Nicola Nordic Ski Club

Nicola Nordic Ski Club has new website and blog

2011-12-26T22:02:00.000-08:00

The Nicola Nordic Ski Club has a new website and blog for ski conditions. Go to: http://www.nicolanordic.ca

2011-12 ski season begins!

2011-11-25T12:38:00.000-08:00

There is about 10" of snow in the P5 area (6-8" at P1) sunny & -2 degrees this morning.
No grooming yet, so it is tough slogging, but skiable.
Vehicles have been driving on the trails after the snowfalls, so some deep tire tracks on Kane trail.

Fallers at Work

2011-03-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

The tree fallers will be at work next week (probably starting on Monday the 28th), for about 3 days. They will be using skidoos and will start by finishing off Menzies, moving to Ravens Ridge and finishing up along Harmon, working down to the small dam.

March 19th ski conditions

2011-03-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

Lovely spring skiing today. Temp 0 to plus 1 degrees. Red wax worked well on my waxless skis. Trace of fresh snow overnight. Trail base is still in good condition.

fresh snow March 10th

2011-03-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

5 cm fresh snow overnight, temp zero degrees at 9 a.m., & beautiful sunshine

Great Gray Owls & New Snow

2011-03-04T15:29:00.000-08:00

We skied the Kane Trail this morning on 5 to 10 cm of new snow on the old skier tracked base. On the way there, we had the opportunity to photograph TWO Great Gray Owls near Kane Valley Road just east of the turnoff to P2.

BTW, the skiing was easy and the temperature around noon was -2° C.

Murphy

Wednesday March 02

2011-03-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

2-3 cm new snow, very windy, temperature +5 to +8, spring conditions. No recent grooming as yet.

Fresh snow

2011-03-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

10-15 cm new snow, temp -1 to-5, all parking lots plowed. Not groomed as yet after recent snowfall.

Feb 27th update

2011-02-27T13:40:00.001-08:00

Lovely skiing today with warmer temp (-7 deg), fresh snow & scattered flurries.
Further grooming done since last update, with most trails having now been groomed over the past week. 2-3 cm fresh snow on top of this recent grooming.

Feb 23 update

2011-02-23T11:41:00.000-08:00

Great skiing today. Temp at -12 deg.

The following trails have been groomed: ravens ridge, gulch, vale, tillicum, asp, menzies, chute, matthews, kane, hills homestead, aspen (at least to jct with sundown), sundown, skyhigh.

Nice to see Mr Dixon & his students enjoying the trails today & learning how to ski.

grooming update

2011-02-20T14:08:00.000-08:00

Great skiing today on recently groomed & trackset trails.
Sunny & -5 degrees @ 1:00

Feb 18th update

2011-02-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

-10 degrees & snowing when I finished my ski this a.m.

Good skiing today

2011-02-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

3-4 inches fresh snow earlier this week.
Temp at 830 this am was -11, warmed to -4 by 1030.
Skiing is good on skier tracked trails.

Good skiing!

2011-02-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

We had a very nice afternoon ski on Hill's Homestead today in 4 inches of powder snow on top of the base. Temp. around -4.

More fresh snow!

2011-02-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

Once the snowstorm stopped at 2pm we went for a wonderful ski in 4-5 inches on skier-tracked trails (Raven, Gulch, Menzies loop). Temp was about -2, snow above Lunch Box decidedly fluffier and faster! With dropping temp. it'll be gorgeous the next few days.

Fresh snow

2011-02-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

Good skiing this morning with about 5 cm fresh
snow on a smooth base.
Snowing/hailing heavily when I finished skiing at
1030. Temp was -1/zero with the snow a bit
on the sticky side at times, despite the application
of fluorowax.

2011-02-05T12:14:00.000-08:00

Minus 2 degrees this morning at Kane Valley. Took skis & snowshoes, ended up strapping on the snowshoes due to the crust on the trails. Nice trek in on the Adventure Trail from P5 to Bertha's.
Sounds like the trails are more skier friendly in the afternoons, once they soften up.

There is apparently a very large tree down across CONNECTOR, so if you are skiing the Hills/Tolko/Connector, use caution there.

Good skiing today.

2011-02-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

After a bit of drizzle, the snow was softer and slower than yesterday but the temp. stayed close to freezing so skiing was good on Hills Homestead and Tolko loop.

