Thread Starter
TS
Did anybody make it out this weekend?
I skied Lake Louise on Saturday and Sunday. Liz was away, and lacking my favorite ski model/photographer, I didn't take any pictures.
It was a good time, but 3 core shots later.....
The good
There's a lot of terrain open. It is pretty rare to have Paradise Bowl, ER 2/East Bowl, Upshoots, Boomerang Bowl, Saddleback Bowl, and almost all of the fontside of Top of the World and Summit open on the first weekend of operations. So, lots to ski, including 3 runs marked as double black on the trail map. This really beats the Wiwaxy 500, which I was expecting.
The snow on the ground was of good quality. There were a couple of small areas of wind-polished hard snow, a touch of crust here and there, and the Wiwaxy was hard-packed, but everything else was really nice. It was easy to ski, and cold! Good stuff.
It wasn't busy. I parked by the daylodge both days, and on Sunday I slept in and arrived at 10:15. I didn't have more than a 2 chair wait all weekend, and not every chair was full.
The bad
As discussed above, Lake Louise needs a 90 centimeter (3 feet) before it will become acceptable to the average skier. The base in the back bowls is currently at 50cm. This means there were a lot of rocks to dodge, and in many cases, resign to hit . The traverses were awful. Bare scree on Home Run coming off Top of the Word (Patrol has a sign up asking you to take off your skis and walk this part), bumpy rocks on the cat track to the summit from Top of the World (netting for the WC Races funnels everyone to one direction - patrol spent all day shoveling snow onto the track, but most people were stopping, slipping and snowplowing (afraid to hit rocks), so it was a losing battle), and the entrance to sadleback was also awful. Saddleback is a green run, but marked as a black diamond due to conditions. Coverage on the main runs varied. It was quite good on boomerang (once you get through the wind tunnel) and the Grizzly bowl/gully/steep and flat area as well as outer limits. It was acceptable on Paradise bowl, fenceline gully, upshoots, and the rest of the front side of the summit, but pretty rough on ER1/East Bowl.
I had my rock skis, and didn't make too much of an effort to dodge rocks. I had a good time, but the skis were pretty thrashed.
The ugly
There is still only one way down. Wiwaxy has a couple of slick spots, and it is busy. It is also the only run called a "green" with the early season conditions, so it holds ALL the beginners. The only open washrooms and lodge are at the base, so it sees a lot of traffic. It also doesn't quite have wall to wall coverage, so it felt congested. Patrol and volunteers were out making sure people stayed in control, and within a cruising speed, but this felt dangerous.
Anyway, the hill probably shouldn't be open, as many members of the general public won't be too impressed. If you have disposable gear though, its fun. I'm happy patrol is giving die-hards a chance to ski with marginal coverage. Let's hope everyone stays safe!
I skied Lake Louise on Saturday and Sunday. Liz was away, and lacking my favorite ski model/photographer, I didn't take any pictures.
It was a good time, but 3 core shots later.....
The good
There's a lot of terrain open. It is pretty rare to have Paradise Bowl, ER 2/East Bowl, Upshoots, Boomerang Bowl, Saddleback Bowl, and almost all of the fontside of Top of the World and Summit open on the first weekend of operations. So, lots to ski, including 3 runs marked as double black on the trail map. This really beats the Wiwaxy 500, which I was expecting.
The snow on the ground was of good quality. There were a couple of small areas of wind-polished hard snow, a touch of crust here and there, and the Wiwaxy was hard-packed, but everything else was really nice. It was easy to ski, and cold! Good stuff.
It wasn't busy. I parked by the daylodge both days, and on Sunday I slept in and arrived at 10:15. I didn't have more than a 2 chair wait all weekend, and not every chair was full.
The bad
As discussed above, Lake Louise needs a 90 centimeter (3 feet) before it will become acceptable to the average skier. The base in the back bowls is currently at 50cm. This means there were a lot of rocks to dodge, and in many cases, resign to hit . The traverses were awful. Bare scree on Home Run coming off Top of the Word (Patrol has a sign up asking you to take off your skis and walk this part), bumpy rocks on the cat track to the summit from Top of the World (netting for the WC Races funnels everyone to one direction - patrol spent all day shoveling snow onto the track, but most people were stopping, slipping and snowplowing (afraid to hit rocks), so it was a losing battle), and the entrance to sadleback was also awful. Saddleback is a green run, but marked as a black diamond due to conditions. Coverage on the main runs varied. It was quite good on boomerang (once you get through the wind tunnel) and the Grizzly bowl/gully/steep and flat area as well as outer limits. It was acceptable on Paradise bowl, fenceline gully, upshoots, and the rest of the front side of the summit, but pretty rough on ER1/East Bowl.
I had my rock skis, and didn't make too much of an effort to dodge rocks. I had a good time, but the skis were pretty thrashed.
The ugly
There is still only one way down. Wiwaxy has a couple of slick spots, and it is busy. It is also the only run called a "green" with the early season conditions, so it holds ALL the beginners. The only open washrooms and lodge are at the base, so it sees a lot of traffic. It also doesn't quite have wall to wall coverage, so it felt congested. Patrol and volunteers were out making sure people stayed in control, and within a cruising speed, but this felt dangerous.
Anyway, the hill probably shouldn't be open, as many members of the general public won't be too impressed. If you have disposable gear though, its fun. I'm happy patrol is giving die-hards a chance to ski with marginal coverage. Let's hope everyone stays safe!
Heading up to louise Monday. Hope the back bowls, at least, got similar snow to what I was seeing today at sunshine.
