West Bragg Winter Wonderland

West Bragg Creek on Mar 25. Photo by Steve Riggs

Thanks, everyone, for today’s trip reports and photos. 

Back on March 15, referencing WBC, Steve Riggs posted a comment “I’m not giving up yet. My closing day there last year was April 6, with good skiing in dry new snow over firm old grooming.”

Today, Steve’s prediction came true and it looked like he had a wonderful day. Below is his report…

Who made these tracks? Photo by Steve Riggs

“Fifteen cm’s of cold dry snow over a crunchy layer, left behind after the snowfall earlier in the week, all on top of the old grooming which remains intact most everywhere that I skied, made for a fine ski tour at mid-day. I had brought along 2 pairs of skis just in case, but the waxless boards stayed put, and I opted for my waxable old rock skis with a wider 49 mm waist combined with VR45 for grip, which turned out to be the perfect choice. Although- with the consistent solid coverage- no rocks were hit.

Following the tracks of an earlier skier, then breaking my own trail- I skied East Crystal-Iron Springs-Elbow, and Loggers, with a fun finish down the middle section of Ranger Summit all season trail to connect with lower Sundog. Not many people out today, but in addition to the myriad of tracks left behind by smaller critters, someone else was cruising the trails earlier in the morning” photos

Thursday morning update

I’ve received about 4 cm of overnight snow in Calgary. The web cam at West Bragg Creek shows fresh snow.

The mountains don’t appear to have received very much. The Mud Lake weather station in Kananaskis indicates 1 cm, and the Lake Louise ski resort received zero cm overnight, and 3 cm in the past 24 hours. 

Forecasts are predicting 5 cm of snow today/tonight in PLPP. The temperature this morning at the Lower Lake is -6°C with an expected high of -1. 

PLPP overnight tracksetting includes Elk Pass, Blueberry Hill, Patterson, Fox Creek, Moraine. 

“Light snow started to fall within the last half hour of the snowcat grooming finishing up early Thursday morning.  The snow picked up slightly as the equipment was being loaded in the Elk Pass Parking lot, and light snow was falling all the way down the KLT at 3:30AM, under a mainly cloudy sky.  Expect at least a trace of new snow on all trails on Thursday morning.  With the exception of the first 2km’s of Elk Pass, which was groomed about 48 hours earlier, varying amounts of fresh snow were mixed in to the solid base during Wednesday night’s snowcat grooming.  Amounts ranged from about 2cm’s or so on Upper Lake connector to about 8cm’s on parts of Blueberry Hill. Fox Creek and Moraine were trackset on Wednesday night, however there are still some icy areas that require extra caution (mostly hills and sun-worn sections). Boulton Creek was not groomed this week, and will likely have many icy sections, use caution.”

Wayback Wednesday

Whiskey Jack flooding damage in 2013

After this catastrophic incident, I never take Whiskey Jack for granted. The floods of June 2013 are slowly fading from memory, but this one is still vivid for me. My worst fears were realized when I inspected the damage on Whiskey Jack on July 12, 2013… “when I saw the huge cavern which ran down the middle of the trail for 250 metres, I honestly didn’t think we’d ever ski on it again.”

Climbing Whiskey Jack

My blog post from July 12, 2013: Disastrous damage on Whiskey Jack

Later that summer the trail was repaired and we were skiing on it by December 1st Thrilled to be skiing on Whiskey Jack. 

The picnic table at the top of Whiskey jack

I’ve skied Whiskey Jack more than any other trail in the SkierBob empire. 202 times to be exact. It’s a long, strenuous climb but when you arrive at the top, so many wonderful possibilities are available to a skier. 

The area along the trail between 3.2k-3.5k which was excavated to repair the damage is very visible when you’re skiing. 

The original Pocaterra trail from the hut to Lynx junction was also destroyed by the 2013 floods and a replacement was ready for the 2013-14 ski season. 

A portion of Elk Pass also had to be rerouted from the north Hydroline junction as you go south. 

Spring skiing at its best

Samantha on Elk Pass

As Mary mentioned on her trip report, it was an entire trip with no sticky snow, but the best part of today was meeting all the skiers on the trail who wanted to stop and chat. Every junction was another opportunity for skiers to wish me well on my farewell tour. I am gratified to hear how every one has enjoyed this blog. 

Socializing at Elk Pass/Hydroline junction

Dorothy asked me what I was going to do with all my spare time next winter. In fact she asked me twice because I didn’t give her a very satisfactory answer the first time. She can spot evasiveness when she sees it!

Hydroline

I’m a big believer in the motto “When one door closes, another one opens” so we’ll see what’s behind that door when the time comes. 🙂

It was -3°C at the Elk Pass parking lot at 1 pm with bright sun and a light breeze. There was beautiful tracksetting right out of the gate which was firm and fast. I had good grip going up the big hill with VR50(0/-4) and wore some of it off while going down the other side, although I was in full control all the way down.

Rich and Dorothy at the Elk Pass/Patterson junction

Unless it snows tonight, I expect with today’s warming that the tracks will be slick tomorrow. It was +2 back at the car in mid-afternoon. 

At the Hydroline junction, I chose to ski on the older grooming on Elk Pass which had 5 cm of new snow from last night. The tracks were in great shape and well skied-in.

The tracks on upper Hydroline were filling with a bit of drifting snow, but the corduroy was still exposed and fast. 

Patterson

Patterson also had fresh snow on top of the grooming but was in excellent shape. 

On the way back, I skirted the big hill by taking Fox creek. It was in pretty good shape except for the very first steep downhill as you leave Elk Pass. It was pure ice and I would recommend walking down. Other than that, I experienced no significant ice or debris. What a fun trail!

