An Incredibly Snowy Winter in Vancouver, 2021/22

Before we knew it the St Lucian sunshine was a distant memory as we tumbled into another winter in Vancouver. It was hard to believe we had been in Canada for over a year, arriving last October 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. There had been such a transformation in our lives since this time where we made some amazing memories and friends that we'll treasure forever. 

Winter really welcomed us with open arms on our return to Canada when we went to see Joffre Lakes. It was the our last chance to visit as it was the final weekend the park was open for the season. Joffree is located north of Whistler, near Pemberton, so the snow comes thick and fast when winter hits.  The Joffree Lakes hike is regarded as one of the most beautiful trails in BC with not one but three lakes, rivalling Garibaldi for views. We jumped in our car on Friday evening after work and drove along the sea to sky highway as the rain lashed down. We couldn't believe how bad the weather was and were thankful we could sleep in the car and not have to get in our tent. It was a tough drive in the pouring rain, made worse by the fact every campsite we pulled into was closed. We were exhausted so ended up parking our car in front of a gate to a provincial park campsite. It was a very dark, quiet road so we actually had a lovely peaceful sleep. We woke up early the next day to make sure we got to the trailhead before the hoards of other people arrived. In our heads we imagined hundreds of people would be visiting on the last weekend it was open, but we soon found out how wrong we were. Our campsite was only a short drive away, but we still had to climb up the mountain a little. It was as we drove to a higher elevation that we realised whilst we had been getting soaked with rain, the mountains had been dusted with snow. The car park was eerie with a thick layer of fresh snow and not a person in sight. We felt like kids walking out of the car our eyes wide in wonder at the snow all around. There were a couple of important things to check. One being that we could actually get our car out of the carpark, and the other whether it would snow again that day. We found a section with very little snow that we could park in so we started the trail excited to see the beautiful views. Before we'd even walked a metre the little snow birds were trying to land on our hands, hoping for some trailmix, which added to the fun. 

The hike started strong with a stop at one very pretty lake nestled in the trees. It was cold enough that the snow was firmly sticking around, making the mountains and trees glow white around us. This contrasted against the blue lake beautifully and we couldn't wait to see more. We continued up through the forest, along the stunning snowy paths. It took us longer than expected because we stopped every five minutes to take pictures of the views. I'm not sure if it was the snow making everything seem more beautiful, or whether it was just a spectacular area, but we couldn't stop looking in wonder. We'd luckily brought our micro spikes to help us grip in the snow and they really came in handy. We met some people less prepared who were hilariously sliding all over the place. It was as we climbed higher into the mountains and got our first glimpse of the second lake that we were really taken aback by the views. We stood in awe looking at the stunning cliffs all around the bright green and blue lake. It was a perfect image of winter as snow continued to gently fall onto the already white land. We walked around the lake to see the water in all its beauty, changing from blue to turquoise depending on how the light hit the surface. The last lake was all about the viewpoint so we climbed to the top to look out out across a completely snow and ice covered scene. It must have frozen over fairly recently and it was magical to see what lie ahead for the other lake. We were on a high as we got back to the car and decided to stop at an icy waterfall. It was called Nairn Falls and had carved itself through the rock to create a natural tunnel. This was a really spontaneous trip that we absolutely adored and we feel so lucky to have had this snowy experience.  

The cold rainy days on the west coast can be tough, in fact we had a period of a few weeks where it rained solidly. That meant we got quite creative with our weekend activities. One day we decided to sign up to our local community centre which had what I'll describe as a retro (old) vibe with a gym, pool and an ice rink. It was the perfect time for Josh to teach me how to properly ice skate. What actually ended up happening was me watching in amazement as he raced around on the ice. He skates so fast and low to the ground, sometimes going backwards or jumping and even sliding to a stop. It was always funny watching him tear around the ice next to the figure skaters. There's a long standing hatred between them I think as they both believe the other ruins the ice with their skates. Skating and hockey are of course a treasured pastime in Canada so we'd often see little four year old children skating along with no fear. Despite our fun filled weekends at the community centre, it was still hard to live with constant grey clouds for such a long time. Luckily, the cold rain in the lower mainland meant lots of snow in the mountains. We took advantage of this by spending our weekends hiking up the local mountains, particularly Cypress. We had completed a hike called dog mountain in the summer with blazing sunshine and loved it, so decided to take it on again. This time it was snowing quite heavily with thick fog all around us which made the experience super eerie. We got to the dramatic viewpoint to a veil of clouds and a couple of cheeky ravens waiting for some snacks. Most of this hike was actually us playing in the snow and trying to hit each other with snowballs. We also hiked to the lakes of cypress again to see the frozen winter wonderland, this time with bear spray of course. We didn't realise it at the time, but we were trying to complete all of our favourite hikes again before it was too late. We only had a few months left of living in our beautiful Vancouver home so we were making the most of every second. 

