April 4, 2021

First, I’d like to thank MK and SA from the PLPP Visitor Centre for their early-morning weather reports throughout the winter. I don’t know if today’s report is her final one, but MK said this morning “Good Morning! Flurries, obscure skies, and 0 degrees C in Peter Lougheed PP, Info Centre. Hope everyone has had a good season!”

Saturday night’s tracksetting in PLPP included Whiskey Jack, Upper Pocaterra, Packers, and Lower Lake.

Elk Pass

If the slush doesn’t stop you in your tracks, there’s another hazard lurking on Elk Pass…

“This very large tree is across the Elk Pass trail- located at the base of the steepest downhill section coming down from Elk Pass before the Blueberry Hill junction. It is fairly visible so people should be able to stop well before, but still wouldn’t want someone to get hurt plowing into it. Also wanted to give a heads up as the trail crew might need an extra set of hands to cut and move it.”

Thanks to Rhonda Jewett for the photo and report. 

Hwy 742(aka Smith-Dorrien, aka Spray Lakes road). 

I’ve always stayed away from the Smith Dorrien in the spring and with the increased traffic this year, it’s even worse, as Helen Read will attest: “DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS on Smith Dorrien yesterday all the way from Canmore end through Goat Creek and all way to Hwy 40.”

Walkers on Pocaterra

From the PLPP grooming report: “A few walkers have been ignoring the signs and there have been footprints on every part of every trail groomed on the weekend.  Walkers also took Friday night’s fresh grooming all the way up Pocaterra, and these prints will be frozen early Sunday morning.”

April 3, 2021

The final trail update from the Chateau grooming team at Lake Louise:

Chateau tracksetter Jeff. File photo

Upper Telemark and Peyto Trails (#5&#7): Double trackset, April 2, good spring condition. Icy in places during the morning, slushy and sticky in the later afternoon.

Fairview Loop (#2): Double trackset, March 30, fair spring condition. Icy in places during the morning, slushy and sticky in the later afternoon.

Lake trail (#4) at Lake Louise. File photo

Shoreline (#4): Double trackset, March 30, good fair condition. Icy in places during the morning, slushy and sticky in the later afternoon.

Peyto trail. File photo

Lake Trail (#4): Double trackset with a separate path for walkers, March 30, poor spring condition. Icy in places during the morning, slushy and sticky in the later afternoon. The melt water from the snow is pooling on the lake making for VERY slippery conditions with potential for wet feet. We are no longer checking ice thickness and the skating rink is no longer being maintained, use at own risk!  

I’d like to thank Jeff and the entire Chateau grooming team for their timely reports. Throughout the season, I received an update immediately upon the completion of the day’s grooming. It’s me who is  12 hours late with the above report. 

Peter Lougheed Provincial Park

Trails which were trackset overnight in PLPP include Pocaterra from the hut to Packers, Rolly Road, Come-Along, and Lynx. The middle section of Come Along was not groomed due to bare ground.

“Warm winds kept the temperature above freezing, throughout the grooming period, and grooming the moist to wet snow will result in even the new grooming being on the icy side first thing in the morning, until the temperature rises (if it freezes in the early morning hours).”

The temperature at the Lower Lake this morning at 7:30 is -3°C, so it did indeed finally freeze overnight. The temperature at midnight was +4. 

I spoke with PLPP Tracksetter James at the Wednesday meeting, and if all goes according to plan, tracksetting in PLPP will continue until the middle of April. Of course, the weather will have some bearing on this. 

Yoho/Emerald Lake 

Lorraine from the Kicking Horse Ski Club: “April 2, I brought my old fishscale skis to Emerald Lake. Skied to the back of the lake and in the alluvial fan –but on the supportive crust. Track is icy and uneven so off trail is much better. Quite busy at the lake but I was the only skier. Everyone else was walking.”

Canmore Nordic Centre

The trails with man-made snow were trackset overnight at CNC. 
******

Bike season

The Lake Minnewanka Loop in Banff will be closed to motor vehicle traffic Monday to Thursday, May 1-20 to give the road to cyclists. This is a pilot project and Parks Canada is looking for feedback. This reletively new website CycleAlberta.ca is devoted to promoting road biking routes that are quiet (less motorized traffic) and showcase Alberta’s countryside.

Mary Perrott has coined a new term to describe spring skiing conditions. Catch and Release describes it perfectly. My first experience with “catch and release” conditions was descending Skogan Pass many years ago. It took a few faceplants to realize what was happening and what to watch out for. 

If you want to add a term to the page Words to describe snow conditions, we’re always welcoming new contributions

Ribbon Creek Tracksetter Jeff will come to mind every time I encounter “Steppenwolf” snow, or “Margarita” snow. For the younger generation, Steppenwolf is the band who performed Magic Carpet Ride. 

I was flying down Hydroline on Steppenwolf snow when I made the below video. 

The above original painting will be a treasured memento of my days as the moderator of this blog. If you recognize the mountain, you’ll know which trail it is. This painting by Canmore artist Erin Kerr is incredibly detailed; you can see the individual lines of corduroy on the groomed trail. 

