Dicey at WBC (Elbow and Iron)
Trip date: Monday Jan 02, 2023
Submitted by Kinga
Particpants:
Me
Discussion:
I set out yesterday afternoon (2pm) to do one of my favourite WBC loops, Elbow and Iron Springs, “following the snow cat” as they say, expecting fresh grooming and tracks, as the live report indicated. I encountered large clumps of cornflake snow that was soft underneath, crunchy on top, with no tracks. It was messy. I wouldn’t even call it spicy (which could be fun), it felt downright dicey (unsafe) going downhill. I turned around about 1 km in to Elbow. I encountered a skier who said conditions didn’t improve further in and also thought the downhills were sketchy. I see today there is a later time stamp on the grooming and tracking from yesterday so maybe it’s been properly groomed and tracked since? Confused about the live stats yesterday but still had a good ski on otherwise decent tracks elsewhere (Sundog, East Crystal, Mountain Road) which were fast and firm. We could use more snow so they’re doing a great job keeping things fresh close to home! Thank you.