This is where I spent New Years Eve last night, up at Hollyburn Lodge on Cypress Mountain. After the initial humming and hawing on whether we should indeed go or not, due to the rain here in the city, we packed up the gear and arrived at the Nordic parking lot at 7pm in light drizzle.
There were more revelers there than I expected, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and inner tubing, the little bit of drizzle wasn’t dampening any spirits. We found it surprising that it wasn’t snowing as it felt cold enough for snow, and with the Olympics so close, we did a little “Snow Dance” for good measure. The darkness, the quiet and the eery glow of Petzl lights made for a very nervous toddler on my back, but once we ran into some familiar faces and  stopped for poutine and hot chocolate in the warming hut, she relaxed. There were 2 bonfires burning in front of the Hollyburn Lodge, with plenty of children roasting marshmallows and wieners. Inside the beer was on tap, mits and feet were drying by the fire and spirits ran high.
We hiked in through the back of the parking lot on the unlit  free trail where dogs are welcome. There were also a lot of little lights going straight up the left hand side of the ski track, towards the Peak, indicating more seasoned snowshoers heading higher up.
It was definately a family affair, and one I am going to make an annual event for my family.