WILDERNESS, DOGS AND TRAILS
BY KEITH INGRAM F
or years, in fact ever since I spent the summer of 1970 down on the ice in Antarctica, I have been thinking it would be nice to have a white Christmas. So when the chance came for Vivienne and I to visit the outlaws in the middle of the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada for Christmas it was off to the Kathmandu shop to kit up with winter thermals.
This province of Canada is known for its extremes in weather from stinking hot in the short summer to bloody cold in the longer winter.
The trick, we were told, is to wear layers of clothing, rather than bulky Kiwi winter clothing, because you just keep adding or removing layers depending on the time of day or longer night. To get to Saskatchewan meant crossing the Canadian Rockies
from Vancouver. Given our time constraints, we opted for the short internal flight to Calgary as the starting point for our winter experience, rather than rail or road.
After the long flight, with little sleep for some 30 hours, we
needed a restful night, especially after enjoying several pints of Guinness over dinner at one of Calgary's local Irish pubs. The next morning, to give some freedom and ensure we did not miss out on the fantastic Rockies, we settled into our rental Chevrolet Impala and made tracks for Banff National Park. The Chev was fitted with winter snow tyres that incorporate some form of rubber and silica composition. In Alberta, Saskatchewan and places north these tyres are mandatory on all vehicles from December to March. Snow tyres won't eliminate skidding on ice or snow, but they greatly reduce the risk. As long as you aren't stupid and drive with reasonable care, they are fantastic and give great piece of mind. Canada's winter routine was settling in during the days before our arrival, with piles of snow starting to mound on the roadsides and the corners of carparks. By winter's end these piles turn into small mountains and consume up to half the parking spaces. Life in winter evolves around clearing snow off your footpath, yes it's your responsibility to look after your footpath in front and entrance to the house, while contractors change modes to shift snow and keep the arterial routes open.
One of many wildlife flyovers 30 Professional Skipper March/April 2012
I was amazed throughout our travels just how quickly the highways and roads are cleared after a snowfall. There is no messing around, as we found out on the highway from Banff to Lake Louise, when we came up behind a large truck carrying salt grit and an even larger snow plough in front beating along the highway at about 80kph, a speed that just threw the snow high and many metres to the side of the road. Our daughter, Toni, the designated driver, had no problem negotiating the icy conditions although we had to be aware of the many trans-Canadian road trains up to 50m long tramping past at 100kph.
