Mar 29/13 - Fernie, Rain Gauge & Our Trail

On the 27th, Sam, Dan, Brenda, Curt and I took a birthday ride from Fernie's Coal Creek Staging area and went to the new cabin, Rolling Hills and Wranglers Cabin and out onto the pipeline. We had to be back so it was just a ride to see what snow was like and it was in really good spring shape. There was plenty in the trees between the two cabins and the pipeline from Wranglers towards the Notch looked to be and felt pretty ride-able. The Pipeline north towards our place gets super rough and the creeks are getting wide and difficult. The Rolling hills was fun - set up with lots ridden but still many a line left to try. Today Curt, Cooper, Sommer, Dan and Brenda took our trail to Canyon Creek Falls for hot dog roast and the trail was thin right out from our place but improved as they went. It is done though. Better to trailer around and forego the bone rattling. Curt was thinking about grooming it one more time but he said after today with +10 temps and +10 to +17 forcasted for next week (-1 and zero for the evenings) that it didn't seem worth it anymore. Cooper going riding with Shawn and Austin from Timbersled next week and then he thinks he is going to put his wheels back on his bike to hit Koocanusa. There still is plenty of snow up in the bowls and Kent from Regina said they found lots of decent snow up in Rain Gauge and had a really good day sledding. They trailered around to Corbin. The crew is at Corbin this weekend riding also. Again we are going to close up the cabins on the 15th even though it tends to snow the last weekend of April. Wanted to send you some photos to show you what to expect for snow. Nice sledding with one layer on! Cheers - V

Mar 23/13 - Report from Guests etc

Hi - thought I would update you on my reports from other riders and guests. Rain Gauge has been thoroughly ridden out by the Sask guys! The Ski Doo 2014 demo ride has one more day down the Flathead and they have all been a few places too. The Pipeline is rough with a few sketchy creek crossings (they have been open most of the year but they are MORE open now lol) but three peaks past the Notch the snow was at least a foot deep in Fresh snow and three feet deep in places UNRIDDEN. Wind had affected certain slopes leaving others that were protected in beautiful shape they said. Trail is holding up here and the Flathead is rough the first 5km but not as bad as it was and of course continues to improve the further you head south. Fernie got 40cm of snow over the past two days from most reports. It stayed -1 here and was really cold over night last night so that is good. Read your avy reports and be aware of changes in the snow over the course of the day. Still getting glowing reviews from the owners of new Ski Doos and Polaris. I sure loved riding that Cat of Rhonda's too. Technology is sure improving riding styles - kinda the way short skiis do for old knees! Keepin you in the game and the young crowd just looks amazing on them! Cheers - V

Mar 22/13 - 10cm overnight

Morning, it was snowing in Fernie last night - couldn't see the hill but the drive there and home at 10:00pm was fine (except for Elk on the road of course) but as soon as I got home it started snowing hard here. We got 10cm (4 inches) and it is still snowing this morning. Haven't spoken to the guests to see what Limestone was like but you could likely double the amount of snow we got down here compared to what it would have gotten up there. Fernie reported 30cm of snow yesterday. Roads here are open - traffic is moving fairly normally and plough trucks were out super early this morning. It is -6 right now and supposed to snow all weekend with a few -11 overnight temps to hold the snow. Heard Moose Jaw is in lock down - no traffic in or out! Sask is getting pounded with snow! Gotta Run - Cheers - V

Mar 20/13 - Test Ride the Doo in Rain Gauge

It is snowing - has been all day! Cooper and I headed out to the Test Ride and our trail has 2-3 inches of fresh snow on it and it is in really good shape. I rode the 146 SP and I couldn't stand riding in on the trail (Flathead is groomed by the way). It is narrow and darty but that is super nice in the deeper snow. So you sacrifice on the trail just beware - its to be expected but don't go rippin on your new Doo til you have spent some time going slower and bonding with it. It was really windy up in Rain Gauge but in the trees it was pretty good. There is about 6 inches of fresh on a slippery layer underneath. There were lots of trees getting shook from being hit. Dave and Ty from A&E Racing were there to host. This is a sled I would have to spend some time with because it is completely new riding style and I over crank it all the time. I was so cautious with it because it leans so easily I was afraid of whipping from one tree well to another due to my slow response time. Don't need the throttle as much - it doesn't trench. Easy to get on its side and easy for me to get back upright when I fall over on it! It makes me want to ride better instead of retire. Temp is +2 and snowing steady and supposed to keep daily for a few days. Cheers - V

Mar 19/13 - Jackson Hole Hill Climb

Afternoon Sledders, it is -1 here and it was -18 well into the morning. Snow is holding up in the yard. Just a note that the Jackson Hole Hill Climb is this weekend I believe. That is a fun town. Also the Ski Doo Demo days have been going on all over the place and they are in Corbin starting tomorrow morning and through the weekend. We only have the Summit Log cabin available for this weekend and next weekend we only have the Divide cabin available. We have some cabins booked during the next few weeks too. We will be shutting down the cabins April 15th this year and heading off on vacation while our family babysits the resort so if you want the cabins one last time this season give me a call. It isn't a reflection on the riding - just on what time we could get away. I will post photos tomorrow from the alpine so you can see what the conditions are like. Cheers - V

Mar 18/13 - Snowing Steady

Photo doesn't really show it but it started snowing about 40 mins ago and we have a cm and it isn't letting up. It is -2 and the snow is supposed to taper off overnight with temps going into the -10 overnight and back up to +2 Tuesday afternoon. Next week is above zero and snowing. I don't care how it gets here! LOL. Up top is getting it too. Cheers - V

Mar 17/13 - Evening update on Snowfall

Well its 8pm and Curt, Cooper and Sommer went out for a rip on the trail. We have gotten between 20-25cms and it is still lightly snowing now. We had to blow snow and plow. When I looked at this photo I thought jeesh I thought there would be more snow but Curt said it was down low on the trail still from our place, in kinda of a poor spot and that the farther they went the deeper it got. So the bowls will likely have gotten around 30-40cm at least - that is my guess from a few years of comparing snow in the yard to snow up 2000ft and given the forecast for apline temps etc. It is -8 and snow is in the forecast daily for the better part of the week. Traffic on the highway is slow going but visibility is good. The snowfall warning of earlier today is now off the weather network. Happy Saint Patrick's Day - Cheers - V