First time on Wheeler

-Susan and Spencer at the Pocaterra / Lynx junction-

I overcame my fixation with skiing the south trails in PLPP and enjoyed an 18K loop in the middle of the park today, starting on Wheeler.

Cheryl B on Whiskey Jack

It didn’t look very pleasant outside this morning in Canmore, and it was blustery most of the way into Kananaskis. At Fortress junction, the snow and wind abated and the sun came out.

The air temperature at Elkwood Amphitheatre parking lot was -11°C and the snow was -8. I added a couple layers of VR40(-4/-12) to yesterday’s wax and didn’t give it another thought all day.

A lot of new snow has accumulated on Wheeler

A lot of snow has accumulated on Wheeler since it was last groomed way back on Dec 18. The tracks are still there albeit washed out in a few places. For the tracksetting being 10 days old, I thought the conditions were pretty good. Judging from the snow on the picnic tables, I estimate that about 3-4 cm fell last night, exactly what the forecast predicted.

Blog reader Scott is enjoying his trip down Whiskey Jack

At the Wheeler/Packers junction I ran into a couple skiers who had just descended Packers on last night’s new grooming and said it was fine, just a couple bumpy spots. They would have had the benefit of last night’s new snow to smooth out some of the rougher spots.

Pine needles are almost nonexistent on lower Whiskey Jack now. A few stragglers persist but are of no consequence.

Pocaterra, near the junction of Whiskey Jack

I had the pleasure of running into a lot of loyal blog readers again today. Cheryl B was climbing Whiskey Jack. You might recognize the name because she has left several Trip Reports on here over the past year. Also stopped and talked to Scott as he was coming down WJ.

For all the new snow, the tracks on Pocaterra for my 6K of downhill were fast. Only 19 minutes. At that speed, I didn’t have much of a chance to inspect Packers as I went flying through the intersection. Fortunately there are good sight lines when descending quickly towards Packers junction.

Susan arrives at the Pocaterra / Lynx junction

I chatted with Susan and Spencer at the Pocaterra / Lynx junction and was wondering if they had met the prime minister on skis because they said it was their lucky day, meeting a celebrity. Susan has been reading this blog faithfully for four years and always dreamed of this day! How does a person remain humble after such a compliment?

Susan and Spencer had skied on New Pocaterra and reported good conditions. I continued on Lynx which had excellent snow coverage. Not even any exposed grass in the meadow before the big hill.

Skiers on Amos

Amos and Wheeler completed a wonderful day of skiing. Well, not quite. I stopped at Pocaterra and skied out to the new training/practice grid and took photos. By this time it was starting to get really cold and windy. My fingers were freezing by the time I got back to my vehicle. I took my dry clothes into the hut to get changed and the place was packed with people eating, imbibing hot liquids, and getting warm by the fire as they relived the day’s events. Nice to see the Pocaterra trail back in business.