Lovely day in PLPP

You can ski in daylight ’til well after 8 pm now, so my updates will be getting even later!

Jordan, Nicolas, Matt and Stephanie on Pocaterra

I was thrilled to see all the tracksetting that was done in PLPP last night. When I started up Pocaterra at 2:45 pm, the temperature was +2°C, and the tracks were either wet or icy, but a cm of new snow helped with grip.

Good conditions on Lynx

I used the skintecs because they work very well when you’re going to be skiing in a variety of conditions which is what I experienced today.

Ena mentioned in her Elk Pass Trip Report “not many people out for a Sunday.” They were all at Pocaterra. It was nice to be back on this trail and seeing so many skiers. The ones with waxless skis were smiling, too.

Amos had about 6 – 8 cm of fresh snow but the tracks were still good

Before you get too excited, read the entire update to see what Pocaterra was like when I returned three hours later.

Karen and Steven on Whiskey Jack

At the Pocaterra – Lynx junction I followed the new tracksetting on Lynx which had 2 – 3 cm of fresh snow, and the tracks were not icy or wet. The snow kept getting deeper the further south I went. Amos and Wheeler, which weren’t trackset last night, had about 6 – 8 cm of new snow, but the tracks were still well-defined and reasonably fast.

Approaching the top of Whiskey Jack

Next, I headed up Whiskey Jack. Karen and Steven who were descending Whiskey Jack had skied the Tyrwhitt loop starting at Boulton bridge, and were using blue wax with reasonable success. They reported lots of fresh snow on Elk Pass and Tyrwhitt. Their biggest complaint was slow glide.

Amazing conditions on Upper Pocaterra

From the top of Whiskey Jack I had excellent conditions on upper Pocaterra to the Packers junction. It almost felt like winter again. The trees were snow covered, the snow was cold, and I had beautiful tracks. I know how Karen and Steven feel, it’s frustrating to be going down fast hills much slower than you know you could be going. The skintecs glide pretty nice, but the fastest speed I recorded today was 31 Kmh. On a good day with waxable skis, that would have been at least 40 Kmh.

This is the location on Pocaterra where many skiers have encountered the killer grouse. No sign of him today.

Packers looked to be in nice shape with about 2 cm of snow over the recent tracksetting. Continuing down Pocaterra, from Packers junction to Lynx junction, the tracks became icier and icier as I descended. I stopped at the spot where the killer grouse lives and looked around but couldn’t see any sign of him. I hope he’s survived the winter. I’ll be happy to hear if anyone sees him again.

As I was returning, the final 4K on Pocaterra were very icy

The home stretch on the final 4K of Pocaterra was now very icy. The temperature had cooled down, the sun was no longer hitting the tracks, and all the wet snow had turned to ice. I still had reasonable grip and very fast glide on the ice. Pocaterra will not be much fun early tomorrow, unless you enjoy skiing on ice.

Is this the weather station?

Boulton Creek Weather Station?

Can anyone tell me what this apparatus is for? It’s about 5 metres off the trail as you’re climbing Whiskey jack, about 500 metres up from the Moraine junction. I have an inkling that it might be the Weather Network’s weather station for Boulton Creek. It mentions Whiskey Jack trail on the report.

It’s just a wooden box, obviously with instruments inside, and has an antennae off to the side.

Darcy’s Trip report from early this morning in PLPP reminds me to tell everyone that internet service is available at the PLPP Visitor Centre. No password required. If you want to leave a Trip report before going home, you can do so from there. There’s still no cell phone service. Anyone staying at William Watson Lodge could take the short trip over to the Visitor Centre and give us a report early in the morning. I’m not old enough yet to stay at WWL, but it won’t be long.