Newfoundland Notes
P. Lockwood
The island is equal in size to England and Wales. Population approximately 500,000. St. John’s and the Avalon Peninsula is equal in size to Wales and is very similar to Telemark (Norway) or Sutherland. The majority of the population lives in the Avalon Peninsula. There are general tourist facilities here.
Access to the wilderness is difficult. One needs trails to go through the woods which are otherwise impenetrable generally. There is also a lot of bush which is mainly alder, cherry, rowan, birch etc. approximately eight feet high and completely impenetrable. In fact visibility can be lost 100 yards from the road. There are also barrens which are walkable but there are lots of bogs. Vegetation consists of blueberries, azaleas etc. approximately two feet high.
Around St. John’s there is good coastal walking trails, which are very pleasant and can be followed for many miles. As the cliffs are 4-500 ft, there is quite a bit of ascent and descent in summer. In winter we have cross country ski trails, which provide skiing very similar to Norway. We also have a cross country and alpine ski clubs in St. John’s. About 110 miles away at Clarenville we now have a downhill ski resort though the vertical height is only about 600 to 700 feet. It has become quite popular with St. John’s “Townies”.
In spite of the cliffs there is little climbing. ‘Old timers’ like myself and a few other immigrants felt that we could be a menace to the local society in case of accidents. In recent years, however, a few university students seemed to be getting interested. There is lots of rock!
The west coast is a different story. The hills are approximately 2500 feet and quite spectacular. There are many fjords with 2000 foot cliffs and these have recently attracted the attention of university students at the Corner Brook College. Quite a bit of ice climbing is now being done on near vertical cliffs. This the skiing centre, ‘Best Skiing East of the Rockies’! Marble mountain near Corner Brook is now the official site of The ’99 Canadian Winter Games and development is now taking apace. There is also unlimited Nordic skiing and heli-skiing on the Lewis Hills.
Geologically, this area is now a national world attraction being very old, approximately three billion years, and is much studied. It corresponds to the hills west of the Great Glen in Scotland and the Norwegian series. Access on the island is by roads and these are excellent. However, when we arrived in 1958 access was only by coastal boat.
Labrador is part of the province, but here access is very limited indeed. The Torngat mountains in the North are fascinating-gabbro but require a major expedition to get to them unfortunately! Access to Labrador is by air only to the interior or coastal boat to the coast.
Finally, although the province is now broke with the collapse of the fishery, the people are the most friendly and helpful, one could wish to find.
Newfoundland is worth a visit!