Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
Dec 9 evening: Grooming occurred on Packers, Pocaterra(south of Lynx), and Whiskey Jack. Tracksetting occurred on Pocaterra(Packers jct to Lookout jct), and Whiskey Jack. See the Kananaskis trail report for specific details on each trail.
Packers is sketchy: One grooming pass (no track setting) was made to access higher elevations, and though much of the trail has a thin but reasonable base, there are some very rough spots, particularly the steep hill about a third of the way down, and for a few hundred meters below this hill. Use caution, especially if descending, and watch for hazards such as bumps and uneven surfaces, a little exposed brush, and possible open water or ice.
Snow fell in Peter Lougheed Park from Tuesday night to Wednesday afternoon, blanketing the Park with 10 to 20cm’s of new snow, possibly a little more at higher elevations. Expect fresh snow on all trails groomed before Dec 9th. Before the snow moved in, there were a couple of days with temperatures above the freezing mark, including quite a bit of rain from Monday night in to Tuesday. The warm temperatures diminished the already very thin snow base at low elevations, opening up bare ground and water in some places. While there is a reasonable early season base at high elevations, lower elevation trails, especially at the north end of the system, will contain many early season natural hazards, some of which will be hidden under the new snow. Use caution, and watch for hazards, such as bumps and uneven surfaces, exposed brush, roots and rocks, and possible water or ice.
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West Bragg Creek
West Bragg Creek from Boomer Groomer…
Dec 9 evening: Temperatures dropped enough tonight to start packing some trails. The 5-7cm we got today was not enough to enable track setting, but we were able to lay some reasonable corduroy on West Crystal Line and Mountain Rd. to the cattle guard. The base is thin, so be mindful of natural hazards. Another thing to watch out for are pedestrians and other users that have been taking advantage of the lack of snow to use the ski trails for non skiing activities. They may be unaware that they shouldn’t be on them after Dec. 1, so be courteous and direct them to a more suitable trail. Most importantly have fun out there, it’s beautiful!
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Lake Louise
30 cm of fresh snow the last 48 hours. Recent tracksetting: Dec 9: Moraine Lake Road; Great Divide; Upper & Lower Tramline; Bow River Loop.
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Confederation Golf Course
Finally some snow!! Not enough to make for good conditions but a step in the right direction. Tomorrow morning the plan is to groom the driving range where snow farming was previously done. We will decide how much to groom if any on the other trails after that. If you head out to ski please beware of hazards that will be under the snow like pavement; gravel, etc.
