Elk Pass. Photo by Steve Riggs
Steve Riggs found 20 cm of new snow at the top of Elk Pass!
Update from Tanya: There is now plenty of snow at the traditional Elk Pass trailhead if you want to avoid the back door entrance. Tanya remarked, “Plenty to groom in my opinion. Great coverage and not a single rock.”
For anyone thinking of going into Peter Lougheed Provincial Park(PLPP) through the back door(aka Fire Lookout parking lot), be sure to read today’s trip reports. I’m posting JV’s report below(which was posted on the “Contact Bob” page)…
Tyrwhitt. Photo by Tanya
“We were third vehicle to arrive at fire look out parking lot. Arrived to a fresh dusting of 10cm of light and fluffy snow. Only 1 set of touring tracks heading up to Elk Pass was before us. Temperatures and wind were perfect for the 7.5km climb. We saw no one on the way up to the Elk Pass arch. Skier track was solid and the glide up was fantastic with the new BC skin skis picked up this summer.
Way back was significantly different. Lots of people out enjoying the fresh snow, and everyone happy to be out of the city. 51 cars parked in the lot and on the road when we left. Busy for Nov! But nice to see so many people out enjoying the trails we almost lost. Hopefully they all purchased a pass for what promises to be an amazing season in PLPP!”
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Last weekend, I noted that Cypress Hills was going to receive the brunt of the snowfall, and indeed they did. It’s unusual to see an avalanche warning in that area.
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What does it mean?
Readers who are regulars on this blog often use acronyms which may be confusing to our new readers. If you’re wondering about the meaning of acronyms, I’ve created a list. This Acronyms page is under “Resources” on the main menu. I’ll add to it as we come up with new ones.
I think your question has been answered but the vehicles were encroaching the driving lane. I’m not sure if it would be possible to park completely on the shoulder. The advice the CO was giving was to seek out another trail when the parking lot is full.
Greg, when I was speaking to the CO, she said there are guardrails along the highway which prevent vehicles from fully parking on the shoulder.
I was at PLPP today via backdoor. When we returned to our car there were conservation officers putting tickets on the cars parked on the road. Might be worth warning people.
Greg, could you tell if the vehicles were encroaching on the driving lane? I can’t see why they would be ticketed if they were fully on the shoulder.
The west side has a guard rail that doesn’t provide enough shoulder without encroaching into drive lane. East side has no guard rail but the shoulder drops off. Saw one car having trouble getting back onto road after parking on east side due to snow and ditch grade. No real safe spot to park other than in the tiny lot, and definately worse when cars on both sides. There is a wider pull out on the west side a bit further north. Maybe it’s not an issue now that things are getting groomed, or perhaps why things got groomed so quickly. As helen noted, best way to deal with parking issues this year is go early and if you can’t do that go to a large parking lot with the expectation that there might be a longer access route involved. It’s OK to ski more, or adjust ones objective. Have alternate plans and be adaptable.