My computer was broken for two weeks, so here is my photoset of the Burnaby snowmageddon on last Monday.
The forecast on previous night called for heavy rains for Monday, which was true for many parts of Metro Vancouver. However, to many people's surprise, in Burnaby and the surrounding hilly areas all the rain fell as snow, catching drivers by surprise. Thousands of collisions happened during the day and hundreds of thousands had big troubles making it to work or school. Here's how it looked like.
Waking up to a snow day I decided that it would wise not to drive to work and rather walk having my my camera with me.
Metrotown has turned overnight to a winter wonderland with no snow plows in sight anywhere. It would turn out that Burnaby was caught totally off-guard by the storm....
Kingsway through Metrotown was totally jammed by sliding cars. Traffic was not moving anywhere in the slippery slush.
Getting on the side streets the view turned really nice. Unfortunate for those people waiting for bus, there wouldn't be any buses making it to them on that morning.
Mayhem was everywhere. I saw dozens of stuck cars, buses and trucks.
In the afternoon things got even worse with heavy snowfall continuing until the evening. These long line-ups of cars at 3pm were not moving anywhere and I was faster walking by them.
Some people had even abandoned their cars in the snow.
Buses were really struggling with the slippery hills that are everywhere in Burnaby. There were long line-ups of stuck buses on some streets.
By the time I got back in Metrotown the snowfall had ceased. Day 1 of many more snow days to come has ended.
Not everyone was miserable from the snow and I saw many people making snowmen.
Snowfall has was followed by beautiful winter days. What a sight!
Thanks guys. At first all the snow looked so strange to see, after almost never seeing snow on trees and ground in here, but since this is already the 11th day with snow, I am already having hard time remembering how my beloved Metrotown looks without any snow.
Thanks guys. At first all the snow looked so strange to see, after almost never seeing snow on trees and ground in here, but since this is already the 11th day with snow, I am already having hard time remembering how my beloved Metrotown looks without any snow.
Beloved Metrotown - now there's a phrase you don't hear too often!
Great photos as always.
Canyon Lights is a fun winter event at Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver worth a visit. We visited the place to check it out in December 2014.
The famous 140-meter suspension bridge across the canyon is always busy.
Lights above a pond.
Treetop Adventure above walking trails has also been nicely lit.
Live music at the main building is a nice touch on cold evening.
Canyon Lights is an annual event throughout the winter months and definitely worth a visit.
It's already April, but snow conditions up on the North Shore Mountains are still amazing. Here's how Cypress Mountain looked like on last Sunday.
The snow was plenty, but some runs were quite icy in the morning.
Looking at Mount Strachan.
Chair lift to the summit of Mount Strachan.
Vancouver far below.
Howe Sound and the surrounding North Shore Mountains.
The Lions rock formation.
Mount Seymour nearby has seen almost 14 meters of snowfall this year and their snow base is respectable 3,5 meters and summit at almost 7 meters. Curious to see how it looked like, we drove up there and were not disappointed.
With this much snow, absolutely everything is covered with snow.
I've been addicted to my mountain bike and haven't been boarding for two years, but thanks to you, I will definitely be going up to Cypress the next time the sun shines.
Yeah, conditions are ridiculously good for this time of year. Resorts will close before they run out of snow this season. 40cm overnight on Seymour still this weekend and Whistler has been keeping it below zero for a long while. Spring skiing at its best.
Talking about deep snow, last weekend was the season end at Mount Baker in Washington state. This winter having been as epic as it has, we couldn't resist driving up there for one more day in deep snow.
It's a funny feeling to start your day down in a valley where leafs are opening and flowers are blossoming, just to be shortly later in full winter setting.
Mount Baker has this winter had an incredible snowfall of almost 21 meters (830 inches). That is more than any other ski resort on the planet! Snow depth at the base was close to 6.5 meters (250 inches) which is insane.
It's quite thrilling to drive up a road that is carved deep in snow.
There was some 5 meters (200 inches) of snow surrounding the parking lot.
Deep snow covers everything, even buildings.
And how was the skiing? Pretty damn amazing!! There was some 15cm (6 inches) of powder overnight which made for fresh tracks all morning.
Really. Deep. Pistes.
There was no seeing of Mount Baker itself, but the 2,783-meter (9,131 feet) tall Mount Shuksan was seen on few occasions. The mountain appeared fairytale-like, shrouded in the clouds.
All in all it was an epic ending to an epic ski season here on West Coast. I manager to double my normal ski days with 16 days in the slopes. The La Nina weather pattern really delivered on the snow this winter and one can just hope for a similar one next year.
The mystery in this Shuksan photo is very apt for me, as she and I have a history: I have tried to climb that thing three times only to fail - 1) due to really poor route finding from the north approach, 2) because I was leading a group and they wouldn't listen to instructions once things got steep, so I called it off and dragged them all home, and 3) approaching from the Mt Baker ridge-line, a cornice broke off and hit one of the team, necessitating a retreat to hospital in Abbotsford.
This was all a number of years ago and I have no plans for another try. She wins. That's climbing for ya.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Klazu
There was no seeing of Mount Baker itself, but the 2,783-meter (9,131 feet) tall Mount Shuksan was seen on few occasions. The mountain appeared fairytale-like, shrouded in the clouds.
That's interesting. I didn't know one can climb Mount Shuksan, as it has always appeared to me as so steep.
I have been to Mount Baker once during summer, but didn't have the time to do any hiking. I am curious to do that at some point, perhaps this summer. I am sure that there are great trails in the area, but the snow is a problem all the way until August. The hiking window is really short.
That's interesting. I didn't know one can climb Mount Shuksan, as it has always appeared to me as so steep.
I have been to Mount Baker once during summer, but didn't have the time to do any hiking. I am curious to do that at some point, perhaps this summer. I am sure that there are great trails in the area, but the snow is a problem all the way until August. The hiking window is really short.
Klazu, 'one can climb' all mountains.
Baker has a couple of steep challenging routes (up the middle of the face that we see from Vancouver is one), but is generally an easy climb, if not a hike (the west ridge).
Shuksan is a much more varied and challenging mountain. My three failures all occurred before we even got to the real climbing. The vantage points from which Shuksan is visible make it look smaller than it is. At 9131 ft / 2783 m, it is smaller than Baker (10,781 ft / 3,286 m), but still a large peak for that location. For climbs starting from the valley to its north the elevation gain is greater than most Baker routes.
The ridge between Baker and Shuksan provides a nice hike either way, but east to Shuksan gives you a route that brings you up close to that classic steep peak. Highly recommended (4-6 hours, but check).
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