Galloping Geezer
 
"Photo Credit to Julie Ann Biggs out on the Mekong River, Cambodia Vietnam Border."
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Jack Downey Comments on Canadian Issues to Inform and Amuse.
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The Snow Eater
Western folks are justifiably proud of the Chinook Winds that cross the rugged mountains, descend on the prairies, and provide respite from the fierce winters that can make life very difficult on the Great Plains of Canada. From Edmonton in the north to Pincher Creek near the CDN/USA border and from the foothills of the west to Saskatoon in the east, the warm winds sweep down and remind us why we haven't moved to the West Coast.
We do not get as much snow as Eastern Canada, where it seems you pick up your snow shovel on the first of November and do not put it down till mid April, if you get an early thaw! Two things affect the amount of snow that falls in the East. First is the age of the raconteur. My 80 year old grandfather told us he walked 5 miles to and from school, battling through snow up to his knees and drifts well over his waist, in grade one. We were awe-struck by this tough old man and his determination to get an education. Recently, we visited the old "Homestead" only to find that the school was five blocks away, because the "homestead" was in the center of a small town. Yes, the snow was deep for a grade oner, as they aren't very tall and could well have been up to his knees. As for the drifts, when the folks cleared the walk the piled snow could be easily piled to three feet by midwinter. As we grew older, we discounted many of his yarns, like the one about how all the students had Rogers Gold Syrup gallon tins to carry their lunch in, which was frozen hard as flint by the time they got to school. He failed to mention that, on arrival at school, they put their pails down on the frozen cement so they could play for a half an hour before going inside. According to grandfather, if the lunches were not thawed by noon some kids broke their teeth on frozen sandwiches. The second thing affecting the amount of snow down East is that the Weather G-d hates you. Anyone east of the Chinook line deserves to be buried in snow with no respite. You have rock salt for your roads and walks. We have Chinooks, which do not rot our cars and boots all to flinders.
There are a variety of theories as to how the name "Chinook Winds" came to be. The University of Calgary claims it is the Native Canadian word for 'Snow Eater'. The locals living along the Columbia River's eastern banks claim it comes from the Chinook Indians living on the western bank. The Chinooks, during the annual salmon run, caught copious amounts of salmon, which they cleaned, split and dried. Large amounts of salmon offal provided a fragrance on the west wind; blowing over the river to the white communities. That stench would make your eyes water. When the west wind blew during salmon season it was called a "Chinook Wind" or "tear jerker!"
Down in California they are referred to as Santa Anna winds. The same type of wind coming from the Mediterranean to Switzerland has been successfully used as a defense in a murder trial. A lady was found not guilty of murdering her husband due to violent mood changes caused by these awesome changes in the climate. Ladies, here is a cheaper way than getting a divorce, if you can find a good Swiss lawyer in Calgary.
The Chinook is in fact an ocean wind loaded with moisture. As it hits the Coast Mountain Range it is forced up and must discharge moisture to pass to the east. Releasing moisture causes the wind to rise and generates warmth. The Chinook next encounters the Rocky Mountains and again drops moisture as snow or rain, building more heat. Passing over the mountains, it streaks down the eastern slopes and onto the prairies, where the temperature can rise from -40 C or F up to+50-60 C or F (all Temps are +/-) in as little as one hour. A Chinook may last several hours or several days and, occasionally, a week or more. A band of high cloud with blue sky underneath where the wind is blowing is called a Chinook Arch. A Chinook can make the snow disappear as quickly as codfish and beer at a Newfoundland birthday party.
Sometimes the Chinook does not come down to the ground, in which case it can be -30 at ground level (far too chilly for skinny dipping in the river) and + 60 C or F several hundred meters up where the Chinook is passing over head. This experience is not a happy time.
The Chinook also happens during the summer and can bring on breathtakingly violent thunderstorms. At one time or another in my life, I have seen it snow in every month of the year in Calgary. Moist ocean winds and our mountains are, for sure, a witch's cauldron for brewing vast changes in temperatures and every kind of weather system the Weather G-d can throw at us. But out here in the Chinook belt the air is crisp and clean and our skies are brilliant both day and night. The very best part of these weather systems is that you don't have to be too bright a conversationalist. The weather may be plain to see, but we never stop talking about it. I have known prairie Westerners who have never discussed any other subject in their lives but weather. They're called farmers. The way prairie Westerners talk about the weather is sort of like the way Easterners talk about their hockey teams or the Toronto Blue Jays...I'll take a Chinook every time! Be it Snow Eater or Salmon gut perfume, I don't have to shovel snow (like the Easterners) or be as wet as a muskrat (like the West Coasters) eight months of the year.
Chinook women rocking baby with her foot suspended in cradleboard, Oregon, in engraving made 1841
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There is an expression "The hand that rocks the cradle rocks the world.
Ergo: In Chinook that expression is "The toe that rocks the cradle must not let the thong slip off or there will be one wee Papoose astronaut in orbit."
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For those Easterners or Coasters who want to know more, so you too can talk about the weather instead of sports; here are some interesting facts and explanations to make you the office Chinook expert.
Chinook Winds (U of C)http://www.ucalgary.ca/~doerksen/chinook.html
http://schools.gorge.net/hrcsd/westside/4mchinookkesia.htm
Indian Legend http://hpccsun.unl.edu/nebraska/stuproj/ametf99/wenzl/chinook.html
www.chinookindian.com
© Jack C. Downey CD
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