It’s amazing to hear the differing viewpoints on West Bragg creek ski trail conditions. I haven’t been there, so I have no first-hand knowledge. All three comments are basically saying the same thing, albeit with much different approaches.
Olaf(Dec 28): “AVOID Bragg Creek. . .despite skierbob saying it’s skiable, it’s not. I’ve biked in deeper snow on multiple occasions. Heck, there were fresh bike tracks on Ranger Summit, so that should prove my point. A sample of what a good chunk of the trails looked like in this photo. And if it wasn’t grass it was rocks, sticks, bushes and dirt.”
Alan(Dec 28): “Skied Bragg Creek today. I went Crystal Line, Moose Connector and Moose Loop before returning. These trails were freshly tracked and snow conditions were good. The snow cover is a bit thin in places where grass and dirt are occasionaly showing in the tracks. Steeper down hill sections require control and caution due to occasional rocks. Great day enjoyed myself immensely.”
Jay(Dec 26): “All trails at West Bragg Creek have been track set. Skied most of them this morning. They are ok with some bare spots.”
It’s good to have these comments so that readers are aware of the conditions. It would appear that the deciding factor on whether you enjoy skiing at West Bragg right now depends on your attitude. For some people, the cup is half full, and for others it’s half-empty. Thanks for all the comments!
I appreciate you using my full name and only using first names for everyone else involved. The bottoms of my skis tell the story well enough, for all you that enjoyed it, great, good for you guys! I guess there can only be one perspective and that’s that conditions were all glorious. My bad for actually stating how I felt conditions were. I skied three years on my current skis, at least three times a week during the winter, and had one little gouge, had it fixed the week before I did this trip I commented on. After this trip I have multiple long gouges on both skis from the rocks I hit.
And as I realize sarcasm doesn’t translate well on the internet, I cordially request that my last name is removed from your post. Thank you kindly.
Olaf
Your original comment from my Facebook page where you used your last name. -Bob
I must qualify as a “half full” guy- I had a very enjoyable New Years day on Moose Loop etc. Once we were past the discouraging start of the loop going CCW, which featured a lot of grass and a 100 metre stretch of glistening ice in the vicinity of Telephone, (there is a skier tracked bypass in the willow bottom that we missed) conditions in general were quite good with occasional marginal areas. Tracks in general remain well set, and most downhills going CCW have adequate coverage if you are careful.
Looks like my companions are happy to be out enjoying a stellar day in the outdoors too-
https://picasaweb.google.com/steveandjoriggs/MooseLoop
Just returned from a wonderful ski at Bragg Creek. O.K., if your glass is half empty at Bragg Creek it will downright be a dribble at the bottom of your cup if you ski Sandy McNabb. We took one look at the parking lot and decided to start our trip about a km away from trailhead. We encountered maybe 5 groups in a 2 1/2 hour trip. The conditions were far better than I expected. If you get used to PLPP I can understand why you might be disappointed, however, after Sandy, we had a great day. Please keep dogs on leashes. Saw two fights and while any well trained dog is a pleasure, unless you have complete control the leash is a must. Our own dog, Bob, is great but very social after spending numerous hours at our local dog park. This means that a leash is mandatory as not all dogs enjoy his gregarious nature. We love our animals but three individuals thanked us for leashing our dog. This should not be an anomoly. Also, thanks to all the snowshoers and walkers that respectfully do not walk on the x-country tracks. We can all work together on this. Pray for snow!!
I skied the Iron Springs – Elbow loop yesterday – conditions were really quite good – definitely worth the trip. I took my old skis, but didn’t hit any rocks (you have to ski with care) and the tracks were mostly awesome. There are thinner areas in the usual spots – such as the beaver ponds at the South end of Iron Springs. As for seeing bike tracks – I had a chat with some of the fat-tyred mountain bike boys in the parking lot – sounds like they’ll be riding the all-season trails on the packed snow through the winter.