Damn it. I would have used the stronger F word, but didn’t feel quite that strongly about it. We awoke in our Seattle home to heavy rain and wind.
We had been planning to leave today on a mid-winter drive from Seattle to Alberta, Canada and back for Christmas as we had done many times over the last 30 years. Although the storm was going to make the drive harder, it was going to make the drive more youthfully adventuresome.
First, a few things you need to know about weather in the U.S. northwest and western Canada.
Weather
It’s well-known that Seattle has many cloudy, grey days and that on many of those days it rains. But it’s usually only a piddle; some light rain periodically throughout the day … only sporadic and gentle, not a downpour. More annual rainfall occurs most every place east of, and including, Houston, Tulsa, and Kansas City, throughout most of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio and most areas east and south of there, including the entire east coast … even at Mar-a-Lago.
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| Click on any image in the blog to enlarge it |
The map is from an article "
Seattle Is Far From America's Rainiest City" by John Metcalf in
CityLab comparing Seattle's weather with the rest of the US,
(located here).
In the northwest weather tends not to change much from south to north. The weather between Eugene, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and Vancouver, British Columbia is remarkably similar. But it changes dramatically from west to east, and from low elevations to high mountain passes.
West of the Cascades it’s usually mild; the countryside is dense with fir trees or green farmland, cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than east of the Cascade Mountains. East of the Cascades the countryside is much drier with vast dry expanses, much warmer in the summer and much colder in the winter. The reason: a number of mountain ranges separate the mild west coast from the dryer and harsher interior. One of Seattle’s best weathermen describes the mountains’ impact on weather,
described here.
In the northwest storms tend to move from southwest to northeast. The drenching windy downpour suggested that we’d have a stormy trip on our northeastward journey.
Our Route
There
are essentially 3 routes to drive from Seattle to Calgary, Alberta, and a few
alternatives.
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| From Google Maps (c) - Click on any image in the blog to enlarge it |
Option 1 – Via Trans Canada Highway:
The most well-known route is the Trans Canada Highway through British Columbia, taking Highway 5 through the Coquihalla Pass to Kamloops, thence Highway 1 to Revelstoke and Roger’s Pass in Canada’s Glacier National Park (not to the confused with the US Glacier National Park in Montana), thence through the Rockies to Banff and Calgary. In general, according to Google Maps, it’s about an 11.5 hour drive (wheels-turning, not including stops) – 1,082 km = 672 miles.
Option 2 – Via Cranbrook:
Our preferred route, and the one we planned to take this trip: I-90 eastward from Seattle through Snoqualmie Pass, through Spokane to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, thence US 95 to Cranbrook, BC then via BC’s and Alberta’s Highway 3 through the Crowsnest Pass, thence up either Highway 2 or 22 to Calgary. According to Google Maps, it’s about a 12 hour drive (wheels-turning, not including stops) – 1,142 km = 709 miles.
We prefer this route under most circumstances. For the most part he road is as good or better than the Trans Canada. Long stretches are on the I-90 freeway through the flats of eastern Washington. Both routes have long stretches of two lane highway that passes through many small towns, but it’s less heavily trafficked than the Trans Canada, and has far less trucks and congestion to contend with. Especially in winter, it is far less susceptible to major snow storms or avalanche events than is the Trans Canada in the Coquihalla Pass or Rogers Pass east of Revelstoke.
Option 2A - Kootenay National Park:
Sometimes Highway 3 through the Crowsnest Pass at the BC/Alberta border can be frightfully (dangerously) windy. At such times, or just for the mountainous scenery, it’s better to take Highway 93 from Cranbrook through Kootenay National Park and Banff to Calgary, even though that route is through a higher mountain pass. That isn’t much different from any of the other options: about a 12.4 hour drive, 1,146 km = 712 miles
Option 3 - Montana:
This is a great route for a more leisurely drive or vacation. A few times, for a change of scenery we’ve taken this route : I-90 from Seattle to St. Regis, Montana thence MT 135, MT 28, & US 93 to Kalispell, Montana, thence through the US’s Glacier National Park to Browning, MT, thence north to Calgary and Banff. It’s only a couple of hours longer, about 13.4 hours per Google Maps, 1,392 km = 865 miles.
