Saturday morning update

Wind warnings have been issued for Canmore and Kananaskis. There’s a small amount of snow in the forecast for tonight. We will need it to cover the tree debris as a result of the strong winds. It’s already +2°C at West Bragg Creek early this morning. 

Lake Louise and Yoho are expecting 10-15 cm of new snow. 

Dogs are allowed on-leash on the Kananaskis Village trails

Update: Alberta Parks has removed “No dogs at Kananaskis Village trails” from their website. I believe it was on there by mistake. Dogs are allowed on the Kananaskis Village/Ribbon Creek/Bill Milne trails on-leash. I have a page on the main menu which lists all the Dog-friendly ski trails. 

Reminder, if you see acronyms which you’re not familiar with, check the main menu under “Resources” for the acronyms list. 

Redearth Creek – good news

Redearth Creek. Photo from Jan 2019

I was pleased to receive this update from Tracksetter Jeff Lockyer. This development should be a big improvement towards making the trail safer and more skier friendly. ACC is doing the grooming and is constrained with the limited amount of equipment they have. Does anyone have a spare roller he could use? 

Redearth Creek. Photo from 2015.

“I just returned from the Redearth creek. After the original feedback, I have removed all of the second trackset from the parking lot, up to and including lost horse (7km mark). I have also, reset the track on the right side (going UP the creek).

Redearth Creek. Photo from 2014

I made multiple passes from the parking lot to lost horse to remove the other track and attempt to smooth the lane, but please keep In mind I don’t have a roller at my disposal, only a trackset attachment that can either be in track mode, or a grooming mode (this is a old trackset without any mechanical advantage that Parks Canada. West Bragg, PLPP, etc have at their disposal).

Anyhow, just a quick update but I figured since I was under scrutiny from attempting to put the original track in, I would report back.

Anyone have a roller ?

In addition, I also shoveled a fair amount of Snow leading up to the lower bridge on the downhill. The comments on your website with regards to that bridge are slightly dramatic by users whom I would expect can control their own skiing under any circumstances. Also, advocating for novice users to use this trail should never really be an option, regardless of any level of competence with regards to the tracksetting.

We will continue to work the width of the trail as we transit to the lodge.”

Thanks for all your hard work, Jeff. Mr Democracy has skied it and given his approval.

West Bragg Creek 

Hostel meadow. Photo by Boomer Groomer

“Good morning and Happy New Year!

Happy to report that most trails are in quite good condition, with the exception of East Telephone, where skiing is not recommended due to large ruts and post holing.

All skate lanes have been renovated. Users may find the Mountain Road skate lane somewhat wavy. A deep renovation will be forthcoming to flatten it out.

For beginner skate skiers or anyone wanting to work on technique, Hostel Meadow (not Hostel Loop) is the best kept secret in West Bragg. It is a short, flat oblong loop that is 0.5km in length.

If you’re looking to work on form, want to avoid the crowds, and ski on supple, forgiving snow, Hostel Meadow’s your answer.

Chinook winds started around 11pm last night, so expect some debris on the trails today and soft snow due to warm temps.”
******

Evan-Thomas. Photo by Alf Skrastins

Evan Thomas loop

For anyone interested in skiing the Evan-Thomas trail(1.7K), Alf included a photo with his trip report that shows it is very well packed by foot traffic. You could use it as one leg of the 7-kilometre, three-part loop which also includes the Wedge Connector and Bill Milne trails. Caution: if doing the loop clockwise, remove your skis and walk down the steep hill from Evan-Thomas to the Wedge. 

Where to park? Alf said “We started from the Evan-Thomas parking lot, where there was plenty of space.”

13 Comments:

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  1. Dogs Have Rights Too

    Steve say it isn’t so a Dogsledder, I trust those sled dogs wanted to be leashed to that sled cause WBC is a designated Off Leash Area