Warm and windy!

2011-02-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

The temp. today soared from -5 in the morning to +5 by 2pm so the waxing was tricky for increasingly slippery snow. We skied Over Easy, Gulch, Harmon and back Aspen and across the lake.

Powder snow skiing

2011-01-30T15:19:00.001-08:00

Over 40 people enjoyed a gorgeous sunny day at about -10 temperature skiing the Kane Trails today. We had a fabulous chili lunch with toasted buns thanks to Joe's portable wood stove and the fire.

Our groomer, Darren, worked until dark yesterday to flat groom and track most of the trails. This week he'll finish Harmon, Tolko and will widen the trails. With about 6 inches of fresh snow, conditions are back to winter-perfect: soft powder on a solid groomed base. The winds of the last few weeks brought down 4 trees which he cleared, but there are still odd branches on the trails.

Happy skiing!

Fresh Snow for Chili Sunday

2011-01-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

It's -6 mid-morning with over 2 inches of new powder in Kane Valley. Bring your bowl, spoon and portion of chili to add to the pot tomorrow for lunch by the fire 11am to 2 pm at the main parking lot P3. The club provides buns, cocoa, coffee, cookies and juice.

Let's get back to good winter skiing! See you there!

Jan 27th update

2011-01-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

I went up to Kane Valley for a quick assessment this morning. Temp was right around zero, sunny & a light breeze.
Snow was crusty this morning. I noticed on the registration board that 2 people were out for a 3 hour ski on Tuesday afternoon, so will assume that the ski trails soften up later in the day.
Kane Valley Rd also quite icy in the early am, but is well sanded on the hills & corners. Please drive with care.

Fresh snow on packed base today

2011-01-19T17:11:00.000-08:00

We skied Ravens-Tillicum-Neils-Vale-Gulch-Menzies today. A few other skiers were out too. About 1-2 cm of fresh fluffy snow on top of the hard base. From the recent thaw and lots of animal tracks the groomed trails are fairly rutted and lumpy but the skiing was still pretty good. With a couple more cm of snow it should be fabulous.
There is a large tree down across the trail on Menzies which the groomer will clear but it was very windy over the weekend so watch out for downed trees. Bob and Helen cleared a smaller tree across the trail on Ravens.

Jan 16th update

2011-01-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

Rain & above zero temps last night :(

Plus 4 degrees this a.m.

Tricky skiing in warm conditions

2011-01-14T19:22:00.000-08:00

I was on the trails today and it was rather difficult skiing with the warm conditions (air temp +3 C). Slippery snow. It had drizzled up there earlier in the day. It might get a bit crusty or slushy, depending on the temperature, until we get fresh snow.
Darren groomed most of the trails today but the track-setting device was broken so the trails should be smoother but don't expect tracks.

grooming update

2011-01-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

The temp at Kane Valley is a balmy PLUS 5 degrees this a.m., so the snow of the past few days is melting & settling considerably.
The groomer is out as I type, so the trails should be in excellent condition for the weekend.

Moose Encounter at Stake Lake

2011-01-14T11:09:00.000-08:00

The story about the skier-moose encounter at the Stake Lake ski trails south of Kamloops is on the Kamloops News website at http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20110112/KAMLOOPS0101/301129985/moose-attack-likely-sparked-by-dog-co-says

Use caution as this could happen on the Kane Valley Trails as there is plenty of moose sign.

Katharine

Kane Valley pics

2011-01-13T16:22:00.000-08:00

Jan 13th update

2011-01-13T12:39:00.000-08:00

WOW, what a winter wonderland at Kane Valley today!

Approx 25 cm new snow in the past 2 days, temp was -3 degrees with flurries at 1100 this morning.

Kane Valley Road and P3 have been plowed. P2 has not been plowed out.

Great skier tracked trails in the January landing area (Aspen, Ravine, Sundown, Skyhigh & Kane to Jake's Jct East). Several vehicles also at P1, so should be some good skier tracked trails from there now as well.

another dedicated Snowshoe Trail now available

2011-01-11T14:33:00.001-08:00

There is now a third snowshoe trail ("Twiggy") ribboned & cleared, leaving the west end of P3 (near the blue container), making its way to Lunchbox shelter. Approximately 2 km one way to the shelter, so plan on it being a 3 hr round trip.
Please use caution when crossing the ski trails (2 crossings) & step OVER the tracksetting, NOT ON IT :)

A 4th snowshoe option is to follow the BCFS interpretive trail at the east end of Harmon Lake (P6) to Hidden Lake - look for the hiker markers on trees & posts.