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| From Google Maps (c) |
During a
leisurely vacation the highlights of the Option 3 - Montana route could
include:
Kalispell and Whitefish, Montana
–year-around active resort and tourist towns thriving on their surrounding
scenery and recreational activities.
http://www.explorewhitefish.com/
Glacier National Park, Montana –
http://www.visitmt.com/glacier.html
famous for its scenery, its Going To The Sun highway (closed in winter), and
its hiking and cross-country skiing. In the past we’ve stayed to cross-country
ski at the Izaak Walton Inn at the US 2 summit – a former railway bunkhouse for
rail crews, since transformed into a not-too-rustic lodge
http://www.izaakwaltoninn.com/
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage
Site, Alberta, an historical site with a small but excellent interpretive
center on the Native American Indians and their relationship with buffalo
http://history.alberta.ca/headsmashedin/
Highways 22 & 40 – Backdoor to Banff
In the summer a slow but scenic way to
get from the Glacier-Waterton Parks Area to Banff is via Alberta Highway 22 (through
rolling hills at the foot of the Rockies, Cowboy Country with large cattle ranches to Longview ... See Trip Advisor review
here ), thence highway 541 (closed in winter) which leads into the
Rockies, eventually becoming highway 40 through the Kananaskis Country
https://kananaskis.com/ … a backdoor way to
Banff. You should take more than a summer day to
enjoy it.
Pictures of Alberta Highway 22 - The Cowboy Trail
Our Trip
As always, prior to a winter driving trip, we prepped the car. Checked that the antifreeze was good for minus 40F. (In Alberta it rarely gets that cold, but temperatures in the minus 20-30F range aren’t uncommon( and indeed, a low of minus 27F (minus 35C) occurred in Red Deer, Alberta on Christmas Day while we were there).
Although I had about 4mm of tread left on my old mud and snow tires, that’s getting pretty minimal for use in snow and on ice, so I got a new set of Mud & Snow (M&S) tires. If one lives in Alberta or eastern Washington or eastern BC, it’s normal to get a set of winter tires and change them out in the summer. However, IMHO full-on winter tires don’t work well in the rain of western Washington, the soft cold-weather rubber in them wears poorly in Seattle's warmth, and they are a needless extra expense.
Although my car is all-wheel drive I threw in my chains. In any case, it’s important to check what various jurisdictions require. Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta and Idaho all have different requirements on whether or not and when full-on winter tires or mud and snow tires or chains are required. British Columbia's requirements for full-on winter or Mud & Snow tires
are here and yes, sometimes they do check and will ticket if your tires don't comply. At least my mud and snow tires and the chains that I carry (but which I’ve never had to use on my all-wheel-drive car) meet the requirements in all 5 jurisdictions. (Before I had all-wheel drive I froze my fingers often enough putting on chains.)
When we woke up to the rain we fired up the computer for the weather report and the Snoqualmie Pass road report; I-90 over the pass was closed because of the number of spinouts and truck crashes, but was expected to open in an hour or so. We decided to chance it; we finished packing the car and were off.
By the time we got to North Bend, 30 miles from Seattle, the last town before I-90 begins its long climb to the pass, I-90 had been opened but was again closed due to collisions and spin outs. We stopped for lunch … by the time we were done the pass reopened, so off we went again.
I-90 is one of the easier ways across the Cascades – a 3-lane freeway each direction through Snoqualmie Pass. Because its one of the easier routes it’s crowded with trucks and with many drivers and cars not experienced nor equipped to drive in snow. (When given the choice I prefer driving over more severe mountain passes where the drivers are more likely to be prepared and experienced.)
One of the problems at Snoqualmie is that on the west side it usually starts as rain and very gradually turns to snow at higher elevations, and often one is met by the worst of all possible conditions: a mix of freezing rain and snow, with ice imperceptibly on the roadway.