Tomorrow(Wednesday) doesn’t look real promising with wet snow and a high of +4. It cools off for Thursday and more snow is predicted. 

I met the Kananaskis Grooming volunteer in the parking lot as he was checking for parking passes. I hope everyone has appreciated this season with groomed trails in PLPP, Ribbon Creek, and Mt Shark and purchased a season pass or even a day pass. 

5 cm in PLPP

Hydroline was trackset on Monday night. File photo

Update: West Bragg Creek received 5-8 cm. For a report on WBC, see Alf Skrastins’ comment below. 

Peter Lougheed Provincial Park tracksetting on Monday night: Elk Pass(partial), Hydroline, Tyrwhitt, Lookout.  

“Light flurries on Monday night that cleared up around the time grooming finished at midnight. In total, approximately 5 cm’s accumulated in the south end of the park, with slightly less total in the North end. The temperature stayed between -2 to -5 degrees all night.”

The temperature at the Lower Lake in PLPP is -14°C at 8:30 a.m.

8 cm at West Bragg Creek. Photo by Alf Skrastins

From what I’m reading on Bow Valley Road Conditions, the highways appear to be in decent shape this morning. People are saying that not much snow fell in Banff or points west. “Driving lane Canmore to Seebe pretty clear, a few icy patches. Fog at Scott Lake Hill. Road bare & dry after that except for on & off fog.”

It looks like the Canmore Nordic Centre received enough new snow to trackset most of the natural snow trails including Banff trail, Bow, Meadowview, Grey Wolf, and Rundle. 

Nakiska is reporting 10 cm of overnight snow, so the trails around Ribbon Creek may be skiable but there will be no grooming. 

Mud Lake in Kananaskis received 3.7 cm so the trails at Mt Shark will have some new snow. The Mud Lake weather station reports a chilly -19°C this morning. 

Lake Louise Ski Resort did not receive any snow overnight. 

There’s more snow in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday in Kananaskis, Banff, and Lake Louise. 

Snowfall update

At 9 pm, I have about 1 cm of accumulation in Calgary. Roads between Calgary and Canmore are in poor shape according to reports on Bow Valley Road Conditions. 

I hope that PLPP is getting their share. The Kananaskis Mud Lake weather station had 2.2 cm by 8 pm. 

According to the Weather Network, the snow is predicted to end around midnight. Just in time for grooming to start on Lodgepole. 

Winter returns


The snowfall warning is isolated to Kananaskis. Other areas in the empire such as Lake Louise, Banff, and West Bragg Creek are expecting smaller amounts of snow. Forecasts are predicting daytime highs around zero for the next five days. 

Tracksetting on Sunday night in PLPP included Amos, Meadow(partial), Wheeler, and Woolley. 

Sunday morning update

Come-Along. File photo

PLPP: Last night’s tracksetting included Pocaterra from the hut to Packers, Lynx, Rolly Road and Come-Along. 

“Saturday night’s grooming took place under a mainly cloudy sky, with very light snow falling on and off during the night, and the temperature hovering 2 to 3 degrees below freezing.  Between just over 1 and about 3cm’s of snow was mixed in to the icy base.  At 5AM at Pocaterra Hut, it was snowing very lightly, with not much more than a trace of snow having fallen during the grooming.  Since Friday night, between almost 2cm (at the very north end) and about 7 cm’s (at higher elevations) of new snow had fallen, possibly a little more in the very south end.  The base is getting very thin in a few places in the north end, particularly on a number of spots on Come Along.”

At Lake Louise, the Chateau grooming team were busy tracksetting yesterday on Upper Telemark, Peyto, and Lake Louise shoreline. Parks Canada trackset Moraine Lake road and Tramline. 

Canmore Nordic Centre tracksetting last night included the man-made snow on Banff Loop and Bow. Coal Cut was also trackset. 

Weather forecasts are calling for a significant snowfall at higher elevations in the mountains on Monday, followed by cooler temperatures. 

Saturday morning update

Elk Pass/Blueberry Hill junction on Mar 19. Photo provided by Sophie.

Mar 20, 2021:

Tracksetting in PLPP last night included Whiskey Jack, Upper Pocaterra, Packers, and Lower Lake. Inconsistent snow conditions not only make for challenging skiing, but it’s also a challenge for the groomers….

 “The snow base changed continually and ranged from quite moist all the way through (early at lower elevations), to completely frozen (in open high elevation areas), to varying degrees of solid on top and gooey underneath, with 2 to 6cm’s of new snow on top.  Some uneven surfaces and poorly formed tracks exist, mostly on the earlier grooming at lower elevations (and especially north of Packers to the Lower Lake junction).  At 4:30AM in the Boulton Creek parking lot, very light snow was falling under a mainly clear sky.  At the time between 1cm (at the very north end) and 6cm’s (at higher elevations) of new snow had fallen on Friday, possibly a little more in the very south end.”

The PLPP Visitor Centre this morning is -5°C with an expected high of +1. 

Trails which weren’t groomed should be somewhat refreshed with the new snow. 

Helen encountered up to 8 cm of new snow at Lake Louise. Fairview was trackset, and let’s hope there is some new grooming on Moraine Lake road and Great Divide. 

The Canmore Nordic Centre Mar 20 update: “It’s Official Spring has sprung.  Cooler temps overnight and that skiff of snow yesterday has helped revitalize some of the trails. Don’t get too excited though as many trails still have marginal conditions with bare spots and icy sections. Keep your eye on the trail report and more importantly use caution when skiing as trail conditions are changing hourly.”

Weather forecasts are calling for a significant snowfall on Sunday/Monday with continued cooler temperatures in the mountains.