OPINION: Winter interest

Canadians spend a lot of time and energy thinking and talking about the weather – look, I’m doing it right now.

The chatter continues all year but anyone with a down parka knows winter is the best time to discuss and complain about the weather.
And as if Canadian winters weren’t tough enough, every night, just before bedtime, we are reminded how bad it really is.

After being horrified by the evening weather report, most nights we go to sleep dreaming of tomorrow’s wind chills, freezing rain and blizzards.

But a growing number of frost-hardy Canadians have found other ways to cope and some actually hope for more cold, more snow and longer winters.

Winter is our most abundant natural resource and there are many ways to embrace the season, making it seem more like six weeks than six months.

We ain’t afraid of no polar vortex – bring it on Frosty.

Folks around here know how to have fun in the snow and have all tried skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and ice fishing from time to time.

All these activities are still very popular in Northwestern Ontario and outdoor recreation in the winter offers the added advantages of fresh air and exercise.

And it is still one of the best cures for cabin fever.

However, traditional winter sports are not for everyone and sometimes, especially as we get older, we can’t be bothered lacing on the blades or firing up the ice auger.

If snow and ice has lost its appeal to you, there are a number of new developments in winter recreation that might spark your winter interest.

I was very excited to come across something called “Fat Biking” – that is, until I realized that “fat” referred to the bicycle and not the rider.

These are mountain bikes designed for use on snow and equipped with large, oversized tires underinflated to a very low air pressure.

The frames and forks are specifically engineered for winter use and the soft tires give what is described as a “fun and bouncy” ride.

But this technology is expensive and every winter a few brave souls travel our city streets using a poor boy’s version of Fat Biking – skinny biking using the bike you already have.

There are many other interesting winter diversions for the frost-tolerant.

Skijoring, popular in Scandinavia for years, allows animal lovers to enjoy the snow by being pulled along on skis or a snowboard by a horse or a dog team.

It sounds like a lot of fun, it’s probably good for the animals too and it is easily accomplished by any pet owner with a large, fit, well-trained dog.

My daughter caught me eyeballing her dogs recently but she warned me that I was much too big a load to be dragged across the snow, even by two Lhasa Apsos.

That’s okay because there are plenty of other icy activities, many of which involve simply sliding down slopes, sitting on something slippery.

Tobogganing is so 20th century – modern sliders have graduated to new variations such as tubing, shovel racing, ice blocking and snow kayaking.

Serious shovel riders, sitting on a well-waxed aluminum blade with the handle firmly gripped between their legs, can reach speeds of 90 kilometres per hour.

Lastly, for all those local ice fishermen looking for something more challenging than walleye, try ice fishing for Greenland sharks – up to 20 feet long and 2,500 pounds.

You will need a bigger auger.

It’s great to be a northerner if you bundle up, stay warm and enjoy the wintry countryside.

And don’t let those weather forecasts scare you – spring is on the way.