Goat Creek & Spray River
Dec 30, 2008 |
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Rundle Mountain in the background |
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Snow falling from the trees made for an interesting photo of Kay.
If you were skiing under a tree when this happened, you could get a nice cool snowball down your neck. |
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Cougar tracks |
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Cougar track |
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Is that the cougar's tail dragging between footprints? |
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Bridge across the Spray River.
If you're coming the from the Banff end, this is the first bridge you will cross. |
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I've just dug an exposed rock out of the snow. It was in the middle of the trail on a fast downhill. |
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Cheryl descending one of the many downhills |
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We encountered this group of skiers coming the other direction. The last one of their group was just making his approach to the widowmaker bridge across Goat Creek. We were going to be crossing the bridge from this side and climbing the trail on the opposite side of the bridge. |
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We have now turned around and are heading back to Banff. We are approaching the long downhill that ends up at the widowmaker bridge. When you see this view, you'll be at approx the 6.5K mark(from the Canmore end). |
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Cheryl descending to the widowmaker bridge. Yes, that's a rock on the trail. I had already removed one, but this one is frozen solid. |
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Cheryl exhibits some good snowplowing technique as she makes her final approach to the bridge. The snow on the trail was still in excellent shape, so it was relatively easy and safe to make all necessary manoeuvres to descend the hill and cross the bridge without incident. |
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Success! |
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Spray River |
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Just crossed the Spray River bridge. This would be about 10K from Banff. |
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Goat Creek is one of our favourite trails. |
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Cascade Fire Road
Dec 28, 2008
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This is what happens when your camera lens is fogged up. That apparition emerging from the fog is Rachelle.
Cascade Fire Road was in excellent condition, having just been groomed and trackset earlier in the day. There was some fresh snow over the grooming because it had been snowing all day, however the tracks were well skied in and reasonably fast.
The long downhill run at the end had no rocks or debris and was slow enough that you could stay in the tracks the entire way. |
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Pocaterra - Whiskey Jack
Dec 27, 2008 |
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Looking north from the Pocaterra - Whiskey Jack junction. We've just climbed Whiskey Jack which was trackset, and we'll be heading back to Pocaterra Hut. It's about 10K from here, and it's a thrilling but gentle downhill most of the way.
Getting here, Wheeler was trackset but Lynx, Amos were just skier-tracked. Pocaterra is trackset all the way from the hut to the Whiskey Jack junction. |
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My reward for climbing Whiskey Jack |
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Tyrwhitt Loop
Dec 23, 2008
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Looking north down Pocaterra trail at the Whiskey Jack junction. That's Gap Mountain in the background. Compare this photo, taken in late afternoon to the photo on the header of my blog which was taken midday in bright sunlight. |
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It feels like my own private heaven up here today. Not one other person around.
Tyrwhitt is a magical place to ski. The ambience is like being in another world. I always count my blessings that I'm able to experience this. |
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Along Tyrwhitt. The sun was just hitting the tops of the mountains. |
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In the summer, there are grizzly bears in this area.
They're here in the winter, too, only they are fast asleep in their dens in the forest. |
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Just past the halfway point on Tyrwhitt. For the next five minutes it's an enjoyable, gradual downhill as it meanders through the forest. |
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The mountains being bathed in the last rays of sunlight are the Elk Range.
To complete the loop, I will go down Elk pass, through the trees on the very narrow Fox Creek and Boulton Creek trails, then back to the parking lot. Total distance today about 19k.
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Ribbon Creek/Kananaskis Village
Dec 18, 2008
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Starting out from Kananaskis Village on Terrace trail, there's a great view of Mt Kidd. After an easy .6k on Terrace, you reach Kovach trail and start climbing.
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The hardest part about skiing in -22C weather is getting started. After 5 minutes of steady climbing on Kovach, Chip is ready to remove the down-filled jacket. |
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My concession to the cold weather is mitts instead of gloves, and lots of spare clothing in the backpack. |
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We have climbed to the high point on Kovach known as the Lookout. Does it mean "Lookout below" when you go down that screaming fast downhill?
