The Snow is Picturesque

Except on the Driveway

Fri Jan 7th
Wednesday morning ferry queue to Horseshoe Bay

I remember chuckling at news in the UK about how local authorities were not so good at clearing snow and dealing with icy roads.  In fairness the UK does not usually see a huge amount of snow, certainly not as much as BC.   That said, road clearing teams in BC have struggled to keep up.  Labour shortages due to Covid have not helped.  Salt is now in short supply locally, with no more due until February. 

The snow that arrived overnight Wednesday left another six inches on top of what was already there.  The dual-carriageway up from the ferry terminal in Langdale, which the large trucks take slowly with their hazards on in warm weather, was blocked when I took Jack for his morning constitutional.  Several large trucks and trailers were 'parked' up and cars were coming back down the 'up lanes' as something was blocking the road further up.
Before

I confess to getting rather bored manually clearing the snow off the drive, that can take up to two hours if it is particularly deep.   Our neighbour with the snowplough attachment was not around Thursday morning, so it fell to me. Aside from the steep section at the bottom of our drive cleared by our neighbour, no ploughs have made it down Smith Rd, nor delivery drivers, nor Canada post.

The salt I'd put down the day before, hadn't prevented the build up of snow, but did make it easier to clear as it hadn't stuck to the concrete.  I got the clearance down to an hour.  A snow machine/blower is definitely on the list before next winter!  The snow shovel is probably not going to see it through this winter and is already about half an inch shorter than when I bought it!

After
Wednesday morning I headed over to Van to a snow chain specialist as Canadian Tire's chains for my tyres just would not fit.

It meant a drive across to Surrey, about an hour away from Horseshoe Bay, but was worth the journey.  Canadian Chain has a warehouse reminiscent of the 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'  store, but full of snow chains. 

The listed chain for my wheels did not fit, but they found one that did and I was soon headed back via Nick and Lizzie's to drop off and collect post.

The main highways were snowy in places, but passable.  Not so Thursday morning after the Wednesday night snow.  The Port Mann bridge on Highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway, was shut for 'Winter Operations'.  This I discover, is for clearing snow and ice off the cable stays that support the bridge deck, to avoid lumps of the said stuff dropping on passing vehicles.  

The news item on the operation was short but this video shows what they do.  I know I'd not want to be at the top of the 75m towers in climbing gear on a rope in fine weather let alone in Thursday's conditions.  Some clearly have a head for heights!  It makes my toes curl watching the video.  It is quite impressive though.



The bridge is an amazing piece of architecture and we've always enjoyed driving across it to take in the design and the views.

Beyond the day trip to Van in the brief interlude between snow storms, the weather has prevented major excursions other than in to Gibsons.  Some friends are coming over at the weekend and we plan a trip up to Dakota Ridge, now we have snow chains, to play in the snow!




Thursday Morning's view from the deck

Smith Road after our neighbour ploughed the hill


Hopkins Landing

High Tide




Comments

  1. BobJanuary 8, 2022 at 1:26 AM

    I don't know about toe curling, more like xxxxxx curling. Snow looks fab, though maybe losing its charm if nothing being delivered and a shortage of salt. Out with the salt cellar - ho ho

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Frustrations of Canadian Immigration Services

Image
And other things  Sat June 1st The pause in blogs was due to Immigration Canada announcing at the beginning of May that a further draw would be made from the remaining pool of the 2020 Expressions of Interest (EOI) for Parent and Grandparent sponsored Permanent Residency.    Friday was the last day and again we did not get through.  The fifth year running.  I suspect that later in the year they will invite a new round of EOI's which probably means we will be a small fish back in a very large pool.  On the grand scale of all suffering and instability in the world, it is insignificant  (I keep telling myself),  but it is hugely, bloody frustrating.  Our tenure continues under the Super Visa scheme, which runs until our passports expire in 5 and 8 years time respectively. Other news ...  on Sunday 27th w e went to a wedding reception. It is the first time I have worn a jacket in over three years.  My boarding pass from our Air Can...
Read more

Cream Crackers & Stilton

Image
Blue Sky in Whistler!!!!! Fred on the Piste - not overly busy Before I get on to Whistler ........ In my early BBC career I spent a couple of years working at the BBC’s Television Centre (TVC), in west London.  This was long before the BBC flogged it and it was turned into an apartment hotel and restaurant complex, plus a few TV studios for the industry to use as a nod to its history.   Amongst other things I did a stint as a studio supervisor and worked on the Two Ronnies, Morecombe & Wise and Top of the Pops.  Anyone remember Pan's People? Phwoar! Interesting times. TV Centre was huge and had several thousand staff. The restaurant block, on three floors, included a waitress service restaurant on the '2nd floor' where stars were entertained by their producers over long lunches and the odd glass of wine.  This was the late 70’s before ‘hair shirts’ and the critical public attention the BBC gets today.   Occasionally, a couple of fellow wor...
Read more

Fall Leaves and Rainfall

Image
Jack Vs Car Sat November 9th Fall seems later this year and the deciduous leaves have been a lovely mix of golds and reds with the predominance of Maples in all of its varieties. After last week's storms, most of the leaves are now down along with quite a few trees.  Further up the Coast a tornado was reported taking out multiple trees that closed the main highway and took out power for local residents for around three days.    A local driver caught the trees coming down on video .  After two consecutive dry summers, 2024 has been wetter with no significant water restrictions on the Coast.  I assumed this was good news until reading an article in the UK press that suggested late autumns are just another sign of global warming. The storm left us without power for nearly 12 hours and a huge number of properties were similarly affected across southern and central BC.  Fortunately we had a good supply of candles and a gas lamp.  Some friends near the ...
Read more