Goat Creek was icing on the cake!
Trip date: Friday Mar 08, 2024
Submitted by JeffG
Particpants:
Discussion:
I capped off my best week of skiing all year with a glorious ski down Goat Creek today. Our good friends Alanna and Howard from the Gatineau Hills came to spend the week with us in Canmore to taste a selection of our best skis. Alanna was booked with friends to ski in to Skoki yesterday. So the three of us got to experience the Canmore Nordic Centre, Cascade Fire Road and the mighty Tyrwhitt Loop before we dropped her off in Lake Louise for her backcountry adventure. Howard and I were then on our own to ski Pipestone yesterday and Goat Creek today. What a wild ride! It was a dream of mine for these close friends who come from such an iconic xc location to come here and ski our trails. Could their timing have been any better? Every ski was fantastic, and Howard clearly enjoyed Pipestone and Goat Creek the most.
Claire dropped us off at Goat Creek around noon and zero degrees. We walked down the first little drop in cut-up deep snow, strapped on our boards and were on our way, hoping to find fresh grooming once we entered Banff park. Sure enough Chuck was right, and we got onto pristine tracks that couldn’t have been more than a few hours old. Probably nothing else needs to be said - it was exquisite. Even Spray River West was in perfect shape. Thanks as always to Claire who picked us up at the Banff Springs trailhead. My skin skis performed well on the medium-fast track, and the snow was just starting to get a bit sticky in the sunny spots. The conditions should be still excellent tomorrow.
A week for the ages!