Well, that’s it for the 2014 Winter Olympics from Sochi, Russia.

But even though the closing ceremonies have come and gone, there is still plenty of spirit for sport in Canada.

In the wake of some dramatic gold medal wins, including those in all-important hockey, people all over the country are feeling like champions.

The men’s team took the gold for the third time in four Olympics. The women’s hockey team is four for four.

Bars and pubs opened early across the country to accommodate for the time change between here and Sochi — although they weren’t allowed to serve booze in B.C. until 9 a.m., five hours after the puck dropped. I guess the province’s liquor laws aren’t that relaxed yet.

The hashtag #wearewinter has really taken off, but you didn’t need to tune into any of the action in Sochi to know that.

Here in the Nicola Valley, we are caught in the midst of some weird late winter activity ourselves.

Last week, the Coquihalla Highway was hit with nearly three metres of snow. As a result, the popular travel route revolved between closing for avalanche control, opening only to have an avalanche, and closing again for avalanche cleanup.

On Thursday afternoon, I braved the wild and wacky weather on Highway 1 instead. It took a healthy five and a half hours to arrive in downtown Vancouver.

By Saturday afternoon, the Coquihalla had re-opened (it was the Trans-Canada’s turn to be closed because of an accident) but it was far from a lovely drive. Dense falling snow accumulated and compacted on the road, and high piles of snow made the drive feel like one through a tunnel carved out of snow rather than one on a wide divided highway.

It’s not just vehicles that have to contend with the wintery weather. The Centre for Avalanche Control put out a couple of warnings as well for backcountry enthusiasts.

On Thursday, a huge avalanche in Fernie was rated 4.5 on a scale of 5 for strength.

The cascading snow travelled further than previous avalanche boundaries in the area — meaning it was stronger and bigger than past avalanches in that area.

There is no shortage of avalanche survivor stories, but isn’t it unsettling that the pristine, unbroken field of snow we so eagerly want to drag our skis and snowshoes through can suddenly come loose and bury us?

What a great metaphor for how humanity interacts with nature.

Few things can so quickly make people understand their insignificance faster than natural disaster.

While I was watching the Nicola Valley Film Society’s presentation of Kon-Tiki last week, I couldn’t help thinking about the power of nature to overwhelm people with ease during the film’s long shots of a group of men sitting on a hand-crafted raft on the open expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

Whether you’re on sea or snow, make sure you take care out there. When you know the danger is high, don’t rock the boat — or shake the mountain.