My lucky day

Chuck on Goat Creek at 4.3K(Well, 4.3 for me; it was 22.3 for Chuck who was on his way back to Banff)

I was surmising that Goat Creek might have new tracksetting today and I was correct. 10 cm of new snow has completely refreshed the hard-packed conditions of last week.

Running into Chuck(in blue) at the Banff boundary

To add to my good fortune, as I approached the Banff boundary who should I encounter coming from the other direction but our renowned trip reporter Chuck who had already skied 18K from Banff.

The final descent to the Goat Creek bridge

We raced down to the Goat Creek bridge on the best conditions ever. I won’t say who won, but you’ll notice Chuck was ahead of me in most of these photos.

Carolyn was enjoying the fantastic conditions on Goat Creek

Although the trail was only trackset this morning, the tracks were firm and quite fast. All the hills were easy and safe. I didn’t have to take my skis off anywhere, but the final 100 metres down to the Goat Creek bridge is like skiing in a canyon. Lots of snowplowing over the winter has left the trail severely dished.

The temperature was -12 with a sunny sky at the Goat Creek trailhead at 1:30 pm. There was a stiff breeze which disappeared as soon as I descended the first hill out of the parking lot.

I was hot on Chuck’s heels as we left the Banff boundary

It was difficult making a choice on where to ski today. Canmore Nordic Centre always has excellent grooming after a snowfall. The new tracksetting in PLPP was enticing. Cascade Valley had new tracksetting. Ribbon Creek is always fun. I finally decided on a short 15 minute drive to Goat Creek.

I didn’t go any further than the Goat Creek bridge and waved good-bye to Chuck as he headed back to Banff. Chuck has already submitted a trip report so click over and check the excellent conditions on Spray River West. All that tree debris I skied over on Wednedsday has been covered with the new snow and new tracksetting. Looks terrific!

Martin and Jip bring up a good point about the convenience of skiing close to home. We’ve all saved a lot of money on gas this winter whether you live in Calgary, Canmore or Banff. For Calgarians, consider donating some of those gas savings to the trail maintenance at West Bragg Creek.