Warm temperatures are here, winter recreation at Shaganappi has been extended to March 26th!
One volunteer was out for 3 hours Tuesday evening grooming most skate lanes which proved difficult with the time change, as people are out on the trails an hour later in the evenings now.
Edit March 16th: all skate lanes were groomed Wednesday evening by two volunteers.
Cumulatively, five volunteers have been out for 20+ hours grooming and track setting the ski and shared fat bike/snowshoe trail systems since March 9th.
Thanks to volunteers Pete, Finn, Steve, Brad, Chris and Jason!
Ski trails: Classic track setting was put in on the 12th, and should be in good shape. Skate ski lanes were re-groomed last night everywhere except the expert loop and one loop in the NW corner of the golf course through the ravine.
Spring is here, managing expectations: Keep in mind with the warm temperatures, sun, and wind exposure on the trails, trail conditions will fluctuate:
Expect icy trails in cold temperatures on anything sun exposed the previous day.
Studded tires are recommended for all fat bikes.
Trails will melt and get saturated, soft, and slow as warm temperatures and sun exposure hits throughout the daytime.
On cloudy days, expect icy conditions whenever there have been warm temperatures and sun exposure the previous day.
We do not have volunteer capacity to re-groom daily, nor redo track setting....so please, skate skiers and fat bikers if you're sinking a lot and leaving ruts, consider heading home, or skiers switch to classic.
We will do our best to re-groom for the weekends; no promises though, as our volunteer numbers are low.
Shared fat bike & snowshoe trails: The pink pin-flagged trail system was snowmobile track-packed on the weekend; reports are that the brown pin- flagged system has been snowshoe packed, but not groomed as of yet. One volunteer will be heading out this afternoon to work on and possibly groom both pin-flagged trail systems.
Edit March 16th: The pink & brown pin-flagged trail systems were drag-groomed with a weighted car tire Wednesday. Some very soft spots still persist, along with a couple of slush zones = standard March conditions prevail. Could be very good Thursday after the freeze - get to it early if you can!
Think before you sink!
Bikers please turn around and go home if your tires are sinking/making big ruts in the soft snow.
Volunteers maintain the trails; leaving ruts to then freeze in place is not the best trail etiquette/trail stewardship, and it makes riding very hard for people on the trails after you.
Financial support:
Please consider financially supporting winter operations at Shaganappi to help this non-profit become financially self-sustaining. Donate what you can, or consider becoming a paid member.
Starting at $40 for an individual, 200 paid memberships would ensure that this non-profit was able to cover yearly operating costs to run Shaganappi in the winter. Thank you to the 60 households whom have become members in 2023, and the two households that joined since March 12th, every bit helps!!!
Weighted spare tire drag-groomer for the shared fat bike & snowshoe trail systems!
Grooming of the skate ski lanes Wednesday evening by volunteers Chris & Jason:
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