At the foot of the gondola on Nov. 29, it was a grey day with rain alternating between pouring and drizzling. I was skeptical there would be snow at all on the top.
But as the gondola rose, Michael Buble began to softly sing. Fortunately, this only took place in my head, because the gondola doesn’t inflict the same holiday torture as stores.
Musical gripes aside, it was undeniable – it was suddenly beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
For the kids, attacking their father outside the Summit Lodge, the snow conditions were perfect for snowball making. For me, heading out on a headlamp snowshoe with other marketing and media professionals after a cheese fondue, it was perfect winter hiking weather.
I have to admit – I haven’t always been a snowshoe fan.
My partner is a die-hard winter enthusiast, and oversold the experience a few years ago. A hovercraft might have been the way to achieve the experience she was describing, so you can understand my disappointment when it turned out snowshoeing is just hiking in the snow.
My experience 750 metres above the Howe Sound on Wednesday evening changed my mind.
The gondola has decorated parts of the trails for the holidays, but after the sun goes down, ribbons and lights can’t compete with snow-laden evergreens and thick snowflakes illuminated by headlamp.
Our knowledgeable guide Stephane led us on Panorama Trail, with a few detours through the trees to make the most of the fresh snow.
At the top of the gondola, the trail weaves between quiet dense woods and wide open outlooks that feel sudden and sublime coming around a corner.
On a clear day, the platform at the end of the trail offers the Sea to Sky vista of ocean and mountains. On a dark and blizzardy evening, all that was visible was the ghostly twinkling of Squamish and Highway 99. It felt much farther away than it was.
I love Christmas fairy lights and dislike winter weather. But the stillness of the snow reminded me of home, and I was reluctant to hand back my lamp. Wandering the woods for an evening made it was hard to return to the window displays, shopping stress and artificial glow below.
The cure to holiday cynicism might be as simple as getting outside.
Full disclosure: The gondola pass and guided night snowshoe was provided by the Sea to Sky Gondola free of charge.
