Elise Watchorn

Friends reported that the groomer came along just as they were finishing the Compound Trail yesterday afternoon. Trails in that area should be freshly groomed for today!

(Posted this on the RMNP page; guess it better belongs here.)

Lower Bald Hill was apparently groomed yesterday, although you wouldn’t have known it to see it with all the fresh snow. The beginning of the trail was skier tracked, then heavily trampled by deer using those ski tracks as a freeway, then skier tracked again by us. So the base is a…[Read more]

Langford trails are freshly groomed!

The Oak Ridge loops were groomed yesterday. They’ve received some snowfall since then, but considerably less than other trails in the vicinity. They were skier tracked by one person sometime before the snow stopped, and then again by us afterward. Definitely in the best condition of any of the east side trails today. Lovely views of piercing b…[Read more]

Lake Katherine was skier tracked.

The lot to North Escarpment was not yet ploughed (although 19 was fine), and we didn’t see any ski tracks heading in.

Lower Bald Hill was apparently groomed yesterday, although you wouldn’t have known it to see it with all the fresh snow. The beginning of the trail was skier tracked, then heavily trampled by dee…[Read more]

Crawford Creek had just barest suggestion of old tracks visible today. Fluffy snow was falling heavily, so ours will be filled in in no time. The day was warm and the snow was sticky as glue. Hundreds of windfall branches covered the trail, as well as a couple of downed trees: we cleared them as best we could. We followed the very fresh tracks of…[Read more]

We skied Squirrel Hills this afternoon. The groomers were apparently out first thing Tuesday after the big snowfall and set a nice track. Since then, they’ve received the tiniest dusting of snow. Made for a bit of a tradeoff: a bit less glide than expected (hoped), but more manageable hill speeds. Really appreciated that the groomers left the s…[Read more]

Today we skied the 11.2km Moose Lake Trail, right at the extreme SW tip of the park. A lovely forest trail, especially beautiful today with hoarfrost on tall trees.

Ski conditions were not bad at all: it hasn’t been groomed for at least a week and several snowfalls… but it’s been well skied, so tracks are holding up decently although pole plant…[Read more]

Checked in today with the landowners, and the Rivendell trails have NOT been groomed this year.

The nearby Frank Skinner Arboretum trails apparently are being groomed: we’ll check them out later this week.

While in the neighbourhood, we visited the Madge Lake ski trails (about 45min north, and just over the Saskatchewan border). The trails h…[Read more]

Came back today for another Birchkin Pumpski — this time with my partner in tow. Started at the Pumpkin Creek end, just to mix things up.

Both halves had been regroomed this morning after the fresh snow, hooray, so conditions were much the same as yesterday… except warmer! Only a very few spots with drifting, and these were well-skied. Most of…[Read more]

Skied a solo and very chilly Birchkin Pumpski this afternoon! Maybe the first person to do so, if the finisher’s log is to be believed.

The Birch grooming was stellar, the Pumpkin Creek grooming was very good, and the connection was pretty good also (some drifting in open areas, to be expected). The big long descents were absolutely perfect f…[Read more]

Skied the Agassiz trails today. Brr!

The Red and Blue trails were in good condition — they haven’t been regroomed since the last (reasonably light) snowfall, but they haven’t blown in or drifted up either. Wolf, fox, deer and mouse tracks galore. Great to see these trails resurrected!

The rest of the trails were in excellent condition. Absol…[Read more]

Gorgeous grooming on the 24th made for a great Xmas Day ski today! Lots of glide and ample snow coverage… just saw one rock peeking out that was easy to avoid. Note that while all the central trails are nicely groomed, the hilly side trails are not yet prepared. If you like a gentle terrain ski, Duck Lake is ready for you; but if you’re exc…[Read more]

Skied the east side Camp Morton trails yesterday. The grooming is shallow but uninterrupted: there has been lots of foot traffic, but none actually in or on the tracks. Everything is groomed except for the very farthest sections of the Steeple View alternate route. Only a bit of the parking lot has been ploughed: a few spots are clear but more…[Read more]

Did I have fun at Grand Beach yesterday? Yes. Is the skiing here an absolute gong show right now? Also yes.

In my view, recent reports underestimate the amount of debris on the trails. Twigs and needles are pretty much constant; branches and logs are regular. We are going to need a LOT more snow to bury this stuff deep enough that it won’t just b…[Read more]

Fully agree with SkiTeulon’s last update: the classic trails were near perfect today, and the skate trails also quite good!

Glorious powder at Bittersweet today! I skied North Star, Blue’s, Cottonwood, Oak Ridge, Crossover, the Ski Hut Trail, Blue Jay Hill, and return. The folks had obviously worked hard to groom their usual impeccable deep classic tracks, only to receive a big dump of fresh snow. The tracks were still there though, nice and firm and just barely v…[Read more]

Pumpkin Creek has really done the best they can with limited snow, and we had a good ski there this afternoon. Tracks were hard and a bit shallow, and there has been lots of animal traffic, but they’re fairly continuous except in a few very open areas. Most trails within the valley are groomed. The Club Trail is not groomed, nor are the farthest s…[Read more]

Birch was bumpin’ today — obviously the place to be for skiers, fat bikers and snowshoers. The classic tracks and the skate base were very hard and fast. Fortunately they had received a very thin dusting of fresh snow to keep things manageable for ascending and descending… but the day was warming up and conditions were getting a little more,…[Read more]