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Anonymous
Guest
I'm heading up this weekend? I heard the conditions have not been good. Has anyone been there recently and confirm how bad it is?
thanks
thanks
113 inches season snowfall, only 7 inches new since Jan. 30, base depths 13-41 inches. Don't plan on leaving the groomed runs unless you don't care what happens to your skis.
I would tell you to go somewhere else, but every area accessed by Calgary is hurting now. Some, like Fernie and Kicking Horse, have OK upper mountain skiing, but you must descend through marginal coverage to get back to the top. I would guess that the main part of Sunshine (not Goat's Eye) is holding up best. Lake Louise is so huge there should be a few decent spots if you know your way around.
Here's the most recent eyewitness from Panorama, and there has been no new snow since: February 23-25/05, Submitted by: tom
Plenty of sunshine and terrific views. That's about it. No new snow, and lots of ice. Taynton Bowl and the whole south area Founders Ridge)is closed, unless you're a hiker. Runs off the Mile 1 quad are OK in the first of morning and late afternoon, other than that, make sure your edges are razor sharp. Champagne Express area is also hard pack and ice. Summit - well quite a bit a rock showing. The good news was that there was hardly anyone there, and for good reason. There were some pretty good runs off Sunbird, again very hardpack and ice. Overall, if you start early in the morning till about 11:00 AM and then from about 2:30PM onward, and sticking to the outer edges of the runs, then it was OK. If you board, then definately wear a helmet and butt protection as when you hit the ice, it slams hard.
I would tell you to go somewhere else, but every area accessed by Calgary is hurting now. Some, like Fernie and Kicking Horse, have OK upper mountain skiing, but you must descend through marginal coverage to get back to the top. I would guess that the main part of Sunshine (not Goat's Eye) is holding up best. Lake Louise is so huge there should be a few decent spots if you know your way around.
Here's the most recent eyewitness from Panorama, and there has been no new snow since: February 23-25/05, Submitted by: tom
Plenty of sunshine and terrific views. That's about it. No new snow, and lots of ice. Taynton Bowl and the whole south area Founders Ridge)is closed, unless you're a hiker. Runs off the Mile 1 quad are OK in the first of morning and late afternoon, other than that, make sure your edges are razor sharp. Champagne Express area is also hard pack and ice. Summit - well quite a bit a rock showing. The good news was that there was hardly anyone there, and for good reason. There were some pretty good runs off Sunbird, again very hardpack and ice. Overall, if you start early in the morning till about 11:00 AM and then from about 2:30PM onward, and sticking to the outer edges of the runs, then it was OK. If you board, then definately wear a helmet and butt protection as when you hit the ice, it slams hard.
Flatlander
New member
Post what you find when you get there - where ever you end up. I have a trip to Fernie planned for the last week of March and I am REALLY interested in the skiing conditions @ all the neighboring areas. Unless some snow falls soon, I suspect I'll spend the week touring around southwestern BC looking for the best of a bad situation.
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Anonymous
Guest
I'll submit a write up of the conditions when I get back. Looks like I'll be partying instead. :wink:
I was at Panorama Feb.10-15. At that time the groomers were frozen granular and getting icier everyday. Taynton Bowl was still open and had the only decent snow on the whole mountain. It had nice bumps with soft tracked snow. The bottom third, when Heli-High and Devil's Drop converged into Funnel, was icy and hard. I have been checking the Panorama website since I was there and they haven't received more then a dusting of snow since then. I would not recommend anybody going there at this time.
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Anonymous
Guest
Agree with wolfer...it is not recommended to be at Panorama this year.
Just got back last night and conditions were very hard packed and lots of icy patches. One trail off the summit trail was pure ice. Runs from the summit chair were very limited and I think the Taynton bowl was closed as well. The website's snow report states 9cm of snow in the last 7 days, but that must just be for heli-skiers because it could not be seen in the main runs. The only runs that were ok were the green/blue under mile 1 and champagne lifts. I was told that runs near sunbird were ok as well.
Just got back last night and conditions were very hard packed and lots of icy patches. One trail off the summit trail was pure ice. Runs from the summit chair were very limited and I think the Taynton bowl was closed as well. The website's snow report states 9cm of snow in the last 7 days, but that must just be for heli-skiers because it could not be seen in the main runs. The only runs that were ok were the green/blue under mile 1 and champagne lifts. I was told that runs near sunbird were ok as well.