People tend to underestimate the difficulty of driving in those mixed rain/ice/snow conditions. It's much more dicey than driving through many inches of fresh snow.
In the mid 70’s I was driving my old chevy van full of guys on a cross-country ski trip from Vancouver BC. The freeway there is straight for miles until near Abbotsford there is a long sweeping curve. It was just before daybreak; the temperature was hovering around freezing. The freeway didn’t seem or look slippery, so like everyone else I was going at or slightly above the speed limit. I had noticed that there was a bit of freshly laid sand on the road … a good warning. Just before the big curve there was an exit – which the sand truck had obviously taken. I took the clue and gradually slowed (didn’t use brakes). As we approached the curve we could see the taillights in front of us spinning in “playful” loops. When we got to the curve there were dozens (probably an exaggeration) of cars having spun out into the adjacent field. Since we had all just finished a mountaineering first aid course we stopped (*very carefully* parking outside of what seemed to be the common spinning trajectory). While we were out checking on people (all were OK, but some shaken) we kept an eye on the headlights coming down the freeway. You could see a few cars slowly slowing in advance … you knew you didn’t have to worry about them spinning into you. But most didn’t slow down … and we’d quickly dart for cover.
Although the
I-90 freeway didn’t seem slippery, the readerboards were lighted saying “Chains
required on all vehicles except AWD”.
Although the road looked deceptively safe, because of the amount of
traffic everyone was going slow.
We
passed lots of trucks and non-AWD cars with just normal summer tires trying to
make it without chains – and they could make it – unless they stopped or unless
they skidded or unless they had to brake.
A fair number of those were crashed, or stuck having
slid in the snow, or stopped unable to move without traction.
But we finally made it over the summit. On the east side of the pass it was colder but
the roads were alternately dry or had just a bit of dry snow … easy driving.
In the wide
valley east of Snoqualmie Pass, near Ellensburg, and again in the flat farming
country east of the Columbia River one passes large metal and or plastic sheds
storing bales of hay. Because of the
combination of climate and soil type, this area produces a tremendous amount of
unusually nutritious alfalfa that is exported world-wide. Some of the facilities have signs in Arabic;
their hay is flown to Saudi Arabia and other mid-east countries to feed,
amongst other animals, race horses. It
is one of the many examples of US agriculture relying on exporting into a
thriving world trade system.
One of my
favorite parts of the drive is near Vantage where I-90 crosses the Columbia
River.
To the
river’s west a long twisting canyon with a steep grade leads down to the river.
Near its western top are miles of windmills
and amidst them, a roadside rest area.
One summer we had stopped there.
We noticed an information sign about the Wild Horse Wind and Solar
Facility & Renewable Energy Center nearby.
https://pse.com/inyourcommunity/ToursandRecreation/WildHorse/Pages/default.aspx
(Not open in winter).
Including the drive to it and wandering
around and taking one of their tours it had taken 3 or 4 hours, but was well
worth it.
It was amazing getting up
close and personal with the windmills. To quote from its webpage: “
Set high on a ridge, the Renewable Energy
Center provides an up-close look at the facility’s 149 wind turbines, as well
as 360 degree views of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Hood, and the Columbia
River Basin.”
Those windmill blades are a lot bigger than they look when installed on the windmills
About 2
miles east of the river is the Wanapum Viewpoint and Columbia River Scenic Overlook
(for westbound traffic)
https://inspiredimperfection.com/adventures/wanapum-viewpoint/
and the separate Wild Horse Monument Scenic Viewpoint for eastbound traffic.
They’re closed in winter, but we often stop in other seasons for a quick view
and to stretch our legs.
It’s
well-worthwhile to get out of the car and walk along its short trails to the
edge of the eastern beginnings of the Columbia River gorge.
Photos from an earlier summer trip.
Most of our
drive today and the first half of tomorrow’s drive would be through the
remnants of some of the largest and most violent floods in the modern earth’s geologic
history: the Missoula Floods (plural).
