New York: Snowmaggedon

You may not have noticed, but I haven't been around for a week - I've been to New York. With great skill and cunning - and no little bribery of the Gods of Winter - I managed to be there for the great Snowmaggedon of 2010. I don't know where the term 'Snowmaggedon' came from, but it was used endlessly on the NY1 news station in New York, so I've adopted it as the official descriptor for this holiday.

The build-up to Snowmaggedon started on 9 February, with announcements that schools would close for the first time in forever and the world would end the following day. Naturally, my frolicsomeness increased with every mention of 'snow'. Then, later that night, a light dusting of snow began drifting down but didn't lie. The next morning I got up and peered out of the window to see... wet pavements and not the banks of snow I'd been led to believe would welcome me. It was still snowing but not lying.

After breakfast we decided to walk up to Lincoln Centre to get tickets for 'South Pacific' so started to wander up Sixth Avenue. And then the magic happened - the snow started to lie. It came down in jagged layers of hail and coated the ground, the hail biting into my face as we walked into it. Once it started to lie, the snow suddenly started to pile up and within a couple of blocks we were trudging through it, fresh and clean on the city streets, very few people were about and even the traffic largely vanished. Those sensible New Yorkers were all indoors leaving the city as my snowy playground.

After getting to Lincoln Centre covered in a thin layer of snow we decided a cab was in order to get further uptown for lunch so we endured being called 'limeys' by the old man cab-driver (he clearly knew no better - his ancestors might've needed limes, mine had a proper diet) for the sake of getting to Niko's Greek restaurant on time and without being soaked to the freezing skin. I sat watching the snow drift down and get deeper throughout lunch, my eyes full of snow and a yearning for Central Park.

After lunch we crunched through the snow to the park and entered a winter wonderland where everyone was happy with big smiles all over their faces and, it seemed, everyone had a camera. Snowmen were built, birds stood on the frozen ponds, trees weighed down with the snow on their branches and still it snowed, drifting down one moment, driving the next. Naturally, a few snowballs were exchanged. My beard got wetter and wetter (a very strange phenomenon) with the snow gravitating to it and my open mouth, tasting New York snow on my tongue.

With a photo opportunity round every corner I admit to taking loads of photos without knowing how they might look with snow drifting onto the lens but, hey ho, it's Snowmaggedon after all.

We wandered round in a circle trying to find the ice rink for suitable snowy photos but when we eventually found it there was no-one skating and it was closed. I have fond memories of being in New York at this time seven years ago and taking (what I think were) great photos with my pre-digital camera and wanted to repeat the experience with digital clarity. The gloaming was approaching through the snow and the park lights were coming on, so that was a signal to head out of the park and head down Sixth Avenue for the hotel. And guess what? It was *still* snowing.

I was very impressed with the New York Sanitation Department which has the job of managing snowfalls. The street sweepers were out all day and into the evening with mini one-man snow-ploughs, ice shovels and gritting machines to try to keep the pavements clear for pedestrians. The roads were kept clear by the traffic and by the big garbage trucks with their snow-ploughs fitted to the front of the trucks. It was all very professional and must've been a very long day for most of the cleaners, and I was most impressed. With the London snow in January the focus was on the roads, not the paths, so it was nice to see New York prioritising pedestrians.

After a theatre trip (to see 'Fela', about Fela Kuti and his hot, Nigerian, music) we trudged back to the hotel, alternately over snow drifts and, in other places, oceans of wet slush. And yes, it was still snowing, but only lightly. Walking through drifts in the park in the afternoon and then rivers of slush in the evening finally sounded the death knell of my big winter boots bought in wintry Toronto five years ago as they got soaked and so did my feet. A JD & coke helped my recovery.

The next morning I fully expected the snow to have vanished but it was still there in the form of large drifts along curbs and slabs of ice, and loads of cars and vans didn't bother to clear their roofs as they drove around the city. The snow was still there on Saturday night when we left. Being met by British grey skies and drizzle on Sunday was rather a let down.

Still, I survived Snowmaggedon!


And a few photos from Battery Park the day after Snowmaggedon: