Craig's Report - July 03, 2005

Summer Season Starts

Gee, no reports for weeks and then two in one day! When I saw Dave had already posted a report, I almost gave this a pass, but I already had some pictures ready, so here it is anyway.

The news from the hill is that this weekend marks the beginning of the summer lift season for mountain bikers and hikers. The drill this year is that the Elk chair will run throughout the summer, while the Timber chair will be fired up every weekend, rather than just for the BC Cup like last year. I don't think there are any big trail changes this year and I am aware of only a couple of new trail variations on the lower mountain. One is beside lower bike thief in the woods between Meadow and the bottom of Diamond Back, while the other involves moving the trail down Elk below Cedar trail from the ski run into the woods between Elk and the bottom of Power Trip. There could be others though as I have not spent much time in Timber or any time in Siberia bowl yet this year. There are lots of new looking trick goodies around the base and of course the Mighty Moose area has once again been transformed into a play area.

The alder slaying crews have been continuing their efforts with a buzz cut on Sunnyside and are now chewing on Snake Ridge. This has me pretty buzzed as it should greatly improve early season skiing in some of my favored areas and would make a huge difference if we were forced to suffer through another year like last season. I have no idea what the overall plan is, but given the progress they have already made, they should be able to cover a lot of ground if they continue right through the fall.

Unlike Dave's adventure yesterday, it was gorgeous today and a nice change from a rather soggy June. The weather often turns drier about this time of year and that would be be appreciated, as long as some moisture continues to keep the forests damp.

At 21:00 it is a very pleasant 19 C under a partially cloudy sky.


The Mighty Moose playground for quick healers.

Another look at the Mighty Moose area, this time from above.

It might be hard to see in this picture, but a big swath of Snake Main alders have already succumbed to the chainsaw.

Could one dare hope they might finish the job on Steep and Deep?

Cedar Bowl in summer green.

Looking down Cruiser with the town of Fernie at the upper right.

The trail from the top of Boomerang to Cruiser. Good thing this area usually gets lots of snow.

Upper Cedar Bowl from the top of Bear.

Lizard Bowl from the top of Bow.

Hmmm, I don't remember this on the road when I was last up here. Looking under the foliage, you could see the gouges from where this had recently come bounding down from above.