West Bragg Creek
Update Dec 21: Lots of new grooming overnight in PLPP(Tyrwhitt is now trackset) and the Canmore Nordic Centre. Check the Live Grooming Reports for details.
The Kananaskis Village/Ribbon Creek trails did not receive enough snow to groom, but there is more snow on the way today which might help.
Thanks to Groomer Jeff for this welcome update:
Many thanks to groomers David, Greg and Dean for helping to roller pack and track set a number of trails in the West Bragg Area.
We received approximately 20 cm of snow in the last 24 hrs. This snow has been compacted over a sheet of ice, and with any luck will consolidate as a cohesive slab and provide an excellent base for the rest of the season.
The following trails have been groomed and track set:
East Crystal, West Crystal, Hostel Meadow and Loop, Bunny, Chickadee, and Sundog. Conditions are good but some natural hazards exist.
The following have been roller packed and will be groomed shortly:
Loggers, Iron Springs, Iron Creek, Elbow North, Mountain Road, Mountain View, Mountain View West, Moose Connector and Loop. Snow is thin in areas and natural hazards exist
Telephone has been packed with snowmobiles by Parks.
Get out and enjoy for the holidays! More snow is in the forecast!
How do I get information about the road conditions? This is my first year skiing in Alberta and I don’t know about roads in Bragg Creek and Canmore area. Is there something I should be aware of before driving there?
Go to the Alberta Highways road conditions report:
http://511.alberta.ca/map.html#x=-12802084&y=6838707&z=1&l=36&lb=1&rb=1 or phone 511.
The West Bragg Creek Road and parking lot were plowed on Wednesday.
Not sure, Bob, if the Nordic Centre has been groomed. Today’s report on the main page contradicts the live grooming. Which should we believe? I went yesterday, hoping for more than there was. Lots of competition trails are open below the biathlon range but, having forgot the headlamp needed for black diamond trails, I had to stick to Banff and Lynx. The Banff trail is in great shape but only open and track set to the turnoff to the Banff Loop/Bow. It looks like the snow would be good enough to groom but the trail is still closed for snowmaking.
Here’s my assessment: The grooming was done last night and is reported in real time. It’s early morning and the daylodge staff haven’t had time to update the report on the main page. It’s also possible the trails were groomed but are still not recommended for skiing. -Bob
Thanks, Bob. I’ll go up later, check it out, and report back! So thrilled to have snow afterwork-close.
skier Mike I hope thats a typo about not allowing dogs
Dogs are allowed on the ski trails at West Bragg Creek. I’m not sure what Mike is referring to, perhaps the 10 sandwich board signs placed at the end of shared use access trails at the point where users can chose to follow the groomed XC ski trail, or follow an all-season or snowshoe/winter multi-user trail instead. They are also placed on XC ski trails at junctions where non-skiers might be tempted to think that the XC ski trail is a possible way to go. -Bob
I meant dog walkers, I amended my comment but it doesn’t show up????
I went out to West Bragg Creek today to see the transformation from Mondays spring-like conditions. The GBCTA volunteers actually packed and groomed the trails twice in the past 24 hours… once to get the new snow to adhere to Monday’s ice/dirt base and then once more to groom the remainder of the snow that fell.
Hostel Loop, one of my favourite WBC trails was double track-set and in pretty good condition. There are a few spots where grass or needles show through, but mostly it’s good.
I also noticed that Parks had snowmobile packed the Telephone Loop. That’s great news for fat-bikers looking for compacted snow to ride on. Telephone is a shared use trail, but it does not yet have enough snow for XC skiing.
As skier Mike noted, WBC has an entire network of separate trails for non-skiers. At the moment, snowshoers have about 70km of largely un-tracked trail to explore, without being on a ski trail.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/30wlM2nwbO7gBr9B3
(Click the “i” icon on any image to see the text that goes with the photos)
…As always Alf, sage advise for the multitude of diverse users, unfortunately one though that lost on most (all?) non-skiers that don’t read this blog or wouldn’t know to check in at the warming hut. This area really needs -I believe, a more central & informative (dare I say “obtrusive” not-so-subtle small print) kiosk/bulletin signage or a check-in point that funnels users through trail head akin many other managed trail systems I’ve visited (outside AB). Yes, I do understand this is crown land however …
New and better trailhead signage is in the works (a slow process within Alberta Parks) and will be installed at the 7 new trailhead kiosks at West Bragg Creek. Trail users get their information from many sites, SkierBob being only one of the many information sources. Different user groups have their own preferred sites for information.
For example, I was out at WBC for about 6 hours on Wednesday. During that time, I saw about 25 people on fat bikes head out on the trails. Many returned after about 15 minutes, because they single track trail they were riding on was too soft and they were leaving ruts… so they did exactly what is recommended, which is to leave the trail system. Some persisted, with the intention of packing the trail for future use. Several went up Telephone Loop (multi-user trail), which had just been snowmobile packed. Not a single one of them rode on the groomed XC trails.
By the way… all of the north side single track trails have now been packed for fat-biking.
Just did a fantastic night ski of West Bragg trails. Unreal compacted grooming with a single track and skating lane. The unique feature now is the massive sign in the middle of the trails forbidding walking, dogs, snowshoeing and yes Bob, fat bikes. That being said West Bragg fat biking condition are all time good! And unlike other areas, they have an incredible network of fat biking and snowshoeing trails! Fantasic -20 night ski with headlamps. Hard to believe it was a skating rink a week ago!