A day to die live for.
I arrived at Ribbon Creek just in time to hear Ross and Jurgen(a SkiHere reader) tell me how much fun they had. They regaled me with stories of the incredible snow on upper Kovach. So good, in fact, they had to go back and ski it a second time. All this fun on wooden skis, too!
I suspected with the weekend snow that some grooming was in progress at Kananaskis Village/Ribbon Creek area, so I headed over for a late afternoon reconnaissance. Well, I did more than look. I had one of the best ski trips of the early season. Jurgen and Ross weren’t kidding.
Kovach trail near the Lookout had excellent snow and tracks
Of all the trails between Ribbon Creek and the Village, Ribbon Creek itself had the thinnest snow, and was the only one without any tracksetting. Nothing to be too concerned about, however. Considering how icy everything was two days ago, this was a miraculous transformation.
The snow conditions improved as I started to climb to the Kovach Lookout. From the Lookout towards the village, the trail had beautiful new tracksetting. I knew what was in store – all those delightful S-turns on good snow!
It all goes by too fast. Past the Aspen link, another 1.2K to the Aspen junction. Rather than staying on Kovach and skiing to the village, I took Aspen, which was also trackset and in nice shape. Upon arriving at Kovach, I took a page from Ross and Jurgen’s book, and climbed back up for 360 metres just to ski that section again. I live for that short stretch of twisting, turning, downhill. I probably would have skied it again, but daylight was fading fast.
The sunset from Ribbon Creek parking lot
As I passed by Terrace Link, I could see that it was trackset. The last K to the parking lot on Terrace was terrific. I’m always leery of rocks on this section early in the season, but not a one. As I rounded one of the corners, a splash of bright red in the sky over Mt Lorette caught my gaze through the pines as the sunset painted a beautiful picture.
This is one of those areas that can be adversely affected quickly by warm weather, so get out there ASAP. Be careful in the parking lot, however, because it’s a sheet of ice.
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Hi Bob,
Glad to see you got out right behind me, I’m beginning to think you’re a track psychic.
Here is the recipe for the tracks you skied in today, it is by far the most complicated one I’ve had to use in a long time.
Take 30 to 50cm of new snow mix it up with a skidoo, add 12 hours of rain until it’s well mixed and forms a nice slushy slurry.
Top with 20cm of snow again, mix it up with 100+km winds, then add more rain and freeze solid.
Now you have a nice firm base top with a nice dusting of 7 to 10cm of new snow track set and enjoy
I was thinking about all the “ingredients” you’ve had to work with so far this winter. Although it was a complicated recipe, for today’s skiing it was wonderful. Thanks for a great job! -Bob