Hearing rumours of a big snowfall, I made an exploratory trip into PLPP(Peter Lougheed Provincial Park) this afternoon. At the first checkpoint there was 25 cm of snow at Pocaterra Hut.
Nearing the top of the big hill
At the next stop, to my delight and surprise, I could see that Elk Pass was in the process of being groomed. The snow cover was excellent for early season, so I expect the snowcat will lay down a track on the way back.
There was 3 cm of fresh snow over the corduroy on the plateau
I don’t know how much grooming will be completed, but it appeared that the entire system received a healthy dump of snow.
I wasn’t planning on doing any skiing today, but I had my skis in the car, so I quickly changed clothes and set out for my first ski of the season on Elk Pass. I had people waiting in the car, so I kept this trip limited to 30 minutes. As I was climbing the big hill, I could see from the ski tracks in the 2 cm of fresh snow that three skiers had beat me to it.
The groomed trail had no visible rocks, debris, dirt or other hazards.
Let’s hope they get the parking lot plowed for tomorrow
With so much fresh snow on the trail, it makes me think the groomer had been out for quite a while. It’s possible the groomers may even leave a report for us.
Lots of snow at Pocaterra
I only went 1.3K which included the big hill, 300 metres along the plateau, and 90 metres of elevation. The fresh snow was at least 3 cm deep up at the higher elevation. The air temperature was -4°C and the VR40(-4/-12) from yesterday was still working well in the fresh snow. You may notice if you have the Swix VR line of waxes that you get two temperature ratings: one for transformed snow, and one for fresh snow. The temperature rating for VR40 in fresh snow is -2/-8.
The Live Grooming reports in PLPP don’t show up on the website until they are finished and get connected to the internet.
Good timing: the PLPP Discovery Centre reopens for the winter season tomorrow(Saturday). Pocaterra Hut is open every day 8 am – 8 pm.
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