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Kovach trail |
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One of the bridges over Ribbon Creek |
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Near the corner of Aspen/Kovach junction |
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Nearing the Ribbon Creek trailhead |
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Terrace trail has been widened. I think it is for the horses and sleigh when the sleigh rides are in operation. |
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Deer on the trail |
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Kananaskis Country
Dec 17, 2008
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The Ribbon Creek/Kananaskis Village area has a brand new grooming machine. This was its first day in action. |
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Jeff had just trackset the Terrace trail between the village and Ribbon Creek and is now laying down a track around the Ribbon Creek parking lot.
He expects to have all the trails in this area maintained by the weekend. |
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The tread on this updated Pisten-Bully is supposed to work better in low-snow conditions. Jeff says it won't pull up as much dirt as the older style tracks. |
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Now in Peter Lougheed Prov Park. Climbing Whiskey Jack trail. Groomed but not yet trackset.
Skiing this trail is a great workout. 220M of elevation gain over 4.3K.
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Wow! Talk about lucky - encountering two Pisten-Bullys in one day.
Just as we arrive at the top of Whiskey Jack, we meet up with the PLPP groomer who is setting the tracks on Tyrwhitt for the first time this winter.
If you ever encounter the grooming machine coming towards you, try to get off the trail and stand clear. |
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The meadows on Tyrwhitt. You can see there are still a few twigs poking through the snow, and there were a few low-snow spots where he had to lift the tracksetter.
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This coyote was not on the trail, but I remember one time when skiing down Whiskey Jack with my friend Chip, there was a coyote ahead of us on the trail. He could run a lot faster than I could ski. Every now and then he'd stop and wait until I was about 20 meters away, then proceed to run down the trail. |
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It's wonderful having the Pocaterra Hut close by on these cold days.
No recent grooming had yet been done on Pocaterra trail. |
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Redearth Creek
Dec 16, 2008
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I was not alone!
Fresh animal tracks were on the trail, probably a Lynx or Cougar. There was about 3-4 cm of new snow last night. |
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Animal tracks showing foot drag |
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The tracks were about the size of the palm of my hand. My ski boot is in there so you can compare the size. |
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There were tracks on each side of the trail, perhaps momma cougar and her offspring. Notice the tail drag marks. That could not be a Lynx. |
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This scat wasn't even frozen when I poked it with my pole. It was -18C today. |
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Those are rabbit tracks on the right hand side |
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There were four places along the trail where the snow had been tramped down with lots of tracks and activity. |
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There were other interesting things to look at, too. |
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Beautiful scenery along Redearth Creek |
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The bridge over Lost Horse creek. It's approx 6.5K to here. |
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Ultra spectacular |
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Redearth Creek |
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This photo doesn't really do it justice, but there was a pretty sunset |
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Canmore Nordic Centre
Dec 13, 2008
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It's a rare day when you can use green wax at the nordic centre. The air temperature was -21 and the wind chill was -30. Peter and I had to dig deep to find the green in our wax bags, and it worked like a charm today. |
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Everything would have been snow-covered and windblown from yesterday's big blizzard, but we were pleased to find all the man-made snow trails had just been trackset this morning. Here you can see a couple skiers heading out onto the 4-lane highway(Banff Trail). There was no updated trail report today and this is just a guess, but it looks like about 5K of trails were trackset. |
I'm really glad my friend Peter braved the roads and cold weather and encouraged me to go skiing with him today. It was pretty nice once you got out of the stadium area. By the way, he said the highway from Calgary to Canmore was in good shape. |
This cold weather will help the snow guns do their job. |
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This skier had a good idea with the downhill goggles today. |
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We classic skied for about an hour, took a lunch break and headed back out to do some skating. Here you can see Peter skating up the Banff Trail along with a number of other hardy souls in the background.
The hardest part is getting started because the wind seems to be at its worst right around the daylodge. |
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Who is that masked man? |
Peter and Karen getting warmed up in the daylodge. |
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Elk Pass
Dec 11, 2008
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Elk Pass was trackset and in great shape. |
Fox Creek flows along Elk Pass but is now covered with big fluffy blankets of snow |
It was a winter wonderland |
Some lovely scenery at the junction with Blueberry Hill. Info Centre reports that Blueberry is also trackset except for the last 200M. |
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This lady had fallen and was having trouble getting back on her feet. I had every intention of helping her especially when she said I looked strong and handsome! Thanks for the compliment, Valerie.
