Update Mar 8 @ 8:58 pm and Fantastic News: Just a few minutes ago, Rio the dog has been found! Read more details and an update from the owner on Lost Dog at Elbow Valley/West Bragg Creek.
Thanks for all the trip reports today. In this weather, it’s nice to hear where you are finding good conditions. This being one of the rare days where we don’t have a trip report from Hugh, I decided to check out the trails at CNC for myself.
Long-time blog reader Paul d’Agostino was using wax with success
The skiing on the trails which were trackset over the past two days was astounding. Paul was even using purple wax(VR50) and having a good day. I spoke to many skiers who were amazed at the good conditions and were using a variety of skis including waxable, fish scale, skins, and zeros.
Donna Bradley wished me well on my farewell tour
Yes, zeros. Does anybody remember them? They are perfect for these conditions and mine worked flawlessly today. They glide like the wind because there is no drag from fish scales or skins. The grip zone is no thicker than the wax which you’d normally apply to waxable skis, almost “zero” thickness.
The window of opportunity for zero skis is limited and they are useless in fresh snow. Instant high heels. I don’t think I even used them once last year because conditions were always suitable for my waxable skis.
I headed out to the meadow on Banff trail, then skied around on the higher elevation trails including Meadowview, Wolverine, Bruin, Coyote, and Freddie’s Flip. Everything was in excellent shape except for the rare wet patch in highly sun-exposed areas. Wolverine had a bit of dirt churned up in the grooming but wasn’t an issue.
The temperature at 2 pm was +2°C and the flags were rippling gently in the light breeze under a beautiful blue sky. The mountains look spectacular on a day like this.
Ski season is far from over, but we’re limited in where we’ll find good conditions. Keep an eye on the trip reports, and we’d like to hear from you even if you found poor conditions. It will assist other readers in their skiing choices for the next day.
Tracksetting at Lake Louise today included the Campground Loop, Bow River Loop, Upper & Lower Tramline, and Townsite.
