Moraine Lake road
“Thanks for the blog!”
We had just turned around at the end of Moraine Lake Road and were heading back when we met this skier. As we passed, he said, “Thanks for the blog!”
I hit the brakes and it turns out that Ryan is from Red Deer and had found my blog a few days ago. He said it was instrumental in showing him where the good snow was, especially with the photos. Pictures paint a thousand words.
Some of you may have seen the blurb in the Calgary Herald’s “Outdoor” section today. It certainly had an effect on the number of people viewing the blog today. We’ve been averaging about 40 visitors a day since I started two weeks ago, but today had 263 views.
The trail is still in pretty good shape considering there’s been no fresh snow or grooming for several days. The tracks on the way up are getting a little tired, but I’m not complaining. Blue wax still works well. The air temp was -8 at 3 pm.
If anyone has skied at Hawkridge on the outskirts of Calgary, could you let us know what the conditions are like? As I mentioned on here a few days ago, there was 6K of skating trails and 3K of trackset trails. Is the warmer weather in Calgary taking a toll on the snow?
The snow guns are going full bore at the Canmore Nordic Centre and there are a number of big snow banks waiting to be levelled and groomed. There’s presently about 1K of trackset/skating. I see there’s a race on the weekend, so I expect they’ll have a lot more ready by Saturday.
Nov 28 Update: I just read on the Kananaskis trail report that the Canmore Nordic Centre trails will be closed to the public because of the races.
The upper Yellow, Blue and Chester loop trails have been groomed in the Chester/Sawmill system. Groomed only, not trackset, and those trails are definitely not for beginners. If anyone skis there on Friday or Saturday, maybe you could give us a report. They are some of the most enjoyable trails we have, with lots of hills, varied terrain, and great scenery. I wish they were maintained through the entire winter. These trails are only groomed when the snow is poor at other locations such as PLPP(Peter Lougheed Prov Park) or Ribbon Creek, so we don’t always get to ski on them.
The upper portion of Elk Pass has been snowmobile packed. I guess that means you have to carry your skis until you get there? Actually, the Kananaskis trail report says skiing there is not recommended due to natural hazards. I think that means rocks, ruts, tree roots, bridges which aren’t snow covered, you name it.
Saturday, three of us skied and snowshoed from Sawmill to Chester lake trails. No grooming until reaching the high point between the two. Barely enough snow, but rather nice to be out and about, minus the LL crowds.