Lots of snow in Cascade valley

Rosalie, Haley, Rebecca, Ali at the Cascade river bridge(6K)

It was snowing lightly at 1:45 pm, and the temperature was -10°C. I can hardly be bothered to take a snow temperature anymore, since I keep using the same wax over and over. VR40(-4/-12). If you click on the above photo, you can see the snowflakes against the dark clothing.

At 8k, it was nice to meet Karen who frequently corresponds with me on Twitter.

At 8k, it was nice to meet Karen who frequently corresponds with me on Twitter.

Groomed last weekend, the first 6K was still in pretty nice shape with good tracks. Beyond the 6K bridge, however, there is a lot of fresh snow on the trail, and the tracks would almost have to be considered “skier-set.” This section of the trail hasn’t been groomed or trackset for quite a while.

This skater had to work hard today.

This skater had to work hard today.

I skied for 10K and turned around. With the fresh snow slowing me down, I decided to get back while it was still light. The snow was coming down heavier, too, when I finished at 4 pm.

There were a lot of skiers out enjoying the clean, cold, fresh snow. Cascade valley is double trackset with a skating lane up to the Cascade river at 6K, thereafter it is single trackset with a skating lane, but it was difficult to see a skating lane today. In fact, if you look at the photo of the skater, in a turn of events, it appears that classic skiers have put down a second track in the skating lane!

Descending the big hill, this skier has the right idea, with one foot in and one foot out. The tracks are very wonky.

Descending the big hill, this skier has the right idea, with one foot in and one foot out. The tracks are very wonky.

You can ski 14.5K to the end of the tracksetting, and also visit a warden’s cabin at 13.4K in a very picturesque setting. Today, with the snow falling, which was beautiful in itself, I couldn’t even see the surrounding mountains.

I’ve received about 2-3 cm of snow in Canmore so far. Lots of interesting trip reports today, thanks everyone! I think Mary had much better tracks to ski in than I did. Speaking of which, I remember Mary mentioning the wonky down tracks on Cascade from a while back, and they’re still as wonky as ever.

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