Nordic Pulse

Dec 25th: The snowcat tip toed around some lower elevation trails from Pocaterra Hut on Christmas eve, with a some tracksetting done on Pocaterra, mostly south of Lynx. The base is very thin but solid, and with no more than 5cm's having accumulated on much of these trails over the 4 weeks (since the last snowmobile grooming), rocks or dirt were exposed in a few places. Over the last week, about 4 cm's (at the very North end) to over 12cm's (at higher elevations in the South end) of snow has fallen in the park, most of it falling last Wednesday. 

Most trails trackset so far are not fully trackset due to underlying hazards in places, such as the top 200m of Blueberry Hill where rock is lurking just below or even at the surface. Warm weather in early Dec left some icy areas, especially around Pocaterra Hut, but created a nice solid base, though it still extremely thin in places and below normal for this time of year. All trails have now been groomed over the last week or so, with some tracksetting at higher elevations and lower elevation paved trails. Much of the grooming was done by snowcat, with snowmobile grooming on some lower elevation trails and Packers. Packers needs the most snow to eliminate hazards and deserves special mention for the quantity and severity of early season hazards.

Though the solid base has eliminated most exposed rocks and dirt (a few are still possible) and recent grooming has improved surfaces considerably, early season natural hazards exist on many trails, including bumps and uneven surfaces, possible open water/ice/slush, possible exposed brush, as well as the possibility of downed trees. 

Ski trails sharing campground roads in Elkwood Campground have had the previous plowing covered over with snow; caution is still advised for construction, however this will be limited to the occasional vehicle crossing Wheeler at the south exit of the campground.

Click on the computer icon above to access the Alberta Parks report and information on individual trails.