For those not yet familiar with the 1st snowshoe trail "Adventure"; it leaves from the south side of P5, to January Shelter, then out to Bertha's shelter. This trail is 1.6 km to Bertha's & is marked with yellow 'hiker' markers on the trees, as well as ribbon in the trees.

See my post of last week for info on the 2nd dedicated snowshoe trail, leaving from P1.

Temp today at Kane Valley was -15 degrees

Fresh snow groomed today

2011-01-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

Lots of powdery fresh snow on the Kane Valley trails. Darren did a lot of grooming today - Hill's Homestead, Kane, Matthews, Ravens, Menzies, Vale, Harmon and some of the shorter connectors.
A group from Kelowna was up enjoying our trails today too - very pleased with our trails

New Snow!

2011-01-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

Last night we had 8 inches of new snow here at Kane Valley West and the temp. today stayed below -6 so it's light and fluffy. Our end of the road was plowed out this afternoon. The groomer is going out to the trails tomorrow (Sunday). Happy Skiing!

Mostly groomed trails with some fresh snow

2011-01-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

I skied parts of many trails today - somewhat tricky for waxing with temperatures right at zero and fresh moist snow falling, but great to be out. Most of the trails were groomed yesterday (Wed) and some that weren't groomed yesterday are still in good shape (e.g., all of Harmon). With a bit of fresh snow and slightly colder temperatures coming it could be great for the weekend.
Great to see the work that Tanya and others are doing to give the snowshoers some options to keep off the groomed trails.

New snow shoe loop @ P1

2011-01-06T13:39:00.000-08:00

Temp was +1 degree & snowing at Kane Valley this morning. Groomer has been out, so trails look to be in great condition again.
A new snow shoe loop is now cleared & ribboned, leaving from P1 on the north side of the parking lot. We were lucky to pick up on someone else's tracks & utilized that when we could.
Best estimate on length of this loop trail is perhaps 1.5 km, and takes approx 30-40 minutes.
If the trail should get snowcovered, look for the bright orange ribbons as it does not yet have yellow hiker markers on the trees like the P5 - Bertha's trail.

Jan 2nd update

2011-01-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

Temperature was -12 degrees in beautiful sunshine this morning. Trails have been well used over the holidays, but conditions are still good. We did notice that the groomer made a loop (?yesterday) from P3 to Teiffels, around Gulch, and returned to P3 via Asp.
Trail from P1 along Ravens (to the gate), and along Menzies is rough due to hikers and snowshoers that apparently do not have the common sense to stay off of the ski trails :(

Super skiing on soft snow

2010-12-29T15:20:00.000-08:00

Lots of skiers were out today - a few inches of powder on the groomed base makes for divine soft skiing up Hills Homestead, Tolko loops, Sky High, Sundown, Aspen, Kane, etc. -8 with a cold wind at midday.

More trail grooming today

2010-12-24T15:13:00.000-08:00

All the trails on the northwest side of the road (Ravens, Harmon, Vale, etc.) were re-groomed and most of them tracked today, so the entire 50 km system should be in good shape (as long as the rain stays away!)

Dec 24th

2010-12-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

Beautiful morning at Kane Valley today. Temp was -1 at 9:30, but warmed up to +1 by 11:00. Scattered flurries this a.m. & the wind was picking up when we left, but the skiing was fabulous on yesterdays new snow.

More fresh snow - good skiing

2010-12-23T17:18:00.000-08:00

The Kane Valley trail skiing was great today - some fresh snow and -7 C snow temperature. Freshly groomed Matthews was excellent and Vale, Ravens, Asp and Menzies were good skiing too. Darren will do some further grooming tomorrow (Friday) so the skiing should continue to be excellent through the Christmas weekend.

Dec 23rd report

2010-12-23T11:06:00.001-08:00

Snowing and -6 degrees in the Kane Valley this morning. Skiing was lovely on the freshly groomed trails.

