At noon today the Kolapore snow gauge was up to 15cm - 5 cm of crust and 10 cm of powder.  Skiing in the County Forest was very pleasant.  An ATV had ridden around the area yesterday, but there was enough new snow to refresh the trails.  We also skied up Kingsway then back around Jackrabbit and John's Portage.  This loop is rockier, and considerable care is required on the hills.  We added some new gouges to our skis

We recommend that you not use the Kolapore Church - Paradise Highway trails until we get quite a bit more snow.  There have been a lot of walkers on these trails, and they are very rocky.

We are continuing to clear trails from the windstorm last week.  The chain saw crew has removed about 10 trees, and we know there is another one on Quite Pastures.  We have checked most of the trails.  If you encounter a tree down that you can't remove, please send an e-mail to info@kolaporetrails.org.

Kolapore Trail Guide

At noon today, the Kolapore snow gauge was at 10 cm.  About 5 cm is a crusty base, covered by about 5 cm of powder.  If we get a bit more snow, a few sections of trail - mainly old lanes without many rocks - will be marginally skiable (on rock skis!)  When skiing does start, the best choice will be parts of the County Forest. 

High winds on Monday night brought down a number of trees on the trails.  The chain saw crew was out yesterday, and we are aware of 3 more trees that need to be cut.  However, we have inspected less than half the trails since the most recent wind storm, so there are undoubtedly other trails with trees down.  If you find a tree down on the trails that you can't remove, please send an e-mail to info@kolaporetrails.org with a description of the location.

Kolapore Trail Guide 

Kolapore received about 5 cm of snow last night, although with the strong winds the depth is quite variable.  Because of the rain/freezing rain it is very crusty.  Most Kolapore trails need 20 to 30 cm of snow to make them skiable, so we need a lot more base.  I will post updates as conditions change.

Kolapore Trail Guide

In case anyone is still looking at this page, here's an update, based on a ski outing yesterday.  There is still about a foot of snow in the bush, although there are bare spots on open south facing slopes.  The trails are icy and rutted.  We now have "reverse tracks", where the former track is now higher than the adjacent snow.  I don't recommend skiing on the trails. Off-track skiing was not bad yesterday.  There is about 2 cm of new snow, which helped to provide a bit of control.  In the current cold conditions the crust is very firm - there is little chance of breaking through. 

Kolapore Trail Guide

We were skiing on Sat and Sun but the conditions are now poor as the melting and freezing are making the trails too soft.   Sat was okay we did the Paradise Trail, and Sunday was terrible as the colder night with the soft snow on Sat was now frozen and big ruts in the tracks.

Sue

Sunday may have been the last day this winter for prime powder snow conditions.  Skiing was great (as it has been most of 2015)!  Temperatures Monday got up to + 3 or 4, so the snow softened, and froze overnight.  On Tuesday I waited until the crust had softened slightly, and had some pleasant skiing in the County Forest.  I went out again on Wednesday, and discovered that a skier out late on Tuesday had frequently broken through the surface, leaving the track very uneven.  I persisted past where the skier had been, and discovered that I was also breaking through the surface, even on well packed trail.  I would describe the skiing as "crappy".  So, it was a short ski today, and it may be the end of my Kolapore skiing for this winter.

Kolapore Trail Guide 

The Kolapore trails are generally in good condition.  With relatively little new snow this week the skiing is getting faster.  The snow gauge is at 61 cm (24"), so there is a lot of base.

The Kolapore Wilderness Trails Association is now responsible for managing and paying for the plowing of the Kolapore parking lot.  If you want this service to continue (along with trail maintenance and the provision of a toilet), please support the Association by joining or donating.  You can join or donate online - click on the "join us" or "donate" tab.  Of course, we are also happy to receive cheques.

Kolapore Trail Guide

Kolapore received several cm of new snow overnight, but it is hard to estimate exactly how much because the strong winds drifted the snow.  We also received some freezing drizzle, but the overall conditions were still powder snow with a bit of crust.  The tracks on Paradise Highway - Kolapore Church were somewhat washed out in places because of the heavy use on the weekend.  Other trails were in excellent condition.

The Kolapore Wilderness Trails Association is now responsible for managing and paying for the plowing of the Kolapore parking lot.  If you want this service to continue (along with trail maintenance and the provision of a toilet), please support the Association by joining or donating.  You can join or donate online - click on the "join us" or "donate" tab.  Of course, we are also happy to receive cheques.

Kolapore Trail Guide

Kolapore received about 2 cm of new snow overnight.  This will start to refresh the trails, although the 10 cm of snow that is predicted for tomorrow will do an even better job.  I will post tomorrow after the snowfall.

Kolapore Trail Guide

Depending on your perspective, the subject line could be either "Beautiful and fast" or "Beautiful, but fast".  Kolapore has only received a few cm of snow over the past week, so most trails are well packed.  Fortunately, the cold conditions have maintained the beautiful powder snow. The most popular trails are starting to get scraped on the hills, so caution is advisable.  Less heavily used trails are generally in excellent condition.

We took a look today at the parking situation at Entrance W (west end of the County Forest).  It is possible for about 4 cars to get partly off the road.  If there are more cars than that you would need to park on the travelled part of the road - we do not recommend this.

Kolapore Trail Guide