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Pipestone: Peaceful and pretty, soft and white

Report Submitted by Bob Truman
(trip) Date: Thursday Nov 25, 2021

Submitted: Thursday Nov 25, 2021

Discussion:

The Pipestone trails at Lake Louise received about 5 cm of new snow today. In open areas it was more like 8 cm. As I was getting ready, a few skiers were just finishing so I knew I would have skied-in trails to follow.

It continued to snow while I was skiing and by the time I was finished around 4 pm there was already another 2 cm of new snow in the tracks.

So far, only the Pipestone Loop and Hector have been trackset. The other trails have skier tracks. With tonight's forecast callling for more snow, you'll be breaking trail if you ski here on Friday.

The tracks were silky smooth and dealing with the fresh snow was not too much of an imposition. The air temperature at -2 was just cold enough for my wax to work well. I used Swix VR45 which is rated for 0/-2 in fresh snow. Fresh falling snow in warm temperatures is notorious for creating high-heels but no such problem today.

Everyone had finished skiing, so I had the place to myself. I really enjoy the east side #20 trail, going counter-clockwise, which follows the Pipestone river. At 3.1K the hard climbing is finished and the trail meanders through the spruce and pine with lots of gentle ups and downs for the next 3.5K until you reach the extreme north end of the sytem.

With the falling snow and overcast conditions, there was no sightseeing but the snow-laden trees, calm air, and quietness created a peaceful ambience.

Of course there was no tree debris on the trail but I've skied here when the pine needles were thick, hence I like to make note of the clean, white snow.

I imagine the tracksetting crew will be working hard tomorrow(Friday) to get some trails groomed at Lake Louise for the weekend. This is where the shortage of tracksetting crew could have an impact.

Pipestone #20 trail

This skier and her dog were just finished as I was starting out. Yes, Pipestone is dog-friendly.

Pipestone map

Lots of new snow on the trails

You can catch occasional glimpses of the Pipestone river. Still lots of open water.