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The Columbia River Gorge and almost all
of Washington east of it had been transformed and shaped by a series of massive
floods with amounts of water 60 times the flow of the Amazon River racing up to
50 miles per hour. It left massive rock coulees and strange landforms throughout the region - an example is at Sun Lakes - Dry Falls State Park
(Its website is here) where there are dry cliffs from a waterfall five times the size of Niagara Falls.
The map above is from, and a good explanation can be found at, the website
"Glacial Lake Missoula and the Ice Age Floods" by the Montana Natural History Center, which
you can find here.
But enough
geologic history. It was getting dusk when
we entered the flat farmland east of the Columbia. Between George and Moses Lake, during the
Christmas season for 20 miles or so the farmers move their summer sprinkler
systems to near the highway to support the lighted displays of “Country
Christmas".
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| Yes,
the reflections and glare from the road are from ice |
From the
Columbia River eastward for a hundred miles, through the area of the massive
Missoula floods, is a vast flat
agricultural area that grows a tremendous amount of alfalfa, dry grains like
wheat, and potatoes. It’s always been a
puzzle to me. The area is one of the politically redder, minimal-government
areas in Washington, with its votes split between either the tea party or the
traditional mainline GOP. But it’s a
traditional high-country desert with a sandy soil, sparse native grasslands,
and sage brush. The only reasons farms
can exist in the area is the federal-government-created Grand Coulee Dam and
its Columbia Basin Irrigation Project bringing water to this parched land. And part of the reason the farms economically
thrive is from the federal government’s farm subsidy programs.
Because of
the dams on the Columbia River, the area is rich in electricity supplied by
government projects. That has allowed
the major towns of the Columbia Basin region like Moses Lake to thrive with
Google’s, Apple’s, Microsoft’s, and Amazon’s huge cloud server farms, and other
high-tek industries like Germany’s BMW’s carbon-fiber plants in Moses Lake and
Moses Lake Industries’ high-tek materials innovation and production plants. I’m puzzled why the politics of the area is
so enamored with ways to limit the hand that has allowed it to thrive.
The heritage
of the area is farming-community-conservative.
Many of its settlers came from the Dakotas with heritage stretching back
to immigration in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s from the steppes of eastern Europe like Bessarabia in what is
now Ukraine and Romania and parts of Russia.
Near the center of the area, between Moses Lake and Ritzville, the
Mennonite Country Auction has been held for the last 41 years each October to
raise money for the Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) worldwide relief
efforts that “
include providing material
aid, such as wheat, beans, clothing and medical supplies to meet emergency
needs, and agricultural development and water conservation projects to improve
life in communities around the globe. [This]
sale has contributed over $1.5 million to
MCC over the past 38 years.” The
hand-made quilts auctioned here are phenomenal, each representing hundred of
hours of care-full work.
https://www.mennomennonite.org/650-2/
Normally we speed
through the area and make it all the way from Seattle to Cranbrook, BC in one
day, even in winter – normally a 7.5 hour drive. But because of the Snoqualmie Pass slowdowns
and the icy roads we made it only as far as Spokane that night. The next morning was sunny and icy cold. There was little snow in Spokane, but the
reports were that there had been lots of snow a bit north towards Cranbrook. So we relaxed in the morning and started
late, about 10, to give the roads a chance to thaw a bit and the road crews to
do their plowing and sanding.
North of
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho US 95 makes its way past the dense traffic of suburban
sprawl, and past the sprawling thrill-rides and roller-coasters (plural) of the
Silverwood Amusement Park, into farm land.
Driving north of Sandpoint (a tourist town on a major lake and next to the
Schweitzer Mountain ski resort) the farms become sparser and the intermittent
stands of trees gradually become forests.
In all of
eastern Washington pickups seem to outnumber cars. Continuing north on US 95 the pickups seem to
get bigger, with bigger wheels and more muscular tires, many with snowplows mounted on the
front. This is self-sufficient
backwoods country (and unfortunately a haunted by a few neo-Nazis and white supremacists).
