Shovelling our way out of winter
The trusty hand tool’s range of shapes and sizes likely evolved from an ancient elk horn prototype
On the day a giant snowstorm crushed Toronto last month, young Carter Trozzolo grabbed a shovel and cleared a path to global fame.
The nine-year-old’s sighs of exhaustion from shovelling neighbours’ sidewalks — caught by a CTV News camera crew — made him an instant social media star.
“There was a lot of snow. Let’s just say that,” he managed between deep, fatigue-laden breaths that resonated around the world and prompted an avalanche of admiration for his Herculean efforts.
Left out in the cold, however, was the young hero’s silent sidekick, his snow shovel, without which he’d have been up a frozen creek.
Even prehistoric winter warriors had a trusty tool for snow days. The earliest known snow shovel, estimated to be 6,000 years old and made from a carved elk antler tied to a wood or bone handle, was found in the Shigir bog in Russia. It’s part of a collection in the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography.
Fast-forward to the late 1800s when more than 100 patents were granted for snow shovels that used serrated or sharp metal tips to cut and scrape snow before lifting it.
In 1889, an inventor named Lydia Fairweather was given a patent for
the first scrape-and-scoop model, according to MPR News. A lighter, plastic shovel was invented in 1939 by American Robert A. Smith.
But a design duo closer to home can claim credit for “Canada’s sexiest snow shovel,” as declared by Canadian Living magazine in 2014. The minimalist “Firn,” crafted from a locally sourced white ash handle screwed to a painted metal panel, “truly celebrates the winter season,” designers Dominik Gmeiner and Patrick Kroetsch enthused in a video about their brainchild. (The Firn appears to have vanished since then.)
Young Carter just had battling snowbanks on the brain when he grabbed “whatever was available” after the Jan. 17 storm, he told the Star.
The third-grader described his technique: “I scoop it from under and then lift it … I’m pulling back and pushing it forward and it’s kinda like throwing.”
The young resident of downtown Toronto says he received a surprise reward for “doing a good job” when his local Home Hardware store delivered a GT Snow Racer. Carter also received a load of shovels and salt, which he thoughtfully gave to neighbours. The 20 donated tools were from Home Hardware’s new Benchmark line of “good, strong, durable” shovels, according to the company’s merchandise manager Mike McClennan.
These days there’s a “wide variety” of implements for digging out, he says, listing traditional shovels, roof rakers, big scoops and pushers in materials of poly (plastic) or metal and widths of 14 to 30 inches or more, ranging from $17 to $47.
McClennan cites two main factors to consider in choosing a shovel: the size of the job and the type of surface.
For example, a balcony can be cleared with a simple 14-incher but an asphalt driveway calls for a bigger push style. The versatile 21-inch pusher is the most popular, he says.
The 18-inch Shark shovel is a handy two-in-one model with a tooth and straight blade for scraping ice and pushing snow, McClennan says. He’s also observed a trend toward ergonomic shovels whose bent handles put less strain on the back.
Some DIYers, however, have discovered that a piece of rope can be a body’s best friend. Tied to the shovel shaft and held in one hand, it helps eliminate bending and provides more leverage. The method is demonstrated in YouTube videos by a number of MacGyver types, including L. Kanavaros, Dave Imm, and physical therapists “Bob & Brad,” who use a stretchy strap in place of rope.
But there’s another tactic to try: “Wait until your neighbour starts his snowblower” and trick him into clearing it, suggests the narrator in a sketch on CBC’s “22 Minutes” in 2020.