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Thread Starter
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Mike Rogers

Mike Rogers

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Posts
753
Location
Calgary
Canadian Rockies (and region!) update:

After 2 bonus weekends, Nakiska has closed for the season.

We’re down to 3 resorts:

Jasper Marmot basin and Lake Louise close next Sunday. May 6.

Sunshine Village is open until Monday, May 21.


I skied Lake Louise both days this weekend.

Saturday was HOT. With a high in Lake Louise village of +19 and Calgary at +26, temps last Saturday were more typical of July and August than April. This was the third straight day of really warm temps, and the snowpack is starting to deteriorate. There were big natural slides all around us as snow on steeper sections let go, often sliding to ground and hitting the valley floor.

Needless to say, a lot of terrain was closed on Saturday. The back bowls closed by noon. The Gully off Top of the World (and surrounding terrain) also closed really early. Upshoots was closed all day, as were Exhibition, Ptarmigan Chutes, Ptarmigan Trees, Elevator Shaft, and the Trees off Larch. So….limited terrain.

The closures were warranted though. All three Ptarmigan Chutes slid to the ground. ER 5 went big and there was even an avalanche off a steeper face onto the green run, Saddleback. With mostly Solar aspects open, Natural snow was sticky, and in lower elevations isothermal. The man made stuff stayed firm under a layer of granular…and was still fun to ski. Larch held out better than most areas.

Although Lake Louise closes next weekend, the second last Saturday hosts Shake the Lake, the big closing party. The Kokannee Cabin was packed all day and there was more of a focus on the Party than the skiing…though the Park had some awesome skiers.

With lousy skiing though, it felt like the end.


Sunday was a different story. It got cold overnight..first time in a few days! The backside reopened and stayed open all day. Whitehorn II, Brownshirt and ERs1-3 were closed all day, as were the Ptarmigan runs skiers right of Ptarmigan (the run), the Larch trees, and Upshoots/The gulley. Still, there was plenty of interesting terrain to ski.

The highlight was ER6, which held really nice snow…it’s high and faces true north. ER7 was also really fun, and Paradise Bowl held soft bumps. Whitehorn I was a bit scratchy though.

We mostly stuck to ER6 and 7, with a blast down Men’s Downhill for lunch and for the end of the day. Men’s Downhill was great with good quality granular snow. It was a very good day. We had low expectations, but left with huge smiles.






Coverage remains good for the most part. The thin areas, such as lowest meadowlark, upper meadowlark, and Exhibition are starting to show some rot though. It’s very deep in the back, with no significant melt.


I’ll ski Louise on closing day next weekend, Sunshine for a day on the following weekend, then the Sunshine closer. So I am down to 3 resort days.

With a cooler week forecasted, I hope the snowpack in the backcountry will heal. I’m in the mood for some good corn skiing!
 

albertanskigirl

aka Sabrina
Skier
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
Posts
319
Location
Calgary, AB
I'm done for the season. Sunday was great and wintry. We were at Sunshine Village, and the top of Lookout and Goat's Eye were great.

With the warm temperatures, my bike has been calling more than skis. And I'm pretty happy with this season. We'll do some snowshoeing along the Icefields before the snow is gone, but it's bike season as far as I'm concerned!
 
Thread Starter
TS
Mike Rogers

Mike Rogers

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Posts
753
Location
Calgary
I skied on the Wapta Icefield last Saturday and Louise for on Sunday for closing day.

We had a really early start on Saturday, and the travel in the morning was good, with (mostly) supportive snow. Snow on the glacier was good quality, but a bit sticky on the skins....I forgot my skin wax :(. It was a beautiful bluebird day. Nice skin up, and a great ski down. The return was rough going though, as most of the valley snow had turned isothermal, the creek had opened up, and the lake did not look safe to cross. It was a slog across the flats!

So, lots of good skiing to be had, but it's getting tougher to reach the good snow.

Some pics:

gordon1.jpg
gordon2.jpg
gordon3.jpg
gordon4.jpg
gordon5.jpg
gordon6.jpg


Sunday.

We were pretty bagged after waking up at 3AM the day before, so we enjoyed a relaxing morning on Sunday, arriving at the hill sometime after 11. Although a fair bit of terrain was open to start the day, the backside (literally) closed right as we got off the Top of the World lift. We had a great day anyway, skiing mostly the front side of the Summit lift. The day was more about a celebration of the year than skiing, but the skiing was pretty decent. Not too sticky up top, or on the man-made stuff down below.


Cheers to a great season
cheers louise.jpg

We did the traditional last run of the year off the Summit. A bunch of us went up and had a beer and and hung out for a bit after the lifts had closed. Lots of snowballs, fully naked dude skiers and topless women. Good times. :)
last run louise.jpg



Overall, it was a great way to end a very good season at lake louise. The resort ended with 169% of our average snowfall and good terrain was open right form the beginning.
I'm already looking forward to next year. I'll be skiing louise with my new RCR Super Pass.


Two weekends left of resort skiing. Sunshine is the only choice now. I'll probably go out once next weekend and once for the final day. Slush Cup!
 

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