“My parents towed me around the trails at Nipika today. I enjoyed the scenery but to be perfectly honest I was asleep most of the time. My chariot is a great place to take a nap. My parents said the conditions were great with freshly groomed trails and the weather was perfect for skiing with a little one because it wasn’t cold. I was pretty excited because I saw some huge paw prints in the snow, it turns out they were wolf tracks! I also enjoyed eating gingerbread cookies and oranges surrounded by the mountains and fresh snow.” – Nev
Nev and her parents on Main Street at Nipika Mountain Resort
Thank you to 16-month-old Nev for that exciting report! Wait, it gets even better. About an hour after Nev and her parents were skiing, Cheryl saw the wolf standing on the trail in the distance. Five minutes before that, she heard a pack of wolves howling. Talk about a lucky encounter! I had skied to the extreme north end of the trail system and missed all the action.
The Cross River Canyon trail at Nipika Mountain Resort
Cheryl was about 500 metres from “home” when she spotted the wolf on “Main Street” (the main trail going north from Nipika Lodge) and she estimates the wolf was about 80 metres away, standing on the trail.
The first thing she did was put Tessa on the leash, and as she started skiing the wolf moved to the side of the trail, then a few seconds later it moved a little further, then disappeared into the trees.
Canyon Falls.
Healthy wild wolves are generally scared of humans and don’t want to be around them. The Banff wolves which you’ve been hearing about and are approaching people have obviously been fed and are habituated. These Kootenay wolves appear to be normal wolves who still have a fear of humans.
Nipika has dedicated, groomed fat bike trails.
I tried out fat biking today, and realized why fat bikers enjoy riding on groomed cross country ski trails. It’s pretty easy to ride when you’re on a firmly packed trail, but as soon as you get into loose snow that’s 10 cm deep, it gets difficult, and impossible to go up a hill. Cheryl took a picture of me on the fat bike but I would simply die of embarrassment if anyone saw it.
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Tyrwhitt was groomed today(not trackset) and these remarks were made about its condition: “Tyrwhitt is looking better but still a little rough with many thin spots and other natural hazards.”
It sounds like tracksetting is imminent in Yoho and Emerald Lake. Check the Groomer’s Reports for the update.
I’ve added some photos to the Emerald Lake Lodge contest.
It looks like an upslope weather system will dump up to 15 cm on Calgary and hopefully West Bragg Creek on Friday, with smaller amounts in the mountains.
More photos from Nipika today…