Time really was flying by and before we knew it, my birthday appeared. Josh took me on a trip along our favourite highway, the sea to sky, to visit the mountains. We were going up an amazing cable car to hike in the thick mountain snow. We were at an even higher elevation so the snow had really settled in and was 3 metres deep in some parts. I know this because Josh pushed me in a deep pile whilst we were playing around and I could barely get out for laughing. It was a beautiful day of frolicking in the snow and getting a picture taken by someone saying we looked like celebrities. I got so many lovely gifts from Josh including a red panda onesie, a stunning new backpack and a cake that read "happy birthday Kiera" that made us both laugh. I am also lucky to have such amazing friends and family who sent beautiful flowers, jewellery and cards full of love. In the evening we went to one of my favourite restaurants Do Chay for some delicious vegan Vietnamese food. This included my favourite dish which is a tower of fried oyster mushrooms with a sticky glaze. The birthday fun just never stops in Vancouver as Josh and James had got together a little surprise for Libe and I, who's birthday is just before mine. We had already had a girls day out for Libe with our first ever pedicures that left us waddling to a restaurant in paper flipflops. This time however, the surprise was for us both and we arrived at our best hang out spot, Simply Delicious, to find everyone waiting for Libe and I with balloons and hats. I don't know what we did to deserve such lovely friends, but I'm glad we met each other. We then ended the night with a feast at East is East. This is a very cool veggie restaurant with food from across Asia and on the weekends they always have some kind of interesting dance show. The boys went for the unlimited food buffet which meant they got to try a bit of everything, and ask for more of their favourite dishes for us to try. It was a beautiful night ending with smiles and a lot of laughter. 

Christmas was nearly upon us and there was just one thing missing. We looked out of our window one evening to see a grey sky full of thick clouds. The rain was coming back again, we thought, but as the night went on and the temperatures dropped we got something even more exciting. We woke up in the morning to a thick layer of snow on the ground - we were going to have a white Christmas! I think this is one of the first times that we can remember having a snowy Christmas day. We were thrilled, until we remembered that we had to somehow pick up James and Libe and make our way to Alex and Lucia's for Christmas Day. Our car was an absolute legend and made short work of the snow on the roads, so we set off with gifts, games and food in hand. We started the day by us all excitedly running outside with our Christmas hats on to take some photos in the snow. We must have looked like typical tourists, whilst James thought he really was the king of the elves. We alldecided to bring some food we usually eat at Christmas and I can't deny that the Spanish really know how to do it. We had some delicious snacky entrees like dates and vegan cream cheese, amazing bread and alioli and the best salty potatoes. I'd of course made a Christmas-y yule log complete with marshmallow mushrooms, but in all honesty we didn't need a dessert after that amazing feast. We had so much food and it was impressive that we all managed it in our little kitchens, and for Alex and Lucia to host us so graciously. We spent the evening having lots of drinks and playing the most hilarious games that left us in stitches. It was a Christmas we'll always remember and such a happy time that ended with Josh making snow angels in the road at midnight. Travelling can be tough around the holidays as you miss family even more, so it was beautiful we could have a wonderful time with our Vancouver friends.

