-Fairview trail in Lake Louise was trackset yesterday.-
I can confirm Frank Howard’s trip report and I’ll add a bit to it since I was there late in the day. I didn’t ski on the Great Divide but Frank and Al Millar have that one covered pretty well.
Fairview
Moraine Lake road was in the process of being trackset and groomed at 3:30 pm. I came off Fairview and spotted the two new outward bound tracks on MLR. I didn’t ski on the new tracksetting, rather I skied on the old track to the trailhead. Actually, the old track was faster anyway. The new tracks were still soft, but should be in prime condition tomorrow.
There was occasional tree debris on Fairview
Dave was chewing up the old track while Andrew followed with the Alpina and set the two outbound tracks. About two K from the end, the Alpina experienced engine trouble and they had to abandon the tracksetting at that point. There’s still a decent old track for the final 2K.
Andrew said he expects they can set the third track in the morning with the Ginzu. The skating lane should be groomed as well tomorrow.
Brand new tracks on Moraine Lake road
Fairview is trackset and has good snow cover but it’s bumpy. The downhills require extreme caution. I took my skis off for one scary looking downhill. In areas with thick tree canopies, melted snow(from yesterday)has dripped onto the tracks along with pine needles, and occasional tree bombs have created clumps.
Tracksetter Dave on Moraine Lake road
The best news is that I was able to use my waxable skis. VR50(0/-4) worked like a charm. The snow temperature at the Fairview trailhead was -2 at 3 pm. Air temperature was +1.
Upper Tramline is excellent. Lower Tramline tracks are somewhat glazed, which means I was cruising along with little effort. Again, occasional tree bombs have left some clumps in the track. At the bottom of Tramline there was not a rock to be seen.
I think the Great Divide will be groomed and trackset before the weekend if the snowmobiles hold out.
