April 9 – Spring Daze

Sledding season continues here in Golden and the spring daze are in full effect. Freezing temps over night mean for crusty mornings and slushy afternoons. Access is still quite good and there is a lot of snow up high. Grooming operations have finished in Silent but remain in effect in Gorman and Quartz this weekend. Avalanche conditions are forecast to be low-moderate for the weekend.

Airs in Holt

 

Riley Suhan Backcountry Race

Riley holding the team trophy

What an incredible event we had at the 7th Annual Riley Suhan Backcountry race. 140 competitors were treated to a fine day of racing and everything went right.

Read the Sleddermag.com Recap Here from 2026

 

Snow & Weather

SNOW AND WEATHER

We’re in a full spring melt freeze cycle here in the alpine. There’s been some skiffs of snow but nothing significant lately. There’s lots of snow up high in the alpine as Golden has had a good snow year. Snow down low is getting thin but still pretty good, we’ve seen it a lot worse in other years.

Screen shot of kicking horse resort snow forecast

Avalanche Safety

Avalanche Conditions

Please check Avalanche.ca everyday you ride!

screen shot of avalanche.ca on April 9

“It’s a good time to explore. Continue to use safe travel habits, like spreading out so that only one person is on or under a slope at a time..” -Avalanche.ca April 9

Grooming

Grooming

Grooming is finishing up this week and Quartz and Gorman and done for the season in Silent.

 

Staging Areas Latest Info

Quartz Creek

Conditions: Good up high - thin down low.
Grooms scheduled: Groomed on Thursday April 9
Fees: $30 - through the weekend
Parking: Main lot
Additional notes: This is the final weekend in Quartz. The trail is a little thin from the parking lot for the first km but otherwise in pretty good shape.

Silent Pass

Conditions: good snow up high
Grooms scheduled: none
Fees: none
Parking: unreported
Road: not great - rough in mornings when it's frozen, greasy in the afternoons when it warms
Additional notes: We haven’t hear a lot out of Silent for the past week. Grooming ops are finished there for the season. The road is rutted and frozen in the morning and greasy in the afternoons.

Gorman Lake

Conditions: Spring Like
Grooms scheduled: Last groom was April 6
Fees: $30
Parking: Above 3.5 km parking lot but below the 11km lot. drive until snow - trailers not recommended
Road: road is melted to gravel
Additional notes: Gorman access is creeping up and it’s not recommended for big trailers.

KNOW WHERE YOU RIDE

Weather & Avalanche Conditions

Avalanche Conditions

https://www.avalanche.ca

Weather Conditions

https://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/GC-HeliSki/6day/mid

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