Cascade Fire Road, PLPP, Gypsum Mines

Cascade Fire Rd  Mar 12, 2009
Cascade Fire Rd Mar 12, 2009

Cascade Fire Road was groomed and trackset 6 days ago but is still in excellent condition. As you can see from the photo, there’s been a few cm of fresh snow over the tracksetting, but the tracks are skied-in very well, and were extremely fast but not icy. It is double trackset to the first bridge, then single trackset to the end(approx 14K).

It was a gorgeous day with a beautiful sunny sky and wonderful mountain scenery. Started out about -15C, but had warmed up to -4C by the time I was finished skiing. See more photos here.

While the topic of dogs is fresh in our minds, I remember skiing on Cascade Fire Road about 7 or 8 years ago, around the time of the tragedy which occurred when a cougar killed a skier  Caution urged following fatal cougar attack in Banff.  When I finished my ski and had returned to the trailhead, the RCMP were waiting.

They were looking for a skier who had been reported on the trail with a dog. They said that dogs attracted cougars, and the rules stated that dogs were not allowed on the trail. I didn’t see anyone that day with a dog.

***
Andrew was in Peter Lougheed Park today and sends in this photo and report:

Elk Pass Mar 12, 2009 Photo courtesy of Andrew

Elk Pass Mar 12, 2009 Photo courtesy of Andrew

Hello Bob,
we skied today Pocaterra trails starting from the Visitor Center
following from Lynx junction mostly ungroomed skier trackset
Pocaterra/Tyrwhitt trails all the way to Elk Pass and down taking Elk
Pass Trail back to the lodge. All trails we did except Pocaterra, and
Tyrwhitt were recently trackset and in excellent shape, it was a great
sunny day with temperatures at ~-11°C at 11 AM and ~0°C at 4 PM at the
Visitor Center
thanks
Andrew

***

Chip has this backcountry report and photo:

Chip on the Gypsum Mines trail  Mar 11, 2009

Chip on the Gypsum Mines trail Mar 11, 2009

Yesterday I went to Gypsum Mines with Vic and Irene. It was  a
stunning day and we had a great trip. This is a wonderful location for
folks on touring skis because the road is wide and often skier-tracked.
There are also some nice glades near the top for doing turns.

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