West Crystal Line on Mar 19. Photo by Alf Skrastins
Please check the Trip Reports for first-hand accounts of the trail conditions from skiers who were on the trails yesterday. Unusual for this time of year, Sheila found reasonably good snow at Sandy McNabb: snowmobile packed, skier-tracked, virus-free.
The Kananaskis Live Grooming Reports are functioning again.
Just a reminder, all outhouses and information centres in Kananaskis, Canmore and Banff are closed.
The Ribbon Creek report shows that the Kananaskis Village trails were trackset yesterday and the snowcat is already out this morning. Hay Meadow, the Screamer, Ruthie’s, and Ribbon Creek have been groomed so far. The thermometer at Hay Meadow is indicating a cool -17°C this morning. The forecast is calling for a high of +3.
West Bragg Creek Mar 20 update:
“West crystal and links, Moose Loop and connector, Mountain View, Iron Springs and Elbow North have all been re track set as of Thursday night/Friday morning. There are ice patches in a few areas including Mountain Road and North Moose. Generally conditions are very good and it is a spectacular day out there.”
The PLPP snowcat is waiting for repairs. so no new grooming there. A snowcat will be borrowed to use in PLPP beginning this evening, as long as everything goes according to plan.
I expect the trails which were groomed in the south end on Tuesday should still be in excellent condition. That includes Whiskey Jack, Packers, Upper Pocaterra, Tyrwhitt, Hydroline, Lookout, and the first 1.5K of Elk Pass. The single track trails of Fox Creek, Boulton Creek, and Moraine were groomed by snowmobile on Tuesday.
Lots of new tracksetting occurred at the Canmore Nordic Centre yesterday.
Confederation golf course : All trails were groomed and trackset Thursday night. Sunday is the final day of skiing.
At Lake Louise, tracksetting has ended for the season, a couple weeks earlier than normal.
Alberta Environment and Parks response to the Corona virus:
Alberta Parks remain accessible, but the public is prohibited from using Alberta Parks facilities. This includes toilets, campgrounds, and picnic and warm-up shelters. This approach is the same as the federal government is taking with national parks. All events and programs have been cancelled. While using the parks, Albertans are reminded to practice appropriate social distancing.
The Kananaskis Country public safety team is asking for cooperation from Kananaskis backcountry users to choose outdoor activities that are low-risk during the COVID-19 response. Users should choose activities in areas that support emergency access and present minimal challenges and/or hazards. Backcountry assistance has the potential to add unnecessary stress to the health care system, put public safety staff at risk, including to exposure to COVID-19, which could then impact resources to support search and rescue. This applies to all Alberta Parks’ backcountry areas. We are reminding backcountry users to please act with common sense and good judgement during this challenging time for Albertans.
