Banff

The consequences of not carrying bear spray

June 6, 2017
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I was out 4K on the Spray River West trail in Banff when I met Pedro. He’s from Spain, and is enjoying a vacation in Banff.

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Goat Creek in nice shape for biking

May 31, 2017
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I dusted off my bike today, filled the tires with air and headed up the Spray Lakes road to Goat Creek. Unlike my skis, my bike doesn’t get much respect.

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This bison calf has no idea how special it is

April 26, 2017
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Banff National Park posted this birth announcement regarding the first bison calf to be born in Banff’s backcountry in over 140 years…

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Bear chases kicksledder on Spray River West(with video)

April 15, 2017

Update April 19: Story in the Crag and Canyon newspaper Grizzly pursues woman, dogs on Banff trail This was posted by Annette Young on Facebook… Completely shaken but safe, untouched and unharmed….

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Avalanche on Redearth Creek

March 17, 2017

No sooner were Hugh and Pete commenting about avalanche danger on Lake O’Hara fire road, and I received a photo and a report re Redearth Creek. It’s very unusual to experience an avalanche on a groomed xc ski trail, but Redearth Creek is one trail where they do occur,

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“Edelweiss” conditions on Goat Creek & Spray River

March 12, 2017
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I’ve never seen Goat Creek and Spray River West so clean, bright, and sparkling white! It was smooth, silky, immaculate and flawless with no debris or thin spots.

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This was a ten!

March 6, 2017
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My tenth trip down Goat Creek was definitely the most beautiful, if slow. It was like skiing in a picture postcard. Trees laden with snow, occasionally producing clouds of mist

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The winning streak continues

March 1, 2017
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It’s looking more and more like I may be able to attain my goal of skiing this trail a dozen times this winter. Peter joined the fun today on Goat Creek and Spray River to Banff on my ninth trip.

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Giving new meaning to the term “single trackset”

February 27, 2017
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-The second track has been obliterated by snowmobile traffic. It’s easy to see the “washboard” in the multi-use lane.- Brewster Creek ski trail should be maintained for the safety and enjoyment of the taxpaying public who pay for Banff National park.

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Silky smooth conditions as I finally reached 1000K

February 26, 2017
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To celebrate my modest achievement(it would be a stretch to consider 1000K a “Heroic deed”), we enjoyed a delicious meal at Buffalo Mountain Lodge up on Tunnel Mountain.

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SkierMatch.com

February 25, 2017
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For single guys looking for an available lady who likes to ski, the place to be today was Goat Creek/Spray River. Sarah, Lindsay, Kate, Nicole and Tanys were wondering where all the guys were.

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Cookie Race? How about the Chow Mein Race!

February 24, 2017

One of my favourite ski trips is Goat Creek/Spray River to Banff, and it’s always a challenge for me to make it to Banff in time for the lunch special at the Silver Dragon. Lucky for me, the conditions were excellent.

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Good news for Nancy and other Goat Creek enthusiasts

February 23, 2017
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I was pleasantly surprised when I scouted Goat Creek to check the conditions for Nancy. Not only that, but Spray River was groomed and trackset on the Banff end today.

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Backcountry lodges tracksetting notifications

February 10, 2017
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Before I get started on my update, I wanted to let everyone know that we probably won’t get timely updates on three specific trails for the rest of the winter.

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Goat Creek, Spray River to Banff: 17/19

February 1, 2017
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  I’ve got to give the wolves credit, they seem to have better trail etiquette than some people. In the photo above, I believe there were three wolves

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Don’t ski here

January 31, 2017
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After nine years of coming up with titles for blog updates, I was surprised that I’ve never used this one. Healy Creek and Brewster Creek are in bad shape.

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The Lynx photos

January 29, 2017

(All the photos can be made much larger by clicking on them.) You know you’ve stumbled upon something pretty special when people ask if it’s for real.

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Goat Creek surprise

January 27, 2017
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I’m sure that Aldona and her group from Regina aren’t the only ones wondering what the conditions are like on Goat Creek, so I made a

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Banff would like our input

January 24, 2017

I check the Banff Trail Report for grooming updates, but after that, I pretty much ignore the portion of the report where it gives the conditions. It can be very misleading as this email from blog reader Greg Burt illustrates:

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Lake Louise to Banff Loppet

January 22, 2017
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-Charlotte at Morant’s Curve. Can you see the train coming?- Results have been posted Update Jan 25 @ 7 pm: I just added more photos to the gallery. All 200 photos are now displayed. 

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