-Conditions on Pocaterra trail are improving with new snow. This photo was taken at the trailhead by the hut-
I know how popular Pocaterra trail is, starting from the hut. We now call it New Pocaterra since it was reconfigured due to the floods of 2013. I didn’t ski on New Pocaterra today, but I stopped at the hut and took some photos. I also spoke with skiers who skied on New Pocaterra and said it was much improved with the fresh snow.
Pocaterra hut
I had a terrific ski trip on some of the “middle” trails, but I’ll do a separate update later.
Pocaterra used to be a fabulous beginner’s trail before it was washed away by the flood waters. This new development will give beginner skiers a place to practice before venturing out on the actual trail.
The new Rolly Road practice grid which is near Pocaterra hut
There is now an additional training/practice grid at Pocaterra. On the Live Grooming Report it goes by the name of Rolly Road Grid. It starts at the Rolly Road trailhead.
To access the grid, you ski on an easy double-trackset trail for 230 metres at which time the grid appears in a pocket surrounded by trees. It has six lanes of about 80 metres in length. The access trail itself is a good one for beginners because it has a slight slope which could give you an opportunity to refine your snowplow technique.
There’s a 230-metre double-trackset access trail to the Rolly Road grid which is an easy trail for beginners
A new training/practice grid has also been developed near Ribbon creek parking lot, the Kovach Grid. “There is new 600 m long training loop that is groomed and trackset for classic and skate skiing at Kovach Pond.”
You can see where it is exactly on the Live Grooming Report map. Click on the trail name, and the trail will be highlighted.
There’s been about 3-4 cm of fresh snow on New Pocaterra since it was trackset four days ago.
If you’re a novice, you might want to read an article I penned for Tourism Canmore – Kananaskis entitled Beginner’s Guide to Cross-country ski trails in Canmore and Kananaskis. Take note, this covers only Canmore and Kananaskis trails, not Banff and Lake Louise.
Rolly Road trailhead at Pocaterra. The access trail to the Grid starts here.
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The Canmore Nordic Centre asks all skiers: “If there are any trees that have fallen on the trails that are creating an obstacle for trail users, please let the front desk know.”
Have you looked at the Canmore Nordic Centre’s Live Grooming Report? I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much bright green.
Canmore Nordic Centre’s Live Grooming Report
