Charlie and Janice on Upper Pocaterra(near Whiskey Jack junction)
Mike, Sheila and Ross, Janice and Charlie, Ian, Heather and Bob. Nice running into everyone today. Mike and Sheila have submitted trip reports.
“amazed at how good it was with the recent grooming” -Jean J
Mike at the junction of Wheeler and Packers
I also saw the lynx tracks which Jean J was mentioning that she observed along Pocaterra. Now I really regret not stopping and taking a picture of them but I was flying downhill and didn’t want to break the momentum.
Ross and Sheila at the Whiskey Jack – Moraine junction
I better explain the conflicting information about my wax. Mike has me saying(accurately) that VR50 was working well when I met him at the end of Wheeler. Further along, maybe five minutes later, Sheila spotted me about 100 metres up Whiskey Jack waxing my skis. What gives?!
Wheeler had fast tracks
When I started at Elkwood, I knew Wheeler would be very fast and I didn’t want to slow myself down with any excess of wax on my skis, so I only applied a thin layer. I could tell that it was gripping well the few times I needed it. It wasn’t on thick enough to get me up Whiskey Jack, however, so I added some at the base of WJ.
Winter Wonderland on Whiskey Jack
I departed Canmore with a trunk full of waxless skis but didn’t need any of them. The snow temperature at Elkwood in mid-afternoon was -3°C, as was the air temp. The tracks on Wheeler were slick and fast but not icy. I double-poled 99% of the distance to the Whiskey Jack junction.
I think the most fun today was coming down Packers. It might be the first time I’ve ever descended the first big hill without snowplowing. The notorious ice flow was small and easy to get around. The whole trip down was fast but safe.
I never get tired of seeing Whiskey Jack in all its winter wonderland splendour as it was today.
I also checked out Amos to see how the trails with fresh snow were doing. The grip was better but of course it was slower with the soft snow in the tracks.
I was happy to hear from Lynne Osborne on the trip reports that the Lodgepole Grouse is still going strong.
