ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Well, there’s one for sure fact about this winter, it’s shaping up to be one for the memory and record books.
Indeed, that was quite the snowstorm that we just experienced. It’s not often one experiences category 1-class hurricane force winds in a snowstorm. I haven’t viewed the full aftermath statistics on the meteorological phenomena just yet, but many folks are calling it a 100-year snowstorm.
I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite like it. I can remember heavy snowfalls and also high winds, but never the two together to such an extreme degree. They name hurricanes. Maybe we need to officially give this snowstorm a name.
You all know that I have been outside in some nasty weather. I have even been caught in blizzards a time or two. I remember back in the ’70s, ice fishing, when a storm hit. Why was I out? Because back in those days weather forecasting was ridiculously inaccurate. The storm came on so fast that I had to yell out to my buddy at the next fishing hole. I had lost sight of him. We got together by sound and headed home quickly. Luckily the snow slacked off a bit and we found our way, albeit precariously. That outing could have ended badly. I was only 14 years old and relatively inexperienced.
I like going out in storms. On Friday I was out around the house sporadically for the entire day. I just like to check around for any damage and just see how things are doing, snow piling up and the like. I have a new chimney installed in my garage project and I was a little concerned about the high winds way up there on that two-storey roof. So, at around 8 p.m. I went out with my headlamp for a final check. The road coming down to our property runs directly south towards the ocean. The wind was at peak strength from the north and blowing straight down the road. I wasn’t getting the full impression of the gale force from inside the house because we are sheltered to the north by trees.
Wow! Was that wind ever funneling down that road with vicious ferocity. And the snow was blasting horizontally, a solid-white, almost impenetrable wall.
I should not have been out. Visibility was down to about 10 feet. I made it to my new building with the storm to my back. No problem. I couldn’t see if the chimney was in place or not. I sheltered myself on the south-facing wall of the garage and caught my breath. The wall of snow and wind was howling past me around the corner. I figured the wind was at least 100 miles per hour, if not higher. I needed to walk about 100 feet straight into the gust and storm to reach the house driveway and shelter. One, two, three, go! Hood up and head down I went. It was the worst 100 feet I have ever walked.
I’ve read often about folks being caught in severe storms on open tundra-type environments. Seek shelter or die is the modus operandi, even the lee of a glacial boulder is better than nothing. I fully concur. I could not have survived long.
That was the peak of the storm here in Spaniard’s Bay. I would have dug myself into a snow tunnel and curled up for the night. Instead, I made it to my living room couch and pondered what I had just experienced. Mother Nature can really dish it out when she gets riled up. Never take the danger lightly.
Anyway, my boots were filled with snow and I ended up dumping them out in the porch. Goldie was not pleased. She pointed out the nonsense of going outside in the first place.
I suppose she was right on most folks’ plane of reality and sensibility. My socks ended up wet and I hung them beside the flame, perfect in my world.
Oh well, I knew what the full fury of the 100-year storm felt like, if only for five minutes.
Dressing for the weather
What about those boots? Wet feet would certainly hasten one’s demise stuck outside in a bitter storm. I was wearing the wrong boots for snowstorm trekking. I have better sense, but I was only going out to check on the chimney. I was wearing my everyday Avalon Peninsula boots. What, pray tell, are those? You know what it’s like around here, slush and wet half the time at least, and then cold and snowy sometimes, although still wet around salt-soaked entrances.
Yes indeed, I was wearing my winter knee rubbers. They are essentially a high-tech insulated version of those felt-lined rubbers that were so popular back in the ’80s and ’90s. Every outdoors person had a pair in those days.
Now they’ve ditched that uncomfortable felt liner for integrated thin synthetic insulation, rated for minus temperature extremes. Mine are from Simms, the fishing gear company, and they have wicked good ice and wet rock traction, along with decent walking comfort, and a solid minus-40 rating. But they fill with snow when you go over your knees. That’s not good. The old-fashioned ones had a drawstring at the top but that didn’t really work that well.
I had an email a few days back, a reader looking for advice on all-purpose winter boots, snowshoeing, ice fishing and so on. That’s a tough question. My everyday boots are OK for most stuff, but really great for nothing. My feet would get cold ice fishing, and tired and sore snowshoeing, Rubber boots are not hikers and never will be. And rubber boots will never keep you warm standing around on ice. I have two more pairs of boots to round out my winter arsenal besides my everyday Simms rubbers.
Ice fishing is a bloody cold business. You don’t move much and its always super cold. You need to prioritize warmth over all else. I have a pair of Baffin Shackleton Arctic exploration boots with an incredibly low temperature rating. On the downside, these boots are bulky. They are OK, but not great for walking, but my feet never get cold. I wear them ice fishing and standing around in the cold. If I go to either of the Earth’s poles I will wear them.
Ah, on to snowshoeing and winter trekking, my top winter passions besides winter sea trout fishing. Back in the day, the ’70s and early ’80s, I wore those useless old Ski-Doo boots. Then I moved on to the popular felt-lined winter knee rubbers. I used those logan sort of boots a bit but never really liked them. I fancied them bulky and poorly fitting, always.
Nowadays we can buy great quality winter hiking boots that are lined to sufficient levels for winter activities. My go-to winter trekking boots are Zamberlan laced-up leather boots with a minus-50 rating. They are breathable, super comfortable and warm enough for winter camping trips. I can walk all day in them on snowshoes. I use mountaineering gaiters to keep deep snow out, which makes these boots just about perfect. I’m not too sure about this “good old days” business. The boots weren’t that great.
I suppose you could wear those hikers every day, except maybe ice fishing or to the North Pole, but those rubber everyday boots are just so easy to slip on and off, to pop out in a snowstorm and the like. Besides, why mess up my leather hikers with salt and slush around town? You’d have to keep them oiled up consistently. Those rubber boots are maintenance free and good enough most of the time. I walked up our road with my racquets strapped on them Saturday morning before the plow came down the road. I would have filled my boots and worked up a sweat otherwise, and just to visit my neighbour.
That was some wicked snowstorm.
Paul Smith, a native of Spaniard’s Bay, fishes and wanders the outdoors at every opportunity. He can be contacted at [email protected] or follow him on twitter at @flyfishtherock