More grooming + fresh snow

2010-12-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (Tuesday) Darren re-groomed Hill's Homestead, Mathews, and most of Kane putting in tracks and widening the hills. He also groomed all of Ravine, Tolko & Connector. There is fresh snow falling this morning and it is -7 C in Kane Valley so the skiing should be excellent today and in the days to come.

Fresh snow on groomed trails = great skiing

2010-12-19T19:54:00.000-08:00

The Kane V trails are excellent. Temps stayed around -6 to -7 all day with about 3 cm of fresh fluffy snow.
Today Andrea and I did a lovely loop from P6: Aspen (the southernmost 1 km at Harmon Lk is compacted but not groomed but the rest is smoothly groomed and all is great skiing) - across lower Second Lake - Overeasy (again the southernmost part is flattened but not groomed but it is all good - most of Overeasy is groomed and excellent) - Gulch - Harmon back to P6. Harmon is all in excellent shape, nicely groomed and velvety smooth skiing.
Why is everyone in the malls? Today it was just us and the moose (Oh, and a great-horned owl on the Harmon run).

Please post your news on trail conditions if you ski the Kane Valley trails.

Even better skiing today - Most trails now groomed

2010-12-16T15:44:00.000-08:00

Great skiing on the Kane Valley trails today - good snow (perfect for blue wax), sunshine. About minus 3 C at mid-day. We did P5-Kane (which is now tracked and smooth)-Hill's Homestead (which has a few rutted bits but is good skiing). I talked to Darren the groomer today too. Most of the trails are now groomed (but only a few places tracked) but some of the lesser-used trails have been compacted but not groomed (part of Overeasy, Tolko, Crossover, Ravine).

More trails now groomed - good skiing today

2010-12-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

Andrea and I skied P3 - Vale - Ravens - Menzies today (Tuesday) in lovely crisp snow conditions and mild weather. It was great to be out on the trails again.
Darren the groomer was out all day today and most of the major trails have now had at least a first-time grooming. Expect a few uneven patches but most of the groomed trails are great for skiing. The groomed trails now include Ravens, Mathews, Hill's Homestead, and Kane (and some of the side loops too). Other trails have just been flattened with the snowmobile (e.g., Asp, Aspen, Ravine) but you should be able to do a lot of groomed trails. There are still a couple of downed trees on the un-groomed trails (these are wilderness trails remember) so best to stay on the major trails. The groomer is removing fallen trees too.
I made a mistake on my last posting - the trails are not yet tracked, we are trying to get the base good and smooth before tracking.
Darren will be out again tomorrow and if the weather holds we should have all the well-used trails groomed by the weekend.
The skiing is good - so get out on the Kane Valley trails!

Some trails are now groomed - time to ski!

2010-12-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

Darren our groomer spent all of Monday preparing trails - nearly all the trails on the northwest side of Kane Valley Rd have been compressed with the snowmobile and Ravens Ridge and a few linked trails have been groomed and tracked. There is a good base all round and the other trails will be groomed this week. Today (Tuesday) Darren will be preparing the Kane-Aspen-Hill's Homestead trails with the snowmobile and they too will soon be groomed.
Kane Valley Road has been ploughed and the parking lots are apparently cleared.
There is fresh snow falling as I write - time to get out the skis!

Fallers Finished

2010-12-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

Fallers finished late Wednesday the 8th. Work was checked on Thursday. Work areas in good shape.

Fallers at Work

2010-12-07T16:36:00.000-08:00

As of Tuesday December 07, fallers worked on Overeasy, near p-5, Vale, immediately above P-3 and Kane, just prior to Nicklin Landing. Tomorrow they plan to work on Menzies from the west end of the lake to Teiffels Landing and on Overeasy about half way down to P-4. They will be driving their vehicle along Ravens, Menzies, Gulch to Overeasy and down Overeasy to P-4. Snow is still soft and powdery and no grooming has yet been done. None of this work has yet been inspected for errant debris but these fallers have done excellent work in the past.

2010 ski season begins

2010-12-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

Some determined souls have been out skiing in the Kane Valley, although grooming has not yet started. There is sufficient snow, but the temperatures remain below zero so the snow remains dry & not quite ready for grooming.
Be aware of the potential for your skis to scrape on rocks due to the lack of a an adequate snow base at this time, in particular, under the trees. I have talked to a few people this past week & have heard that no problems were encountered, while others said they definitely scraped on rocks. If you have an old pair of skis, it might be best to take them out until the grooming can start.

