Home page Home page

Rocky Mountain Ramblers Association

Trip Report
Trip Date:
19-Feb-2018
Activity:
Trail skiing
Trip name:
Elk Hut via Elk Pass
Coordinator:
David
Report:
Since the forecast was for a cold start, -19c at 7.30am in Calgary did not seem too bad. It was about the same when we picked up Evan at the Barrier Info Centre at 8.15am. But it went downhill from there stopping at -33c at the Elk Lake Parking at 9.00am. At least I now know that my car thermometer registers below -30c unlike some other Rambler's cars. The car park was also deserted, which meant that the Elk Lake hut would probably be empty and locked (it was). However the sun was shining from a cloudless sky, so we decided to go for it.
On an assortment of free heel gear including my old wood skis, we plodded uphill and warmed up to reach Elk Pass about 11.15am for a short snack. There was negligible wind and it was relatively pleasant in the sun. Dreaming of BC wine we started breaking trail (5cms) on an old snowmobile track down the hydroline. Progress was steady to the hut for lunch around 12.30pm.



Evan and Sim enjoy lunch at Elk Lakes Hut




David and Sim enjoy lunch at Elk Lakes Hut

Someone had built some quinces adjacent to the hut which was deserted of humans but had an over abundance of agressive Whiskey Jacks grabbing handouts. We started back on skins at 1.00pm reaching Elk pass again about 2.30pm. Several groups of snowshoers were heading into the hut.



David in Elk Lake Meadows




West from Elk Lake Meadows


Each of our skis glided slowly in the cool afternoon, so it was about 3.45pm when we reached the car where the temperature was-13c exactly as forecast.The return drive in the downhill ski traffic was uneventful. Overall a very pleasant cool day with stunningly sharp scenery. It really was fine if you kept moving which we did. 6.5 hours for 26km and 510m elevation gain (according to RMRA database).
Participants: Sim,David,Evan