Saturday morning update

April 3, 2021

The final trail update from the Chateau grooming team at Lake Louise:

Upper Telemark and Peyto Trails (#5&#7): Double trackset, April 2, good spring condition. Icy in places during the morning, slushy and sticky in the later afternoon.

Fairview Loop (#2): Double trackset, March 30, fair spring condition. Icy in places during the morning, slushy and sticky in the later afternoon.

Shoreline (#4): Double trackset, March 30, good fair condition. Icy in places during the morning, slushy and sticky in the later afternoon.

Lake Trail (#4): Double trackset with a separate path for walkers, March 30, poor spring condition. Icy in places during the morning, slushy and sticky in the later afternoon. The melt water from the snow is pooling on the lake making for VERY slippery conditions with potential for wet feet. We are no longer checking ice thickness and the skating rink is no longer being maintained, use at own risk!  

I’d like to thank Jeff and the entire Chateau grooming team for their timely reports. Throughout the season, I received an update immediately upon the completion of the day’s grooming. It’s me who is  12 hours late with the above report. 

Peter Lougheed Provincial Park

Trails which were trackset overnight in PLPP include Pocaterra from the hut to Packers, Rolly Road, Come-Along, and Lynx. The middle section of Come Along was not groomed due to bare ground.

“Warm winds kept the temperature above freezing, throughout the grooming period, and grooming the moist to wet snow will result in even the new grooming being on the icy side first thing in the morning, until the temperature rises (if it freezes in the early morning hours).”

The temperature at the Lower Lake this morning at 7:30 is -3°C, so it did indeed finally freeze overnight. The temperature at midnight was +4. 

I spoke with PLPP Tracksetter James at the Wednesday meeting, and if all goes according to plan, tracksetting in PLPP will continue until the middle of April. Of course, the weather will have some bearing on this. 

Yoho/Emerald Lake 

Lorraine from the Kicking Horse Ski Club: “April 2, I brought my old fishscale skis to Emerald Lake. Skied to the back of the lake and in the alluvial fan –but on the supportive crust. Track is icy and uneven so off trail is much better. Quite busy at the lake but I was the only skier. Everyone else was walking.”

Canmore Nordic Centre

The trails with man-made snow were trackset overnight at CNC. 
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Bike season

The Lake Minnewanka Loop in Banff will be closed to motor vehicle traffic Monday to Thursday, May 1-20 to give the road to cyclists. This is a pilot project and Parks Canada is looking for feedback. This reletively new website CycleAlberta.ca is devoted to promoting road biking routes that are quiet (less motorized traffic) and showcase Alberta’s countryside.