North of
Bonners Ferry the highway begins climbing into the mountains towards Canada. Idaho does a good job of keeping the highway
plowed … and they use lots of de-icing chemicals on the road.
There was only a 3 car wait at the remote Eastport / Kingsgate border crossing into Canada.
From the
border highway BC 95 continues north through mountains and then for many miles
(13 km’s in Canada) alongside Moyie Lake to today’s destination, Cranbrook.
In BC and
Alberta roads are maintained differently than in Idaho. Often, instead of trying to keep the roads
bare by using de-icing chemicals, and risking frozen black ice overnight, in
the BC mountains the roads are kept plowed but leaving a layer of snow with
sand used sparingly. I drive differently
here. When there’s wet snow, like over
Snoqualmie Pass, everyone keeps their wheels in the two bare strips created by
the traffic’s tires – less likely to lose control when the tires get grabbed by slippery
slush or wet sticky heavy snow. But on
dry “Compact Snow and Ice” (the description that appears often on road
reports), depending on conditions, I keep my wheels to the side of the most
worn tracks - tires tend to kick sand out of the tracks which then tend to be more slippery. Just to the side of those
tracks the sand tends to accumulate and the texture of the snow and ice tends
to be more comfortably “grippy”.
Cranbrook is
our usual overnight stopping point between Seattle and Alberta. Unfortunately, the drive coming and going
doesn’t leave much time for exploration, and so far, we’ve just done one-night-stands
there. But hopefully before too long
we’ll stay longer for more explorations around Cranbrook.
One thing that I’ve wanted to do is to visit
the Cranbrook History Museum
(Its website is here) which includes the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel which, according to its website, contains
:
“a
collection of 28 railway cars of which 17 are currently available for tours to
the public. Highlights of the collection include the 7 cars of the 1929
“Trans-Canada Limited” (a classic “Jazz Era Art Deco” design), 2 cars of the
1907 “Soo-Spokane Train” (a deluxe example of “Edwardian Art Nouveau
Elegance”), and the 1927 executive night car “Strathcona” which has housed many
VIP guests during its time in service, including Queen Elizabeth II and Sir
Winston Churchill.
The
current collection of rail travel cars, the largest in North America, is in a
process of continued restoration that will take decades to complete.”
Because of
our short drive today I’d hoped to have a chance to see it. But alas, because
of the heavy snow the previous night, its parking lot was unplowed and it
seemed closed.
We stayed in
one of our favorite motels anywhere … we’ve stayed here on every trip through the area since we
found it: The Lake Elizabeth Lodge.
http://elizabethlakelodge.com/ It’s unassuming … it probably would typically
be considered a 3 star motel, but its quality is definitely 5 star … its rooms
are well appointed and comfortable and is the cleanest place I’ve ever
stayed. It was built in stages planned
and overseen by a local family between 2006 and 2016 and is personally run by
them. It’s on the south fringe of
Cranbrook, immediately adjacent to, and with rooms overlooking, a wildlife refuge
lake.
We headed
into the center of town where we usually go for dinner, the Hideout Restaurant
and Brewhouse (it seems like it’s one of the go-to special restaurants in
Cranbrook – its brewhouse half is definitely filled with locals). It was dark and snowing heavily, but that
didn’t discourage the Christmas-time ice climber from climbing the town’s 4
story clock tower.
We were wondering if with the fresh snow we should stay in Cranbrook for additional day.
Timing is everything in winter, and its important to be flexible with your plans and to avoid the worst storms, taking advantage of lulls between them. … Before going to bed, and again when we got up, we did the most essential thing during a winter trip … we got on the computer and checked both the weather report and the road reports.
Both highway
3 to the east through Crowsnest Pass and highway 93 north through
Kootenay National Park were open and in “good winter driving conditions”. But.
