What can you do in 3 metres of snow?

This New Year’s Eve I didn’t set any resolutions.

I’ve found normal practice of giving up things to be short-lived and rather dour, for a month when we need more cheer than ever.

So I set a target. My target was to do 40 winter activities.

I didn’t do this to get fit (though my fitness has certainly improved), or to compete in a race. I did it because wanted to get to the end of winter and feel like I had made the most of it.

I did it to keep me motivated to get out when the evenings are dark and cold. I did it to encourage me to say yes to things I might not have done, and to challenge myself to go beyond what I’ve done before.

Most of all I did it to find fun and beauty in our coldest months.

I’ve just completed my target.

Why?

I live in Quebec, 20 minutes outside of Ottawa. I moved to Canada from the UK about six years ago. If you don’t get into winter over here, you hibernate.

It’s a place where the locals often tell you, with some pride, that it can be colder than the surface of Mars. The average temperature for January is -11oc, and for February is -9oc, with windchill that often makes it much colder.

We get about 2-3 metres of snowfall each year, and it sticks around. Snow normally starts in December, and we don’t see the grass again until April.

This year was different in a way which, while concerning, made my challenge easier. We were warm (relatively). For the first time ever, the Rideau Canal, which annually makes the world’s largest natural ice rink, didn’t get frozen enough to open. The average temperature in January was a balmy -4oc, though we still had a February day of -43oc with windchill, just to keep us on our toes.

So what did I learn?

Learning as an adult

When I first moved to Ottawa I took advantage of city-subsidised skating and cross-country ski lessons. Skating I continue to find terrifying, but cross-country skiing I now love. Having lessons to get you going can really help give you the confidence as well as the skills to get going.

Getting outdoors brings joy

This is no news to anyone. But having a target meant I was focused on using every opportunity I could to get out there. And without fail, I felt better for it. It’s no secret that the past few months have been tough in the for many organisations. Getting out at the end of the day, in the trees, in the fresh air helped reset and recalibrate what matters.

Being in touch with nature

People are obsessed by weather in Ottawa.

There’s a Twitter account (@yow_weather) which posts multiple times per day on everything from windchill to dewpoint records. And it matters.

Will the ski tracks be icy? Do I need snowshoes for my hike? Should I be wearing sun lotion?

The sunset times really mattered to me. As the days got incrementally longer I’d know I had another few minutes of daylight to enjoy. And for the first time in my life I could always tell you what the phase of the moon was.

Cross-country skiing is beautiful at night with a head lamp, it’s even more special by the light of the moon.

Snow…

o  Dry powder snow

o  Sticky snow for making snowmen and clogging up your skis

o  Packed snow you can walk on (and unpacked snow you can’t)

o  Thin snow hiding a layer of ice

o  Heavy snow laden on the branches of pines

New ways to celebrate

By the time I’d got to mid-February, I was building up confidence, and looking for every opportunity to be outdoors. We’re lucky enough to live by a wonderful park, with 200km of cross-country ski trails, complete with back county cabins with wood fired stoves.

On Valentines Day my husband and I skied to a cabin with our soup in a thermos and grilled cheese sandwiches for the stove; and on my birthday in March we snowshoed with friends, and my visiting mum and step-dad to a cabin, carrying fondue and cake.

Variety, company and solitude

Of my 40 activities, I did:

• 31 cross country skis
• 5 downhill skis
• 2 snowshoes
• 1 ice-skating session (still terrifying)
• 1 tubing (hilarious)

Some of these were with family. Some were with friends. I said yes to an invite from an old friend to go downhill skiing and met a wonderful new group of women to night ski with. 

But lots of these cross country skis were alone. They were peaceful, in the trees, feeling my body at work, getting satisfaction from going further, up a steeper hill, feeling more in control on a downhill, looking up at the stars.

So bring on the snow, and next year’s challenge!