– A deer was browsing on Aspen trail –
Conditions were superb on the trails around Kananaskis Village. It looked like Jeff was grooming and tracksetting the Bill Milne trail and the Wedge connector, with one track only, so it would be suitable for skating also. Conditions should be wonderful for the weekend.(Update: The new trail report confirms what I was suspecting: Bill Milne, Wedge connector have been single trackset with skating lane, and Evan-Thomas has been groomed for skating.)
Louis and Katherine on Kovach trail
I met Louis and Katherine on Kovach, where Louis was trying out cross-country skiing for the first time in his life on the exact same trail where I skied for the first time in 1997. Since that first day, I’ve logged 14,895K, so it’s safe to say I was quite impressed with this activity.
On the drive out, I was starting to get worried, thinking I maybe should have thrown my waxless skis in the car. It was -11°C in Canmore, but by the time I was passing Barrier Lake it had warmed up to +3°C, but my fears were unfounded because the snow temperature on Terrace trail at Kananaskis Village was -9°C. Air temp was -5°C.
Kovach lookout at sunset
I was engrossed with the excellent conditions on Terrace, Aspen, Kovach and the various links, so much so that I didn’t even make it onto Ribbon creek. I see that GordN was on Ribbon creek and left a trip report. As you can see in the photo, it was pretty late in the day when I was at the Kovach lookout.
Julia was skiing on Terrace trail near the village. This was her second time ever on skis.
The only problem area is south of the village on Terrace trail as it heads towards Kovach. There’s a bit of dirt mixed into the snow due to all the construction and foot traffic. It might be a good idea to carry your skis for about 200 metres until you reach the actual Kovach trail. At the junction where snowshoers turn off the trail, the snow gets a lot cleaner.
I vividly remember the first day I skied and how much fun I had, faceplants and all. It certainly helped that I was lucky enough to pick a day where the conditions were excellent, just as they are now.