It's usually me who is falling down |
The top of Elk Pass ski trail. |
The beginning of Tyrwhitt. No grooming yet, but there were some skier tracks |
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Hydroline had been groomed and single trackset, but the strong winds of earlier in the week had blown the tracks in and there were some pretty sizable snow drifts across the trail |
This leaves no doubt as to the origin of the name "Hydroline." |
The view from the top of the first big hill. The trail is actually on the lower right of the photo. |
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Soon after setting out on Elk Pass, you will encounter the "Steep Climb" sign. |
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Branching off Elk Pass is Fox Creek trail. Lots of snow with good skier-set track but some pine needle debris. |
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West Bragg Creek
Dec 10, 2008
Thanks to Andrew for these photos |
Sundog trail(east) |
Elbow trail |
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Crystal Line trail(east) |
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Iron springs trail |
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Cascade Fire Road
Dec 9, 2008 |
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The day of reckoning. If you don't recognize this, it's the Banff Park gates. My pass expired at the end of November. It's nice to be able to buy my new pass with no one in line ahead of me. Good thing it doesn't expire in July; I'd still be waiting. |
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I was pleased to hand over my $136.40 to this pleasant lady. Now I can take the Express lane for the next 12 months. Money well spent. |
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The Lake Minnewanka road is the one you want to get to the Cascade Fire Road. You take a detour during the winter months because this area is wolf habitat. The Cascade pack once inhabited these environs until an outfitter shot and killed the alpha female. I hear that some new wolves have returned to the area, and there is a new Cascade pack. I sponsored the wolves in the Cascade pack when the Central Rockies Wolf Project was still in existence, and volunteered for the organization and raised a lot of money for them. Wolves are wonderful creatures, they are a necessary part of the environment, and I am a fierce advocate for their protection. Don't get me started. There is no end to the things I could relate to you about wolves. |
Have you ever seen anything this beautiful? |
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When you see this, be prepared for a fast downhill run to the bridge. It's not scary fast, just a pleasant and enjoyable 400M down to the bridge with a long sweeping turn. I would compare it to the Pocaterra downhill - fast but not dangerous. .
The Pocaterra downhill(from Whiskey Jack to Lynx) in PLPP is the best sustained downhill run you'll ever experience as a cross country skier. I remember fondly the first time I experienced it. 6K of pure unbridled joy! |
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The bridge over the Cascade river. After coming down the hill, if you have a full head of steam, you'll hit the bridge and possibly do a faceplant.
Have you ever noticed how the snow on the bridges is colder(grippier) than on the regular trail?
Goat Creek is another one where you could experience this phenomenon, but add in a possible impaling on the bridge railing, or a dip in the freezing cold creek if you miss the bridge. Cascade Fire Road is easy. Goat Creek is exciting!
On Goat Creek, you come down a steep, fast, glazed, winding downhill and at the last second you have to make a quick right turn to make the bridge. The alternative is the cold waters of Goat Creek or a bridge railing in your stomach. Fond memories. |
The Cascade River |
Immediately after the bridge is the campground. I didn't see any tents today. There is a toilet here if you require it, and a lot of people stop here to eat their lunch before the return trip to the trailhead. You'll have skied about 6.5K to this point. |
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Normally you can ski another 8.5K to the Stoney Creek bridge. As you can see, beyond the campground, the snow had not been packed or trackset. Those are skier set tracks in about 12 cm of new snow. |
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I met 8 other skiers today. Kevin and Kirstie were thrilled with the trail and the great conditions. It was only their third time out on cross country skis. They must be very observant people because they told me I had great technique.
Kevin is from Missouri, now lives in Banff, and loves it here. |
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If you're wondering about the difference between tracksetting and packing, the machine on the left sets the track. Previous to setting track, they usually roll(pack) the trail with the device on the right(roller). The roller leaves the "corduroy" which skaters use in the middle of the track. If the snow isn't deep enough to set track, then the entire trail will be corduroy.
