The late shift at Elk Pass

Trip date: Wednesday Nov 30, 2022

Submitted by Bob Truman

Particpants:


Discussion:

My arrival at Elk Pass at 2 pm will serve as an update to Ray Yong's excellent earlier report.

The temperature was -16 when I showed up and as Helen mentioned, it didn't seem that cold. The wind which Ray was dealing with had calmed down to zero. The snow temperature was -9. I didn't have to herringbone going up the big hill, so the old Swix green(-7/-13) was doing its job.

There was one other car in the parking lot and the two skiers who belonged to it were coming down the big hill, so I had the place to myself. I was thankful for the skied-in tracks they created, at least for a while.

It was snowing lightly the entire time that I was skiing, and there's more in the forecast for tonight. The trail report shows lots of new grooming and tracksetting but it will all be covered with fresh snow tomorrow. I observed the new grooming on Hydroline and the corduroy had already disappeared.

With the cold weather, it was nice having the hut available for changing boots and clothes. It should have been open a month earlier considering the PLPP Visitor Centre has been closed all month. Now both will be open starting tomorrow.

There's about 10 cm of fresh snow at the Pocaterra trailhead.

Grooming is occurring tonight on the Ribbon Creek trails. It was snowing very lightly as I passed by the village on my way home.