Ribbon Creek parking lot
After 18 days of deprivation, it was wonderful to be skiing on the best conditions, in the most pleasant weather, on the most enjoyable trails known to mankind. After seeing Steve’s photos from West Bragg Creek, I guess my description could apply elsewhere, too. Did someone really access the trails via helicopter?(see Steve Riggs’ photos)
Climbing up Terrace from Ribbon Creek
After reading Jeff’s trail report about the incredibly good conditions, and seeing his photo of the Kovach S-turns, I made a beeline from the Ribbon Creek parking lot to the Kovach lookout.
Can you find the picnic table at the Lookout?
I can’t take issue with Tracksetter Jeff when he said these are the best March conditions he’s seen in 40 years of grooming. In my 23 years of skiing these trails, I’ve seen some excellent conditions, but today would rival the best, at any time of the winter.
When I arrived at Ribbon Creek at 12:30 pm, it had warmed up to -11°C and the snow was -14, perfect for VR30. The grip was so good that I didn’t have to herringbone even once while climbing the steep hill to the Kovach Lookout.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen the picnic table at the lookout completely buried under snow as it is now.
Aspen connector
The snow was clean and cold. The tracksetting was excellent. Descending the 160 metres elevation drop from the Lookout to the village was pure joy and happiness. I’ve never seen so much clean snow on the delightful S-turns. I wish I could bottle the experience and re-live it from time to time. If that wasn’t enough, the final downhill on Terrace was also ultra-fun on the remarkable conditions.
Terrace near the village
The cold weather kept most of the morning skiers away(except Helen), and I didn’t see many people on the trail until I had been out for an hour or so. The parking lot was full when I returned.
It had warmed up to -4 at Ribbon Creek at 2:30 pm. I drove over to the golf course and skied on the Bill Milne tail where I ran into a number of blog readers/commenters and spent lots of time chatting in the sun(always observing the social distancing protocols!). I’ll post the Bill Milne report and photos later.
Kananaskis Village Mar 15, 2020
So happy to see you on the trail today Bob! Both glad to see you after some elusive sightings by others in the past and also to know you are back in your element. Every day is a GIFT.
Best to your wife. Stay strong. Physio is as important as the surgery. Encourage. Encourage. Encourage.
Ellen
They had better not stop grooming these trails.
Ditto – Ribbon Creek and Bill Milne today were superb – it just doesn’t get any better than that. We were surprised that there were so few skiers in the area given Jeff’s notice to the SkierBob empire last evening. Kudos and bouquets to Jeff et al on the quality of the grooming done Mar13/14 – it set up beautifully for a double bluebird day today – most memorable of the season.
Agreed. Big shout out to Tracksetter Jeff for an expert job on the trails; it was one of the best Bill Milne skis this season.