The roller reminds me of the things we used to pull behind the disker on the farm in Saskatchewan when we were seeding. Back then, I had no idea there was such a thing as trackset skiing. I had no idea there was skiing! |
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There's a good shot of the tracksetter from behind, and you can see the two devices which make the ski track impressions in the snow.
My hat's off to the crews who do the work here. The national park doesn't have the state-of-the-art equipment that we see in PLPP but they do the best with what they have. |
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Crossing the Minnewanka dam, it could have dissuaded anyone from skiing today. There was a howling wind with blowing snow. Half a kilometre up the Cascade Fire Road trail, the wind disappeared and it was the most beautiful day. Calm, peaceful, with gorgeous scenery. |
Also on the dam road were these Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep. |
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Archive photo of Bob on the Cascade Fire road after the Cascade River bridge.
Why was I so lucky to have ended up in this incredible place? |
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Canmore Nordic Centre
Dec 8, 2008 |
One nice thing about the Canmore Nordic centre is that you can ski in the dark. Another is that you can meet some interesting people. The Yeti sisters were trying out some skate skiing tonight. |
I hope everyone can see in the background that the snow/trails were in great condition. |
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The lady in the orange jacket was out skiing for the first time in 20 years, and was skate skiing for the first time in her life. She was able to ski up the hills faster than me.
Guess I better take some skating lessons. |
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Elk Pass & Blueberry Hill
Dec 6, 2008 |
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Two skiers nearing the top of the big hill, gasping for breath.
When you ski Elk Pass, you're climbing a steep hill right out of the gate.
The trail was groomed on Thursday but not yet trackset. There was good snow cover.
Air temperature was -3 with intermittent snow flurries. The wind was blowing which always makes it kind of unpleasant to get started, but once you start climbing it warms up pretty fast. After coming down the other side of the hill, no more wind.
On the return, this hill was very easy to come down because of the good snow. If it takes you fifteen minutes to climb, you'll get back down in about three. |
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This is your view when you reach the top of the big hill. That's the Lower Lake in the distance and Mt. Indefatigable.
Coming down the other side was easy. There was still lots of snow and it was not yet glazed. |
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Once you've put the big hill behind you, it's a nice gradual climb as you follow Fox creek.
In another month we'll expect to see huge pillows of snow along here. |
This is the junction with Blueberry Hill. These skiers were on their way to the Elk Lakes cabin. |
This means I'm in for another big climb, but it was terrific coming back down. |
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At the top of Elk Pass, this happy group of skiers from the Norseman Ski Club were having lunch. They knew all about my ski blog and were very appreciative of the information and photos.
The distance to this point is 6.1K and the elevation gain is 274M.
If you walk about 20 steps behind the picnic table, you'll be in British Columbia.
You can see the powerline in the background. That's the way to the Elk Lakes cabin. |
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At the top of Elk Pass is a junction with three other possible trails, and here I am standing at the beginning of Tyrwhitt. It has not yet been groomed, but you can see how deep the snow is.
Hydroline is groomed but I didn't take it today. |
I'm now at the top of Blueberry Hill. This trail branches off Elk Pass and is 3.2K with heavy-duty climbing. Snow was pretty good but there were lots of dips in the trail. It will take a couple more good snowfalls to smooth this trail out.
It was non-stop moguls on the way down. Don't go here unless you are at least a seasoned intermediate skier. |
Fox Creek trail which branches off Elk Pass. Not yet groomed, but there are skier tracks. |
Wouldn't you know it! There's the animal who gave Elk Pass its name. |
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Canmore Nordic Centre
Dec 2, 2008 |
Great conditions. 3 K of trails are open. The man-made snow is hard-packed with a skating lane and a classic track. |
Lots of snow is being made and stockpiled. This should bode well for more trails being opened soon. |
Canmore Nordic Centre |
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Skiers from Biathlon BC were out training today.
The sky became overcast and it started snowing. |
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Chester-Sawmill
Dec 1, 2008 |
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The trails were groomed but not trackset and had some twigs poking through the snow, but I didn't find them to be any problem.
