No other cars in the parking lot yet. The only witnesses to my early morning foray were the noisy ravens and the silent forest; so I thought.
What a lovely day it was, here in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The temperature was perfect at -5, and the sun was peaking above the snow-capped mountain tops as I set out one last time to ascend Whiskey Jack. The snow was cold enough to use blue Toko(-2/-6), but a dusting of new snow in the tracks slowed me down a bit. I was enjoying the climb, soaking it all in, knowing we have seven months to wait before doing this again.
Surprise #2
Its always a feeling of relief to get past the steep section. Just as I relaxed and resumed diagonal striding, I noticed them beside me. The unmistakable sight of bear tracks.
They were going in the opposite direction. I wasn’t about to ski back down and find out where they went to! The tracks continued all the way up, and were very visible in the ungroomed snow on Tyrwhitt. Who knows, maybe it’s the same one whose tracks we saw in April 2006.
I didn’t continue on Tyrwhitt, but decided to follow the new tracksetting which was heading down Pocaterra. I noticed Packers had brand new tracksetting as I flew by the intersection.
Suprise #3
A little further along, I encountered none other than Jody, the tracksetter, who was skiing in the opposite direction. If you’re a regular here, you’ll know we’ve had some timely and welcome reports through the season from Jody. I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Jody yet this winter, so I skied back up to Whiskey Jack with him while we talked. He’s a fantastic skier and left me in his dust as we turned around and took the fun run down Pocaterra. He’s been out 158 days on his skis. I’m at 105.
I took Lynx, Amos and Wheeler back to Boulton. All with excellent tracks. Based on historical patterns, I’m guessing that Elk Pass, Tyrwhitt, and Blueberry Hill will be trackset tonight. Get there early if you want cold snow.
I’ve delayed the inevitable as long as I could. Other obligations are calling me now, so I think that may have been my last. What an incredible ski season!!!!!!!
Back to Calgary, and back to work now. If anyone has real estate questions, give me a call or email. I need to work hard so I can do this again next winter.
Your comments are still welcome. If you send an email, I can’t guarantee how quickly I’ll get it on.
