Late shift on Wedge Connector, Evan-Thomas, Bill Milne

Wedge Connector

Sabrina and MaSid have submitted reports, now I’ll give my two cents. 

It was a nice day of skiing with Cheryl and Tessa on Wedge Connector.  Cold and clean and better than expected. The trail has very little sun exposure so we didn’t encounter any wet snow.

Wedge Connector

The only issue is the large ice flow about 200 metres from the end of Wedge Connector. It was still navigable today but I can’t make any guarantees about tomorrow. 

Evan-Thomas

Evan-Thomas was surprising, too. It was trackset two days ago and nobody has walked in the tracks! The snow was still cold but the tracks had lots of tree debris. With my waxless skis, the pine needles weren’t a significant problem.

Bill Milne trail

The south end of Bill Milne(Wedge to Evan-Thomas through Mt Kidd) was starting to be sun-affected by late afternoon. Conditions were variable. Sections with cold snow, sections with wet snow, and sections with glazed tracks. Also a fair bit of tree debris. Again, with waxless skis it was just fine.

The large ice flow near the end of Wedge Connector

We met Iain and Coco at the Evan-Thomas parking lot at the end of the day. They had skied north on Bill Milne to Ribbon Creek this morning and returned this afternoon. Ian said he experienced fast, glazed tracks this morning but the sun was starting to take its toll this afternoon. Coco might be the friendliest, happiest dog I’ve ever met. 

Terrace trail at Kananaskis Village

Although I may have been able to use waxable skis today, I’m glad I didn’t because of the pine needles. The sticky wax that would be required would have attracted a lot of tree debris. 

Terrace trail at Kananaskis Village looked to be in great shape, at least at the trailhead. The snow texture seemed more winter-like and powdery. 

The temperature at Wedge Pond in mid afternoon was +2°C. 

With lows around -6 tonight, I imagine most trails will be glazed in the morning. The predicted high at Kananaskis Village is +5, so the trails will soften up in sun-exposed areas as the day goes on. 

If you’re skiing in hilly terrain, take note of Hilary’s warning… 

“Be careful as the speed difference between sun and shade is significant enough to cause a face plant to those not ready.”

4 Comments:

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  1. I’ve seen you on the trails a few times but didn’t put it together till this afternoon when you were checking the conditions…hope you had a great afternoon, it was a beautiful day.

  2. Sorry to have missed you! But it was a great day! Great photos too!

  3. unfortunate you didn’t stop by for some campfire action bob. Maybe the late shift was too late.

  4. A pleasure to meet you today. Coco and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Sometimes Coco’s enthusiasm got the better of me! – but we are learning together. So fortunate to be able to get out and enjoy the snow and the mountains today.

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