Snowshoe 2012-2013

Although this blog is aimed at skiers, there are many xc skiers who also like to snowshoe. Share your information with others on this page.

{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Helen Read April 30, 2013 at 7:56 pm

Tried Rockbound Lake trail today on the mini MSR’s and quite icey first 200 m. up. The last 500 m. were much better and started to clump a little at Tower Lake open areas when the snowing stopped briefly enough for the sun to emerge. No signs of animal tracks and turned around where the trail comes rather close to the snow slopes of Eisenhower Tower.

2 Helen Read April 26, 2013 at 8:47 pm

This time at the end of the season, I find it perfect for snowshoeing on trails such as Healy Pass. Since I have never skied up to Healy Pass it gave me a chance to check it out before adding it to next winter’s “to do” list. Started at Bourgeau parking lot and went up to the open meadow, 1.5 kms. shy of the Pass. 500 metres elevation was a good workout. Trail snow supported my MSR Juniors, even in the open sunny parts. No animal tracks seen (or people for that matter). Enjoyed lunch in the meadow in heavy wind.

3 Darrell April 22, 2013 at 11:16 pm

There’s still lots of snow for snowshoeing on the Chester Lake Trail. The temperature at the parking lot today was +2. The lower part of the trail was a bit soft but no sign of the ice that Andrew mentioned. It was -4 at the lake with the snow still crunchy under foot. Those big rocks looked pretty amazing all covered in snow against a perfectly blue, cloudless sky. I didn’t see anyone else on the trail but there was one other car in the parking lot when I got there. I think they might have been skiing because I saw fresh ski tracks at the lake. I checked out the lower part of the XC trail on my way out and it was a thin layer of new snow over glare ice. Glad I was on snowshoes today!

4 Helen Read April 17, 2013 at 4:37 pm

Decided to follow alongside Graeme’s great tracks up Skogan to top of Screamer. Being in my mini 20″ MSR’s, I noticed a snowmobile trail that had been packed down and chose that easier option. It was minus 6 and a steady climb of 400 m. to Nakiska Mid Mountain Lodge, where I enjoyed watching a few AT skiers doing their S-turns in fresh powder way above the top lift. Ski hill only open on w/e’s. It got sticky on way down and passed a few other snowshoers coming up. It beats the rain predicted for Friday. Guess we’ll all have to wait for skiing up Skogan Pass until next winter.

5 Graeme P. April 17, 2013 at 5:30 pm: Good on you Helen.
I didn’t know your real name was Jaime Sommers (Google it if you have to).

For those who don’t know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_Sommers_(The_Bionic_Woman) – Bob

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6 Helen Read April 7, 2013 at 4:59 pm

12 days of not finding anywhere decent to ski, I took the MSR Junior’s (20″ and perfect for “track” snow-shoeing) and headed up Redearth. I still hope for one more ski into Shadow Lake and wanted to check the snow. No one around, the peace and serenity was restored going up to the open meadow just beyond the campground. It was zero at noon and zero where I had some tea, then turned around. 2-3 cms of fresh snow atop of last track-setting about a month ago. The poles were easy to plant so if it had been frozen, it had softened enough. Fun to observe all the animal prints and did not run into any scary ones.

7 Andrew Rowe April 3, 2013 at 4:15 pm

I went snowshoeing up to Chester Lake on March 29. The trail was very busy with other fellow snowshoers. The trail was well worn and there was an enough snow to allow for snowshoeing. I found that going up the steep hill was difficult because it was very icy that day. I had to dig my snowshoes into the snow in order to maintain my balance. Once I had made up the hill, I found the snowshoeing more pleasant. Along the way, the views of Mount Chester were spectacular. When I had reached Chester Lake, I was greeted with fabulous vista’s of Chester Lake and Mount Chester. Overall, I would recommend this snowshoe trail to anyone who is looking for an challenge.

8 Ray Perrott March 30, 2013 at 5:15 pm

With the PLPP ski conditions getting so challenging, we decided to snowshoe some trails instead. Starting at Elk Pass parking, we took the snowshoe trail that heads to Elk Pass, but left it along Hydroline where we headed up to Lookout. Its quite a climb, but easy on the edges of the groomed ski trails. Fantastic at Lookout – great views, blue skies, little wind, +6C. After a pleasant lunch, we headed north, eventually returning to Boulton by the Whiskey Jack trail. A 2 Km walk on the road got us back to Elk Pass parking, making for 15Km total. Interesting to get the different perspective of walking trails we so often ski.

9 Jeff B March 29, 2013 at 5:37 pm

Hiked Rawson Lake today. The trail up to the lake was very well beaten and did not require snowshoes. Put on the shoes for a tromp to the end of the lake where we watched many avalanches thunder their way down. Kept the shoes on during descent for the grip.

10 Lynn Bowers March 19, 2013 at 1:45 pm

Despite weather we drove out to Upper Lake parking in Kananaskis to climb & descend Blueberry Hill. Weather cleared somewhat as day progressed, & we got good viewing conditions atop the hill. As we descended there would have been more views but we were focussed on keeping upright as we twisted & turned through the glading on the way down.

