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Want to contravene PLPP winter trail rules? Just follow the ACC's directions to Elk Lakes Cabin.

Report Submitted by Mike W
(trip) Date: Sunday Dec 10, 2023

Submitted: Tuesday Dec 12, 2023 at 00:19

Discussion:

First of all, further to SteveR's 2023-Dec-10 story about the confused hikers looking for Frozen Lake on Blueberry Hill: I and 5 other Ramblers came across them shortly after they turned around on Blueberry Hill. I couldn't tell what route they took from the Elk Pass Parking lot to the north end of the Hydroline ski trail, but instead of taking the snowshoe/walking trail about 10 metres west of the power line, they walked on the Hydroline ski trail (thankfully not in the track-setting) and then from Elk Pass they walked down the Elk Pass ski trail and up the Blueberry Hill ski trail, leaving lots of boot divots in their wake. Along the way, they ignored about 4 red "Skiers Only" signs. So even if they had followed the correct trail from the top of Elk Pass to Frozen Lake, they were deliberately on the Hydroline ski trail instead of the Hydroline snowshoe/walking trail. They weren't on ski trails "by accident" or "because they took a wrong turn".

I don't know if they were using a phone app. But far too many people blindly use phone apps for planning and navigation. Kananaskis Parks put out a special bulletin earlier this year warning about how unreliable and potentially dangerous these apps are. I wonder if they knew that the summer trail to Frozen Lake takes you into avalanche terrain near the top, and whether they had avalanche safety equipment and training? In any case, using an erroneous phone app is not an acceptable excuse for ignoring posted signs. Just like following Google Maps directions is not an excuse for driving through a "Bridge Closed" sign and into a river.

Finally, Kananaskis Parks has yet to put out a special bulletin informing the public to ignore the directions the ACC (Alpine Club of Canada) provides for getting to Elk Lakes Cabin (see photo). Since I'm not a summer user of the PLPP hiking trails, I can't comment on the "hiker" signs the ACC directs you to follow. But there is definitely no trail that will take you from the trailhead to Elk Pass in 4.8km. The shortest trail is 5.5km. And in winter according to the ACC, feel free to walk, snowshoe or bike on the Elk Pass and Hydroline ski trails to Elk Pass! So it's no wonder you see lots of snowshoers heading to the Elk Lakes Cabin via the ski trails instead of the snowshoe trails. SkierRoger, do you know who I should contact at Kananaskis Parks to tell the ACC to correct their directions?

ACC's Directions to Elk Lakes Cabin

ACC's Directions to Elk Lakes Cabin

8 comment(s) posted

Comments:

2023-12-12 at 08:02 - comment by SteveR

The "confused hikers" on Sunday started out by walking right up the middle of Elk Pass until Hydroline, but at least on their return seemed to pick up on the shorter sections of snowshoe trail around Fox Creek, and the final non-skier stretch back to the lot. I posted the attached photo from Nov 27 in a previous report. This group of 10 hikers headed for Elk Lakes cabin ignored all the signs and tromped up the ski trail all the way to the pass, because, in their words when we talked to them, "the Alpine Club told us to go that way". Without snowshoes, they were not at all prepared for breaking their own trail, and perhaps that is something else the ACC should address in the directions.

Stomping up the skier set track, note the sign designating the non-skier route off to the right.

2023-12-12 at 09:02 - comment by MaSid

A number of years ago I made contact with ACC staff to inform them of the continuous issues with people accessing the elk lakes cabin and abusing the funded grooming (pre-conservation pass and Nordic alberta volunteer parking pass) and to correct their access descriptions to include correct winter and summer advise/routes to be in line with Alberta parks. Can’t find the email contact (new phone) to follow up. So yes, alberta parks may have more success.

2023-12-12 at 11:44 - comment by SkierRoger

Many thanks to those cross-country ski enthusiasts who have expressed a sincere concern for the condition of our trails.

Today, I received an email from Michael Geertsema, Facilities Manager with the Alpine Club of Canada. The concern about directions was recently brought to his attention by Alberta Parks (thanks Alberta Parks). Michael says the following:

"I would like to share that the ACC is working with Alberta Parks to improve the communication we provide guests. You should be able to see the updated information on our website shortly.

It would be appreciated if you could please reply to the discussion to share that Alberta Parks and the ACC are aware of the concerns and are working to improve communication with Elk Lakes Hut users."

2023-12-12 at 12:08 - comment by MaSid

Most excellent! Maybe that will result in a map produced by parks which shows both groomed ski trails and snowshoe trails together (for clarity), which can then be linked to ACC website. Walking in just boots is not an advisable option in winter (which should be made clear, for safety/liability reasons alone) and what leads to trampling of the publicly funded grooming (along with no clear map). The Elk Lakes Cabin is a different beast than most ACC huts in terms of easy access and the broader range of clients it attracts as a result. Lots of potential for issues. Glad to hear they are on it.

2023-12-12 at 12:25 - comment by Mike W

Roger - Thanks for following up on this. I put in calls to Kananaskis Dispatch and the ACC but haven't heard back from them yet.

2023-12-12 at 12:40 - comment by sjp

I would like to add that I was coming down Blueberry Hill Sunday morning and had to "thread the needle" through the snowshoers, 3 abreast heading down and 2 skiers heading up. This was a potentially dangerous situation and narrow miss. I have skied Blueberry for 40 years now since a kid and have never seen snowshoers on it. Since reading the other posts, these were likely the same snowshoers who also walked 3 abreast down from Elk Pass along the very steep decent ~ 1km from the summit, another potentially dangerous place to encounter people walking down the ski trail. This seems to becoming more commonplace, walkers and snowshoers on ski trails. I have definitely seen the new signs about ski trails only so snowshoers must be ignoring them. Definitely needs to be more awareness and communication from KCountry AND the ACC before an accident happens.

2023-12-12 at 13:57 - comment by Mike W

Hi sjp - I was about 10m downhill from you admiring your split-second maneuvering! FYI I'm sure you didn't have time to notice, but at that point they were on foot, not on snowshoes.

2023-12-12 at 22:40 - comment by Mike W

A friend forwarded me an ACC email he received this afternoon about ACC Hut availability and Elk Lakes Winter Access Trail Etiquette. See first photo. The second photo is a copy of the map referred to in the Trail Etiquette text. You can view the original at https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/elk-lake-map.jpg .

Unfortunately the "purple" they refer to in the text looks more like alternating black and red dashes, and is virtually indistinguishable from the Elk Pass and Hydroline ski trails.