This is on the Blue loop which is 4.1K. The Upper Yellow was also groomed for about 3.2K. There are lots of fast hills here, some with hairpin turns at the bottom. I would not recommend these trails for a beginner skier.
You can only get on the groomed portion of these trails by starting at the Chester Lake parking lot. The trails are not groomed at the Sawmill end.
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Now starting up the Yellow trail. This is the start of a hill which goes for .8K |
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You can see that I'm skiing in about 1-2 cm of fresh snow. Those large white splotches are snowflakes which show up larger than life when the flash is used.
At this point on the Yellow, I've gained about 150M of elevation. Accumulated elevation to the end of the grooming was about 300M. |
The meadow |
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When you reach the end of the grooming there were snowmobile tracks. I went a little further to where the winding hill down to the creek starts. It is a difficult hill when conditions are good so I wasn't about to do it today. I remember a few years ago when my friend Warren lost a ski coming down this hill. |
The Red trail, which is never groomed, had been used by snowshoers. |
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Make sure you know where you're going, because the trail markers won't help you. This is what happens when people insist on pointing with their ski pole tips.
You can pick up a trail map at any of the Info Centres or MEC. |
Now we're on the Chester Lake trail, going up. This trail gets used extensively by hikers and snowshoers. It was well-packed with about 2 cm of fresh snow. |
Chester Lake trail going down the other side of the loop. It took about 25 minutes to climb, and five minutes to come down. What a blast! It's about a 200M elevation gain. |
This is an archive photo which shows some of the scenery. |
An archive photo showing the meadow and the mountains. |
Another archive photo taken on the Blue trail. |
We sauntered down to Elk pass to this depressing sight. This is at the trailhead. It was raining there today, but I am hoping it turned to snow by tonight. |
Some new signs at the Elk Pass trailhead. |
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There's a shot of the Nakiska downhill ski trails. |
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"His first view of Lunacy is from the air as he is flown in on a small plane that he doubts will hold together long enough to land."
That's a line from the novel "Northern Lights"
Along the Smith-Dorrien trail, they were shooting scenes for a movie based on the novel by Nora Roberts.
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Moraine Lake Road
Nov 27, 2008 |
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Skiers are coming from all over to experience our good snow. This is Rich Graves from Whitefish, Montana. He said they have nothing to ski on at home.
This is the turnaround point on Moraine Lake Road. The trail is maintained only to this point. You can ski a further 2.5K and go all the way to the lake, but you cross an avalanche path, and the trail is not groomed. |
This future world-cupper was enjoying the day. She was getting in some good practice here by skiing uphill without using any poles. |
I veered off to see what condition the Fairview trail was in. It has been snowmobile packed but still too rough to trackset. |
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Emerald Lake Horse Trail and Loop
Nov 26, 2008 |
Surprisingly good snow for this early in the season. This is in the Emerald Lake Basin. If you've ever hiked the Emerald Triangle, you can look down upon this entire area and see a magnificent alluvial fan. |
Emerald Lake Basin. You can see the nice trackset trail. |
Emerald Lake in the background. There were a couple places on the trail where twigs were poking through the snow. |
Magnificent scenery |
Emerald Lake |
More magnificent scenery |
We've just skied to the end of the lake and are ready to head into the Basin. |
Here you can see the "alluvial fan" from up high on the Emerald Triangle in the summer. This is the Basin you are skiing in during the winter. |
The lake was not completely frozen |
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Kicking Horse River(Yoho National Park)
Archive photos |
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You start from the Natural Bridge parking lot which is on the road to Emerald Lake. The trail immediately goes down a gentle hill, then flattens out and is very easy the remainder of the way. It's one way, 13K return.
These photos were taken in 2004.