We learnt to be careful about what we wish for as the next week of the holidays saw temperatures plummet to -20C. Now before the central and east coast Canadians start getting involved, this is a wet cold and not the dry cold temperatures you get over east. We met people that were freezing at these temperatures but are used to -40C in Ontario. We decided to make the most of it so James, Libe, Josh and I went for a drive up to Whistler where the temperatures were even colder. We stopped along the way with our hats, scarves and coats at the ready. The first stop was on the sea to sky highway at the edge of the water where it was so cold our throats started to hurt. We stood on top of the lookout as we gazed at the snow covered mountains all around us. It was absolutely stunning but we couldn't spend longer than a few minutes outside of the car. We slowly made our way up to Whistler village where we searched for the statue of the Olympic rings, only to find out they are not in this area at all. Our eyelashes froze as we walked around and we took some fun photos together, including one of James peeing in a big pile of snow. It was another hilarious day out that ended with us back in Vancouver eating some tasty food. 

The snow and low temperatures lingered for the next couple of weeks, to the point where Trout Lake actually froze over. We walked through the snow to visit the lake and found out how proactive Canadians are. They had already cleared snow off the ice and set up areas for different uses. There was one to play ice hockey, another for the figure skaters and even one for the dogs to play on the ice. The frozen lake was full of people and we couldn't believe how fun it was. We spoke to a lady who was born in Vancouver and she said this has only ever happened a couple of times in her life. The cold weather stuck around and it was hilarious that the city ground to a halt. We laughed particularly hard whilst out for a walk one evening as we watched the buses trying to get up and down Main street. We came across an odd sight with a line of abandoned buses sitting at the side of the road. There were more buses arriving and we watched as they slid around, completely unable to get traction to climb the small icy hill. The gritter came to save them, but as it made its way towards the hill it too started to stall and slide in the ice. It was like watching a comedy show, but eventually the buses were able to move on and no one was harmed. Luckily the temperatures picked back up again after a couple of weeks, but we did really enjoy a Christmas period of frozen streets and snowy fields. It did mean we couldn't get out of the city very much, but we made sure to fill our weekends with fun. We visited the sparkling lights of Capilano Bridge to see the amazing views in the snow, and spent lots of days in Stanley Park seeing our friends the racoons.

We had to say goodbye to our beautiful apartment at the end of 2022. The couple we were subletting from were due to come back after their amazing roadtrip around BC, Alberta and the Yukon. We had one last celebration at our apartment when we invited everyone over for a New Year's Eve party. This was actually the day before we had to move out so it looked a little like a showhome, weirdly clear, clean and tidy. Everyone came over and we had lots of snacks and drinks as we waited for midnight to arrive. It was a pretty chill evening of chatting and playing games, that somehow turned into us all singing karaoke at 4am whilst jumping on the sofa. It was so much fun and we all took turns to scream into the TV remote microphone and dance on the furniture. The time came for everyone to head home at which point James decided to start off his year by deeply offending his Uber driver - classic James. We love these guys! 

The start of January saw us moving into a new apartment which was on Main Street. It was not as modern as our previous flat, but it was so spacious and had a little balcony. It is in an old block which is doomed to be sold to a developer and made into expensive housing. We loved this apartment that we were subletting from a guy who was going away for a few months. It was nice to experience a new part of Vancouver too, although our love for commercial is still strong. Main is a huge street with miles of shops and restaurants with lots of vegan options. We were also lucky to be just a short walk away from an amazing community centre gym which I visited all the time. I even joined Libe to do a really good HIIT class that was run by one of the fittest ladies I've ever seen. We ended up falling in love with this new area as the apartment was really close to false creek. This has a fantastic walking path that goes for miles along the waterfront. We would spend many evenings and weekends going for long walks to the city centre, Stanley Park or to Kits beach. It really is a beautiful part of the city and we're going to miss being a five minute walk away from Cartems donuts and the legendary Budgies Burritos.

