Rhonda Jewett sent this email along with the photos…,
“I was out skiing the freshly groomed trails in PLPP today and wanted to share it with you and the xc ski universe that comes to your website!
First, the good news story: the parking lot and trails were packed today. Everyone was soaking in the excellent freshly groomed trails! Today showcases what PLPP is all about, winter recreation at its best! Thanks to the groomers for getting out last night and for the snow storm that subsided just in time to let us have perfect tracks today. Some pictures of the crowds and skiers are attached.
On a less positive note- there was one skier skating on the freshly groomed trails today- wrecking the track for the hundreds of us out there enjoying the classic trail system and respecting that PLPP is groomed for classic only.
This man was stopped by several skiers today and he was dismissive and ignorant of the effort that goes into grooming these trails for classic. He claimed he didn’t know it was a classic facility and said he has seen skaters out here ‘often’ which is just ignorant.
I asked his name and where he was from and he wouldn’t answer, instead taunted me to call the RCMP on him. I suspect he is not a tourist- he had all the latest equipment and his skiing partner sported a lovely Nipika Sauce headband. When I explained that Shark, CNC and Ribbon Creek are groomed for skating- they said they aren’t groomed today- so they clearly and in the know.
I suspect they are responsible for the single skate tracks on PLPP this winter. They did point out that the trails lack signage to support no skating- which they are correct. Signs exist but they are limited. I wanted to share so that there is accountability for if other people see them skating on the classic trails.
Finally, I love tweet you shared about the prediction of reinstating PLPP grooming in 2021- I totally think this is the Kenney’s strategy, cut everything and see what sticks. Let’s make a ruckus and keep PLPP accessible for all!”
I mostly do skating and when I came to Pocaterra first time with skate skis only I was very disappointed to see the sign which is very hard to miss. It is even harder to miss that the tracks are done for classic only, they are nowhere near wide enough, even if they would be only packed and not trackset. So it’s not only stupid, it’s just not enjoyable, there is no point in skating there at all. I did double poling that day. Some people are just assholes, don’t forget to remind them.
pole to his midsection as he skates by.
I wonder how this person would feel if someone spoiled something they had just spent 10 hours working on, something that hundreds of people were relying on for their safety and enjoyment.
Hey folks, can we incorporate hashtags into our posts such as #protectalbertaparks & #protectourparksalberta & a hashtag to support grooming in our parks for the health benefits maybe #groomingbenefitshealthab
I was introduced to the wonderful trails of Kananaskis years ago by someone who taught me that what was important was just being out in the mountains. I used to often see skate skiers in PLPP (this was 10 to 20 years ago) and honestly never thought too much about it. I chuckle when people talk about conditions being “fair” when it’s a glorious day…there’s fresh snow but the tracks aren’t perfectly set. Maybe expectations are changing. It’s bad enough that we’re getting so divisive in our politics and now we seem to be getting divisive in our cross country skiing as well. I’m not a skate skier…but I also remember a friend of mine skate skiing on the Sawmill trails (this was over 20 years ago) while I was diagonal striding in about 20 cm of fresh powder…she could do it because she was tough and fit…and we both had a blast. I remember the fight between snowshoers and skiers…until both were educated…now they have their own trails (thankfully many of them were built before our current government came in) but if push came to shove both can be accommodated. What I would like to know is what’s happening with the recent planned changes to the provincial park system? Is anyone lobbying to maintain these services? I’m hearing from many that they would be happy to pay user fees…but have we studied the cost benefits of both options? I think we have bigger issues to worry about at this point. Has anyone proposed a meeting to discuss actions to take? I’ve seen a few links to petitions but I’m thinking a better idea is to come up with an actual plan for cross country skiing in the region. Where do we see the sport 30 years from now? (I know the government should be somewhat responsible for long term planning but no sign of this these days). When I say sport…I mean all aspects of cross country skiing ranging from hard core racing to backcountry exploration…and all things in between. I personally don’t care about having perfect track sets although I appreciate them when I find them.
I think I wrote about that dude a few weeks back wrecking the Ribbon Creek track.
Bit of a loudmouth, had a friend. Pick up.
Let’s try to get his license plate number.