Jim and Ellen on Bill Milne
“XC ski trail grooming is perfectly designed to provide the recommended safe spacing and social distancing.”
Conditions on the Bill Milne trail were as good as ever yesterday. After skiing the village trails, I drove to my private parking spot at the golf course – to find six cars there! It’s the first time I’ve encountered other vehicles at that location.
Warmer temperatures in the afternoon brought the skiers and dogs out in full force. When I parked, the air temperature had warmed up to -4°C, and the snow was -7. I added a layer of VR40(-4/-12) to my skis and it was all that was required for perfect grip.
Kazzy has submitted many trip reports over the years
I skied north of the golf course for about 3K and returned. Lots of blog readers were on the trail and I had many conversations throughout the afternoon. I was happy to see Ellen, Jim, Sophie, Doug, Kinga, Anita, JoAnne and others whose names I don’t know. The most famous trip reporter I met yesterday was Kazzy who was with Chis and Peter Thomas. Kazzy has submitted many trip reports over the years from dog-friendly ski trails.
Mt Kidd
I encountered some skiers returning from Wedge pond who weren’t aware that you could access the Evan-Thomas trail from the end of the Wedge Connector. Before the floods of 2013, the snowcat could groom right through from the end of Wedge and onto Evan-Thomas. That is no longer the case.
Wedge now ends at a narrow bridge. You have to remove your skis and walk about 200 metres to access the grooming on Evan-Thomas. It allows you to complete the loop and get back onto the Bill Milne trail. I’ve written about this situation previously Connecting Evan-Thomas to the Wedge Connector.
Should be another great day on the trails today. Some grooming was completed in the north end of PLPP. If you want to see Helen Read, she’s on Goat Creek to Banff now(10 a.m.). It was trackset yesterday. Cascade Valley was trackset on Saturday.
The West Bragg Creek Trail Centre is now closed due to the Covid 19 outbreak. Trails are still open for skiing.
Canmore Nordic Centre Notice
In accordance with Alberta Health Services direction to mitigate risks associated with COVID-19, ALL indoor Canmore Nordic Centre facilities will be closed to the public until further notice. The Canmore Nordic Centre is still open (outdoor use only) for Nordic skiing, fat biking, snowshoeing. Public use however is prevented in the Daylodge facility as it is CLOSED.
The natural snow trails at Canmore Nordic Centre were groomed yesterday.
Bill Milne trail Mar 15, 2020
These trails are “under-used”, huh?
Don’t forget to not stop protesting the end of grooming. We still need to be lobbying…