The areas around Crowsnest Pass were being hit by 100 km winds (a not-infrequent
occurrence). An easy decision ... we’d
take the other way: highways 95 & 93 through the higher, more snowy
Kootenay National Park.
We purposely
left a little late for the road conditions to improve and drove through
Cranbrook it its northern edge where we stopped at the place we always have
breakfast, the ABC Country Restaurant.
Although TripAdvisor reviews for it are mediocre, we’ve always enjoyed
breakfast there.
17 km north
of Cranbrook we drove past Fort Steele Heritage Town (
http://www.fortsteele.ca/), another place
around Cranbrook that remains a place we should stop at some time. For 127 km north of there the highway follows
the broad Kootenay Valley, hemmed in by by rugged mountains, past the resort of
Fairmont Hot Springs, to Radium Hot Springs. (There are lots of hot springs in
the area, both in public natural settings and in well-tended resorts.) Radium Hot Springs lies just east of the town
along highway 93 -
http://www.hotsprings.ca/radium-hot-springs
– when not pressed for time it's great warming in the expansive outdoors
spring-fed pool while watching snowflakes falling through its steam.
As usual, just
south the town of Radium Hot Springs, we started looking for the big horn sheep
that inhabit the area.
(A youtube video is here) We didn’t see any until we got to the very
center of town, where a big buck sauntered across the road right at the intersection
of highways 95 and 93. He ignored the
traffic signal, but the drivers didn’t ignore him.
We filled up with gas - the next services were 135 km away. And we bought another bottle of window washing fluid ... in snow country other vehicles kick up a surprising amount of a mix of snow, sand, and mud ... the last thing you want is to be driving behind (or passing) an 18 wheeler with a windshield that you can't see out of.
Highway 93
through Kootenay National Park
(See link here) is frequently interesting, both for the scenic views and the wildlife. Unfortunately, on this trip it was snowing
and the clouds had the view socked-in.
One summer
just east of town we came across a portable readerboard warning “Grizzlies
ahead – do not stop”. Several kilometers
further, at a viewpoint, we came across an assortment of cars stopped, so of
course, we stopped too … all were watching a female grizzly with 2 cubs only a
couple of hundred feet away. It could
have been an extremely dangerous situation; no one was venturing beyond a foot or two from
their open car doors … risky if the bear attacked. If you’re
out hiking and a grizzly charges, you’re screwed; they can run 30 to 35 miles
an hour.
(Watch youtube video here)
Last winter
we were driving along highway 93 westbound on the inevitable “compact snow and
ice” in a line of 4wd pickups and SUV’s.
Most probably had full-on winter tires with better traction than my semi-old mud & snow tires. They were driving a bit faster than I was
comfortable with, but I was keeping up with them. I’m not sure why. A moment of inattention? A mixture of my foot increasing or decreasing throttle
combined with a moment of the tires slipping on ice?
Our rear end started trying to get ahead of our front end and our momentum was towards a snow bank. I was
surprised that my wife just very calmly said “oh no.” Somehow, when we were
about 45 degrees to the road, I was able to steer (actually, oversteer) the
front end the opposite direction, keeping ahead of the rear end. We fishtailed
the other direction. A few fishtails in opposite directions gradually decreased
until we were recovered straight again. 45 or so years ago when in my 20’s, I’d played with friends doing doughnuts and practicing skidding in a snowy parking lot.
Had that helped?
Eventually
we got through the pass and onto the Trans Canada freeway between Lake Louise and
Banff. It was barely snowing there,
but the road was still covered by wisps of dry blowing snow. Although there were 2 lanes going in
our direction, as usual in bad weather, the traffic was mostly flowing as one
lane with the outside portion of both lanes slippery and only partially clear.
The arched
bridges in this photo are animal bridges, built as a landscaped and planted way
to allow animals to cross the freeway within Banff National Park. It’s safer for both animals and drivers, and
helps animals maintain their essential migrations. Washington State Department of Transportation
is currently installing a similar crossing on I-90 in Snoqualmie Pass.
