A surreal atmosphere on Wedge connector
Thanks to the Live Grooming Report, at 1:30 pm I could see that Jeff was grooming Tessa’s favourite trail. A little later, we set out for the Wedge pond and Bill Milne trails.
Excellent conditions on Bill Milne trail
The temperature at Wedge pond was -6°C with intermittent sun and light snow. The light breeze was blowing fine mist from the trees, creating one of those winter wonderland magical days.
The grooming was about two hours old when we arrived, and had set up nicely. The tracks already had a dusting of snow in them, nevertheless they were fast and grip was excellent with VR45. I’ve heard that -4 to -8 is the ideal temperature range for tracksetting, and today’s conditions verified it.
Bill Milne trail
I was surprised to see two other skiers arrive at the same time. It turns out they had tried to ski earlier at Mt Shark, but there was TOO MUCH SNOW!
On such a beautiful day we took our time skiing to the end of the Wedge connector while observing some spectacular tree bombs and feeling the misty fallout on our faces.
The Bill Milne trail near Mt Kidd RV park
On the return, we took the Bill Milne trail to the Mt Kidd RV park. Flooding damage to the Evan-Thomas bridge has left a no-go zone beyond the RV park, so we returned to the pond. The GPS read exactly 8K.
Not wanting to quit, we drove to the golf course and resumed skiing on the Bill Milne trail all the way to Ribbon creek. The scenery along this stretch of trail on a clear day is unequaled, but today the clouds surrounding the mountaintops only added to the aura.
This photo was sent in by Jeff as he was grooming the Wedge connector
The Bill Milne and Wedge connector are suitable for skate skiing. Distance between Ribbon creek and the golf course was 10K return. You can actually start the Bill Milne trail at Kananaskis village. It would be about 8K one-way to the damaged bridge.
The Live Grooming Report allowed me the opportunity to get out and ski the Bill Milne trail in perfect conditions, which is rare on this trail. With the trail being in the open for considerable distance, the tracks are prone to getting wind-blown. On a sunny, warm day they will start to melt. Conditions on this trail can deteriorate quickly.
As you probably already read on the Groomer’s Reports, this will be the final grooming on the Kananaskis village, Bill Milne, and Wedge connector. Tomorrow(Friday) Jeff will groom Skogan pass trails for the final time.
