Elise Watchorn

Trails were surprisingly good at Beaudry today! Not too chewed up by walkers at all. That will change soon, though… The sociopaths we ran into at the river crossing to Maple were quite determined to destroy them for skiers.

Skied 28km at Pinawa yesterday. Started on Blue and English River: the tracks here were deep and the snow was fast! However, snow in the pole plant area was deep too, and hadn’t been packed recently. Poling wasn’t as efficient as it could have been, with snow soft and yielding instead of providing resistance.

The JGG Freeway was groomed for our…[Read more]

The fresh snow and especially the blow all but obliterated the ski tracks from the last grooming. But when they next groom, it will be fantastic! All the snow you could ask for. We tracked in everything but the westernmost and southernmost trails, but they may drift in pretty quick.

We really appreciated all the new upgrades at James Lake. The…[Read more]

Sandilands was a popular place today! Lots of skiers enjoying the good conditions. Black, Grey and Connector were freshly groomed. Green has mostly not been regroomed since the last big snow, but it has been well-skied and the old tracks are holding up quite decently. There are two icy sections to keep an eye out for: the one on Green described…[Read more]

Conditions were GREAT at Pumpkin Creek yesterday: beautifully groomed fresh snow with nice deep tracks. The longer trails in both directions were perfect, and we were the first to take advantage of these. A very few spots on the shorter trails could use a bit more snow (getting on and off bridges, etc) but overall very good on these too. We were…[Read more]

Evergreen has received a couple big dumps of fresh snow, even since the last update. Absolutely perfect, super recent grooming for skate and classic on Symond’s, Two Towers, Matoo’s and Jackrabbit. Rainbow Ridge, Green Spruce, Waldy’s, Todd’s, and Panorama have not been groomed since the last snow or two, but the old tracks are skied in and in…[Read more]

The Minaki trails have not been groomed (or packed, or skied) yet this year. They need more snow!

Skied the South Whiteshell Trail today. Grooming was excellent: best classic tracks of anywhere I’ve skied yet this winter (and that includes trails in three provinces and a territory so far.) West Hawk to Faloma is groomed; West Hawk to Falcon via McHugh is not groomed but has been skied; none of the connector trails between those two sides of t…[Read more]

Falcon Ridge was in decent shape today. The grooming was excellent and the fresh snow quite fast. There are more than a few places with lots of grasses and sedges poking though. Also a handful of rocks, mostly when getting on and off the lake. Skaters will be thrilled that the groomers have maximized the width of the skate trail; classic skiers…[Read more]

Classic skiing not great today. Skied Chickadee, Esker, Lime Kiln, and Bluestem, and the skier tracked conditions ranged from fair to poor. Most of the trail’s width is packed solid and flat, and even the tracks through the deeper snow (and stems) at trail edges are becoming trampled. Bluestem was probably the best of a bad bunch. Hope this a…[Read more]

There is more than enough snow to ski Seven Sisters… but the trails have not been groomed yet this winter. A few sections of the trail have been skier tracked, but for the most part it’s a walkers’ highway, with two lanes packed flat by boots. Near the falls, the trail has been driven on; around the power lines, snowmobiles have been busy. So,…[Read more]

Skied the Agassiz trails for the first time today. No change to conditions since the last update. Rock skis still recommended, until we get more coverage. The best snow right now can be found on the Blue loop.

Shannondale did not disappoint today! There is just exactly enough snow for great skiiing: no excess, but enough to go around. Lovely day on lovely trails.

Skied RMNP on Dec 22nd and found a good base of snow. Hilton had good conditions, although plenty of debris (leaves / needles / cone scales / seeds) on the trail. There are some mowed (but not mowed short enough) brushy stems to dodge, as well intact stems growing mid-trail to whip your inner thighs. However, twig conditions were better than this…[Read more]

Pleased to report that — despite bare patches, walkers’ pockmarked divots, icy snow and open water — Camp Morton is still very skiable! Assuming, of course, that your priorities are, like ours, to extend your ski season come what may… and not to enjoy a quiet commune with nature or pleasant conversation with your ski buddy. We sounded like a cou…[Read more]