Skogan Pass
Peter and I couldn’t have asked for a nicer day or better conditions for skiing Skogan Pass to the summit. In 600 metres of net elevation, we did not have to herringbone even once, yet we had incredibly fast glide.
Skiers at Skogan summit. Photo by Chris S.
We started at 11:20 a.m. from the northwest corner of Nakiska’s main parking lot. It’s a very short walk to access the Hidden trail which takes you right through the base area of Nakiska.
Halfway up the Screamer, Peter dreams about the fun coming back down.
From Nakiska, it’s about 800 metres to the junction of Ruthie’s and Skogan. Watch out for crazy, out-of-control downhillers!
The air and snow temperature were both -12°C. We used VR30(-10/-30) very succesfully for the entire day. The snow appeared to be abrasive but we both had base binder which kept our wax on.
This is the iconic Skogan Pass photo of Mt Collembola.
When I took the air temperature at the summit two hours later, it was -5.
Everything is in beautiful shape. The wonderful grooming and the cold, clean snow made for a memorable day.
The “straightaway” on Skogan Pass.
When I was heading back down, I passed Chris S who was on his way up. He took a picture of the happy couple at the summit and sent it to me, thanks Chris. If the skiers will email me, I’ll be happy to add their names to the photo.
Peter had good grip for the 10K of relentless climbing on Skogan Pass.
We put on our warm clothes for the quick descent but at the first junction on the way back down(2.5K), I stopped and removed my vest because I was too warm. A nice problem to have when coming down this trail.
As always, the Screamer was great fun on the descent. Peter didn’t want to stop when we reached the Ruthie’s junction and kept going until I yelled at him to turn around.
The final 50 metres to the summit.
Starting at Nakiska eliminates having to negotiate the ice flows on Lower Skogan. Alternatively, you can start at Stoney trailhead and ski the very scenic Hay Meadow trail, then climb the steep hill on Ruthie’s. You can also take Hidden trail all the way from Ribbon Creek.
I was glad to read on the trip reports that skiers are making use of the new grooming and good conditions on Coal Mine. That’s another big climb and fast descent.
Skogan Pass and summit Feb 27, 2019
Can confirm the great conditions on Skogan today. Saw Bob just as he was coming down top of the Screamer as I was heading up for a late start. The snow did get a bit softer later in the afternoon due to the warm temperatures and there were couple of snow bombs as well. The Skogan Loop was super fast and in the best shape overall. If you want to access from the Stoney Trailhead, the Troll Falls trail under the power line is actually trackset and not obliterated by footprints which is pretty rare. There’s one good track on Hay Meadow but the other track has a lot of prints and pole holes in it already. It was my first time up this year and completely forgot how fast of a descent this is. Made it super fun after all that climbing up.
Never realized that about hidden, I guess it really is….hidden.