Is Winnipeg Winter’s too Cheesy a Title? (Winnipeg’s Hidden Beauty).
- Zane Vanderhorst-Sewell
- Mar 29, 2018
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 2, 2018
“Winnipeg, Why would anyone ever want to live in that Frozen Hell?” is a common question I have heard when telling people where 'm from, but let me share with you my opinion as to why Winnipeg, Manitoba isn’t such a bad place to live. I share some of the beauty this snowy city has to offer and some images I have taken that I believe show some of Winnipeg’s hidden Beauty.
We’ve all heard Toronto people complain about Winter-peg, and Vancouver people talk about how cold it is and ask why anyone would live here? Yesterday the answer to that question became abundantly clear. The highways were closed, most of the roads haven’t been plowed and are inaccessible with vehicles, and it took me about 45 minutes to get my car unstuck from where I had parked it the night before so it seemed as if we were stuck here. Just as I was dropping someone off the night before it began to hail, with promises of a blizzard the whole day I had began to believe the weatherman was completely unreliable but when I started getting ready for school the next morning I looked out my window and realized that there really had been a blizzard and 30cm of snow blanketed the province of Manitoba. I said in my zombie like state from not getting enough sleep the night prior “Fucking Winnipeg!” and collapsed back into bed, it had become clear that I would not be going to school today.
I began my day at the crack of Noon and I planned out going for a walk with my father, and we set out to check out some of the neat scenes that the blizzard had immersed on to the streets. My family and I frequently enjoy going for walks along the Red River usually ending up at the forks which is quite a scenic route through the exchange but the scenery that the blizzard left upon the city was breathtaking.
River Walk path blanketed in snow
This image is of the beginning of the pathway that leads down to the river, and a giant branch being pulled down by the weight of the snow that has piled up onto it. At the bottom of this pathway is a park that was designed by my father and our neighbor, with a goal of improving the unappealing visuals and garbage that had been there prior. The park includes a lovely stone mosaic tiling the floor and has a spot to launch boats and a great view of the city. From here you can also see the recent Art piece my father installed on the river featuring horse heads sticking out of the ice inspired from Guy Madden’s my Winnipeg, where he talks about some horses that ran into the Red River to escape a fire that had enflamed their stable and sought out to cross the body of water but ended up freezing to death with their heads sticking out of the river.
Guy Maddens “My Winnipeg” Video-
Jordan Van Sewell in front of his Art Installation
1966 Frozen Horses
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/arts/artist-creates-mane-attraction-on-red-river-468539183.html
Link to article on the horse heads installation by my Father Artist Jordan Van Sewell
Winter Pine
Snow laden boughs across the street from my house I found this photo really appealing due to the detail and just the way the snow is pulling down on each individual branch, and makes the coniferous look like it is exhausted.
Snowy City Scape
Focused snow coated branches with a blurry city skyline in the background. This is one of my favorite spots to take landscape shots of the city with some fantastic views and countless angles it is also are an incredible walk to embark on no matter the time of year. I really appreciate the colors that the city is almost glowing with in this image.
Waterfront Drive
An image from a street-view of the aftermath of the blizzard, gives you kind of a dreamy urban snow scape feel.
This gives you a better idea of the road conditions that we have to deal with. The mayor in 1986 made a statement to the city telling everyone to stay home until the streets were clear but if you had to go out there would be complimentary buss’s running major routes to accommodate Winnipeg’s masses, this blizzard only having 5 more cm of snow than the most recent blizzard to hit our city its not an everyday occurrence for us!
Me being the nice guy that I am decided to pick my friend up in the middle of this blizzard, instead of making him buss! It took me 45 min to get my car out of the spot I had left in the day before after shoveling practically 1/3 of the whole street I managed to get my car out, having countless close calls and only to get it stuck pulling the car back onto my street.
Snowy Branches
This Shot I really enjoy for all its textures and lines of convergence, this was captured 100 feet from my house beside the Red River.
Throughout the history of Winnipeg there have been many unforgettable occurrences such as floods, storms, and blizzards. In Winnipeg if you ask anyone there are two now three that really stand alone the first being in 1986 November 7 with 35 centimeters of snow with people stranded downtown seeking shelter in department stores and people digging through snow to crawl out of their houses. Cleanup for this storm took the city more than 3 days.
Some people would definitely see this as a hassle and something to bash Winnipeg about but I find that this is just one of the quality’s that really draws me to this city. Who wouldn’t want to have a few days off from school and be able to go for an incredible walk in a winter wonderland! As long as the whether conditions are all right, and not to cold. This year we really lucked out with the temperature being only -1 degrees after the big blizzard.
I am really hoping that this years winter wont last as long as it did in 1986 with there still being giant mounds of snow into late April.
Winnipeg’s Blizzard of 1986-
Prior to the Blizzard of 1986 there was another major blizzard without going all the way back to the blizzard of 1966 which happened on march 4th and was not as beautiful as the one we just experienced but if you wish to research more you can access a video of the storm here.
Blizzard of 1966-
Signs That Winnipeg's Winter Sucks Worse Than Yours-
#WinnipegWeather #FrozenHell #wpg #manitoba #RedRever #WinnipegRedRiver #ZanesImages #snow #ice #HiddenBeauty #HorseHeads #BeautifulWinnipeg #winterinwinnipeg #freepress #MyWinnipeg
-Photo credits to Google images and myself.
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