The conditions on Tyrwhitt were as close to perfect as you’ll ever get. Trackset last night, the snow was clean and cold with beautiful fast tracks.
Going north to south, I enjoyed it so much, I reversed direction and skied it all over again in the other direction. Instead of completing the loop as I had originally intended, I continued down Pocaterra on excellent conditions and ended the trip by descending Packers.
Tyrwhitt
I started out from Boulton Creek around 12:30 pm with an air temperature of -2°C and snow temp of -4. VR50(0/-4) worked well to get me to the top of Whiskey Jack. All fallen trees have been cleared and there was only minor tree debris on the lower portion of the trail.
Deirdre, Keith, Ray, Mary, Bill
I met Debra and Rory soon after starting up WJ. They were completing the loop in the opposite direction(Moraine, Fox, Elk Pass, Tyrwhitt, WJ) and gave the all clear.
At the top, it was a pleasure to run into Mike and Lois where I took their photo with the iconic Gap Mountain as a backdrop.
Debra and Rory on Whiskey Jack
Tyrwhitt was ski heaven today. From the high point on Tyrwhitt(the start of the meadows), I enjoyed the 2.4K of delightful, double-pole, stay-in-the-tracks downhill to the picnic table.
Just before reaching the picnic table I ran into a group of happy skiers who happened to be some of this blog’s trip reporters, Ray and Mary Perrott, Bill and Deirdre Richardson, and Keith Bagnall.
The steep hill on Packers was in fine shape for a controlled descent. Still no ice flow at the usual location. Saturday night’s tracksetting was in good shape.
Mike and Lois at the Whiskey Jack/Pocaterra junction
The temperature back at the car was zero. When I stopped at the PLPP Discovery Centre their thermometer indicated -2°C.
After looking at the PLPP Live Grooming Report this morning, it was easy to decide where to ski today. In addition to last night’s tracksetting on Tyrwhitt, Hydroline, and Lookout, the trails on the west side of the road(Lodgepole, Braile, Sinclair) were also trackset.
The Tunnel Mountain trails in Banff have been trackset.
