It rained all day in Canmore, and judging from the trip reports, it was raining elsewhere also. The weather turns cooler tomorrow and is sub-zero every day henceforth, but I suspect we’ll need some new snow before the trails are skiable. At least enjoyable-skiable. This rain should turn to snow at higher elevations. The Snow Forecast is predicting 7 cm tonight in PLPP, and 3 cm in Lake Louise.
Dave was enjoying the skiing on Tyrwhitt. Photo by Chip
If I had ventured out, I expect I would have reacted the same way as Miles, and turned around. Although my friend Chip got soaked, I’m glad he persevered and sent the first Tyrwhitt photos of the season. You can see more on his trip report. Congratulations are in order for Chip. He’s finally figured out how to share his photos without sending them to me first. Thanks, Chip, it will save me some work. Everyone else who wants to share photos can do so by downloading your photos to a photo-sharing site, then leave a link with your trip report.
Blueberry Hill and the fat bikes
“I silently cursed them for their stupidity as they scattered just in time.”
If you haven’t seen Lyle Opseth’s report about his encounter with the fat bikers yesterday, just a few minutes before my fateful encounter, check the Ask a question, leave a comment page.
I spent a good portion of the day on the internet, replying to comments about the fat bike situation on Blueberry Hill. Judging from a comment on that article, plus many comments on the Facebook group “Ride the Rockies,” I believe there are still a few people who don’t understand the issue with fat bikers on Blueberry Hill, aside from the fact they aren’t allowed there. I did experience a dangerous situation with the two bikers blocking the trail, but that’s not the basic concern. Here’s my take on it, you are welcome to post a comment with your views.
Click for a larger image
The fundamental issue is that Blueberry Hill is double-trackset for skiing. Fat bikers use the middle of the trail between the two tracks which is necessary for a skier to use for snowplowing on a downhill. An ascending skier would be in the up tracks and well out of the way.
A good example of a safe trail is Goat Creek where there is only one ski track. This allows the fat-bikers and snowshoers plenty of room on the far side of the trail without destroying the track.
For Blueberry Hill to be safe for skiers and fat bikers it would require a different grooming configuration.
A blog on drugs
Update: The final tally was 18,768 unique visits.
The Fat bike issue brought a lot of readers over to my blog today. In fact, we’ve set a record for unique visits in a single day, but in my books, it will have an asterisk beside it, sort of like the Barry Bonds drug-tainted home run record. I’m sure half the visits were from bikers checking the post I made along with the photos of the bikers who I encountered on Blueberry Hill. Before I get in trouble, I welcome all readers!
The previous record was set on Jan 1, 2017, with 11,575 visits.
