Skiing at Shaganappi at the end of March!!! Sunday is the last day for skiing, but really, conditions are deteriorating daily and snow is disappearing rapidly in the sun. Where there was enough snow, which was the majority of the trail system, two passes of grooming were put in on all skate lanes Wednesday evening with the exceptions of Condo Alley and Westgate Corner (both are not skiable) and the workaround to Lynn's Frozen Thunder (too much grass).
Ski Trails: Track setting won't be put in as there is not enough snow, but here and there the track setting has survived all the warm temperatures. Skate ski trail conditions will be variable; anything from nearly wintery snow especially in the morning if it remained cold overnight to very soft, melted, disappeared trail. (yes, disappeared!) There are a couple small places one can not avoid asphalt now, where Sunday all was skiable. Skiing is not recommended per se, but if you're game for challenging skiing with some surprisingly good quality snow in areas, while in others the snow will be really soft, give it a try! The straightaway along Alasdair's Alley is great to go back and forth on, and laps around the driving range, escarpment loop, and inner loop will be good until the sun exposure softens everything up.
Fat Bike/Snowshoe trails: This was a fantastic first official winter of dedicated snowshoe and fat biking at Shaganappi all thanks to Bow Cycle , as they stepped-up to pay for the fat biking liability insurance!!
Snowshoeing and fat biking is over, as there is a lot of soft grass, snow will be isothermic, and any riding will damage the soft turf of the golf course. Fat bikers please stay off any trails anywhere you go in Alberta where they are soft, and stay off the ski trails at Shaganappi, as sunken bike tracks will be a hazard to skiers travelling at speed.
How can you help???
There are a few ways one can support winter operations at Shaganappi, as SNO needs a few things...
Consistent funding to cover yearly winter operating costs in the form of members of the public donating and purchasing memberships (Thanks to the 61 households that bought memberships this winter!)
Grants or generous donors to help us work toward being able to purchase upgraded machinery and drag groomers. (Thanks to all the donors thus far!)
More volunteers!
Grooming volunteer Finn at the end of the evening Wednesday.