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Kicking Horse River trail
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Kicking Horse River trail |
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Kicking Horse River trail
The scenery is breathtaking |
More beautiful scenery along the Kicking Horse River trail |
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Watridge Lake Road/Mt. Shark
Nov 24, 2008 |
The snow was a bit thin in places but very skiable. The scenery here is outstanding. |
The trail was snowmobile packed a few days ago. There are skier-set tracks for most of the way to the lake. |
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The trail goes over a small creek. Here you can see that people who were walking had broken through the ice. |
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There were a few exposed rocks on the trail. |
Cheryl and Tessa by Watridge Lake. The trail is not maintained beyond the lake, but you can ski a lot further in backcountry conditions: All the way to Mt. Assiniboine Lodge if you feel ambitious. Yes, dogs are allowed here. |
The 2K blue loop had just been groomed for skating this morning. |
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Canmore Nordic Centre
Nov 23, 2008 |
On Sunday, there was about 900 metres of man-made snow at the Canmore Nordic Centre, trackset and groomed with a skating lane. |
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The Great Divide(also known as 1A Hwy)
Nov 23, 2008 |
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It's always nice to see friends on the trail.
This trail is the old highway. It loses about 70M of elevation when you ski from the Lake Louise end.
You could also start from the Lake O'Hara parking lot. |
The trail was double trackset with a nice wide skating lane. The snow was cold enough to use blue wax. |
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Cheryl has just crossed the border into B.C. The trail was trackset all the way to the Lake O'Hara junction, about 10.5K one way.
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On the way back to good old Alberta! |
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Emerald Lake Horse Trail and Loop
Archive photo |
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Emerald Lake Horse Trail and Loop
Nov 23, 2008:
The Yoho trail report says this trail has now been trackset
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Emerald Lake |
Emerald Lake |
Emerald Lake |
Emerald Lake |
Emerald Lake |
Here I am skiing right on Emerald Lake |
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Moraine Lake Road
Nov 20, 2008 |
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Conditions were excellent with a freshly groomed trail which was double trackset and packed in the centre for skating. If you look closely, however, you can see the tire tracks from someone who drove their vehicle on the trail for the first 800 m. It made it somewhat inconvenient for skaters.
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This is a closer-up view of the damage done by the person who drove their vehicle on the trail. You can see there was some damage to the classic tracks although minimal. |
The air temp was -8 and the snow was cold enough to use blue wax. Here are two skiers enjoying the lovely day. |
Cheryl said these were the best conditions of the season so far. |
What animal made these tracks in the snow? I've set my glove beside them for size comparison. |
Another view |
More animal tracks. It was nice of this creature to avoid stepping in the skier tracks! |
This is the turnaround point, about 9K out. We're now entering the "Valley of the Ten Peaks." |
Getting ready to head back to the trailhead. |
Trying out my new skate skis. Do I look a little unsteady? |
There's John the groomer, the man who works hard to keep these trails in such excellent shape. Nice to see that he has some time today to enjoy the fruits of his labour. |
Cheryl and I met this very friendly dog down by the train station. He seemed to be the happiest dog we've ever met. |
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The Great Divide
Nov 19, 2008 |
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Just starting out from the Lake Louise end of the trail. It has been maintained all the way to the junction with the Lake O'Hara fire road which is about 10.5K from here.
There was only one track which you can clearly see. To the left of the skier track is a snowmobile track which will eventually be used by the dogsledders.
In the middle/right, you can see the skate lane which was used sparingly today. Moraine Lake Road would be better for skating.
The ambient temp was -12C, the snow temp was -8. Waxing was easy: swix blue for -3/-10. The snow had a texture that was consistent with having been rained on BEFORE it was groomed. |
The Great Divide is a good trail for novice skiers. It is relatively flat with a few small hills. From the Lake Louise end, it's about 7.5k to the Divide and it loses about 50m net elevation. You can go another 3k into B.C., where it will end at the junction with the Lake O'Hara fire road which is not maintained but is well-used by back country skiers. |
Beautiful scenery |
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On the other side of this impressive marker is B.C.
The only hill of any note is approx 500m in distance and about 35m elevation. It ends here. The snow on the hill was in rough shape with lots of ridges and was very fast. You had to exercise caution.
