Conditions Report: Excellent Early Season

November 24, 2020

It’s been quite a start to the season here in Golden BC. Conditions have been excellent for early season riding and we’re happy to have our first week of grooming under our belt. Quartz is now on a regular groom schedule and we’re hoping to expand to Silent Pass by the weekend.

The coverage is filling things in nicely and we’ve had approx. 80 cms of snow in the last week. However, there are still open creeks and many other hazards just under the snow so it’s still a good idea to be selective when you choose to give’r. Please note, there is a bunch of activity on the roads accessing all 3 of our areas right now so please pay extra attention when approaching this week.

Snow and Weather

There’s approximately 20 cms in the forecast and the temps are set to remain cool and mostly consistent for the next week. We’ve had roughly 80 cms of snow in the past week. There’s a mix of sun, cloud and snow over the next week which are all good things for snowmobiling. The best snow remains at tree level. The ridges are quite wind swept and the alpine snow has seen wind effect.

Avalanche

Nov. 25 is the date that Avalanche.ca will start posting information on their website for the Purcells. We had a member tell us this week that the crusts below treeline are quite reactive. There were some rain events earlier this month that have left their mark in the snowpack. Please tread carefully.

Grooming

Quartz is now receiving regular grooms and we are gearing up to push Silent Pass for the first time this weekend. Gorman is still a week or two away.

COVID Protocol:

The club has posted our COVID protocols here. Please advise yourself and abide by all provincial public health advisories.

Trail Area Conditions Reports

Quartz Creek

Conditions: Excellent early season. A lot of traffic in the regular bowls. Still powder in the trees.

Grooms scheduled: Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun.

Fees: $25

Parking: Main parking lot is plowed. Please do not drive up the trail.

Road: Graded to the 4km mark and then groomed after that.

Additional notes: Active logging is happening in Quartz. Right now the activity is up to the 4km mark. Please give loggers the right of way.

Gorman Lake

Conditions: Filling in, but still thin.

Grooms scheduled: None.

Fees: No fees.

Parking: Park at upper lot.

Road: Road is being used by mining trucks from the Holt bridge down (from approximately 13 km and down). Road has not been cleared through to the upper parking lot and could be sporty to get to parking.

Additional notes: Active mining and rock hauling is happening on the road.

Silent Pass

Conditions: Excellent early season.

Grooms scheduled: Saturday (tentatively).

Fees: Fees if groomed.

Parking: Last week people parked at the 35km mark. Ideally we want people to park at the 27 km mark.

Road: "Everyone who went past 35kms last weekend got stuck” is the word we heard.

Additional notes: We are going to try to get Silent groomed on Saturday night but there’s some moving parts that all have to align. Please park out of the way to allow the groomer to pass. Active logging is also still occurring in the area; what we’ve heard is that it’s mostly from the 17km mark.

East Quartz

Conditions: Sporty! A group pushed through to the alpine from the bottom this week. Creeks are mostly easy to cross.

Grooms scheduled: None.

Fees: Same for Quartz.

Parking: Quartz Creek parking will be plowed for weekend. Please do not drive up the trail.

Road: n/a

Additional notes: Don’t bring your novice buddy.

Old Man

Conditions: No information yet.

Grooms scheduled: None.

Fees: No fees.

Parking: Quartz Creek parking will be plowed for weekend. Please do not drive up the trail.

Road: n/a

Westbench Trail

Conditions: No information yet.

Grooms scheduled: None.

Fees: No fees.

Parking: Not currently maintained.

Road: n/a

Additional notes: This trail will not be continuous Quartz to Gorman until late January or February as the logging companies do some road work and bridge repairs.