XC skiing in Okotoks…

Coming soon…

Hi Bob,

As I reported a while back, Okotoks has started a ski club; called Crystal Ridge Nordic.  We had our first general meeting in November of 2010.  We selected an executive committee and registered as an official “association” with the Province.  We are currently working on a Web Site, purchasing a snow mobile and recruiting members etc.  So far, our efforts have been paying-off as we have generated a lot of interest.  We have some leads on snow mobiles and encourage anyone reading this blog to contact Jim at saltboxdesign@gmail.com if you have any ideas about snow mobiles. 

We are track setting at the Crystal Ridge Golf Course on Sunday and opening to the general public very soon after.  To become a member of Crystal Ridge Nordic it costs $25/person and $50.00/family.  The cost of skiing on the course is $5.00/day plus waiver form MUST be signed.  The course is 5.5 km long and is fairly easy skiing…a few tricky parts to get the heart rate up!  The Town of Okotoks has land next to the golf course and has offered to let us expand in the future. 

Regards,
Nigel

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PLPP  “If you haven’t skied Fox Creek and Moraine recently, give them a try now – they are great!”

Bob,

                Ken & I had a lovely ski today at Peter Lougheed, starting from Pocaterra and doing an “outer” loop: Pocaterra, Tyrwhit, Elk Pass, Fox Creek, Moraine, Wheeler, Meadow, Wooley, Lynx & home. It was another “blue wax day”!

                Overall the trails were in very good shape. Pocaterra has old but good tracks until just before Whiskey Jack, when the tracks were blown in. Tyrwhit was very scrappy up to the high point, with lots of debris blown on to fresher, skied in tracks – not much fun going up the hill, and it wouldn’t hurt to stop and check for pine needles in the kick zone before heading down hill. But the rest of Tyrwit and Elk Pass down to Fox Creek were fine. The highlights of the day, however, were Fox Creek and Moraine. There were absolutely perfect tracks all the way to Bolton, making the single track skiing a real delight.

                There were also new tracks on Wheeler, Meadow, Wooley & Lynx. Meadow from Elkwood to the Wooley Jct could still use another dump of snow, as there were many patches where dirt was groomed to the surface. However, none of these were in the tracks, so it was just a warning that the snow was a bit thin. The only spot for caution was the hill just before the Wooley Jct – this is getting scraped off and will be a problem soon if there isn’t new snow. The “big hill” on Lynx was still actually in very good shape, but a bit more snow would not hurt there either.

                Overall, cheers to the grooming crew!

If you haven’t skied Fox Creek and Moraine recently, give them a try now – they are great!

 John

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The link to the Shaganappi trail report wasn’t correct on the previous post, but I’ve fixed it thanks to the heads-up from Denise.

Kershaw’s first win

“He held back early on, staying in 4th and 5th position, and it wasn’t until the final climb where he really blew the doors off, dropping the field and making for the finish like a man possessed.”

?Congratulations to Devon Kershaw who captured a stage victory in the Tour de Ski today! Here’s a short  video.