Churchill Blizzard Finally Subsides

Environment Canada defines blizzard conditions as visibility is less than 400 m resulting from blowing and/or falling snow for a minimum of four hours. Well, Churchill endured these conditions and more for over 56 hours and now the digging out begins.

Between 9 a.m. Tuesday and 5 p.m.Thursday the town and region was under siege from mother nature’s wrath and was under full blizzard conditions. Now the town looks like the north pole. Wind and frigid conditions have prevailed hindering clean – up efforts and it will be awhile before the town is functioning normally.

Peak gusts of 105 km/hr kept the town at a standstill with only the health center open after the loading dock was cleared and used as an entrance for patients. As usual in Churchill, snowfall will be hard to measure within town limits as the wind gusts move the snow into massive drifts. More accurate measurements can be found in the boreal forest but hard to reach for sure.

These photos are pretty unbelievable and are the most snow we have seen from one system in decades! What a ride the last few days have been for all the hearty Churchillians! We should be getting some epic northern lights shots within the next week with unique snow formations in the frames.

churchill blizzard

An eight-foot tunnel of snow to get into the house! Kelly Turcotte photo.

 

churchill blizzard

Churchill’s loader clearing the streets finally. Jodi Grosbrink photo.

 

churchill blizzard

No way out of the human door even. Jodi Grosbrink photo.

 

Churchill blizzard

Snow piled up in Churchill all the way to second story of apartments. Jodi Grosbrink photo.

 

churchill blizzard

Churchill is surely snowbound. Jodi Grosbrink photo.

 

churchill blizzard

Engine compartment of a Churchill vehicle. Belinda Fitzpatrick photo.

Spectacular Churchill Train Journey Video

Traveling from Winnipeg to Churchill to experience the incredible natural wonders found in the frontier town has limited options. You can, of course, fly via the small airlines and hope the weather provides a window in and out of Churchill. You cannot drive, unless you have ample time and are on a four wheeler or a dogsled…closest you can get is Thompson or a bit farther on gravel road. In fact, my favorite mode of travel is by train.

When I guided Churchill Summer beluga whale adventures for about 10 years, I would take the train one -way, as Natural Habitat does now in summer and winter both, with small groups of 12-15 travelers. The memory that stays with me the most from those days is without a doubt the interactions with thousands of beluga whales in the chilly waters of the Churchill River and Hudson Bay. I still feel the pull to return each summer as if I were the one migrating to warmer waters as the whales do from the Hudson Straits in the north.

However, the other thrill that clearly stands above many of my most treasured memories is the train journey from Churchill to Winnipeg. The anticipation for each trip would build until we boarded, in Union Station in Winnipeg at around 9:00pm at night. Traveling northwest through some prairie – land into Saskatchewan and back into Manitoba was better done at night. Once morning arrived and the group was waking in their sleeper births the landscape changed to more deciduous trees and slowly transition into boreal forest then taiga and tundra. Lakes and rivers were all over the land as we slowly rocked north and slowed even more as permafrost rested below the tracks.

All in all the trip was scheduled for 36 hours though quite often an additional four or five would put us in Churchill around noon or later. This allowed for guests to sleep in and enjoy a nice breakfast on board while Churchill slowly appeared on the horizon. What a way to ease everyone into “tundra time” as Churchillians call the calming pace of life in town. By the time we reached Churchill everyone was more able to search patiently for wildlife on land as well as enjoy the surreal interactions of beluga whales on the water.

This video filmed and produced by Natural Habitat Adventures guide Brad Josephs during a northern lights trip this season gives an inside and outside view of one of the most exciting and relaxing trips on rails you can experience! Whether the landscape or wildlife or even northern lights are your passion, chances arise throughout the journey to experience all or some of these.

Train to Churchill by Brad Josephs from Natural Habitat Adventures on Vimeo.

Churchill Field Notes and Photos – Aurora Season

The first groups of travelers have been experiencing dramatic cold and sensational northern lights in Churchill these last couple of weeks. Here are some pictorial field notes from the far north and northern lights season guru Brad Josephs. So much of what Nat Hab’s aurora borealis trips encompass is more than seeing the northern lights. The amazing train trip north and stops at Pisew Falls and Thompson leading to the journey through boreal forest and taiga coming to rest in Churchill. Dog-sledding, igloo building, curling and various other cultural experiences make this an unforgettable adventure. Northern lights above the vast frozen Hudson Bay is more often than not the proverbial “icing on the cake”! Enjoy

Nat Hab group in Churchill

Natural Habitat Adventures group with guide Brad Josephs. Brad Josephs photo.

 

dog sledding in Churchill

Dog – sledding in Churchill. Brad Josephs photo.

 

boreal forest in Churchill

Moonscape above the boreal forest before the aurora appeared in Churchill. Brad Josephs photo.

 

aurora borealis in Churchill, Wapusk Adventures

Northern lights above Wapusk Adventures tee – pee and boreal forest. Brad Josephs photo.

 

Natural Habitat Aurora Pod Churchill

Northern lights action at the Natural Habitat Aurora Pod. Brad Josephs photo.

Natural Habitat travelers in Churchill.

Natural Habitat Adventures travelers beneath the northern lights in Churchill. Brad Josephs photo.

Churchill Boreal Forest Beauty

These boreal forest images with the glow of the receding sun in the background gives an aura and feel only the Arctic can provide. Trees in the north define the landscape in such a way we only can understand by experiencing the north firsthand. The cold air and snow on the ground and trees gives the eyes and mind a different perspective that the photos transcend. Churchill photographer Alex De Vries – Magnifico has refined his style to capture that distinct Arctic feel by continually searching for those subtle details of the region that make it unique in the world.

churchill boreal forest

Snow covered boreal forest in Churchill. Alex De Vries – Magnifico photo.

 

Churchill boreal forest

A krumholz “flag tree” in Churchill. Alex De Vries Magnifico photo.

 

boreal forest churchill

Magnificent boreal forest with snowy covering. Alex De Vries – Magnifico.

 

Boreal forest churchill

Snowy boreal forest outside of Churchill. Alex De Vries – Magnifico photo.

Churchill Northern Lights Video – Wapusk

Alex De Vries – Magnifico filmed this truly northern scene about a week ago at Dave Daley’s Wapusk Adventures’ dog yard just outside Churchill proper. In an area known as Joe Buck’s Ridge, in the boreal forest, any light from the town fades away in the distance and aurora borealis viewing is epic on clear nights. What a night and overall a great week to begin an awesome 2017 northern lights season. Enjoy!

 

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