Canadian Winter Magazine: newfound (winter wonder) land

There’s a single luggage carousel that loops around and around at the small airport in Deer Lake, Newfoundland. The belt of black rubber is loaded with ski bags and duffel bags crammed with snowshoes, bulky Sorels (winter boots) and assorted winter gear. Standing at the end is local born and bred guide Ed English. “So, what do you want to do?” he grins, with the joy in his voice of a man who knows he’s got a cornucopia of opportunities for first-time guests.

Any Canadian can tell you – whether they have been there or not- that Newfoundland is just a little different than the rest of the pack. The landscape, food, people, local colour and culture, and even the lilt to the language set this province apart. It turns out that the old joke about Newfoundland having only two seasons – July and winter – has been a blessing for the province’s snow-based businesses. While the rest of the country is starting to thaw out in early spring, skiers and snowboarders here still have weeks to go before the deep snow gives way to rock and patches of grass. According to English, “We don’t usually get enough natural snow for skiing before Christmas, but then we get lots, it stays a long time, and we can have a good season well into April. The whole forest becomes a playground – there’s still a lot of snow and the air is warm. You can be skiing in shorts.”

Deer Lake sits in what’s called the western arm of the island: the stretch of land that juts north into the Gulf of St. Lawrence; the end point for the Long Range Mountains, a sub-range at the north end of the Appalachian Mountains, that snake from Georgia to the far reaches of Newfoundland. Much of the area is dominated by the Tablelands (a part of Gros Morne National Park); a spectacular landscape that was created when the continental plates of Africa and North America crashed and thrust upwards some 450 million years ago. Take the latitude, add the mountains, throw in the effect of a large body of water and you’ve got snow. Lots of it, and reliable amounts into the springtime months.

Western Newfoundland is best known for the ski resort of Marble Mountain, with an annual snow dump of five metres and a reputation for some of the finest skiing east of the Rockies. There’s a full variety of downhill runs, from beginner ripples to extreme, black diamond, 50-degree slopes. Thirty five trails tempt both skiers and snowboarders (with an additional terrain park); short lineups and high-speed lifts mean run, after run, after sweet run…

There’s barely enough time to down a cup of hot chocolate in the drive from the downhill slopes at Marble Mountain to the cross-country and snowshoeing trails at Blow Me Down Ski Park, the site extensively developed for the 1999 Canada Winter Games. The ski park has grown in leaps and bounds from a rather modest beginning (the first grooming machine was a snowmobile dragging an old bedspring) to one of the best cross-country facilities in eastern Canada. Just outside Corner Brook – “a community that revolves around snow, skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling,” according to ski instructor Denise MacDonald – Blow Me Down’s 50-kilometre network of groomed trails lies at the heart of a snowbelt, with a season that often stretches from December to May.

There’s barely enough time to down a cup of hot chocolate in the drive from the downhill slopes at Marble Mountain to the cross-country and snowshoeing trails at Blow Me Down Ski Park, the site extensively developed for the 1999 Canada Winter Games. The ski park has grown in leaps and bounds from a rather modest beginning (the first grooming machine was a snowmobile dragging an old bedspring) to one of the best cross-country facilities in eastern Canada. Just outside Corner Brook – “a community that revolves around snow, skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling,” according to ski instructor Denise MacDonald – Blow Me Down’s 50-kilometre network of groomed trails lies at the heart of a snowbelt, with a season that often stretches from December to May.

… But when Ed English really wants to show off the wild landscape of the western coastline , he heads to Gros Morne National Park, the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site, Just a few kilometeres past the entrance kiosk to the park he pulls off by the southeast arm of Bonne Bay. Several pairs of lightweight snowshoes are unpacked from the back of the van and within seconds we’re tromping through the sparkling snow towards a lookout point with a view over the crusty Tablelands. The snow is deep and clean, the sun is shining and the air is as cold as a deep drink of ice water. There are ramrod straight spruce trees and untouched snow as far as the eye can see. Gros Morne has a well-developed network of cross-country trails – and the off-trail skiing and snowshoeing opportunities are almost unlimited.

For something a little more exotic it’s possible to go underground… into the world of winter caving. Large streams have cut through the soluble limestone to create a network of tunnels, sinkholes and caving sites. When English takes small groups into the caves it can be a little like playing a subterranean game of Twister…only with bulky orange overalls and headlamps. The biggest challenge is squeezing through narrow slots between the walls and finding footholds and toeholds along the rock ledges. “Caving is a challenge for people,” explains English when we turn out our headlamps to check just how dark dark can really be. “It’s a way of pushing your limits ina safe environment.” At the very least it can make you feel pretty pleased with yourself afterwards. And, in truth, the same could be said of any of western Newfoundland’s wintertime games.

Josephine Matyas