11 Darrell February 13, 2013 at 10:35 pm

Went up to Bow Summit yesterday in search of some snow worth snowshoeing in. The loop trails around the viewpoint were pretty well tramped but the trail to the Summit looked like it hadn’t been travelled in a few days. We were able to follow a vague trail for maybe a kilometre or so before we lost it and spent several minutes thrashing around in waist-deep powder looking for some footing. It was getting late in the day so we gave up and went back but for anyone looking to break some trail in a really beautiful area, I’d recommend it. The wind wasn’t too bad and it was snowing gently the whole time we were there. Just beware of the killer attack grouse at the Peyto Lake lookoff1 This guy was pretty aggressive, at one point jumping on the back of my snowshoes and pecking at my legs. I got the feeling that people have been feeding him and he was upset with us for not doing the same. For a look at this ruffian, check out http://mojointhemountains.blogspot.ca/

12 Oleg January 30, 2013 at 9:25 am

Chester Lake, January 27 2013
I snowshoed the Chester Lake trail on Sunday with a group of friends, and hundreds (literally!) of other snow adventurers (including skiers and walkers). What a busy trail it is, I have never expected to see so many people on a winter day.
The trail itself is very well packed yet still soft (meaning not icy), and does not really require showshoes (spikes may be beneficial though), unless you want to venture into the woods off the trail. Snow depth is more than 1.5m (5 ft) as my poles went all the way down when I tried it.
Trail to the Elephant Rocks is well defined as well.

13 Tyler January 27, 2013 at 2:22 pm

Went snowshoeing at Sandy Mcnabb today. Did a quick trip on Death Valley Loop. Snow is marginal to nonexistent in places and in some areas it was decent enough to not be kicking up debris but felt like I was walking on plywood. Probably could have done the loop without the shoes. Came across both wolf and cougar track and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Good day to be out.

14 Lynn Bowers January 5, 2013 at 4:43 pm

Snowshoed the Elkwood Loop today. The designated trail is all packed by snowshoers & we added our usual variation with a circuit of Marl Lake, lunch-with-a-view in the sun by the lake.

15 Tyler December 30, 2012 at 9:05 pm

Snowshoed Sawmill to Chester Lake today (Dec 30). Conditions on the Sawmill trail were good to excellent with good snow depth. I got started a little later than I wanted to. My thighs wouldn’t let me out of bed as I didn’t do a proper pre-shoe stretch before my outing yesterday ( See my comments for West Bragg under Snowshoe). Otherwise I would have been able to go further. Spent just under 8 hours in snowshoes today for a total distance of 13.7 miles. Not bad for the last trip of the year. Bring on January 1, 2013! It was nice to see a lot of people out on the Chester Lake trail. Some with dogs and a lot of kids. Really nice to see. We truly are blessed with having the biggest and most beautiful outdoor playground with in an hours drive of Calgary and am truly thankful for all the experiences and opportunities that wait in my adventures out there. Some suburb snowshoeing conditions right now for sure!

16 Lynn Bowers December 10, 2012 at 11:14 am

Have tried snowshoeing off-trail down a couple of creeks, Chester & James Walker (off the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Rd.) & eventually had to abandon the goal of getting back to the road. Maybe later in the season the snow accumulation will smooth those routes out some more. Monica Brook, on the other hand, down from the meadow below Tent Ridge was great much of the way. The last bit close to the Mt. Shark Rd. & the route up – there’s supposed to be a more open approach – to the Tent Ridge meadow not so pleasant.
The route into Sherbrooke Lake just W of L. Louise was packed by snowshoers on Sat. (Dec. 8) & the loop E from Ross Lake – also just W of L. Louise – was packed on Sun. (Dec. 9).

17 David Bynoe November 18, 2012 at 9:39 pm

I snowshoed up to Tower/Rockbound Lakes on Sunday (Nov 18). Trail is mostly snow covered but snowshoes aren’t really needed for the first 4k or so. Beyond that to Tower Lake the snow gets deeper but there is a good well packed trail. Unfortunately for me the big group that did such a wonderful job at grooming turned around at Tower Lake leaving me to break the trail beyond to Rockbound Lake. Its now broken in and my legs are tired. About 2-3 feet of snow at the lakes. Really fluffy unsupportive stuff too, in spots I was sinking up to my knees even with the snowshoes. Also the boulder field by Rockbound has a few invisible traps you can fall into, the snow bridges have no strength. If anyone asks I was deliberately making snow angels.

18 Andra November 19, 2012 at 5:09 pm

David,

It was myself and six friends that cleared the way to Tower Lake for you. We had chatted about trying to get to Rockbound Lake but we were exhausted by the time we reached Tower Lake and it took us longer than expected to get there. We took turns breaking trail and it was hard work being our first snowshoe trip of the season. I really wanted to see what Rockbound Lake looks like at this time of year but no luck!
http://alexmac2008.blogspot.ca/2012/11/a-day-of-sharing.html

19 David Bynoe November 19, 2012 at 8:03 pm: Nice blog! Makes me want to get off my duff and work on my own. Till then I did get a shot at the top (sorry for the blurry bits, some blowing snow landed on my lens) http://i.imgur.com/YcPpm.jpg

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20 Gary Millard November 13, 2012 at 7:05 pm

I snowshoed up to Taylor Lake (south of Lake Louise) yesterday (November 12th). There were some existing tracks there, both snowshoe and ski. At the beginning, there was just enough snow to allow snowshoeing, but within a kilometer or two, the snow depth was sufficient to require snowshoes. It was great travel up to the lake, with light snow and some sunshine. Up at the lake, there was over a metre of snow, and absolutely fabulous views of the mountains rising up from the far shores. Overall, I would recommend this trail as a great early season destination.