Conditions Report: Deep and Sketchy

February 3, 2021

Golden has seen significant snow in the past 7 days with anywhere from 60-100 cms accumulating. The snow came in with high winds and some temperature fluctuations, so avalanche conditions have spiked. The riding has been excellent with deep conditions reported from all the areas. Temps look to be dropping and the groomers will be out flattening trails.

COVID Protocol:

Nonessential travel is not recommend at this time for both BC and AB.

Please wear your mask and observe social distancing while purchasing tickets or waiting in line. We need and appreciate your cooperation on this front.

The latest orders, restrictions and advisories for Covid 19 are here for both BC and Alberta:

BC: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions

AB: https://www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures.aspx

The club has posted our COVID protocols here

Please advise yourself and abide by all provincial public health advisories. Sled Golden has a strong contingent of local members and participants and we are focusing on serving them during this time.

Snow and Weather

Wow, did it dump. If you find spots where it isn’t tracked, it’s really deep. The freezing line went up to about 1,300m at one point but basically all of our trails are above that. The end of the weekend look a lot cooler which will preserve the snow. We may even see more sun.

Avalanche

Avalanche dangers spiked this week with all the new snow and warm temps. There’s a lot of concerns in the snowpack this year with several buried layers that could cause problems. It’s a really good idea to pull back this week and make extra safe terrain choices. Just because there’s tracks, doesn’t mean it’s safe. Cooler temps should reduce the danger level later in the week.

Show proof of your AST training any day this winter at get $5 off your day pass.

Please check https://www.avalanche.ca/ for all updated avalanche forecasts and check out the MIN reports for our areas.

Grooming

Warm temps and new snow make for whooped trails quickly, but the good news is that heading in to the weekend, the temps should cool down and that will help with preserving the trails. All groomers are scheduled to be working through the end of the week/weekend.

We have our groomer tracking public for your consumption. Please see the section below the Trail Area Conditions Reports.

National Parks

National Park Wardens will be increasing their patrols of boundaries in our areas, particularly in Quartz. In some areas, there has been excellent compliance, in other areas there’s been blatant disregard for the park boundary. Fines for using a motorized vehicle in the National Parks can be as high as $25,000. It’s also a black eye for the club to see sledders in the park, so please, just stay out. Park Wardens put another set of several signs along the borders so it’s going to be pretty hard to plead ignorance.

Trail Area Conditions Reports

Quartz Creek

Conditions: Deep

Grooms scheduled: Wed, Fri, Sat (if needed), Sun

Fees: $25, $5 discount if you can prove AST training

Parking: Trucks with decks please park west of the kiosk, trailers use two lots on the east side.

Road: Winter tires to get around the parking lots are always a good idea.

Additional notes: We’ve been seeing a few patrols from Parks Canada wardens lately and some tickets handed out for people riding in the park. Just a reminder that it’s your responsibility to know where you are and to stay out of closed areas.

Gorman Lake

Conditions: Deep

Grooms scheduled: Wed, Sat.

Fees: $25, $5 discount if you can prove AST training

Parking: Both parking lots at 3.5 plowed.

Road: Road has been in good shape.

Additional notes: A lot of active log hauling in Gorman. The kiosk attendant can call up the road for you if you don’t have a radio. RR 27 is the channel. Please yield to logging trucks. The Sea-Cabin will NOT be pulled in to Gorman this winter due to the limited size and our COVID regulations. There’s pretty much a metre of new snow on the lake….

Silent Pass

Conditions: Deep

Grooms scheduled: Thur, Sat

Fees: $25, $5 discount if you can prove AST training

Parking: Please park ON THE ROAD (not in the turn around) at the 30 km.

Road: Call your KMs on your VHF radio! Channel RR-3.

Additional notes: The parking at Silent has been a gong show. We are going to get some no parking signs made up so people don’t clog up the mandatory turn around at the 30 km mark. Please keep that turn around area clear. Road is good to go (updated Feb 5).

East Quartz

Conditions: Deep

Grooms scheduled: Fri

Fees: $25, $5 discount if you can prove AST training

Parking: At Quartz Creek parking (see above)

Road: n/a

Additional notes: Watch for overhead danger.

Old Man

Conditions: Deep

Grooms scheduled: Thur

Fees: $25, $5 discount if you can prove AST training

Parking: At Quartz Creek parking (see above)

Road: n/a

Additional notes: Groomed to the end of the trail. Not recommended for beginner riders – been seeing some tricky situations in there.

Westbench Trail

Conditions: Groomed - not continuous!

Grooms scheduled: Sunday (as needed)

Fees: $25, $5 discount if you can prove AST training

Parking: Park at Gorman or Quartz

Road: n/a

Additional notes: WBT is not a continuous trail this year due to logging operations. Closed at Cirque Creek from Gorman. Closed at Oldman turnoff from Quartz. For both sides, it’s a there-and-back trail. If you ride through the plowed road sections you could get up to a $2500 fine as sledding on plowed roads is illegal.

Grooming Map

The map below is linked to the safety InReaches we have in our groomers and we have been able to make the tracks public. How to use the map:

Press on the + next to the groomer/zone you want the latest information for.
Once the line is visible, press on the line to see the date & time the groomer was last in action.

This map only shows the most recent groom. You can inquire at any of our trailheads for additional grooming information, including number of riders since the last groom.