Duane sent in this photo and report on Burstall Pass
Burstall Pass from the south
Alpine toured up to Burstall Pass Tuesday, Dec 16. It was much colder there than in Calgary, albeit sunny, and not windy. There is much more snow than the last visit – especially through the narrow treed areas, but the wind has tortured the snow in any open terrain, from the parking lot to the high alpine. I have not seen such wind crust for a long time, and would not recommend travel in the high alpine unless you’re just looking for a view (which is never a bad thing to do). Climbing for turns in that area is just not worth it at the moment. However, it was better than being in the office….
Duane: Thanks for this. I especially appreciate the updates for backcountry trails as it seems I never get out to ski them myself. – Bob
For Thurs Dec 18: All trails groomed and tracked except Telephone, including the new “Loggers Loop” which connects the top of Sundog with the west end of Crystal Line via a rolling narrower single trackset trail. Makes for a very nice little loop when combined with Crystal Line, Sundog and Moose Connector. A bit cold, with slow glide at -21 for my afterwork ski, but conditions at West Bragg are as good as it gets right now.
Steve: Thanks as usual. The trail report only has them showing as groomed, so it’s nice to have the first-hand report that they are actually trackset. – Bob
Ribbon Creek/Kananaskis Village trails:
Deer standing at side of trail
Chip and I had a fabulous day on the Kananaskis Village/Ribbon Creek trails which had 1 cm of fresh snow in yesterday’s grooming/tracks. That new grooming machine has done an admirable job especially in the places where the snow was thin. The new snow combined with the extreme cold, made for some slow going, however, once we skied the trails in, we decided to go back and do it again! This place is a lot of fun when the snow is good. Click here to see more photos. All the trails around the village and south of Ribbon Creek were trackset and that includes Ribbon Creek, Terrace, Kovach, Link, Aspen.
The trail reports for Kananaskis have been updated today and there are new groomed and /or trackset trails in PLPP including Whiskey Jack and Lookout. Pocaterra has only been trackset on its very upper reaches, from Packers to Whiskey Jack junction. As I updated yesterday, Tyrwhitt is also trackset. Sandy McNabb is now groomed.
The trails at West Bragg are maintained by volunteers of the Greater Bragg Creek Trails Assn. By supporting their efforts, you will receive e-mail updates on grooming work, such as the most recent one here-
Wed. 5:19 pm
Both K-Country and the GBCTA Ski Committee were out setting in the last of the ski tracks on the West Bragg Creek ski trails on Tuesday. In the last two days, all of the ski trails have been packed and tracked. The exception is Telephone Loop, which has not been packed or trackset — expect 8 to 10 inches of snow on Telephone.
The ski committee would like to thank those who have already contributed funds to the ski committee to the 08/09 ski season. For those of you who have yet to renew your commitment, we ask that you consider making a donation to help cover our costs. We would greatly appreciate your contributions before Dec. 31, for several reasons. The first is that we provide these email ski reports as part of our thanks to those who donate to us. As of Dec. 31, those who have not contributed for this ski season will no longer receive these email updates.
The second reason is that we are applying for matched funding to the Community Spirit Awards from the Alberta government. This funding matches private donations, and the more private donations that we receive by the end of the year, the more we may receive in matched funds to cover our operating costs.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions regarding funding. I have attached the funding brochure in case you no longer have it.
The next few days appear to be cold, but the snow is great, and the wax was working today!
cheers
Bruce Barker
Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association Ski Committee
As I work in the Bragg Creek area, I ski the trails on a regular basis afterwork, and will post reports as conditions change. Not going to post the e-mail updates though, it’s up to you to help support the hard working volunteer groomers.