Thousands of skiers look at this blog every day(click for larger image)
I’m happy to have you reading my ski blog. You’ve found a valuable place to get information about cross-country ski trails in Southern Alberta and Southeastern BC. Everyday, skiers are finding this blog in their Google searches or by other means in their quest to find a venue to cross-country ski. I didn’t ski yesterday, but many people did, and 14 have left Trip Reports, the most popular page on here. Quite often, you’ll get photos as well.
The most recent trails to be trackset are in green(click for larger image)
I’d say the Trip Reports page is the first place to look in the morning when you’re trying to decide where to go. A first-hand account from someone who’s been there is the best information. The next place is the Live Grooming Reports. For example, if you click on PLPP under the Live Grooming Reports, you’ll see that Whiskey jack, Packers, Upper Pocaterra, and Lower Lake were all trackset last night.
If you’re a backcountry skier, check the Backcountry page. Chip skied to Gypsum Mines yesterday and left a detailed report. If you go backcountry, you may need some avalanche awareness and training.
West Bragg Creek. Photo by Steve Riggs
The Trail Reports are the next thing to check, and I see from the Banff Trail Report that Cascade Valley from the start to the Cascade river(6K) was groomed yesterday. Update: I just received an email from Ken stating that he skied Cascade yesterday, and it didn’t appear to have any new tracksetting. Possibly all that was done is roller-packing of the skating lane.
Occasionally we’ll get a report from the Groomers themselves on the Groomer’s reports page when a trail has just been trackset. The most recent is just this morning from Jeff H at West Bragg Creek.
The Pocaterra – Whiskey jack junction with Trip Reporter Chip in the foreground.
Thank you to everyone who left a Trip Report yesterday. I’m happy to see we’ve got some new people on this list:
Confederation Golf Course – Audrey, Doug
West Bragg Creek – Martin J, Adam, Kathy H
PLPP – Joe, Mary
Mt Shark – Carolyn
Canmore Nordic Centre – Mtn Girl, Greg B
Castle Lookout – Duane and Carol
Emerald Lake – Janice
We have excellent conditions to report from most trails, and it’s nice to not see the words “pine needles, tree debris, ice, rocks, dirt, in any of the reports!
If you’d like to know how difficult a trail is, you can check Ray’s Trail Steepness or Risto’s Hill Pain Score. Some trails are difficult without necessarily being steep, such as Goat creek, so it’s good to research them before going there.
If you are wondering about something, post your question on the “Ask a question, leave a comment” page.
I will often post updates in the morning about recent snowfall or tracksetting on Twitter. You can read these on the Twitter feed on the sidebar.
If you want to read previous reports about specific trails, on the sidebar there’s a long list of trails under Places to Ski.
LOVE love love your blog/website! Though I only get to Canmore a few times during the snow season, I check it daily – just to live vicariously through you all!
Happy New Year Bob and HUGE thanks for your amazing site!
Jennifer