By Corey Sandler
We spent most of the month of February in the heat: Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and a roundtrip through the Panama Canal.
It’s nice to dispense with parkas, mittens, thermals, and insulated hats. But, given a choice, I’ll always choose cool or cold weather. Even better: snow, lots of it.
The calendar declares that spring has arrived in New England, which can at times be the subject of debate. We still have some bitterly cold mornings and there’s still snow in the hills.
Eons ago, when I lived in upstate New York, we spoke of two seasons: winter, and tough sledding.
In any case, in May we will extend the season a bit with a journey to Atlantic Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard near the geographic North Pole, and Norway.
Until then, I’m going to chill with memories of the snows of yesteryear.
Buried
The mountainside above the handsome city of Narvik in Norway’s west coast is usually blanketed with snow in the winter. There’s also a handsome ski mountain right in town, which has been tempting me for many, many years; across my many visits to Narvik over the years I have not been able to carve out the time to ride the gondola to the top and zoom down toward the ship below. Someday…someday.

Snow on the Pyramid
We arrived in Djupivogur, Iceland in September, and the first snow of the season had preceded us the night before, coating the famous “pyramid” mountain above the port.

Season’s first snow on the Pyramid in Djupivogur, Iceland. Photo by Corey Sandler, all rights reserved.
Fuji Rising
As our ship sailed into the harbor of Shimizu, Japan we were enveloped in a heavy fog with gray clouds above.
Suddenly, though, the fog lifted and there was Mount Fuji, the icon for Japan, capped by a handsome snow cap.

Point of Personal Privilege
Every year I talk myself into pressing my luck once more, heading into the mountains for a day of skiing. I used to be a bit of a hot shot; these days, I’m competing for the title of Oldest Skier on the Slope. The goal is to ski all day, enjoy the experience, and walk away under my own power.
This year, success came in January on a picture-perfect cloudless day, after an eight-inch snowfall in New Hampshire.
Yes, it was -3 degrees Fahrenheit, but I was the first person–of any age–up the chairlift and I loved every moment of my day. Sometime, maybe in June, my knees will forgive me.

In Public, in Boston
The great city of Boston has a green core: the Boston Common and the Public Garden. In a good winter for chionophiles like me, the park and gardens lie beneath a white carpet of snow.
In Greek, chiono means snow, phile means lover. Kalimera!

Through a Glass, Icily
Our upcoming set of cruises begins in Montreal, heading east on the Saint Lawrence River to Quebec City, Saguenay, and Gaspé in Canada’s province of Quebec. Then on to Halifax in Nova Scotia, and across the aqueous border to Boston and New York.
Later in the month we will continue across the pond to Greenland and Iceland and then all the way north to Longyearbyen in Svalbard near the North Pole. We’ll return from Bergen in mid-June and hope to catch some hometown summer.
In any case, we love Montreal, usually spending a few weeks there each winter. When it snows.
Here’a a view from our flat.

Reflections of a Snow Globe
We journey often to the city of Tromsø at the top of Norway for Northern Lights tours in winter. I’ve got dozens of astounding photos of the skies, but here’s a view of the city, reflected in a glass wall.

See you right here next month.
All text and photos are by Corey Sandler, all rights reserved. Copyright 2025. If you want to obtain a copy of one of my photographs for personal or commercial use, please contact me using the link on this page.
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