Off to a great start at CNC

-Banff trail at Canmore Nordic Centre. You can see the new warming hut in the background-

Right now is a good time to explore the lesser-used trails at Canmore Nordic Centre. I’m still finding trails which I’ve never skied in their entirety, such as Bruin, which I did today with Peter.

Beautiful conditions and scenery at Canmore Nordic Centre

Beautiful conditions and scenery at Canmore Nordic Centre

We had 7 cm of new snow in Canmore overnight. More than enough to cover the pine needles, and the conditions are excellent. As always, the CNC grooms the trails immediately after a snowfall, so there was lots to choose from. It’s a bonus to be able to ski all the trails on cold, clean, natural snow.

Bruin trail had been rolled

Bruin trail had a couple cm of new snow since it was rolled

The air temperature at 2 pm was -9°C, and the snow was probably the same. VR40(-4/-12) gave excellent grip. There’s still a detour in place on the lit loop where snowmaking is in progress. If you ski after dark, there’s a short stretch where you won’t have lights.

"Team Leki" SkierBob, Peter, and Miles. Thanks to Elia for taking the photo.

“Team Leki” SkierBob, Peter, and Miles. Thanks to Elia for taking the photo.

We ran into Miles as we were skiing on Meadowview, and coincidentally we were all using Leki poles(not a common pole). Elia happened along just then, and we quickly formed “Team Leki” while Elia took a picture.

My pictures pale in comparison to the magnificent coyote in Chuck’s photos from today at the Banff Tunnel Mountain campground trails, so make sure you click over and have a look.

Snowmaking is in progress

This detour skirts around Banff trail while snowmaking is in progress.

As I write this at 5:20 pm, TSJ is busy grooming the Ribbon creek trails. He’s already completed Coal Mine, Hidden, New Ribbon creek, Link, and a portion of Terrace. I see the snowcat is just turning onto Kovach.

The new sign at the top of New Ribbon Creek which was just installed

The new sign at the top of New Ribbon Creek which was just installed

TSJ has just sent a photo(at right) and a quick report from the snowcat:

“Hi Bob, 
Almost 15cm here on  Ribbon Creek Trail. This is the new sign at the top of the hill, the trail  gets better every time I groom it.”

The trails west of the road in PLPP were trackset yesterday. That includes Lodgepole, Braille, Sinclair, and Spruce road. If you are a raw beginner, and want a super-easy trail to practice on, Spruce road is the one for you. You can access it from Elkwood Amphitheatre or William Watson Lodge. Once you have your confidence and are ready to venture a little further, Braille and Wheeler are right there in the vicinity.

The Great Divide at Lake Louise was trackset today.

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