Kananaskis village and Ribbon creek

 – Skiers on Terrace link trail –

New tracksetting from yesterday was in fine condition for waxless skis. I was using my zero skis and climbed the steep hill to the Kovach lookout without so much as a herringbone.

Beautiful conditions on Aspen

Beautiful conditions on Aspen

You could have skied with sticky wax but conditions along the trail were very inconsistent. Some stretches of trail especially at the far end of Ribbon creek(past 2.5K) were quite wet and soft. It’s called spring skiing.

The cougar warning is gone, so you can ski all the way to the bike rack.

The spectacular view from Kovack lookout

The spectacular view from Kovack lookout

The best conditions were to be found on the south side of Ribbon creek on Link, Kovach, Aspen, and Terrace. I don’t know if the sleigh rides are finished for the season, but Terrace had a wonderfully wide skating lane with excellent corduroy. I have never enjoyed that final K on Terrace down to the Ribbon creek parking lot as much as I did today.

This squirrel found a good spot to stop for lunch along Aspen

This squirrel found a good spot to stop for lunch along Aspen

There’s been new tracksetting in PLPP, but when I read the trail report today, the temperatures were reported to be a lot warmer at higher elevations(PLPP is around 200 metres higher) with an inversion in effect.

The air temp at Ribbon creek parking lot was -1°C at 2 pm.  My mantracker skills lead me to believe that Jeff was out tracksetting the north trails(Skogan pass etc). Anything that is groomed today or tonight should be in good shape tomorrow, as it is getting down to -10°C. I expect there will be some trails groomed tonight in PLPP. The weather forecast indicates we’ll have cold snow for the next five days. Moraine Lake road at Lake Louise was trackset today, and the temperature there is cold.

If you feel like doing one last loppet this winter, Canmore’s  Rocky Mountain Ski Challenge goes this Sunday, Mar 17.

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