Not only have I skied the Bill Milne trail dozens of times, but I can also look at the Mt Kidd fire lookout and fondly remember hiking up there with Tessa. 

I seldom post anything on my personal Facebook page, but I thought I could impress my Saskatchewan friends and relatives by showing them the beautiful painting which I received yesterday in recognition of my 13 years of moderating this blog.

Among the many comments from old friends and relatives, was this one:

As a boy on the farm, I always enjoyed walking out into the pasture and connecting with nature although I didn’t actually realize that was what I was doing. That’s probably why I immediately took to cross-country skiing once I discovered it. I love the remoteness of the trails and the peace and quiet they offer. 

Thank you to Nordiq Alberta for the gift, and thank you to everyone who has contributed to the popularity of my blog. 

Redearth Creek. File photo

March 31, 2021:

Redearth Creek to the Shadow Lake turn-off was trackset last night. We know this thanks to MAAD who skied all the way to Shadow Lake Lodge. The final 3K to the lodge is “snowmobile packed and in great winter shape.” You can read more details on the Trip Reports(18 of them yesterday!) including MAAD’s impression of the Pipestone trails. 

Spray River West. File photo

Yesterday, Spray River West was trackset and Goat Creek was snowmobile packed, despite the Parks Canada trail report which says tracksetting has ended. 

In PLPP last night the following trails were trackset:

• Elk Pass(partial)
• Hydroline
• Lookout
• Tyrwhitt

The temperature at the Lower Lake in PLPP this morning is -11°C with an expected high of +6. 

View from the Kananaskis Fire Lookout. Photo by Diana Piggott

We received a lot of glowing trip reports today, thanks everyone. The snow stayed cold, so tomorrow (Wednesday) should still be good, although it warms up in the afternoon. 

Teresa encountered new tracksetting on Spray River, so the Banff tracksetter is still on the job. 

March 28, 2021: We haven’t had the traditional heavy snow that we usually receive in March, but Mother Nature is going to throw it all at us as March goes out like a lion. 

The above alerts are in effect for West Bragg Creek but there is also a snowfall warning for PLPP, Canmore, and Banff and a winter storm warning has been issued for the Lake Louise area. 

Lake Louise: “Heavy snowfall will continue today. Total snowfall accumulations will be variable with the highest amounts between 25 and 40 cm. Wind gusts in exposed areas will reach 90 km/h today resulting in poor visibility in blowing snow. Conditions will improve tonight as the winds ease and the snow begins to taper off.”

PLPP: “Snowfall, at times heavy, will begin tonight in southwest regions of Alberta. A total of 10 to 15 centimetres of snow is expected before snow tapers off on Tuesday.” Snow-Forecast.com is predicting 22 cm for PLPP.

Saturday night tracksetting in PLPP included Whiskey Jack, Packers, Upper Pocaterra and Lower Lake. The following warning has been posted regarding the ice flow on Packers:

“The ice flow below the “ice flow” sign has surfaced and is across most of the width of the trail- use caution descending this area!  On Mar 27th, the ice flow was just beneath a very thin layer of snow.”

The temperature did not drop below zero during last night’s tracksetting. The Lower Lake temperature this morning is +1°C. 

At the Canmore Nordic Centre, the man-made snow trails were trackset overnight. 

Telephone Loop at West Bragg Creek. Photo by Alf Skrastins.

Thanks for all the trip reports and photos yesterday. Alf Skrastins found lots of fresh snow on Telephone Loop at West Bragg Creek. 

Telephone Loop. Photo by Alf Skrastins

The weather forecasts are all calling for a significant snowfall event on Sunday pm/Monday in the mountains. The snow will be followed by at least a couple days of cooler temperatures. 

Keith Bagnall was informed by Parks Canada that grooming by PC has ended at Lake Louise(Moraine Lake road, Great Divide, Pipestone, Bow River Loop). The Chateau grooming team will continue grooming the Upper Lake Louise trails until Easter. 

Yesterday’s grooming at Lake Louise included the Lakeshore, Lake surface, Upper Telemark, and Peyto. 

PLPP tracksetting last night included Pocaterra from hut to Packers, Lynx, Rolly Road, and Come-Along(partial). It’s -1°C at the Lower Lake this morning with an expected high of +7. 

“On Friday night, between 2 and 5cm’s of new snow was mixed in to the icy base, and as of 3:30 Saturday morning, no new snow had fallen overnight.  Expect about 2 to 5cm’s of snow on all trails not groomed Friday night, likely a little more in some higher elevation locations, and probably less in some places in the direct sun. The base is getting very thin in a few places in the north end, as well as some of the middle trails, particularly on a number of spots on Come Along; use caution on Wheeler as well, as a few sun exposed areas are very thin and may expose ground if high daytime temperatures continue.  The middle section of Come Along was not groomed due to a patch of bare ground south of Rolly Rd junction.  Without some significant new snow and colder temperatures the north end (and possibly some of the middle trails) will develop bare spots and no longer be groomed for the season.”

At the Canmore Nordic Centre, the man-made snow on Banff trail to the meadow was trackset. The natural snow trails(Bow, Banff, Meadowview, Coal Cut, Cold Shoulder) had the skating lanes groomed.