Do you remember cozy, fun, and short-lived winters we used to have? If you have lived in Victoria for most of your life, probably. Winters only used to last just a few days, and for some reason they always seemed to follow a pattern; first day it would get cold and snow just a little bit, almost like a teaser to winter. The next day would be much colder, and all the snow would arrive at once; about 1-2 feet. The third day it would substantially warm, and the snow would start to melt, and the fourth day it would rain. I am still confused as to why this pattern is so persistent. Another thing I notice during our winters is the fact that I have had snow on my birthday for the last 6 years in a row. For instance my birthday is on February 28th. I don’t know how it always happens, and the weather patterns continue to shock me every year. Who knows? Maybe it’ll happen again come the new year. The current weather is also abnormal for this time of year. 7 degrees is much cooler than a typical October, especially considering that it was 24 degrees a couple of weeks ago. There is currently snow everywhere in Canada with the exclusion of Victoria, Haida Gwaii, and the Northern Coast. If you have ever been to any other parts of British Columbia from November – March, you would come across a sudden realization whilst thinking to yourself in the head: “Wow! The roads are terrible!” Quite a phenomenon when you cross the lower parts of the Coast Mountains and the weather goes from 4 degrees to -14 in 100km. In a way, Vancouver Island dwellers are lucky.
In the literal rest of the province, you are forced to stay put from December – February. Reason being, the roads are too unpredictable. I can say from experience, driving in -30 and snow on a one lane highway is not ideal. Say you’re driving from Vancouver to Smithers in one day. On paper, it’s a 13 hour drive; achievable in a day if you get an early start. The minute that the roads are snowed in, a 13 hour drive turns to 25 hours. In other words, not achievable, and unsafe. Markings are non-existent. This is when we play our favourite game; pretend that the lane is there and hope you aren’t slammed by a semi from the opposing side. Wow, what fun. For a skier like me, you face a dilemma in the winter; either have great road conditions and bad skiing, or have terrible roads and heavenly skiing. One might say, why not fly? Of course it’s much quicker and safer but you then face a dilemma of a dilemma; when your checked bag with your ski gear doesn’t show up, what happens to the trip? You could rent, but it would easily cost thousands for a multiple day trip with a few people. Along with this, what if you arrive at the airport and the snow bus is cancelled? These are just some of the issues that can arise when you plan interior ski trips. You then come up with a solution; Mount Washington. 9 times out of 10, the roads are in pristine condition, making it easy to get up and down the mountain. As mentioned earlier, wouldn’t good roads mean bad skiing? Surprisingly no, and skiing is usually decent. It is something that makes Mount Washington unique from other ski hills.