Skiing on “Old” Ribbon creek again!

Vivid memories have sustained me for the 32 months since I skied on Old Ribbon creek and Link. March 2013 was the last time before today. Back then, it wasn’t referred to as “Old.” The floods of 2013 changed all that.

I met Sarah and Andrew at the trailhead at Kananaskis Village on Terrace trail. They had just finished as I was starting out.

It’s rare to be skiing these trails on Nov 4. Although there were a few inconveniences such as twigs, dirt, grass and rocks which could be mostly avoided, the snow was cold, my wax was gripping well, and I enjoyed this considerably more than spring skiing on wet snow.

There was sufficient snow coverage on Terrace trail near Kananaskis Village

I was using an old pair of rock skis which are wider, flatter, and slower then my good skis. I didn’t fret too much when I felt them grinding under my feet. I might add, it only happened twice. In fact, I was astonished when finished and realized I never had to remove my skis even once.

Kovach, between Terrace and Aspen, had some exposed dirt but there was always a snow-covered path to follow. Such beautiful surroundings!

My report would be almost a mirror image of Diana Piggott’s Trip Report as I did the same trails in reverse order. In addition to the loop, I also skied Terrace from the Village to the Kovach junction and back, seeing as we parked at the village.

Pumped and ready to ski Link for the first time in 32 months

I will agree with Diana on most things, but I will differ on the direction. I knew for certain that I didn’t want to be descending the steep part of New Ribbon creek. It was rock city, and passable if climbing, but I wouldn’t recommend it for either direction to be honest. I was dodging rocks as I was descending the gentler downhill including Coal Mine and Hidden.

The steep sections of new Ribbon creek were full of hazards including lots of exposed rocks

The other place with quite a few rocks, as Diana mentioned, was the lower part of Terrace as it approached Ribbon creek parking lot. I would refer to it as the “roller coaster” section, normally a lot of fun when descending, but I was glad I was climbing it. It was concerning for about 100 metres or so, the remainder of Terrace up to Kovach had decent snow cover.

Terrace trail near north Kovach junction had pretty nice snow

Kovach, between Terrace and Link, looked worse than it really was. There was always a path to follow that didn’t have hazards, albeit narrow in some spots.

It felt good to be skiing on the Old Ribbon creek again, past the picnic benches with the view of Bogart. The original trail still exists for about 600 metres.

Hikers going to inspect the old washed-out bridge on Ribbon creek

The snow did not deteriorate noticeably today. Snow temperature at 3 pm was -3°C and VR50(0/-4) worked very well. If you go tomorrow, I would strongly advise avoiding Hidden, Coal mine, and New Ribbon creek.

I didn’t ski the section of Kovach from Link to the Lookout and down to the village. Sarah and Andrew did this part and said it was okay, just use caution on the S-turns.

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