Superb conditions on Elk Pass

Elk Pass

Mar 11, 2021: When I was able to stride up the big hill with minimal herringbones on waxable skis, I knew I was in for a glorious day. As Keith mentioned in his trip report, the weather forecasts don’t look very promising but I think these wonderful conditions should last for one more day anyway. 

Ray, Mary, and Keith

We’ve had a number of trip reports from PLPP, so I’ll keep mine short. Thanks to everyone for your reports. 

Kirsten and James on Elk Pass

The air temperature at the Elk Pass trailhead at 2 pm was zero, and the snow was -4°C, with blue skies and no wind. The texture of the snow looked like VR50(0/-4) would do the trick and it was the right choice. I had excellent grip with no sticking. Early skiers were able to use colder wax. 

With the nice weather, it was a day made for socializing. At the top of the hill I was thrilled to meet three of our regular trip reporters, Ray and Mary Perrott and the aforementioned Keith Bagnall. 

I skied down the other side of the hill with total control on snow which allowed for easy snowplowing when necessary.  

Steve and Jo Riggs on Elk Pass

Another gabfest ensued when I ran into Steve and Jo Riggs at about the 4K mark. Steve has been writing reports on this blog for as long as I have. Steve has a much better camera than I do, so make sure you check out his photos

Fox Creek was in reasonably nice shape and the skiing was enjoyable.  Just a bit of debris and a few small icy patches. 

When I skied at Kananaskis for the first time 24 years ago, I had no idea where this activity would take me. Today on Elk Pass I reached the 25,000 kilometre milestone with a few more Ks for good measure. 

The milestone was achieved when I arrived at the Elk Pass/Blueberry Hill junction and lucky for me, Kirsten and James were there to snap a photo. 

Trails in the Ribbon Creek and Kananaskis Village area are being trackset this evening. 

The Chateau grooming team at Lake Louise was busy today and trackset the following trails: Fairview; Lake Louise surface; Lake Louise Shoreline; Upper Telemark; Peyto.

Thursday night is usually when Mt Shark gets groomed and trackset. 

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