Valerie was the first skier to enjoy the new tracks on Fairview
It had started snowing by the time I hit the trail at Lake Louise. I could see there had been some tree debris on Moraine Lake road but the fresh snow was doing a nice job of hiding it.
Moraine lake road was in great shape with the fresh snow covering the pine needles
The temperature was just cool enough at -1°C to allow the wax to work and even with the new snow there was no icing. I used yesterday’s wax which was Swix VR50(0/-4). Snow temp was -2.
From MLR I branched off to Fairview for the first time this year. There are still a few twigs and thin spots but nothing that would dampen your enjoyment. I was going in the preferred direction. If you were travelling the opposite way, you’d have two steep downhills to contend with where the snow is a bit uneven and the odd rock and tree stump may make its presence known.
Tracksetter Paul on the Fairview trail
I encountered Tracksetter Paul with a shovel in his hand, filling in some of those thin spots along the trail. He was also setting down a new track.
Near the end of Fairview I turned left and took the trail which runs above the parking lots over to the lake. Below me in the parking lot I saw a bizarre scene: a woman was driving around and around the almost-empty lot while her dog, a lively German short-haired pointer, chased her truck. There are a number of ski trails at Lake Louise which are dog-friendly including the Bow river loop, Campground loop, the Lake Louise loop, and all the Pipestone trails.
No sooner did I arrive at the Chateau Lake Louise Nordic Stop on the shore of the lake than I heard a familiar voice. It was Tracksetter John, conferring with Bruce Bembridge who is the Chateau’s nordic ski instructor and guide.
After a brief break to chat and warm up, I headed across the lake on a set of good tracks and checked out the site of the new terrain park for kids which Bruce is working on. I skied a brief distance along the Lakeshore trail to take a photo. It was trackset yesterday.
As you’ll see in the photos, the lake was pretty socked in today, but I can live without the spectacular views if it means more new snow. It was neat to see all the people skating on the lake in front of the Chateau.
Back across the lake and across the road to the Peyto trail which is right behind Deer Lodge. Peyto is trackset and is a nice way to access the Great Divide without having to get in your vehicle and drive to the trailhead.
Great Divide was trackset today but already had a couple cm of new snow
The Great Divide was trackset today by Tracksetter John all the way to the Lake O’Hara parking lot and trailhead. Excellent conditions and not a pine needle in sight.
If you go to Lake Louise, remember to stop in at Wilson Mountain Sports in the village and enter the draw for a pair of Atomic Skin-tec skis.
The wind, tree debris and warm temperatures have taken their toll on the Kananaskis trails, but I see the forecast is calling for colder weather and new snow to cover up the debris. Environment Canada is predicting 5 – 10 cm tonight for Kananaskis and a further 2 – 4 cm tomorrow. Along with sub-zero highs, that would be a big help to restore the trails to their pre-hurricane condition.
The Sundance, Healy creek, and Brewster creek trails were trackset today in Banff.