If you didn't want to go down the hill, you'd still have completed about 7k, where you could turn around and go back. |
From here, you can go a further 3k into B.C. |
This is where the hill starts. Once you round that corner, you'll be picking up speed. |
This is on the B.C. side of the Divide, heading back to Lake Louise. You can see the trail is not packed as smooth here, so it would be difficult for skaters(and there were no signs of skate skiers having been this far) |
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When I took this photo of Doug, I was standing at the end of the trail, near the junction with the Lake O'Hara fire road. I met only three other skiers on the trail today. Most people were on Moraine Lake road. |
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Moraine Lake Road
Nov 17, 2008 |
There was about 5 cm of fresh snow on the trail. Tracks were skied-in, but the skating lane had a lot of loose snow. |
There are some beautiful views of the Bow Valley when skiing on Moraine Lake Road. |
If you drive to Lake Louise on the Bow Valley parkway, you'll see Morant's curve, made famous as the former picture on our $20 bill |
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Moraine Lake Road
Nov 16, 2008 |
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You can see the new track which was just laid down near the end of the day. It was snowing when we left. Lower Tramline had just been trackset as well.
The Great Divide has been packed but had a lot of fresh snow on top. |
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Moraine Lake Road
Nov 15, 2008 |
Leslie enjoying the beautiful day |
Conditions were good for skate-skiers today
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Peter and Xena having fun on the trail
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Susan's first ever ski on Moraine Lake Road getting congratulations for making it all the way to the end
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Lunch break for this group of skiers |
Welcome back Chip. You probably didn't see snow like this in Australia?
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Nathan's first day out on skis |
Lots of skiers enjoying the snow today
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George & Chip renewing old acquaintances |
Paradise Creek |
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Moraine Lake Road(Lake Louise)
Thu Nov 13, 2008 |
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Skate-skiers from the National Ski Academy were out today. The skating lane was in good condition despite the fresh snow from last night.
There's a good classic track on both sides of the trail. Poles would occasionally still scrape the pavement. |
Peter is ready to do some skate-skiing |
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Here I am overlooking the Bow Valley.
The trail was groomed and trackset yesterday, but you can see the fresh snow on top. These are good early season conditions, but hopefully it will be maintained again by the weekend.
Looks like I put some weight on over the summer! |
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It's a good sign when the snow is deep enough for your poles to stand up. This is about 7K along the trail, heading into the Valley of Ten Peaks. The turnaround point is about 9K. Any further, and you're in avalanche territory. You can ski it all the way to Moraine Lake at your own risk, but the trail is not maintained.
There's about 250 metres elevation gain. Accumulated elevation of 390 m with all the ups and downs. |
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This is the Upper Tramline trail. No grooming on here yet, but there seems to be a lot of snow. You can see a few skiers have made their own tracks.
Upper Tramline connects to Moraine Lake Road and you can do an extra 1.6K if you start up at the Chateau parking lot. There was nothing done on Fairview, but I could see some skier-set tracks. |
Here's the Great Divide trail. It was rolled yesterday, but you can see all the fresh snow over top of the grooming. A few people look like they've tackled it today. I am hoping it will be trackset for the weekend. I'm ready for a new trail. |
Now here's an adventurous group. Just as I was returning to the trailhead at 5:20 pm, these skiers were heading out. Judging by the clothes they're wearing, I think it would be safe to assume they are not regular cross-country skiers(no spandex). |
Moraine Lake Road(Lake Louise)
Tue Nov 11, 2008 |
Ready to head out for another trip up Moraine Lake Road. 3:30 pm - getting a late start. Lots of new snow since yesterday, so I'm using a better pair of skis. Hopefully I can go fast enough to be back before dark. |
Just as I'm starting out, I run into John and George who are done skiing. |
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Moraine Lake Road
Mon Nov 10, 2008 |
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Just getting ready to make the right turn up ahead. The snow has been snowmobile-packed but is still quite thin in places. Your poles hit pavement and lose their grip, so it can be bit frustrating. |
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These folks had come all the way from Lethbridge to enjoy some early season skiing.
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Moraine Lake Road
Sat Nov 8, 2008 |
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You need rock skis for thin snow cover like this. You can see the pavement showing through in places.
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The old rock skis took a beating today, my first day out. This photo shows the bases after skiing. |
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Moraine Lake Road is closed to vehicle traffic beginning in October, and becomes a fabulous ski trail for the winter. This is usually the first place we ski every year.
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A few keeners are out today for first ski of the season. This is the Moraine Lake road trailhead parking lot. |