Conditions Report: Jan 2 – Golden is Good
Golden is really good for sledding right now. Most of the early season hazards are buried and the little dustings in town have been surprisingly stacking up in the mountains. Our busiest week of the year has come and gone and there’s still pow to be had. Grooming is in full swing and the weather and temps are pretty normal winter. Avalanche conditions continue to be moderate.
Fresh spot on Dec 29
Pow wheelies on Dec 29
Good times in Golden on Dec 29
Quartz Parking Lot info UPDATED
Please beware of the upcoming Selkirk Mountain – Quartz Creek Rest Area Clearing & Brushing Project located on Highway 1 and Quartz Creek FSR. Kenpesq’t Construction has been contracted by the Ministry of Transportation and Transit to carry out this work. Please be advised that the start date for this work has been postponed and is now scheduled to begin on January 6th, 2025, and is expected to be completed on January 10th, 2025 (weather permitting).
Project Details:
- Estimated Project Start Date: January 6th, 2025
- Estimated Project End Date: January 10th, 2025
- Work Hours: 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM Monday to Friday
- Affected Areas: Selkirk Mountain – Quartz Creek Rest Area / Snowmobile Staging Area
- Traffic Impact: Expect traffic delays and intermittent road closures during the project, which may cause disruptions to travel along HWY 1.
- Golden Snowmobile Club Impact: Restricted access for snowmobile staging during active tree clearing operations.
- Estimated Duration of Delays/Closures: Intermittent east-bound traffic delays on HWY 1 up to 10 minutes in duration.
SledGolden will be updating our website and social media channels in terms of how this project will affect our operations. At the very least, the truck parking lot near the kiosk will be closed during this time.
Quartz parking lot logging information
Travel
TCH-1 Highway
Highway 1 is fully open east of Golden with NO scheduled stoppages and overnight closures. Nothing beats cruising at 100km/hr on the last 4 kms into town. The new highway shaves 10-20 mins off a trip from the east these days.
Dogtooth FSR (Gorman)
Whiskeyjack Logging will be hauling down from the 7.5km for the next 2-3 weeks, and until they’re done PWT will continue to plow up to the top parking lot. Please be aware about the increased traffic and be extra vigilant.
Looks like come January, PWT will have a logging crew and hauling from the West Main road as well so will be maintaining the Dogtooth FSR to the 3.5km lot most of the winter.
North Fork Spillimacheen FSR (Silent Pass)
A lot of forestry work is transpiring on the North Fork between 31 and 36kms. Please yield to all logging trucks and use a radio to call your kms (RR3)
Hauling logs on the ‘Main’ on Spillimacheen FSR -use RR3
Snow & Weather
SNOW AND WEATHER
KHMR reported 19cms in the past week but with a bit of wind transport there’s definitely pockets that feel deeper than that. There’s been a cooling trend for the past couple days and that has really sucked the moisture out of the snow leaving us with classic Purcell blower. There’s only 2-3 cms in the forecast coming up but early next week we might see some sun.
160 cms probed on the front side of Silent Pass at 2210m on Dec 22
KHMR snow report on Jan 2
Gorman Holt col on Dec 28
Avalanche Safety
Avalanche Conditions
Please check Avalanche.ca everyday you ride!
screen shot of avalanche.ca on Jan 2
From Avalache.ca on Jan 2 for Dogtooth Range area: “Uncertainty remains around the reactivity of deeper weak layers. Avoid rocky, thin, and shallow areas where triggering remains possible.”
Travel and Terrain Advice from Jan 2:
-
- Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices.
- Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
- Loose avalanches may step down to deeper layers, resulting in larger avalanches.
- Pay attention to the wind; once it starts to blow, sensitive wind slabs are likely to form.
Grooming
Grooming
We’re happy to report that grooming in all 3 of our trailheads is now taking place. The emergency shelter/warming sea can ‘cabin’ has also been placed in Gorman. All 3 zones will now be groomed as necessary and all 3 will have kiosks with staff for the remainder of the winter.
We’re hoping to poke into East Quartz this week.
grooming in Silent Pass Dec 24
Silent Pass payment kiosk
Staging Areas Latest Info
Quartz Creek
Silent Pass
Good riding
Silent Parking at km 31 lot on Dec 22
Gorman Lake
warming cabin on Dec 28
Powder in Holt on Dec 28
Whiskeyjack Logging will be hauling down from the 7.5km for the next 2-3 weeks, and until they’re done PWT will continue to plow up to the top parking lot. Please be aware about the increased traffic and be extra vigilant.
Looks like come January, PWT will have a logging crew and hauling from the West Main road as well so will be maintaining the Dogtooth to the 3.5km lot most of the winter.
