great job to get up and get into the shower despite your house being freezing. You turned the heat off at 9PM last night and won’t be home again until 5-6PM so why keep the heat fully cranked? You survive the intense shock of getting out of the hot shower and into your freezing house. You get dressed and open the door to a cold wind.
You step outside and your feet are covered in snow, the snow gets up to the bottoms of your work pants that you need to look proper for your meeting. A big snowstorm is great for tourists on the trails, not so much for Joe wanting to get to work. You walk through knee high snow to your car and find it buried. You proceed to brush it off then scrape the ice off the windows so you can see. You let the car warm as you shake like you’re having a seizure as it’s -20 after all.
You drive around dangerously as you can’t see out your windows fully and they are fogging up. By the time you car gets warm you’re sitting in traffic as everything is moving slow. You find yourself in the office and start getting cold as the ice has melted around the bottom of your pants and you’re sitting there dejected. You start to type but when your hands are cold, they feel arthritic so you make lots of errors and your speeds drop to a crawl as discomfort rises.
Why do I mention this?
Why do I mention this? There is a lot of talk about living in a winter wonderland and I think most of it is misleading. Unless you’re hooked on skiing, no reason to come live here in the winter. I wake up and look out the window as though I’m in some type of prison. I would like to go for a walk, a jog, anything but there is nothing and I find it problematic. The lack of freedom up here compared to a few weeks ago in Costa Rica is mind numbing. I had dreams of skiing daily in fields near here, when the temp drops it just becomes dangerous and not enjoyable, at all.
In closing, as someone who grew up here, I can’t believe this used to be normal. After 3.5 years of no winter it really hits hard. It also feels as though my joints never truly warm and are always slightly arthritic. Also any injury you ever had bone wise will come back to haunt you. I’m Canadian and I love this country but it has to be said, going about your daily life here in the dead of winter is miserable.
I’d like to note I’m in Ottawa, some places have it easier while others much worse.
Tips hat,
P.S: My fingers hurt.
