Conditions Report: Happy Honey Hole Hunting

January 5, 2023

The hidden honey holes in Golden are what are keeping us happy this new year so far. Knowing where they are exactly is becoming more valuable than a drum of synthetic oil. But have faith, they do exist, and many people have found their sweet nectar lately. Chances are however, that those brave hunters had to bash some alders and risk some rock to get there…

The great news is that our 3 maintained trail staging areas are in great shape and standard trails of Silent Pass, Gorman Lake and Quartz Creek have been kept smooth, thanks to our grooming crews.

Keep reading to hear more about sledding in Golden this week.

Jan 3 in Golden BC. Rider Aaron B, Photo @TGFG_

Winner winner chicken dinner! Congrats to Dan Butler for winning our photo submission contest on our Facebook page. Check out this beauty sunset shot on New Year’s Eve in -20. That’s doing it right!

Quartz Creek, -20c on NYE 2021. Photo: Dan Butler

Travel

TCH-1 Highway

Highway 1 is open east of Golden with scheduled stoppages and overnight closures. It’s always good to check : Kicking Horse Canyon Calendar

SNOW AND WEATHER

Not much snow fell in the past week and it doesn’t look like much is on the way this week. There’s definitely a need for more snow out there as the early season hazards are still lurking. The temps this week are keeping things together. It’s a fairly stable -8 to -10 out there without the wind and that is preserving the snow that we have.

Avalanche

It’s heads up hockey out there for sure right now and avalanche.ca has a lot of good resources that are worth reading and learning about the snowpack. It’s spooky out there and caution can’t be understated.

Please make sure you check Avalanche.ca everyday you ride.

“Human-triggered avalanches remain likely on weak layers buried deep in the snowpack. Avalanches occurring on these layers will be large with high consequences. Stay disciplined and make conservative terrain choices. ” – copy and pasted from Avalanche.ca on Jan 5.

Grooming

Grooming operations for all 3 staging areas Quartz, Gorman and Silent are in full swing with grooms scheduled as needed.

Oldman has been delayed for one more snowfall and East Quartz is waiting on avalanche clearance.

Trail Area Conditions Reports

Quartz Creek

Conditions: Main bowls are compacted

Grooms scheduled: Regularly / As needed. Wed/Fri/Sun

Fees: $30

Parking: At main lot - Trucks in the upper west, Trailers in the upper lots to the east.

Road: groomed

Additional notes:

Quartz is fully operational. Regular grooming to the cabin is occurring. Day tickets will be sold and passes checked 7 days a week.

Lots of traffic over the holiday season.

Gorman Lake

Conditions: still thin

Grooms scheduled: Friday

Fees: $30

Parking: 3.5km lots

Road: Watch for ice spots

Additional notes: DFD warming cabin has been installed on Dec 8. Very thin snowpack.

Silent Pass

Conditions: packed powder

Grooms scheduled: Thursday/Saturday - as required

Fees: $30

Parking: 31km - leave room for large trailers to turn around.

Road: active logging on road.

East Quartz

Conditions: Early season but doable

Grooms scheduled: waiting for avalanche clearance

Fees: $30 as per Quartz

Parking: Main Quartz

Road: N/A

Additional notes: The road to East Quartz has not yet been groomed this season but several groups have been up there. We’re waiting on avalanche clearance to proceed.

Old Man

Conditions: unreported

Grooms scheduled: next snowfall

Fees: $0

Parking: At Quartz Creek upper lot

Road: N/A

Additional notes: We hope this new snow will allow us to push into Old Man soon.

Westbench Trail

Conditions: not passable

Grooms scheduled: N/A

Fees: $0

Parking: Gorman or Quartz

Road: N/A

Additional notes: not open at this time

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: (works on Chrome but may not work on Safari. iPhones may or may not work properly)

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.