Murphy & I were out with snowshoes today & ribboned off a trail from P5 to Bertha's landing. It follows an old 'unofficial' ski trail called "Adventure", and will become a designated snowshoe trail on future maps.

Helmer Ski

2010-04-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

Lachlans and I had a wonderful ski off the Helmer exit today in sun/high cloud with little wind. There is a base of 2-3 feet up there with 1-4 inches of powder on top of a solid crust, good for "off trail" skiing. Nice fast conditions with violet special wax. Really pleasant runs down after gentle climbs on logging roads.

Easter ski

2010-04-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

It's not that usual to get blue-wax powder snow and T-shirt skiing in sunshine in April - but that was it today -I had a beautiful ski into Little Douglas up the Coldwater River from the highways depot (about 12 km return). Thanks to the last couple of cold nights and days (to -10 here in Kane Valley) , there was 4-5 inches of new fluffy snow covering our tracks from 5 days ago. Gorgeous views of the big snow bowl of Guanaco next to Vicuna's rock face and snowy saddle. The peaks around Little Douglas Lake have huge cornices and some avalanches. Everything is well buried at Little Douglas campsite - just the ventilation pipe of the outhouse (I presume) poking through the snow.

Still skiing - end of March

2010-03-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

Lachlans skied up to Lunchbox from P1 today...a few obstacles, but otherwise a corn-snow ski they say with an inch or two of new snow overnight. Snow squalls while they skied.

Alan and I skied 6 km in and out at Coldwater River in sun/cloud with 10-12 inches new snow there - made for tricky waxing with temp, around zero. Beautiful beside the partly open river with just a few animal tracks.

Vandalism at P-2

2010-03-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon considerable vandalism was done to the Map Board at P-2. Multiple gun shot damage as board was used for target practice. Has been reported to authorities.

New Snow

2010-03-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

Thursday 11 th, at 4:00 there was 2-3 cm of new snow. Temp +1-2. Reliable reports that Hills Homestead was great earlier in the day, prior to the snow, but was icy lower down. Did not try to ski.

Wednesday Driveby

2010-03-03T19:23:00.000-08:00

Passing through at 3:00 PM. Temp +1to +2, slushy snow/rain falling, not accumulating at this point. Some water running down the road and also pooling in places.

Hockey Sunday

2010-02-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

Spring conditions, +5 at two o'clock. Softish in places, otherwise ok. P-1, Ravens to Lunchbox, Vale, Menzies to P-1. Some ice under the odd tree.

Good skiing Thursday

2010-02-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

The Kane Valley trails offered great skiing on Thursday - about 2-3 cm fresh snow and most of the trails are still firm and smooth from the last grooming. A bit sticky in the sunlit patches but mostly good skiing in warmish conditions. I did a long loop from P6 - Aspen, Sunrise, Hills Homestead, across to Vale, Gulch and all of Harmon. We are still getting a few flakes of snow so it looks like conditions should be good for the weekend.
The ski season is still with us!

Skiing Monday

2010-02-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

Rather icy and crunchy conditions today - I skied Raven's Ridge, Asp, Tillicum & Menzies - sometimes hard going with slippery icy surfaces. Let's hope we get some fresh snow.
Someone has taken dogs on all these routes too.

Sunday ski

2010-02-07T18:52:00.001-08:00

A great day. Temp just about 0 deg. Snow somewhat old, fast going downhill, icy under the trees. We need a fresh supply of it. Saw two weasels?? ermine?? (anyone know what they are?) in their snow-white coats and black tipped nose and tail. One was hustling a pine cone into a snow bank.

Thursday Ski

2010-02-04T17:33:00.000-08:00

A dramatic improvement in conditions - we skied H. Homestead, Ravine, Sundown, Aspen, Kane in soft snow - 1 cm. of new powder on smooth-groomed, tracked trails. Several small snowfalls this week have made a new soft base - the only icy patches left are under the trees. Sunshine and sparkly winter-wonderland this morning. By 1 pm the snow started to get a bit sticky on Kane and Aspen.

