Sunday morning update

Elk Pass on Jan 16. Photo by Steve Riggs

Congratulations to our one-milllionth reader who logged in yesterday. This comes two months earlier than usual this winter.

Saturday tracksetting

Shaganappi golf course: Corduroy and fresh track setting. Read the details on the Grooming Reports or on the Shaganappi trail report. 

Lake Louise: Pipestone, Shoreline and Upper Telemark. Weather forecasts are predicting a few snow flurries for LL today. 

Peter Lougheed Provincial Park(Jan 17): Whiskey Jack, Packers, Upper Pocaterra, Lower Lake. The downed tree has been removed from Whiskey Jack. The temperatures this morning at the maintenance compound and the lower lake are both -5°C. 

Canmore Nordic Centre: The man-made snow is trackset regularly(almost daily). The trail report indicates the natural snow on Bow Trail was trackset last night. 

Moraine Lake road at 9K. Photo by Chuck

If you’re heading out today, and are looking for first-hand info on conditions, the January trip reports is the place to go. We’ve had 22 Trip Reports from Saturday which cover most trails in the SkierBob domain. Thank you to everyone who submitted a report. 

Bow River Loop at Lake Louise. Photo by Manfred

I was especially pleased to get so many reports from Lake Louise. Whatever trail you’re thinking of doing there, I believe there is a skier who reported about it. You can be assured of excellent conditions because the snow and weather stays colder in LL. 

Caroline is not recommending Goat Creek: “Some of the downhill sections were bordering on too icy to be completely safe. I would not try it again myself until we get some new snow.”

Emerald Lake/Yoho

Emerald Connector. File photo

We don’t have a skier’s report from Emerald Lake, but I can fill you in. The good news is that the Emerald Connector was trackset yesterday. Kicking Horse was trackset on the 14th. A reminder, the Emerald Connector is a trail for seasoned intermediate skiers. It’s narrow, with steep hills and tight turns, with an additional challenge:

“Joe had some problems with the equipment on his way back from Emerald…..skiers need to be aware that he could not get the track setter to lift for the bigger hills!!! He manually changed it on the Re-Connector –to flatten it–cause that could be deadly to have a track going downhill….so please be careful on the Connector!!!!”

You may have read on the Groomer’s reports the following update from Kicking Horse Ski Club:

We still cannot chance driving the sled across Emerald Lake —to avoid the avalanche area. It is just too mild and slushy…and all the new snow we got recently is not helping the slush freeze up. The hardest part is getting the Ginzu Groomer across the lake — because it is super heavy and can easily get totally bogged down in this slush. Not a good situation. We have been told by Avalanche Control(early January) NOT to sled or groom the walking trail or ski trail under the danger zone and that is understandable! It leaves us no option right now… All we can say is– “Sorry the trails are such a mess at Emerald Lake”. We will not take a risk like that with our sled and driver! Hate to ask for Super Cold Weather—but that is what we need!

Translation: They are unable to groom the Alluvial Fan, Horse trail, and Tree Hugger. 

I later received an email with a new development. Tracksetter Joe was able to run the snowmobile across the lake with the hope of the track freezing overnight. If so, they will be able to take the Ginzu across the lake to where the trails start. “No new trail grooming at Emerald till Joe’s track freezes over—so he can drag the equipment with him.”

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  1. Skied from Elkwood today…beautiful track & conditions! Did Amos/Wheeler/ Meadow.

    By the time I got back 1ish…big Jackrabbit group heading out & folks parked on side of road which only allows 1 lane to exit. As I was leaving there were some open parking spots.

    So grateful for tracksetting…I have my park pass to support this,

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