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Opinion: An ode to Squamish snow

Yes, the snow was a pain, but you can’t get these kinds of moments with rain.

There was plenty of pain to go around due to the snow. It caused a lot of hassle.

Power outages, slick and dangerous roads and frequent shovelling of driveways and sidewalks.

Many people couldn’t wait for the white stuff to go away.

But, for me, I actually enjoyed it.

Yes, it was a bit more work. Yes, it was cold.

But, honestly, I felt it definitely improved my mood.

In my case at least, rainy weather has the tendency to get me down.

Being sopping wet and never seeing the sun just has a way of soaking my spirits.

Snow, on the other hand, is a hassle, but man — it sure looks pretty.

There’s nothing quite like the sheer utter silence of snow falling gently to the ground during the evening.

And there’s something about waking up and seeing fresh, untrodden snow. It’s something I still associate with holidays and childhood fun.

While I’m no longer at an age where building a snowman and laying down and carving out snow angels is socially acceptable, I’ll happily walk around the neighbourhood and look at the snow creations of various young artists.

And then there’s the matter of lighting.

Even when clouds blanket the sky completely, there’s a certain luminous brightness that you just don’t see when it’s raining.

And, of course, during cold, wintry days you often get a chance to see the sun rest upon a magnificent snowscape, bright lights bouncing off shimmering crystals blanketing the land.

The Stawamus Chief gets remade in a wintry coat. Shannon Falls turns into a glimmering ice sculpture. Howe Sound becomes a still sheet of glass.

There’s also the unexpected chances to bond with your neighbours.

There’s really nothing more Canadian than helping someone push their car out of the snow.

In the year and a half I was in Montreal, that’s how I happened to meet neighbours I’d never seen before.

There’s nothing quite like everyone high-fiving and cheering after collectively pushing a car out of its snowy prison.

I was pleased to find that something similar happened here in Squamish.

When the freezing rain came, I spent a good portion of the following morning trying in vain to open my ice-encased car door.

But a neighbour who happened to be walking by offered me some good tips about how to get in.

I’d never met him before, but I’m glad I did. It wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been wrestling with my door handle for 10 minutes.

The answer to the frozen car situation, by the way, was to actually sneak in through the trunk and open the front door from the inside out.

Yes, the snow was a pain, but you can’t get these kinds of moments with rain.

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