After leaving Banff the highway quickly leaves the Rockies and enters what Canadians call "The Prairies" - the vast area extending eastward from the Rockies and their foothills through Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
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| In the foothills looking west to the Rockies during last year's trip |
The radio was describing the phenomenal amount of crashes Calgary had experienced the previous day during a heavy snowstorm. But by the time we went through Calgary the main roads and freeways (many named "Trails" in Calgary) were well plowed and sanded and fortunately, traffic was lighter than usual.
East and north of Calgary it's grain, cattle, and oil producing country.
The prairies are sparsely populated, with groups of planted trees flagging the location of the scattered farm houses. Winds tend to blow the snow from the fields and roads until the wind hits an obstacle, where it deposits deeper drifts.
At one farm some of their straw rolls and straw bales had been fork-lifted into place to create a Christmas teddy bear. Since rolls tend to be 4 to 5 feet in diameter and can weigh 500 to 1,500 pounds depending on its contents, and the smaller of the rectangular bales can be 36 " x 14" x 18", I'd guess that the bear was about 12 feet high.
The Christmas week in Red Deer was cold, varying between 0 F (minus 17C) high to minus 27 F (minus 32C) low. But it was relatively dry, with only periodic snowfall.
We kept watching the weather report to time our drive back .... we left a day or two before the next storm was to hit.
Little wind was predicted, so we returned to Seattle via our favorite route: Alberta Highway 22 (the Cowboy Trail) and Highway 3 through the Crowsnest Pass.
To See Snow Country in Winter
A quintessential Canadian experience is to visit in wintertime (but be prepared for cold and snow). The way to get up close and personal with it is by driving ... BUT ... unless you are experienced and competent at driving in snow, and unless the vehicle is properly equipped for snow, for the safety of yourself and others who you may skid into, DON'T DO IT. Other ways of seeing Snow Country exist.
For the intrepid who are willing to put up with the discomfort of a long bus journey, there are Greyhound busses (infrequent and subject to disruption during winter).
A much more comfortable trip is by train, although part of the trip will be overnight. Via Rail Canada operates
The Canadian between Vancouver, Jasper, Edmonton, and Toronto, but only twice a week during winter.
(2018 schedule here) Amtrak operates
The Empire Builder between Seattle, Montana, and Chicago daily
(Its 2018 schedule here). Unfortunately the luxury train-cruise,
The Rocky Mountaineer, from Vancouver to Banff and Calgary doesn't operate in winter.
One of the best ways is to fly to any of the many ski resorts - most have an airport nearby and various shuttles to the resort. Some of the larger resorts have more than enough activities and things to do to keep even non-skiers interested and busy for days. (Notably: fly into Vancouver and take frequent bus shuttles to Whistler, or into Calgary and take frequent bus shuttles to Banff and Lake Louise, or fly into Kalispell and take shuttles to Whitefish and Glacier National Park.)
One of the most quintessential Canadian winter experiences is to take the Sundog Shuttle along the Icefields Parkway near the crest of the Rockies between Jasper and Lake Louise/Banff.
(See their website here) As always in the mountains, you are at the mercy of the weather. It can be cloudy and/or snowing so that you can't see much of the scenery, and sometimes the road is closed by storms or avalanches. But if you luck out you'll get an experience you'd usually only get in places like Switzerland.
Update Feb. 5, 2018: Don't take driving in winter conditions lightly, and don't push or overestimate your and your tires' abilities. Within the last week or so there have been several deadly crashes on BC roads on "compact snow and ice": http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/hwy-3-closed-1.4518447 and http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/coquihalla-highway-reopens-northbound-after-tour-bus-crash-1.4519359
Update Feb. 14, 2018: Unusual things can occur in winter, such as rescuing a moose stuck upside down in snow. See the CBC story here
Update Feb. 25, 2018: More of the reasons to be respectful of winter driving: 2 dozen people were injured in a crash between 2 buses, 2 semi-trailer trucks, and two other passenger vehicles on the Coquihalla on the main route from Vancouver BC to Alberta: See news story here
