It’s early-season but it’s amazing!

Julian and Shauna give a thumbs-up to conditions on Moraine Lake road

Everybody I met on the trail today was thrilled with the skiing conditions on Moraine Lake road. No tracks yet, but nobody’s too fussy at this time of year. 

Stephanie’s smile says it all. Excellent to be back on snow!

Only about 1 cm of new snow arrived overnight, but Parks Canada’s grooming team of Shannon and Frank roll-packed it again today.  It was snowing when I finished skiing around 4:30 pm. If we get another 5 cm, it will possibly be ready for tracksetting.

Jason at the Paradise Creek turn(2.6K)

I only went 3k(surgeon’s orders), which means I crossed the creek and went about 400 metres up the big hill. Stephanie went almost to the end and reported good snow all the way. 

I used poles with large baskets but it wasn’t necessary. The only place my pole tips hit pavement was the short stretch where the road makes a turn at Paradise Creek. Barely a minor inconvenience.

Frank and Shannon had just finished roll-packing Moraine Lake road

The air temperature was -3 when I started at 3:30 pm, and the snow was about the same. I used VR50(0/-4) with good results. Stephanie said she had success with Swix Blue(-3/-8), Jason did alright with Swix -1/-7, and Julian and Shauna were on waxless. Good glide, no sticking. 

Coming down the hill to Paradise Creek

Driving up, one would wonder how we could be skiing because there is very little snow along the highway.

Upper Tramline has been snowmobile packed. 

Skiing with new gear

With cool weather and more snow, Moraine Lake road should offer some good skiing on the weekend.

If you are skiing with brand new gear, be prepared for all eventualities. My main concern is new boots. If you feel a hot spot developing, take care of it with moleskin, special blister band-aids, or simply turn around. Don’t continue until your foot is raw. 

Today I was skiing with a lot of new gear and luckily it all worked well. I was testing out new boots, new pole straps, a new camera, and …a new shoulder made of plastic and metal.