
Yours Truly, Skiing on Georgian Bay (wearing skiing sweater) with Dan. Photo: Dan Guay.
If the train was great, the snow was an added bonus.
I love the snow, I love the cold, and I love talking about the temperature when it is cold.
For instance:
-15ºC
-8ºC
-20ºC
and (not as exciting):
2ºC
Right now in Toronto we have had a few days of the not-as-exciting-to-talk-about-but-still-talked-about temperatures of 12ºC, 13ºC and now (at least it’s dropping) 4ºC. I like it when it’s cold in the winter time, because it’s supposed to be cold in the winter time.

Packing up after New Year’s on Georgian Bay; Jen Preston, Ryan Newell (walking). Jan 2, 2008.
I like the snow. Makes things happy and exciting.
Travelling west, the country was snowy everywhere between Toronto and sunrise on the train in British Columbia after the Rockies. There it was just wet.
The consolation to this being that, in Vancouver, you can reach the snow by increasing your altitude, as my Dad and I did with friends Johan and Rochelle.

Snowshoeing on Mt. Seymour in Vancouver; (front to rear:) Rochelle Gause, Johan Genberg, Bob Parsons.
I went swimming with Kim and Dan in Georgian Bay on New Year’s Day. This required a certain amount of preparation.
Dan and I started breaking ice for “the hot tub” on New Year’s Eve, in the dark, and we were clear by 2pm on the 1st. (We did have some help and take some breaks.)

Jen Preston, Yours Truly and Dan Guay excavating a hole in the ice on Georgian Bay. Jan 1, 2008

Dan and I clearing the last bits of floating ice.
We were few who actually dipped, but we were not unwitnessed; there were three or four photographers documenting events (myself included) as well as eight other humans observing and three dogs who watched somewhat incomprehendingly.

My special polar dip outfit with accidental toque. Thank you Wade Lifton.

Dan’s Cannonball. (Dan wins full marks from this judge for diving form. An iconic cannonball.)

Kim’s scream.
It was breathtakingly wonderful.