Hans was right

Lake Louise is superb

Tramline as it intersects Moraine Lake Road. Jan 11, 2011

We took a family outing along the Bow Valley Parkway and ended up in Lake Louise where it was -22c. It was calm and sunny, but still not a day where Tessa could stay outside for very long, even with her coat and boots on.

Fairview trail at Lake Louise. Jan 11, 2011

Cheryl dropped me off at the Chateau parking lot where I headed up Fairview. Tracks were in great shape although it was obvious there had been some new snow since it was trackset. Climbing the hills warmed me up nicely. I don’t usually go in this direction, so today I had a chance to do the steep downhill with the moguls – lots of fun on the good snow.

The Fairview split. Jan 11, 2011

If you haven’t skied Fairview recently, you’ll notice there’s now two places where the trail splits to make it easier for the uphill skiers, and safer for the downhillers as you shouldn’t be meeting anyone while you rocket your way down. In the above photo, I descended on the left side(mogul fun). The right side is for skiers going up.

Moraine Lake Road. Jan 11, 2011

This is difficult to believe, but today was the first time I skied on Moraine Lake Road this winter, and it felt great to be back. Fabulous condition and a reminder of what a wonderful trail to ski on. Normally on such cold snow, skis don’t glide too fast, but I had just glide-waxed my good skis with SG8 last night(Start green for -12 to -30), and they seemed to be flying.

The view from Moraine Lake Road. Jan 11, 2011

I wasn’t frozen yet, so proceeded down Tramline to the train station. When I came to this narrow bridge it brought back memories of the Lake Louise to Banff Loppet when I crashed here. If you’re around other skiers when you reach this, watch out!

Tramline narrows to one lane. Jan 11, 2011

Arriving at the train station, Tessa was waiting to greet me and go for a short ski on the Bow River loop.

Bow River trail at Lake Louise. Jan 11, 2011

Soon, we both had cold toes and called it a day. Dogs are allowed on a number of trails at Lake Louise including LL Shoreline, Bow River loop, Campground loop, and the Pipestone trails. I wish we could have stayed out longer because every trail was exceptional with excellent tracks and snow.

For any loppeteers reading this, the snow along the Bow Valley Parkway is looking extremely good. I hope the long-term weather forecast for the 23rd comes true: the Weather Network  is calling for a low of -12 in Lake Louise and a high of 0 in Banff.

Yoho

The  Kicking Horse Ski Club just updated their trail report:

Takkakkaw Falls Road & ALL THE TRAILS linked between Field to Emerald were packed and groomed TODAY ! (Yes–the Kicking Horse Fire road also). And they are all good and hard with this cold weather.