WINTER in British Columbia

The Rocky Mountains or "The Rockies" is part of British Columbia. This was taken in the last week of January 2012 on my way to Calgary, Alberta. After passing by Kelowna, Vernon, and Salmon Arm in British Columbia, you will be greeted by majestic views such as this. Though my trip on the "ROAD TO CALGARY" deserves a separate blog, I just want to give you an idea that Winter in British Columbia is best seen in the Rockies.

  What a majestic view! Yes, this is British Columbia during winter from December to February. Snow is not a monopoly of the prairie provinces like Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. We do have snow here in British Columbia but not as heavy and not as long a period as in the rest of Canada. But if you are going to settle in the cities and towns going east towards the Rockies like Kelowna, Kamloops, Vernon, Salmon Arm, and Revelstoke , to name a few, you'll have plenty of snow as compared to Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland..

I was seated in the front seat of the Greyhound Bus on my way to Calgary. This majestic view is in British Columbia. A streak of cloud hovers over the road and the frozen lake on the right. This snow capped mountain view in the Rockies won't surely make you fall asleep on your trip but will definitely leave you in awe.

Winter though in the Rocky Mountains is different than winter in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. Here in Vancouver, you see snow only in the mountains and not in the city itself. Whenever there is snowfall, snow does not stay longer than a week as compared to other key cities like Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta, Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg in Manitoba. I don't have an idea about Toronto in Ontario. Here in Vancouver, snow does'nt stay too long, sometimes just overnight. Why? Because when it rains, which is almost a daily occurence, snow melts and is washed away. I heard that it is only here in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland where rains are regular. Proximity to the Pacific Ocean on the West is probably the main reason. 

For Pinoys (Filipinos), rains for half of the year is expected. We're used to it.  The Philippines is a tropical country thus rains do occur for half of the year, from June to November. But at least here in Vancouver, it can rain all day for a week but floodings do not happen. Walang baha (No floods.) Credit goes to efficient rainwater drainage system within  Metro Vancouver. There is in fact a hotel in Vancouver where a sign is prominently displayed that says "Vancouver, the most beautiful city on earth, and the rainiest city too." As what my family and I have observed, Metro Vancouver experiences rain from October to March while it is dry and sunny from April to September.

Friends from across the border in Seattle, Washington come and visit Vancouver. This photo was taken in February 2013. Notice the gray and dull skyline of Downtown Vancouver. 

When we were still in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last year and preparing to migrate to Canada, my wife's Canadian friend and colleague at King Saud University for Women told her, "Why don't you choose Toronto as your destination? Vancouver is always wet and gloomy". Then my wife replied, "I can't stand too much cold. Vancouver has the warmest weather in Canada". But as you can see on the picture above, we were all wearing thermal jackets and with thermal pants or long johns/ leggings beneath our maong pants. Malamig pa rin (It's cold.) though Vancouver has the "warmest" weather of all Canada.

Here are lots of photos taken from December 2012 to February 2013 to give you a feel of how it is to experience winter here in beautiful Vancouver.

A hiking and biking trail inside the Watershed Nature Park in North Delta, BC. This was taken in early December 2012. Almost all the leaves of deciduous trees have fallen.

On a foggy morning during winter. The Surrey Central District where the Surrey Campus of Simon Fraser University is housed in the podium. My daughter goes to school here.

 Winter has its foggy days too as shown in the photos of the railroad in Surrey, BC. These railways are used in transporting cargoes from British Columbia across Canada. From where we live in North Delta, we can hear the blaring horn of the locomotive engine traversing the network of railways .

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! thus the Christmas song goes as sung by  Karen Carpenter.  When the first snowfall of winter happened on December 15, 2012, we all ran outside and posed for these photos. It was our first snowfall experience and how excited we were. Do you know what my wife did? She brought an umbrella with here. Then her friend commented on Facebook, "Pinay talaga. Nakapayong pa." (Truly a Filipina. Look at the umbrella.) That's instinct as she saw cottonlike drops of snow fall from the skies just like raindrops. In the Philippines during the rainy season, women never go out of the house without umbrellas.

The temperature that day was probably between 0 and +2 degrees Celsius. The snowfall lasted for about 3 hours. It was magical. Gazing through the skies, you'll wonder how snow forms among the clouds.

My son here was scraping the snow on the rear windshield using a snow scraper.

You've got to scrape the snow as the windshield wiper won't do the job.

The snow that fell on the plants have now become crushed ice. It was a refreshing sight to me. Lagyan mo lang ng Alaska Evap at asukal, puede na, may halu-halo ka na. (Put milk and sugar and you've got dessert.) Just kidding.

Oh how I love the snow falling on my windshield.

 The temperature reading on the cockpit shows 1 degree Celsius. This was taken at around 6:30am.
Throughout the past winter, temperature ranges from -4 degrees C to about +8 degrees. When I was in Calgary, Alberta in late January 2012, the coldest I've experienced was -21 degrees C. So which temperature do you prefer?

That's about a two inch thick snow.

Waking up to a blanket of snow in late December. That's my car, irrecognizable on what car make it is. Surprisingly, my car engine did not give me any trouble starting up during winter. It's just one click on the switch. But warming up the engine takes longer than usual. Whereas before, it takes me just 2 minutes to warm up and go, in situation like this, my engine warms up in at least 5 minutes. That gives you the time to scrape off the snow on your windshields and get the car's interior really warmed up.

Winter tires are like this, with zigzag patterns on the tread. These patterns prevent the car from sliding on snow and icy roads. I managed to just use my all- season tires because I did'nt have to drive through steep slopes just like in North and West Vancouver, New Westminster, and Coquitlam. But in really snowy provinces like Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, winter tires are a must.

That's my wife on the right side after dropping her off at a bus stop. She will then catch a bus to her place of work and travel for 1 hour.. She said that it's really cold waiting out there in the shed enduring 0 to +5 degrees Centigrade during winter.

SNOOPY the Dog. There's the very kind owner of the house we're renting. We are renting the basement unit.

After dropping off my wife at the bus stop, I drove around the neighborhood to see how it was like driving on snowy roads. I took these photos while driving around. Oh how I enjoyed the sight. Again, it was first time. I only see such scenes in the Hollywood movies.

Canadians decorate their houses at Christmas time. Look at those decors perched on the rooftop, complete with Christmas lights. The snow made it really fantastic, just like Winter Wonderland.

Driving through snowy roads in Metro Vancouver is not that difficult as snow go up to only about 4 to 6 inch thick, and after one or two days, they are gone. Government vehicles equipped with snow scrapers go around the city paving the snow from the road.

This a a snow scraper truck in the Rocky Mountains. I caught this photo on my way to Calgary, Alberta. This truck was travelling at a speed almost as fast as the moving traffic behind it. Without snow scraper trucks like this, driving will make it difficult if not impossible for smaller vehicles as snow will continually pile up.

I saw this branch of Douglas fir tree fallen in our backyard. I went inside the house and took this candle lamp and then placed it beside the fallen branch. The ground was covered with snow making the composition even more "Christmas-like".

This is Teddy Bear, our neighbor pet dog Snoopy's playmate, all covered with snow.







(All photos were taken by my Nikon D90 with an 18mm-105mm Nikkor lens.)