Trail Talk
BCT Prepares for Winter with Trail Enhancements and New Equipment
We’ve made the most of the mild autumn weather to prepare our trails for the upcoming winter grooming season. As you know, winter can begin anytime after Labour Day out here.
For the skiers in our community, you’ll notice that many of the core trails have been widened to better accommodate grooming for skate skiing without crowding out the classic ski tracks. We’ve also smoothed out some of the tighter corners and hill run-outs to improve cornering and sightlines. Additionally, we’ve added new grooming equipment to increase our efficiency and reliability. We now have two new Skandic snowmobiles joining our tracked Bobcat UTV and our anchor machine, “Erica” the Snow Rabbit.
On the fat bike grooming front, we’ve introduced a new piece of electric-powered equipment that our grooming crew is currently being trained on. This marks our first electric addition to the fleet, which will be featured in more detail in next month’s article. Meanwhile, our aging fleet of motorized cycles is beginning to look a bit nervous!
New Official Ski Grooming Start Date
After extensive discussions during our trail planning process with the Alberta Government and public, it was decided that the protection of groomed ski trails needs to be prioritized due to the unpredictable snow events in West Bragg Creek.
As soon as snow falls, BCT will begin packing the trails to drive frost into the ground, creating a solid base to support our grooming equipment.
As a result of these discussions, it has been determined that ski trails will be officially closed to all non-ski traffic starting November 1, or once grooming operations begin after that date. This is a month earlier than the previous December 1 start and allows BCT greater flexibility when snow conditions are favorable. March 31 still remains the official end to winter grooming even if ski conditions prevail.
At the same time, fat tire bike grooming will likely begin on the narrower All Seasons Trails. We kindly ask our equestrian friends to move onto the designated winter equestrian trails at this point.
Please respect the hard work and time our grooming team puts into providing a safe and enjoyable experience for all users by following trail signage. If you are unsure which trails are appropriate for your use, please visit the Trail Centre on weekends to speak with our Trail Hosts, flag down a BCT member, or visit our website at braggcreektrails.org.
See you on the trails
Conrad Schiebel (BCT President)
