Fantastic weekend update

Update Nov 21 at 11 a.m: Kananaskis trail report shows some tracksetting in the Kananaskis Village area last night. Trails include Kovach, Aspen, Terrace, Terrace Link. You could do a nice loop starting on Terrace at the village, up to the lookout on Kovach, and back down those delightful S-turns to the village. Wonderful news! It turns out they indeed had equipment problems and that’s why it wasn’t done on Friday. Many thanks to Jeff for going out on a Saturday night and doing the grooming.

 ->Breaking news!!!

Elk Pass and Hydroline are trackset. A number of other trails in PLPP have been groomed including Pocaterra. See the Kananaskis trail report.

See Comments below for an update on West Bragg.

Spray River

Mike Freeman was out skiing on the Spray River and sends this photo and report:

Spray River(west side). Nov 20, 2010. Photo by Mike Freeman

“Just wanted to let you know the Spray Loop (West Side) has been double trackset and is in really good shape for so early in the season. It’s definitely thin but I didn’t hit any rocks and it was really smooth out there. I could see conditions deteriorating if it warms up and we don’t get any more snow but for now it’s just great.

We just skied to the bridge & back but it looked like you could keep going towards Goat Creek.

Wouldn’t recommend skating yet but you could if you wanted too and don’t mind wrecking your skis.

Word has it the the Cascade Fireroad has been rolled but not trackset yet.”

Mike, it’s hard to believe my favourite ski race, the Lake Louise to Banff loppet is only two months away.

The Banff Trail Report shows Goat Creek has been packed.

Ribbon Creek

This comment was sent in by PM:

“No luck at Ribbon Creek. Lots of snow, snowmobile packed but only ski-tracked as of 130pm on Saturday Nov 20.”

I have a suspicion they had equipment problems on Ribbon Creek and that’s why it didn’t get trackset. While we’re in the area, here’s a photo and email from Carl Pryce.

Bill Milne trail(formerly known as Evan-Thomas). Nov 20, 2010. Photo by Carl Pryce

 “The Pryce family were out skiing the Bill Milne trail today (formerly the Evan-Thomas trail, part of the Ribbon Creek trail system). No tracksetting or snowmobile packing, but no problems with rocks as this is a paved bike path. We started at Wedge Pond and headed north along the Kananaskis valley for about 5km, then retraced our tracks back to the car, enjoying the beautiful open views of surrounding peaks. The skiing was pretty good, apart from the clattering of ski poles on the pavement below the snowpack.  We saw nobody else all day. Highly recommended and a good early-season alternative to the Moraine Lake road, and only half the drive from Calgary!”
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Talk about an embarrassment of riches! We have a nice problem on our hands – where to ski tomorrow?
 
If you were out skiing today, let us know what you found. Would like to hear a first-hand report on Moraine Lake Road. That’s unexpected great news about the Spray River.
 
I know, I know, you’ve heard it four days in a row but this will probably be the last time for a while – we broke the record again yesterday with 1153 views of this blog.

2 Comments:

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  1. I just found your blog – love it! I was skiing in Edmonton today (thin, but doable on a grassy field), but I’m hoping to get down to Banff next weekend if we get some more snow this week. I’ll definitely be back here – thanks for the great site!

  2. just got this note from GBCTA:

    The Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association Ski Committee was able to groom and pack the West Bragg Creek Ski Trails on Saturday. The 10 inches of snow packed down nicely, leaving a solid base of 3 to 4 inches. At this point, the snowpack is too thin to lay in tracks for classic skiing, as we would pull up too many rocks and dirt. With another significant snowfall, we should be able to set in the first tracks of the season.

    Trails packed included Sundog, Crystal Line, Elbow Trail, Iron Springs, and Moose Loop. Hostel and Telephone Loop were not packed.

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