We decided to embrace being in Canada in the winter by finally going to watch a game of ice hockey. Andre kindly offered Josh to join him to watch the Canucks and as it was a gift from a client, the seats were phenomenal. The day came and Josh excitedly met up with Andre to have some pre-game beers. I think they really enjoyed themselves before the match as Josh came home super drunk, in a giggly mood. We sat on the sofa as he laughed and tried to eat crisps, throwing most of them on the floor as he tried to describe the night. It was hilarious and I spoke to Emily who said Andre had come home in the same state. Their night out spurred the rest of us on to see some hockey. We decided that we couldn't afford tickets to see the Canucks so we chose the next best thing. Libe managed to find tickets to see the Giants who play in a city just outside Vancouver called Langley. The game was so exciting as they are the in the league below the NHL so are fighting hard to win. We watched the players flying so fast around the ice we could barely keep up. They were also super feisty which meant plenty of fights and even one big scuffle where everyone got involved and the gloves came off. The match was full of excitement, but so was the half-time entertainment. The Giant's mascot, who we thought was a monkey, started firing t-shirts out of a cannon on the back of a pickup truck. Then a giant wine bottle blimp started dropping vouchers from the sky. It was just like I imagined it, American style entertainment that keeps you engaged for every second. 

We wouldn't have the proper Canadian experience if we didn't have a few more days out skiing, so we set off with Alex, Lucia and Libe to the Cypress hills. We decided to try cross country skiing again as we really enjoyed it last time. It was a beautiful sunny day as we pulled into the parking lot which made us even more excited to get our skis on. It was a fun day of sliding around on the icy snow as well as lots of falling over. At first falling is quite funny, but after six hours you really start to feel the bruises. We persevered and  made it up the biggest slopes to a beautiful viewpoint for some lunch. We also spent a lot of the day taking photos in the sunshine and trying to call over the beautiful ravens. In reality none of us were very good at cross country skiing, but we had a lot of fun trying to perfect our techniques and not fall off the side of the mountain. This theme continued to the next weekend when we agreed to go downhill skiing with Alex. This is something I've only done once and Josh has never tried, so it was set to be a funny day. Alex is really good at snowboarding, although he said he hadn't been in a long time so it might take him a while to get used to it. The day panned out like I thought, Alex was amazing from the first moment and Josh was a natural at skiing. They were both flying down the green slopes, which in Europe would be more like blue. It was insanely high and steep, with a big drop off over the side of the cliff. I joined the five year olds at first who started moving down the mountain in a snow plough. This was until they all suddenly zipped off at full speed to race each other and left me in their dust. The routes were really cool and pretty long, so we didn't spend too much time queuing for the ski lift. At Cypress there are two mountains you can tackle so we went to the other lift to try a new run. This was when a rude couple knowingly pushed in front of us with a smirk, which led to me getting Essex angry. That frightened them I think as we didn't see them again and made Alex and Josh laugh at me for getting so annoyed. I eventually left Alex and Josh to tackle some blue slopes whilst I went back to the other mountain. Skiing is terrifying and beautiful, and I can see how alcohol helps to give you the courage to take on the steep slopes. We ended the day exhausted but with no injuries, which was a win in my book. It was also nice to spend the day with Alex who is the kindest and most chilled out guy you'll ever meet. 

Our last few months had been magical and we were a little sad as we prepared for our visit to the UK in April. We were coming back to Canada, but when we returned we'd be living in Gina our car whilst undertaking a mega roadtrip around BC, Alberta and the US. We decided to rent out a car parking spot in James and Libe's super safe and dry apartment block so Gina could rest easy until we were back in June. We can't thank James and Libe enough (for everything) but especially for their help during 2022. They really made a lot of our plans possible by just being their dependable and caring selves, and for that we are so grateful. March was coming to an end at which point we would be leaving to go on a holiday to Mexico just before heading back to the UK. We were planning our goodbyes, when we found out Alex and Lucia had to suddenly leave Canada to go back to Gran Canaria. This was after a string of bad luck with their car and catching COVID so it came at a particularly tough time. We are so proud of them for pushing through what was a very difficult time, emotionally and physically. They had to quickly sort out their Canadian lives to try and get home as soon as possible to be with family, but still managed to hang out and be their happy selves. They are such an amazing team and really do deserve only the best. I'm happy to say that things are now much better for them and we even got to visit their beautiful home in Gran Canaria, but that adventure is for a later post! There were some tearful and difficult goodbyes between the Vancouver family which of course involved sushi and beers. We already couldn't wait to head back to BC in June, but we were also looking forward to the fun adventures ahead of us.