And the best option was…

I’ll vote for the south/middle trails in PLPP, but it sounds like Lake Louise and Pipestone would be in the running.

Roger and daughter Sharon on Pocaterra(between Lookout and WJ)

Roger and daughter Sharon on Pocaterra(between Lookout and WJ)

I had a 27K day with excellent conditions on the middle/south trails, but David has already given us a comprehensive report on the exact same trails which I covered. I’ll add some photos and a few more details.

Tyrwhitt had lots of fresh snow but the tracks were still good and fast

Tyrwhitt had lots of fresh snow but the tracks were still good and fast

I started at 12 noon at Boulton creek with an air temperature of -3°C and snow temp of -5. I waxed with VR45(-2/-8) and didn’t have to touch it for the remainder of the day. I had good grip and awesome glide.

You wouldn’t know these trails were covered with debris and wet snow three days ago. With new tracksetting, Whiskey jack was absolutely pristine and perfect.

Elk pass - Blueberry junction

Elk pass – Blueberry junction

I was tempted to follow the new tracksetting on Pocaterra, but decided to continue on toward Tyrwhitt. I heard from other skiers that it had a lot of fresh snow. It turned out to not be a problem. Indeed there was 6-8 cm of new snow, and even deeper as you neared Elk pass, but the tracks were well-defined, not wobbly, and fast.

Excellent conditions on Fox creek

Excellent conditions on Fox creek

At the top of Elk pass there had to be 12-15 cm of new snow. The tracks were all over the place and soft, but I still moved along reasonably well.

The most pleasant surprise of all was Fox creek. About 4-5 cm of new snow has really rejuvenated this trail. It was lots of fun on the good single-track and the new snow made it easy to dodge the trees. Ditto Moraine.

Moraine also had great snow and tracks

Moraine also had great snow and tracks

I encountered many skiers in both directions on Fox and Moraine, which brings me to the “trail etiquette” concern. If I’m skiing by myself and I see a train of skiers coming, such as the Regina Ski Club who were on Moraine, I will quickly get over and let them go by. It’s much easier to inconvenience one person than a whole group.

When finished the loop, my skis headed right back up Whiskey jack. The pull of the new tracksetting was too strong to quit this soon and I did the WJ – Pocaterra – Packers loop back to Boulton creek. Packers is in excellent shape with no ice flows.

2 Comments:

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  1. awesome photos Bob , I will be heading out there Monday !

  2. I’ll second the etiquette comment. I’d love to remind people that one ski still in the track also isn’t really out of the way! Most people are awesome and I know sometimes we don’t hear people coming up on us, especially from behind.

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