Whiteout!

After weeks of unseasonably mild weather, the blizzard hit. Within hours, Toronto and all the cities around it were covered in over 20cm of snow. For a brief time at least, traffic was stopped, industry stilled, and the skyscrapers hidden from view. (Although our mini-blizzard was nothing compared to the snowstorm that hit Newfoundland last week, burying cars and closing shops for days.)

Traversing snow-covered landscapes is not new for Canadians, nor for those who lived here first. To negotiate long winter journeys, Indigenous peoples developed snowshoes that spread the wearers’ weight and prevent them sinking into the snow. European fur traders copied the idea, and now snowshoeing is a popular winter sport across Canada – though the original wooden lattice has been replaced by plastic and aluminium. So, with the snow still falling, we headed to Toronto’s High Park, enjoying a wonderful (and surprisingly upright) trek through the trees.

For a better understanding of Canadian winter in the wild, we ventured north to Arrowhead Provincial Park, about three hours from Toronto and only a short distance from Algonquin. Here tracks are maintained throughout the winter for the sport of your choice, with the 1.3km ice-skating trail a local favourite. And the landscape is utterly remarkable – the snow-topped pines and frozen lakes resemble scenes from a film.

After hiking through the trees (it was a little icy for snowshoeing), we tried cross-country skiing for the first time. This, it turns out, is harder than it looks – but we remained vertical for the most part. Making our way along the tracks, flakes of snow dancing around us, we felt practically Canadian!