Picture of the Day: Cold-temperature Walk

This morning was a lovely but very cold day!

Yesterday was a beautiful winter day in Vancouver, blue skies and radiant sunshine that so many were in disbelief when it started to snow around 2pm.

I was watching the four-hour documentary I reviewed in the previous post so when we emerged from the theatre at 5pm, it was dark and there was snow on the ground.

Even though there was only 2cm of snow on the ground, it was somewhat perilous driving home. My relative and I went south on Granville Street and turned right onto 12th Avenue going west. Not long afterwards our car began to slide which left us unsettled and drove in silence. And the car in front of us had just bumped into the one in front of it.

To avoid further traffic woes, my relative dropped me off and I walked a short distance back home. 

An invigorating walk in the forest

It was already dinnertime when I got back so we ate and after washing up, I put on some warm clothes and headed outside to shovel the sidewalk. But the snow had already stuck to the concrete so I tried to remove as much as I could and threw salt on it in the hopes it would melt somewhat.

Overnight it was -12 degrees Celsius.

This morning was a beautifully sunny day, but highs of -8 degrees!

After breakfast I bundled up again wearing long johns and fleece-lined waterproof trousers along with sweater, scarf, puffy jacket, hat and gloves, and headed out for a walk. The roads were very quiet with students at school and some people opted to stay home to work. I headed to Pacific Spirit Park and enjoyed hearing the crunch of the snow under my boots. 

I did a 52-minute walk and my face was very cold. I stopped around half way to take sips of hot water from my thermos and it warmed my face and throat up right away. My only complaint was that I wished I had worn mittens, but after a while my hands warmed up nicely. I saw a Chinese couple not wearing gloves and wondered why they didn't wear any. The woman was rubbing her hands constantly...

When I got back home my cheeks were ruddy red! Next time wearing a mask would keep my face warmer!

Tonight it's -14 degrees, and tomorrow's high is -6 degrees! It won't be 1 degree until Tuesday!

Cold is Relative

Hongkongers are experiencing cold weather today

Hong Kong logged its coldest temperature this winter at a chilly 9.8 degrees Celsius today and people on social media were complaining about the cold, and having to bundle up.

Tai Mo Shan, the city's tallest mountain at 957 metres, logged 0.3 degrees -- might as well say it was zero. Back in January 2016, temperatures plunged to be low zero on the peak, and if you remember, people got stuck up there, unfamiliar with the icy conditions and firefighters had to go and rescue them. Why did people go up there? To see frost...

Cypress Mountain barely has enough snow

Meanwhile, across the Pacific Ocean, Vancouver is experiencing its third-warmest winter on record at 9 degrees. We are definitely not going to have a white Christmas compared to last year when we were inundated with snow starting in late November.

It was so bad for skiers yesterday that Mount Seymour closed early yesterday afternoon because of the lack of snow, and Cypress and Grouse each only have one downhill run open...