Skiing at its best!

Looking down Hydroline from the three-way junction.

I don’t usually talk to many skiers when I’m climbing Whiskey Jack because they are always downhilling so fast, but Matt made a point of stopping at the steepest part of the trail to have a chat, from a covid-approved distance of course.

Tyrwhitt

The steepest part of WJ is the S-turn which always gets scraped bare a few days after grooming but Matt said it was still in nice shape, and it would have to be edgeable to allow anyone to stop there.

Elk Pass

When I left PLPP late this afternoon, it was snowing so early skiers will have some trail breaking to do tomorrow morning.

I had my best-ever experience on the Boulton Creek trail today. I avoid that trail unless conditions are near-perfect because of the sharp turns at the bottom of fast downhills. It’s a narrow trail and on sketchy snow I am in fear of my life. Today it was all pleasurable.

Dylan shovelling snow on Boulton Creek

As I was finishing the day with this rare trip on Boulton Creek, I ran into Dylan who was still shovelling snow. It was obvious that he spent a good part of the day with the shovel in his hands because I could see the evidence as I cruised along on the fresh grooming.

Dylan was going over it with the drag renovator and filling in the thin spots.

The drag renovator

Upon completion of shovelling, Dylan switched over to the Ginzu groomer to put the finishing touches on the trail. I expect it will be groomed only, not trackset. I actually prefer it without tracks.

Tomorrow, he will be working on Fox Creek and Moraine.

Back to the SkierBob Special(aka Tywhitt Loop):

Whiskey Jack – excellent.

Tyrwhitt – fantastic.

Boulton Creek

Elk Pass – wonderful.

Fox Creek – still in nice shape with skier-set tracks.

Boulton Creek – Freshly groomed and not scary.

Sean pointed out the moose tracks as we were skiing along the north section of Tyrwhitt. I wonder if this is the “Tyrwhitt Moose” which I photographed way back in 2011? Perhaps one of her calves? Possibly the Whiskey Jack Moose which I skied past in 2014?

Before skiing the loop in the south end, I stopped at Elkwood and checked out the trails surrounding William Watson Lodge. I’ll do a separate update on them. They will be of interest to beginner skiers.

Thanks for all the trip reports today!

The Parks Canada trail report indicates that the following trails were trackset today at Lake Louise: Bow River loop, Campground loop, and the Townsite.