Thursday morning update

Jan 21: Tracksetting from yesterday and last evening

Elk Pass was trackset last night. File photo

PLPP:  Elk Pass, Blueberry Hill, Patterson. Fox Creek and Boulton Creek were groomed(corduroy surface).

Over the last few days very strong wind gusts have dropped large and numerous tree bombs (especially at higher elevatoins), as well as other plentiful tree debris, some substantial in size.  Expect this debris mixed in to the top layer of the freshest grooming, and on top of older grooming.  There is also a possibility of trees down on the trails.

Green wax weather: The temperature at the PLPP maintenance compound at 6 a.m. was -23°C. The high is expected to be in the vicinity of -10. No snow in the forecast. 

Kananaskis Village: The trails around the Kananaskis Village were refreshed. Melt freeze cycles and heavy winds have left most trails with a glazed surface. Trails not groomed tonight will be hard and icy. Caution is advised.

West Bragg Creek

All skate lanes groomed and in good condition, classic tracks range from marginal to good depending on the trail. Skiers are advised to stay on Mountain Road, East/West Crystal, Sundog and Chickadee. All other trails have poor conditions due to ice, lack of snow, drifting or other hazards. The grooming crew will be concentrating on keeping the core trails in play during this drought. Snow would be a welcome relief!

Banff: Goat Creek and Spray River West.

Lake Louise: Fairview

MaSid’s couch. File photo

With all the debris-laden tracks and reports, it was nice to read M & J’s trip report yesterday…

“We had such a fantastic day, thanks to you MaSid, for the conversation, for the couch and for the trail through the magnificent meadow. We also got to watch the master builder at work, cutting with precision, the snow blocks to keep us out of the wind, while we lounged like a couple of sloths, in comfort, and in full sun, on the couch!”

Unless you find some secret location with clean snow, here are some descriptive words which you may use for your upcoming trip reports. If you’re really unlucky, you might be able to use all of them…

  • Abrasive
  • Bobsled run
  • Bullet-proof(sort of like concrete)
  • Boiler plate(frozen, crusty, hard-packed snow, often with icy patches)
  • Defensive skiing
  • Icy
  • Margarita(crushed ice)
  • Mulch
  • Needlemania
  • Needlemania over ice
  • Loud(the noise generated by skis on crushed ice)

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