Skate Skiers with snow in their eyes on the Great Divide
The weather forecast was correct, and thanks to Chuck, we have evidence that it was snowing in Lake Louise today.
This arch denotes the boundary between Alberta and BC. It also denotes where Chuck was when snow started falling. Photo by Chuck.
The Great Divide was groomed and trackset yesterday, but at this time of year, we’ll gladly take more snow and wait for the next tracksetting which will be even better. This also bodes well for covering those thin spots on Moraine Lake road.
Chuck reports that waxing was a challenge today, and Helen’s report from MLR confirms that. A temperature of +1 with fresh falling snow is a recipe for high heels.
Great Divide. Photo by Chuck
The Weather Network is calling for small amounts of snow every day for the coming week. This is the perfect scenario for skiing and grooming. We don’t get overwhelmed all at once where it takes days for the tracksetters to catch up, and skiers can still have fun with a few cm of new snow in the tracks. The temperatures are cooling off into the vicinity of -3 to -7 and will be perfect for skiing.
With any luck, PLPP and Mt Shark will get some snow from this system. We had a welcome trip report from Ron regarding Pocaterra and Tyrwhitt. There is a parking lot 9K south of the winter barrier on Hwy #40 where you’ll find a short spur trail(approx 300 metres) which puts you onto Upper Pocaterra, about 1K from the Whiskey Jack junction. The barrier doesn’t close until Dec 1. Sounds like Tanya will be heading up there.
Baker Creek/Bow Valley Parkway update
Great Divide was trackset for the first time yesterday. Photo by Chuck
Just a reminder, the Bow Valley Parkway is closed at the Lake Louise end. You cannot access Baker Creek from Lake Louise. You have to take the Castle junction exit to reach Baker Creek for the next six months or so. I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that you can’t get to Lake Louise from Baker Creek, also. The retaining wall at Morant’s curve is being repaired and replaced and work will continue well into the spring of 2018. I wrote about it a while back Bow Valley Parkway closed at Morant’s curve.
It’s possible we’ll have some additional ski trails trackset in the area of Baker Creek Mountain Resort. I’m still waiting for confirmation. Of course the very scenic Baker Creek to Castle Lookout trail will be trackset as usual.
