Frozen thunder was groomed and ready for skiing late this afternoon. I tested it with both my skate skis and classic waxless skis and conditions were great for mid-October and +11 degrees.
The GPS shows the distance of Frozen Thunder at 2.0 kilometres.
There was no classic track today but I believe there will be one for tomorrow. Skating was more enjoyable, but I was also getting good grip on the soft snow with my waxless classic skis. The problem was that I’ve gained weight over the summer, and I’m too bloody heavy for my classic skis and they didn’t have much glide. I’m sure glad ski season is here!
I’m not sure how I managed to attain a speed of 40.6 kmh on my waxless. I guess that tells you there are a couple fast hills.
Distance
If you do all the trails, and return to your starting point, you’ll have skied 2.0K. There’s actually only 1.8K of snow, but you’ll have to backtrack in a few places if you want to ski all the loops.
The “keyhole” will be the most popular place to start
What skis to use?
Conditions for Saturday will depend on how cold it gets tonight. Early in the day, and by that I mean before 10 a.m., I would expect it will be borderline icy.
The high for tomorrow at 11°C will mean that the snow will get soft and slushy by mid-day. I would have my misgivings about trying to classic ski with hard wax. You’ll most likely require waxless skis or the dreaded klister. Skating will be the best bet, however.
Groomer Paul gives a thumbs up to Frozen Thunder!
The configuration and distance is almost identical to last year. There’s a nice little loop at the one end which wasn’t there last year. The big hill, which is just a spur, doesn’t go all the way to the top anymore. All things considered it’s wonderful to have skiable snow this early in the season. Frozen thunder is available to the public all day on Saturday and Sunday. You can read more about the trail fees and hours on the website of the Canmore Nordic Centre.
There was fresh snow on Frozen Thunder yesterday – a bit wet during the storm, but it should be “rejuvenated” today. Thanks for the exact measurement of the distance – I was wondering how far it was.