-Trinity, Terry, and Dominic on Terrace trail near Kananaskis village-
I waited for the temperature to warm up and arrived at Ribbon creek around 1:45 pm where the temperature was -9°C. The snow temp at the parking lot was -12. I waxed with VR30(-10/-30).
The start of New Ribbon creek trail. You have to take Hidden and Coal mine for 1K to reach this point.
It didn’t take long to warm up as I headed up Hidden and turned left after 400 metres onto Coal mine. Another 600 metres of climbing and I was on New Ribbon creek. My wax was not gripping as well as I’d have liked. The tracks were very firm and I probably should have waxed one step warmer.
Excellent snow and tracks on upper Kovach near the Lookout.
These trails were trackset yesterday and are in reasonably good shape. The odd bit of tree debris is present but most of it is embedded in the new tracks and you can ski over it without noticing it.
I made a video while descending the steep, winding downhill and it’s at the bottom of this post.
A family gets ready to go skiing at Kananaskis village
I continued on Ribbon creek to Link, where I finally relented and rewaxed with VR40(-4/-12). The cold snow is quite abrasive and I had worn a lot of my wax off already. I needed the better wax as I climbed another steep hill to the Kovach lookout. The snow is always wonderful up here.
Terrace trail
No problems, just fun, on the S-turns. There’s a little dirt mixed into the snow in a few places but nothing of consequence. I completed the 11K loop by going past the village and taking Terrace back to the parking lot. The final kilometre down was pure enjoyment.
At 3:30, the temperature had already dropped down to -11°C. By what I could see from the car window, the Bill Milne trail looked to be in pretty nice shape.
TSJ is out working tonight and has completed tracksetting on Skogan pass, Hay meadow, and Ruthie’s. Troll falls is groomed but not trackset. TSJ says “I groomed Troll Falls but no track. It is pretty bomb proof from all the hiker traffic.”
So Does Ribbon Creek trail allow for snowshoe/ hiking? I hate the idea of walking on trails I’d rather be skiing but am looking for a good family hike in the area…
Hi Ryano,
The old ski trail on Ribbon is now a snowshoe winter walking trail. Check Alf’s post in snowshoe for a description. The new ski trail is higher and walking and snowshoeing is not permitted.
Thanks for posting that Ribbon Creek video, Bob. It definitely looks like the kind of ski where 5+ cm of fresh snow on the trail is the difference between ecstasy and agony.