Crystal Line

Sun. 17 April:  Crystal Line

Fresh powder on the West Bragg Creek ski trails in the second half of April?  You must be kidding! 

Not this year.  In fact, this short trip was one of the most enjoyable of a long winter season.  My newly acquired waxless skis worked perfectly, and the four to six inches of new snow, still falling, made the few downhill sections smooth and controlled.

Imagine breaking trail along the Mountain Road trail from the West Bragg Creek parking area on a Sunday morning.  Usually there would already be people and their dogs pouring out of their cars and onto the trail.  But today the roads were treacherous, and the snow had been falling steadily all weekend.  So there was only one other car in the car park as I set off.  The occupant of that vehicle and his two golden retrievers ended up doing the exact reverse route as I did.  We met again half way round, and arrived back at about the same time.  

The snow was falling lightly as I ski’d along the road.  A hazy sun was doing its best to break through the cloud cover, but it had no warmth, and the temperature was around six degrees below freezing.

Mountain Road runs alongside Bragg creek, which was still buried under the snow.  It didn’t take me long to reach the junction with Moose Connector trail.  I herring-boned up a short hill before turning left into the forest.  This was a pretty trail between the snow-covered trees, gently undulating around the hillsides.  I passed a single skier, and a little later, met the skier with the two dogs, which were having a grand time lolloping along through the snow.

Crystal Line is a dead straight two kilometer-long cut-line through the trees, rising to a high point before dropping gently down to the valley floor.  Snow conditions were excellent, and I was under complete control dropping down the hillside, the waxless skis running smoothly through the six inches of fresh snow.  It was not at all icy.

In no time I was back at the car, feeling that I could have done more, but just not inclined to do so.  “Quit while you’re ahead” won the day.

The road from Bragg Creek to the start of the ski trails had been tricky in the morning, but as I left the car park, the snow plough was just clearing the road ahead, so it was much easier on the return.

At the Elbow River bridge in Bragg Creek I noticed some young deer down by the edge of the river, in the snow.  I took some good pictures from the bridge.

By this time, the snow was easing off, and the roads were in much better shape as I returned to the city.  One of these days, it will warm up – I suppose.  In the meantime, I’m still making use of my winter gear – and my long underwear!

Statistics
Crystal Line, W. Bragg Ck.
Sun. 17 April
Total Dist.	4.6 km (XC ski)
Height Gain	100 ft.
Max. Elev.	4,800 ft.
Time	1 hr. 24 mins.

Other Stats.
Start ski:         9.19 am Moose Conn.:  9.53 am Ret. to car:    10.43 am	Temp. -6 deg. C Hazy sun, snowing lightly