Snow, Snow and More Snow
Amazing March Break Skiing Conditions
Greet Thousands Of Visitors To Collingwood
The overnight and early morning snowstorm that hit Collingwood on Saturday and Sunday, March 8th and 9th, dumped an additional 30-plus cm of snow on top of an already snow filled landscape. The massive drifts filled streets and walkways throughout downtown Collingwood.
Remember ... there's no business like snow business
for a ski town!
First you heard the sound of snow removal vehicles clearing already clogged town streets and parking lots. But when the March Break gets going, local merchants, restaurants and tourism operators will hear the sounds of their cash registers ringing up increased sales thanks to the thousands of visitors who visit for the March Break. Area hotels and resorts are jammed with winter fun seekers who came to the region to enjoy what may well be the best-ever conditions for downhill skiing and boarding, cross country skiing, snow shoeing and just about any other outdoor winter activity you can think of.
The problem for many was getting here. The Toronto region experienced the latest snow storm first, causing massive headaches for those travelling on city streets and major highways. Pearson Airport experienced hundreds of flight delays and cancellations as the March Break began, leaving thousands of travellers stranded in the airport terminals. High winds off Georgian Bay created whiteout conditions on local highways and town streets.
The sun came out on Sunday to kick off a week of activity in Collingwood and throughout the region. The Ontario Winter Games were well underway when the weekend storm hit. Thousands of young athletes from around the province participated in 23 indoor and outdoor sporting events.
While the rest of us were moving our clocks ahead one hour to welcome daylight saving time, Town of Collingwood Works Crews were at it again, clearing roadways and sidwalks of deep snow. Downtown BIA Manager Sue Nicholson says the Downtown has already been cleared of snow twice since January, at a cost of approximately $10,000 per effort. The downtown streets are clogged with snow again. Towns and cities around Georgian Bay are seeing their snow clearing budgets being hit hard this winter. Recently the city of Orillia added $100,000.00 to its snow removal budget for this year. The Town of Midland has been struggling to keep up with snow removal and here in Collingwood, public works crews have been working around the clock to clear snow over and over again.
It will be a busy March Break in Collingwood, and that's a good thing, because you can never have too much snow in a ski town!
The snow banks throughout Collingwood's downtown streets were huge following back-to-back snowstorms that hit the region to kick off the March Break. The streets had recently been cleared of all snow (for the 4th time this winter season).
The steps and patio to the Olde Towne Terrace, a popular Downtown Collingwood restaurant were completely filled with snow on Sunday morning
Collingwood Works Crews have been working long hours this winter in what must seem like a never-ending effort to clear the roadways and sidewalks of snow.
Downtown Collingwood streets had recently been cleared of all snow, but you would never know it thanks to the late season snowstorms that hit last week. It almost looks like you could climb this snowbank and change the light bulbs on the Gayety Theatre sign.
We're not sure where the rider ended up but the good news is that this is a mountain bike, equipped with tires that will grip the snow. The issue at hand will be how to dig the bike out of its downtown snowbank.
Snow and drifting had all but buried this downtown bus shelter, prior to Town of Collingwood Works crews arriving to clear the area.
... and here's proof that machines, like humans, break down from clearing too much snow. This downtown snow blower packed it in while downtown streets were being cleared, once again, of deep snow.