Snowcat grooming at Lake Louise

Hi Bob,

Due to road closures, too much snow……., yoho blows etc etc. was not able to give you accurate reports on the Yoho/Lake Louise trails.

I am sure you know that we are trying out a snow cat this week on the Morraine Lake Road, Upper Tramline and Great Divide/1A road. It was a little tight on the tramline, but we managed to Groom and track set the abovementioned trails and they are in terrific condition. All the other Lake Louise trails have also been track set in the last two days and are in good condition.

Parks Canada invites everybody to come and try out the snow cat set tracks and would love to hear feedback. We actually have a special website for this www.skiopinion.ca

Tomorrow Wednesday January 26 we are track setting all the trails in Yoho.

See you on the trails!

Hans
(Lake Louise tracksetter)

Moraine Lake Road

Cynthia was one of the first skiers on the new grooming on Moraine Lake Road today. Jan 25, 2011

Fantastic conditions

After the soft snow and challenging conditions of the Loppet, my skis were asking for some cold snow and firm tracks. Moraine Lake Road(MLR) was beckoning and we answered the call.

As you can see from Hans’ email(which came in tonight), we picked the right day for our first ski(this winter) to the end of MLR.

Moraine Lake Road. Jan 25, 2011

They couldn’t have picked a better time to get the Snowcat. The recent big snowfall would have been difficult to groom with the snowmobile. The ‘cat will pack better and set down a much firmer track.

Jim and Janet from Portland, Oregon were thrilled to be skiing on such excellent conditions. Jan 25, 2011

For being such fresh tracksetting, the snow was reasonably fast. It only took about an hour to reach the end, and exactly 30 exhilarating minutes to get back. It’s a lot more fun when you can stay in the tracks on those wide, sweeping curves.

The snow was -7 and the air temp was -2. I’m still using the VR45 wax which was on my skis for the Loppet. I guess that makes a good case for using base binder.

You can see from the next photo how deep the snow is. One of my poles is almost buried.

Don't step off the groomed trail! Jan 25, 2011

The end of the groomed trail. Going further puts you into avalanche danger. Jan 25, 2011

When you reach the end of the groomed trail at 9K, you’ll see the avalanche warning sign.

I could see from the ski tracks in the deep snow that some skiers were not heeding the warning, and were continuing down into the Valley of Ten Peaks.

The improvements at Lake Louise continue to impress me. With XC skiing becoming more popular, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Check out the trails yourself and make sure you take the survey, as the results will help determine whether they keep the snowcat. Ski Opinion

Ski tracks heading into avalanche territory. Jan 25, 2011

******
PLPP

Hi Bob,

did Whiskey Jack ,Pocaterra ,Lynx,Amos and back to Boulton Creek today,Tue.Jan.25 and it was fabulous under a sunny sky,temperature was +2 C,a few needles and minor glazing on the tracks.

For the long uphill on Whiskey Jack we used half skins which go from the ski tip to the binding.They allow for a somewhat slowed descent and prevent back sliding .This makes the ascend so much easier!

We also used climbing aids which work similar to downhill ski brakes but with a very small torsion spring.No need to herringbone.

It was a gorgeus day

Rudy