  2. Headed out to Sandy McNabb this morning and trails are treacherous but lovely (oxymoron??). I am sure it will be worse tomorrow as wind was really picking up. Logger’s and Campers are doable but coming down Pine Ridge is not for the faint of heart. Arrived before 10 to a very full parking lot. A word to the wise, there is now a large sign saying “parking fees in effect” as well as a volunteer in parking lot by ranger station politely “educating” people that did not have pass displayed on dashboard. We had ours, but a number of people that were there to walk, snowshoe, hike, or ski, etc. were caught unaware. Hopefully, people will catch on. We have been to Sandy a handful of times over last two weeks and this was the first time for signage and volunteer educator. Another thing for people to realize when heading out to Sandy is that it is not all leashed dogs only. Sandy has a few trails that are on Crown land, specifically, but not limited to, Macabee, and Logger’s Loop. I have had a number of people telling me off, yelling, pointing at “Bob” the dog, etc., because they believe the whole area to be on leash. I had this encounter today with a lady that told me that Sandy was her “backyard” and she did not do well around dogs (I should add here that Bob is 10 years old and very well behaved). Luckily, I have taken to carrying a map which shows the off leash area of Sandy, but childishly, she refused to even look at it. I have dealt with this many times as I live close to Sandy so ski there as often as conditions allow, and, on this site I am probably preaching to the choir, but in case some readers are not in the know, if you do not like off leash dogs (and I understand that) perhaps choose Camper’s, Pine Ridge, Long Prairie Loop, Death Valley, or any other trails at Sandy that are in the provincial park boundary.

    • Hey Sheila, We walked at Sandy yesterday, on Long Prairie Ridge, and Death Valley, (the multi use trail, not the xc ski trail) yesterday, with our pup and it was busy for sure. We have a parking pass already, but there wasn’t a parking volunteer there yesterday. The parking lot was half full when we started but when we returned cars were parked along the road, even obstructing the visibility getting out on the highway. We have our pup on leash all the time, he’s a youngin’ still at 10 months and his enthusiasm often outweighs his manners, but after reading your post last year, and skierbobs caution regarding the on-leash/off leash confusion at Sandy, I’ve added a copy of the “leash map” to my pack to carry with me. Despite the Ridge and Death Valley being an on leash area, for the most part, we still saw a number of off leash dogs up top. BTW, our paths have crossed more than once on the ski trails and yes, Bob the Dog is a polite fellow! I always have a good chuckle reading your posts.

      • Hey Wendy, should we cross paths again, please say hello! Always nice to be able to put a face to the people that post on this site. I think that unless you check out Skier Bob’s dog-friendly trails, it is difficult to know what is on or off leash at Sandy. And just to confuse matters, up until a couple of years ago there was a great big neon sign that said off leash dogs owners would be fined 250.00 (I think that was amount) if caught. This just added to the issue (negatively) as the sign was on the boundary so nothing wrong there, but was not intended for the Crown land area. I try to be as friendly and patient as possible when people are annoyed when they see us on the off leash trail but if they were heading out to the area, just doing what you did and checking first would make for a more pleasant trip for everyone. Hope to cross paths again!

  3. Many thanks to Jeff the Redearth Creek groomer for taking note and putting in so much work to make the trail safe and fun to ski! I am someone who prefers fewer tracks in general, and am looking forward to enjoying this trail again soon 🙂

  4. Thanks for clarifying the dog rule at Kananaskis Village/Ribbon Creek/Bill Milne with Alberta Parks. We have been challenged a couple of times in the past on Bill Milne with Kazzy even though she was on leash. Now there should be no issues!

    • Alberta Parks has created a lot of confusion with their mistakes on the brochures and websites. I expect you’ll still get the occasional comment. Yesterday at WBC of all places, a lady with a dog said she was cursed at by someone telling her to get her dog off the trail.

  5. Fairview in Louise getting track set right now. Just past me while stamping out couch site.

  6. “Happy to report that most trails are in quite good condition, with the exception of East Telephone, where skiing is not recommended due to large ruts and post holing.”

    #$!*&#! It’s time for East Telephone to be designated as skiers only. Before someone is seriously injured! At the very least- this should be in effect for the challenging section between Disconnect and Long Distance all season trails- with prominent signage at those junctions and at the upper ends of those trails- which feed ever increasing numbers of trail wreckers onto East Telephone. Really though- the north and west sides of Telephone should also be ski only, through to Reconnect.

    • Thanks Steve. Public input on the future of the trail system’s Plan 2.0 will be critical to the long term success of the area. I would contact Bragg Creek Trails and Alberta Environment and Parks with your concerns.
      https://braggcreektrails.org/contact-us/

      • A friend told me today that they met up with a dogsledder on Telephone last week. If it’s the same guy that I have encountered a few times at WBC in previous years- he has a brake system on the sled for the downhills, that works by plunging a bar (s?) into the snow. That may well be the source of the ruts.

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