We can now see the grooming as it happpens(click for larger image)
Just in! Fantastic news! Some grooming has occurred, and the new trail reporting system is in place for this winter. It’s similar to the “Live grooming report” which you have seen from the Canmore Nordic Centre.
In the grey box below, I’ve copied directly from the Kananaskis Trail Report for “Ribbon Creek and Wedge Pond Cross-Country Ski Trails:”
Ribbon Creek live grooming report
Ribbon creek trail was washed away in the June floods, so I’m pretty sure it was not groomed, although it is indicated as such on the list(but not on the map itself). Take note, there are still some hazards on the trails. Also, this was grooming only, not tracksetting. Please check the Ribbon creek trail report for more details. This link lists every trail in the system and its status: http://www.albertaparks.ca/kananaskis-country/advisories-public-safety/trail-report.aspx
I like the fact they are still referring to these as the “Ribbon Creek” trails. It makes me think that we will see a trail again some day.
Terrace is groomed almost to the Ribbon creek parking lot. There’s still no bridge across the creek, but I have confidence that we’ll see one soon, or if the creek freezes, problem solved. To access these trails, you’ll have to park at Kananaskis Village for now.
50 cm on Skogan Pass! If only we could get up there.
This reporting system is a great stride forward in giving us current, up-to-the-minute information. Congratulations, K-country!
Frozen Thunder continues to grow
This is the third time I’ve captured Erin’s big smile for the blog
I took a spin over to the nordic centre to see if Frozen Thunder had grown any larger, and it has. There’s a new loop of about 600 metres on the Nagano trail. In all, there must be close to 3K of trails now. The snow was in fantastic shape. We had about 3-4 cm of new snow this morning in Canmore, and it really made the skiing fun.
There’s a lot of freshly-made snow laying around waiting to be groomed. Should have more distance soon.
Photos from today at the Canmore Nordic Centre
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Does anyone know how Mt Shark is right now?
Happy Skiing!!
Hi Bob and everyone. Will the K-Country live grooming reports also be done at PLPP? How long is construction on the Pocaterra to Elk Pass trails scheduled for? Until live grooming reports are in place, have grooming days for PLPP generally been scheduled and if so, what are they?
Has anyone skied Cascade Fire Road? What are snow conditions like?
Thank you.
Has anyone skied Cascade Fire Road yet?
Lake Minnewanka road(LMR) is still being used by vehicular traffic because of construction on the Johnson Lake road. Cascade Valley(aka Cascade Fire Road) is accessed from the Lake Minnewanka parking lot and you have to ski down the paved LMR road for 700 metres. I suppose they could start grooming anyway, which would entail starting in the meadow, but we’d have to park on the road. As for snow depth, I’m waiting for reconnaissance from Chuck.
Of interest, I just read on the Banff Trail Report, “New ski opportunities will be available at the Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court and from the Lake Minnewanka day-use area to Upper Bankhead.” I’m not exactly sure what that means for Cascade Valley access. -Bob
Good news for skiing at Cascade Valley: Banff National Park reports “the Minnewanka loop’s western section closure is now in place. Access Lake Minnewanka via the repaired east section.”
Don’t get too excited yet!
This only means that the paved road from the Minnewanka Parking area to the beginning of the first hill up the Cascade Valley is now closed to traffic. We walked there yesterday, and the road is bare and dry! We will have to wait for snow, and enough to make it feasible to go up that first rocky hill. Even then, we will only be able to go to where the first bridge was at about 5 km.
I do understand that Parks plans to groom more of the paved road down towards Bankhead, to compensate for the fact that skiing up the valley will be limited this year.
Do your snow dance!
Does anyone know if the ribbon creek trails are groomed for skate skiing?
Thanks very much!
Hi Rachel,
The Bill Milne trail once grooming starts and the Wedge Connector are both groomed for skating and classic. This is about a 20km return ski if you start at Ribbon Creek parking.
Great, thanks for the info Jeff!
MLR is awesome this morning. It is very busy as many clubs are out skiing this morning, about 250 people I would estimate.
The new Ribbon Creek Trail Report is fantastic!
This new trail report format is a welcome improvement. I like the snow depth summary in the introductory section. The listing of specific trails is good and the groomers comments on specific trails are very helpful. The link to the trail map is excellent and the new map is very easy to read. I especially like the grooming map on the topographical map. This is an excellent way of presenting trail information! I am very impressed.
Alf