Grooming etc. Monday

2010-02-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

All the trails on the Hills Homestead side (Mathews, Kane, Aspen, Hills Homestead etc.) are now freshly groomed. Even Ravine is now done.
Skiers reported good conditions on Hills Homestead today too.
The groomer will be re-doing the trails on the Panorama side (Vale, Gulch, Ravens etc.) this week too. A few flakes of fresh stuff this evening too - so looks like the skiing will be good all week.
Now if only we didn't have to work!

Skiing Chili Sunday

2010-01-31T20:42:00.000-08:00

About 30 people enjoyed skiing and a campfire picnic at P3 today -watch for pictures in the Herald. Snowing all day - big flakes and warm. Conditions varied from too sticky for the non-wax skis to some tricky waxing to get a grip for the waxables. Snow-shoeing was in vogue too. Darren, our groomer, will be out again all day tomorrow to catch up with the new snow. Until the skidoo gets fixed later this week, there will be just flat grooming, as the tracker isn't able to hook up to the old skidoo which Scott has kindly loaned us. Thank you, Scott. And thanks to Jill and Gerry for manning the pots of delicious chili and cocoa.

Jan 30 ski

2010-01-30T11:14:00.001-08:00

About 1cm of fresh snow on recently groomed trails, but temp was above zero, so the snow was quite sticky this a.m. Fluorwax was of limited use on my non-wax skis. The waxable skis will have a huge advantage today.

Lake skiing

2010-01-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

Skiing on the lakes is wonderful these days - sunshine, no hills and good traction!

Chili Sunday this weekend!

2010-01-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

Sunday Jan 31 is the Nicola Nordic Ski Club's annual Chili Sunday at the Kane Valley ski trails. There is snow forecast for Saturday so we could have good skiing.
Ski all day and stop for lunch from 11 AM to 1 PM at the parking lot P3 shelter on Kane Valley Road. Bring your own chili for the communal pot, and a bowl, cup, spoon etc. We supply buns, hot drinks and a camp fire.
Everyone is welcome - not just club members.
Hope to see you there!

Monday ski

2010-01-25T18:31:00.000-08:00

There was a half inch of new snow at the bottom and around 2 inches up higher where the snow was softer. We skied from P3 up Gulch to Panorama and around Lynx. Various hazards were icy patches under the trees and sticky coyote poop mid-trail. Temperatures around freezing made waxing for going up a challenge, but the downs were very fast. We have steel edges so our snowplows held! It was very nice to be out, even though the snow made skiing a bit tricky.

Sunday Ski

2010-01-17T18:43:00.000-08:00

Due to the melting, conditions are variable depending on elevation. The lower trails are hard-packed (icy or crunchy) eg. Kane, but the upper trails are soft. Today, Hill's Homestead above the first Tolko junction was very nice and Tolko Loop itself was wonderful packed powder. We heard the same from the other side - that trails above Lunchbox have softer snow. There are icy patches under the trees from dripping. Temp. started around -3 and warmed to just above freezing. A beautiful sunny day.

Skiing Friday

2010-01-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

We skied Matthews Loop today with purple wax in a wet snow blizzard and 1-2 inches new snow. The groomer is out on the trails today, both sides. Coming from the Coqhihalla end, Kane Valley Rd. from the west end is very rough and muddy for the first 16 km. with logging next to the road and semi-trailer trucks hauling chips. It's best for anyone coming from Vancouver to access the trails from the east(north) end of Kane Valley Rd.

Trail Damage

2010-01-11T17:46:00.000-08:00

I have talked to the original source who mentioned the trail damage but have not seen the site myself. I do not know how far up Aspen the trail has been damaged, but the final hill leading to the flat along Harmon Lake has been totally chewed up. There is little we can do about this unless someone saw it happening. I have notified the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts.

Report on P6

2010-01-11T07:25:00.000-08:00

I have a report (yesterday Sunday Jan 10) from a fellow skier that P6 ski area has been churned up by truck and quad tracks, making skiing impossible. Did not confirm this myself but thought I would pass it on to anyone headed out there.

Sunday Ski

2010-01-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

In a word - very fast coming down Tolko and Sky High, fast gliding on Kane. Ravine is not groomed, but has a good skier track for going up. The powder is turning a tad crunchy with the warmer temp. in the afternoons - a few degrees below freezing this morning.

