Off to a humble start, this first unassuming mound of snow is the initial dump of about 400 truckloads(my guess) which will eventually become a respectable cross-country ski trail of 2000 metres(2K).
The trucks will be dumping snow on the trails at the Canmore Nordic Centre until Friday.
Frozen Thunder opens for skiing at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct 22 at the Canmore Nordic Centre.
Matt will be able to ski on real snow this weekend
The snow in the photo looks too rough for skiing, but the snow cat will smooth it out and create a corduroy surface for skating and classic skiing, and if the nights are cold enough, it will be trackset as well.
Take note of the following instructions and information provided by the CNC(this is from 2015 but I expect it will be the same this year):
Frozen Thunder will be open for public use after 12:00 noon on weekdays and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. A day pass or “Early Season Pass” is required to ski Frozen Thunder prior to November 19.
It was a gorgeous day on Frozen Thunder at the Canmore Nordic Centre. Oct 18, 2011
Weekday mornings are reserved for ski teams, but weekends are open to anyone all day long.
The blog is getting phenomenal readership for this early in the season
Waxing tips for Frozen Thunder
With the warm temperatures, it will be difficult to get any grip on your classic skis with normal hard wax. Come prepared with waxless skis(fish-scale, skins, zeros) or the dreaded klister. You can avoid any grip problems by using skate skis.
Over the years, for classic skiing, I’ve had the best results with zero skis and skin-skis. Quite often the tracks are too icy for the fish-scales to get grip.
Early Bird Prices for Canmore Nordic Centre
Season passes for the Canmore Nordic Centre are now available online, with a 10% early-bird discount until Oct 31. Online season pass purchase (Season passes are not valid for Frozen Thunder.)
Upcoming Ski Sales
Fri Oct 21 – Sun Oct 23 Calgary New and Used Ski Sale
Sun Oct 30 Canmore Nordic Ski Swap
Sun Oct 30 Lifesport Performance and Race Ski Swap
Where is the best place to go to get second/less expensive ski sets for a school?
Thanks for the timely update on CNC. We awoke to another skiff in Okotoks. This time of year that’s always an exciting primer for the season ahead of us. Have to say too, checking your blog has become a daily ritual while I scan headline news with coffee hand. Your good news is MUCH appreciated.