In case you forgot lately, I wanted to take this moment to remind all of my fellow Squamish neighbours that you live in one almighty beautiful place.
Now I’m sure for some of you, this might come as no surprise—in fact, you probably agree with me.
But for others, you might have read that and thought, ‘Yeah, yeah we know.’
But do you really?
As I left my house on Tuesday morning to go to work, I was awestruck by the backdrop of this town.
The mountains, which have slowly been accumulating more and more snow, finally had that extra bit of powder to cover the lower treeline.
Even the Stawamus Chief had a good sprinkling of snow atop it.
Leaving my car, I had to take a moment to soak in what I was seeing. A town coming to life with people on their way to work, while the landscape surrounding us looked like something out of a movie or a painting.
“You get to see this every year!” I proclaimed to my colleagues as I walked into the office; to which those who have lived in Squamish for longer than six months responded with a questionable, “Yes?”
And it struck me that for many locals, this view might have become the norm, and perhaps no longer a special thing.
Squamish is known for being one of the outdoor capitals of the world, due to the hiking, biking and climbing, and that title comes as a result of the wondrous landscape around us.
People travel across the world to see the sights of Squamish, and those who are lucky enough to live here get to see this every day, in their own backyard.
As someone who grew up in Australia with zero mountains around me (and when I say zero, I mean we didn’t need bike gears to get around town because the terrain was that flat), getting to see this place every day feels like a gift.
And before you question whether it’s the first time I’ve seen snow (or mountains for that matter), rest assured, it’s not—I just refuse to get tired of looking at this whole place.
Now I know that the days get dark quickly, and for the most part, winter life in Squamish means you can’t leave the house without a raincoat. But before you go to work next, or even on your way to the grocery store, take a moment to soak up your surroundings.
You get to look up at the Stawamus Chief, or towards Atwell Peak, or the Tantalus Range whenever you want. This place is your backyard; it is your home. How lucky is that?
Now this is not all to say that you have to be amazed by the Squamish landscape every time you leave your house—I’m a positive person but not that positive—however, I would just urge you not to take this place for granted.
Squamish is one in a million, and I, for one will be spending this winter looking up every chance I get.