Saturday 09 January

2010-01-09T15:49:00.000-08:00

-2, one cm new snow, just perfect skiing. Groomer did Overeasy, Kane and ??. Skied P-5-Aspen-Sundown-Ravine-Skyhigh-Kane to P-5. Sawed off windfall on Ravine. Tough slogging up Ravine.

2010-01-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

Pleasant skiing today.
Very nice skiing today from P1, Ravens, Menzies Asp, Tillicum and back. Got rid of a tree arching over the trail near P1 and another bending over Menzies just before Teiffel's Ldg. Temp. was -3 to -5 with no wind. Need registration papers at P1 and P2. I have some here at the house if anyone wants to pick them up before Sunday when I will be going out again.

Another Friday Report

2010-01-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

Skied P-4, up Overeasy, Gulch, Harmon to Harmon Lake. Back along Kane Lakes. Lower Kane is fine, lot of water under the snow on Upper Kane. Same for Lower Second from January Ldg to P-4. Water is up to 5 cm deep under snow. If you are a lightweight, probably won't sink like heavyweight me.

Friday - excellent skiing Most trails groomed

2010-01-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

Andrea and I skied a lovely long loop today starting at P6 - Aspen, Over-Easy and Harmon. Aspen, Harmon and most other trails we passed have been freshly groomed in the past day or two and are in great shape. Over-Easy is not groomed but many people have skied there so there is a track. The conditions were great and fast. Temperature was about minus 5 C and we zipped along on blue wax.

Kane trail

2010-01-05T22:01:00.000-08:00

Excellent skiing today on newly groomed trail in sunlight. Temperature was -3 to -5 C.
Katharine

A+ Skiing today

2010-01-03T15:48:00.000-08:00

I call this "velvet snow" : 1-3 inches of powder on top of groomed trails, fast downs, great skiing on Vale, Gulch, Harmon, Ravens and Lynx. Lunch served with wine at the Panorama shelter (just kidding). Sunshine, a beautiful day with temp. warming up from -8 to -4 in mid-afternoon with no wind.

Fresh snow and grooming

2010-01-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!
We've had about 10 cm of fresh snow on the Kane Valley trails and there is more coming. Most of the trails were groomed again today. A good time to ski!

31 December skiing

2009-12-31T14:51:00.000-08:00

Andrea and I skied Hills Homestead and Kane from P5 - both trails are lovely and smooth with a couple of cm of fresh snow. At about minus 7 or 8 C it was perfect blue wax skiing. Just great!

December 30, 2009

2009-12-31T09:51:00.000-08:00

The ski trails continue to be in very good condition. Skiied Raven's Ridge, Gulch and around to P1. All the trails are groomed and track set. Air temperature was -4 so great temperature and snow conditions.

Skiing Fri. Dec. 25

2009-12-25T18:58:00.000-08:00

Sun, no wind and it warmed up to about -10 today. Nice, fast skiing on groomed trails. Someone asked about difficulty rating - our trails are hard to define as they cover varied terrain with a lot of hills. The flattest trails are Kane and Menzies. Next with gentle hills would be Aspen and Ravens. Matthews is a nice intermediate route, as are most other trails, though Hill's Homestead and Harmon, being long with many hills, might be called difficult. Happy skiing!

Skiing and Grooming Dec. 22

2009-12-22T17:13:00.000-08:00

Winter wonderland on the trails today, great skiing, temp. around -10, sun and no wind. Almost all the trails are groomed wide. Matthews, Hill's Homestead, Tolko and Kane are tracked. Skiing today was good and fast with blue wax conditions. The warm weather last week has left some ice lumps in places, esp. under trees, so careful there. All parking lots are plowed out and the road is well-sanded. Happy skiing!

Hills Homestead December 18, 2009

2009-12-19T10:32:00.000-08:00

3 of us skiied Hills Homestead today. The trail is all groomed and the snow was good. We started at an air temperature of -1 and my waxable skis worked well for the first half of the trail. By noon the temperature had moved up to 4 degrees and I was struggling as my skiis would not grip the snow. The waxless skiis of my friends performed much better for the second part of the day. There was between 8-12 inches of snow for most of the trail but the warm weather will take it down quickly. Hopefully we will get a little more snow and slightly cooler temperatures.

