Conditions Report: Snow for Christmas

December 22, 2022

Looks like Santa has heard the wishes of all the nice sledders and 49 cms of new snow is forecasted for the holidays in Golden BC. It’s been excruciatingly cold this week past and new snow has stayed away, but it looks like all that’s about to change. All 3 staging areas are in full operation and grooms are proceeding as needed.

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

Freezing but beauty day this week. Pic: GSR

MEMBERSHIPS ON SALE

Have you bought your trail pass club membership for the season? It’s the best bang for the buck you can get. Memberships also help us with grants applications by showing how many people are involved, so thanks for supporting.

Travel

TCH-1 Highway

Highway is OPEN east of Golden. Looks like there are no stoppages between Dec 22 and Jan 3. It’s always good to check : Kicking Horse Canyon Calendar

SNOW AND WEATHER

It looks like some much needed snow is on the way and temps should be reasonable by Christmas. There’s approximately 49cms forecast in the next 5 days!

Congrats to all who braved the cold this past week. We will be so happy when it’s over.

Avalanche

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

“Assess exposed slopes for wind slab. Strong winds will likely redistribute the loose surface snow into new wind slabs.”

Avy conditions are likely to be more severe as the new snow arrives so please play safe.

Grooming

Grooming operations for all 3 staging areas Quartz, Gorman and Silent will be in full swing for the Holiday season. Grooms are scheduled as needed. The DFD mobile warming cabin has been placed in Gorman on Dec 8.

Special thanks to the grooming crew who have been working hard behind the scenes to get the cats up and running.

Trail Area Conditions Reports

Quartz Creek

Conditions: Main areas 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.

There are still a lot of early season hazards but the riding can be quite good. The main traffic areas are now heavily compacted.

Gorman Lake

Conditions: Early Season, thin and rocky

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.

Gorman beacon checker Dec 18, 2022

Gorman Trail Dec 18, 2022

Gorman below the lake Dec 18, 2022

Lang/Gorman col Dec 18, 2022

Silent Pass

Conditions: Good early season coverage; pretty hammered

Grooms scheduled: Thursday/Saturday - as required

Fees: $30

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

Road: active logging on road.

Additional notes:

Riding in Silent on Dec 13, 2022

logging truck on the North Fork road on Dec 6

East Quartz

Conditions: Early season but doable

Grooms scheduled: N/A

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.

Old Man

Conditions: unreported

Grooms scheduled: none yet

Fees: $0

Parking: At Quartz Creek upper lot

Road: N/A

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.