Prologue to ski season

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Frozen Thunder in Oct 2017

A few diehards have already been out skiing on the early-season snow at West Bragg Creek and Lake Louise. Thanks for the trip reports.

Frozen Thunder

Frozen Thunder at the Canmore Nordic Centre will open on Saturday, Oct 19. The trucks will be busy dumping the snow to make the 2K track this week.

Take note that it will be open to the public after 12 noon every day. In previous years, it was available to the public all day on Saturdays and Sundays. 

  • Frozen Thunder under construction(Photo from Oct 2017)

    A day pass must be purchased at the Day Lodge to access Frozen Thunder. Canmore Nordic Centre season passes are not valid for access to Frozen Thunder at the start of the season. This is due to the cost to create and maintain Frozen Thunder.

  • The general public is welcome to access Frozen Thunder when the trail is not being used for training of high performance athletes. Public skiing on Frozen Thunder is permitted after 12:00 p.m. everyday.
  • Access to Frozen Thunder is limited to national and provincial level athletes everyday until 12:00 p.m. This dedicated time enables athletes to maximize their training efforts and reduces the potential for high speed collisions. For your safety and the safety of our athletes, do not attempt to access Frozen Thunder during this time.

Season passes are now on sale at the Canmore Nordic Centre. If you purchase a CNC season pass before the end of October, you’ll get 10% off. Season passes are not valid for access to Frozen Thunder. 

Ski sales this weekend:

The Calgary New and Used ski sale at the Max Bell Centre is Oct 25-27. There is an $8 admission fee for this.

The skis are on display at Lifesport’s new location in Bowness

Lifesport – New Location

Lifesport has moved from the old church in Kensington to their new location at 4711 – 85 St NW in Bowness. I stopped in yesterday to see the new store and take a few photos. The cross-country ski gear is now on display. 

The Waiting Game

Moraine Lake road will be closed to vehicle traffic imminently. We’ll pray for a good snowfall and hope that grooming will begin in early November. 

Six weeks to ski season – Welcome back!

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Bill Milne trail near Ribbon Creek

I hope everyone has had a nice summer. We’ve barely had time to enjoy the fall colours and  now there’s a big snowfall in the forecast.

I’m adding a few pictures of the aspen trees in Kananaskis countrywhich were spectacular a few days ago. They hadn’t started losing their leaves but I imagine the wind and snow will soon take care of that. Continue reading

2018-2019 ski season in review

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Members of Space Dogs Ski Club heading up Blueberry Hill. Dec 22, 2018

Last year when I wrote my final update, it was “What a great ski season!” Unfortunately I can’t say that this year. The snow was late in coming, and when it did arrive, wehad that incredibly cold weather. So this winter will be remembered as one of those sports teams who win it all and end up in last place the next year, commonly known as “First to Worst.” Continue reading

Apr 21 Grooming update

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Trails groomed last night in PLPP include Elk Pass, Blueberry Hill, and Hydroline. The trail report mentions the following:

After the recent extended period of rain, most trails groomed on Saturday night are rather dirty, with some thin and icy spots throughout, some bare edges in a few places, as well as dirt or small rocks mixed in to the snow in a few places. The trackset on Elk Pass was lifted in a couple of spots due to a thin or narrow base. At the time grooming was finished, only a brief flurry had fallen at the beginning of the grooming period. Most of the new grooming will be on the firm side early in the morning, but will likely soften fairly quickly as the temperature rises. As long as everything goes according to plan, there will be one final grooming on Sunday night.

Apr 11 grooming update

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Update Apr 13: Most of the trails at MT Shark have been groomed over the past two days. 

The man-made snow trails at Canmore Nordic Centre were groomed this morning. 

PLPP grooming early this morning included Elk Pass, Hydroline, Continue reading

Sat Apr 6: Grooming update

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Canmore Nordic Centre (file photo)

Canmore Nordic Centre: Two natural snow trails were groomed(not trackset) early this morning including Rundle and Meadowview. The man-made snow on Banff trail, Centennial, and Olympic were trackset. The temperature in Continue reading