Todays Grooming

2009-12-16T20:16:00.000-08:00

All trails on the south (east) side of the Kane Valley Road were groomed today, with the exception of Aspen, Sundown, Chute and Ravine. Temperature was +1 and very slight drizzle at 3 PM.

Grooming

2009-12-16T07:52:00.000-08:00

Skidoo travelled over several trails yesterday (Tuesday 15) and is scheduled to groom and track set several of the main trails today.

Sunday, December 06, 2009.

2009-12-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

We added log sheets to the sign-in boards at P1, P2, P3 and P5.

Tried skiing from P5 on the Kane Trail and the west end of Lower Second Lake. Not enough snow (10 to 15 cm) to hide all the rocks on the trail and the wind was cold on the lake at -10 C.

We need more snow for safe skiing.

Murphy & Katharine

2009-12-05T15:30:00.000-08:00

Skiing Sat. Dec. 5, 2009 - little snow at the bottom, but good skiing from P1 up Ravens and very nice on Gulch and higher up on Harmon. 2 inches of powder on a firm crust higher up. -7 today in sunshine. Some had skied up from P3. The parking lots at P2 and P3 are not plowed out - 4x4 is advised. Andrea

Thu. eve Kane Valley West

2009-11-19T18:49:00.000-08:00

Wet snow turning to rain...temp. around zero.

Kane Valley Snow Report

2009-11-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

Snow Report from 20091119

As of noon on Thursday there was 4 to 5 inches (10 to 12 cm) of soft snow at parking lot P2. Temperature was +1 C. Not enough snow unless you have an old pair of "rock" skis and a masochistic disposition.

The road was partly plowed, but hazardous unless you have a 4x4 with good snow tires.

Please add your comments by clicking on this report in the "Blog Archive" to the left and clicking in the "Post a Comment" box.

Murphy

Kane Valley Trail Map

2009-11-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

Kane Valley Nordic Ski Trails Map

The Nordic ski trails are located on the north and south sides of Kane Valley Road, approximately two to nine kilometres west of the junction with Highway 5A/97C. The trail elevation ranges from 1100 metres at Harmon Lake to 1350 metres on Homestead Loop or Harmon Loop. The easiest trail is the Kane Trail between parking lots P2 and P5.

There are maps of the ski trails posted throughout the trail system including on the registration boards found near the parking lots and at various trail junctions. Brochures containing the map are available on site at no cost.

Click here –> Kane Valley Trails Map for a low-resolution copy of the map.

Click here –> Kane Valley Trails PDF Map for a higher resolution PDF version of the map.

For downloadable GPS GPX and Google Earth KMZ files for the 50-kilometre Kane Valley X-C Ski Trail network, visit http://www.sonotek.com/tripnotes/kane_vly_trails.html.

•••

Introduction to the Kane Valley

2009-11-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

Winter Haven...

When winter blows into the British Columbia Interior, the Kane Valley, south of Merritt, becomes a haven for Nordic skiers. With a base elevation of 1160 metres (3800 feet), the timbered valley has a micro-climate that can provide ideal Nordic skiing conditions. The snow is generally dry, seldom more than 1 to 1.5 metres deep, and the air temperature is usually between 0 and -15 degrees Celsius throughout the winter.

Getting There...
The Kane Valley is centrally located on British Columbia's Coquihalla Highway network, approximately three hours northeast of Vancouver. The Valley lies 20 minutes south of Merritt, an hour west of Peachland and an hour north of Princeton.

The best winter access to the ski area is via the Kane Valley Road which joins Highway 5A/97C near Corbett Lake, 18 km south of Merritt.

Access to the skiing area is also possible from the western end of the Kane Valley Road near Kingsvale. Take exit 256 (Coldwater Road) on the Coquihalla Highway (Highway 5) and turn north towards Merritt along Coldwater Road until Kane Valley Road. Turn right.

Rich History...
Portions of the Kane Valley have been farmed since the 1890s and selectively logged during the past 50 years. The ski trails follow old logging roads and skid trails through open timber and across natural grassy slopes.

The Kane Valley accommodates a variety of users, including timber companies, ranching, and four-season recreational users. In partnership with the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, the Nicola Nordic Ski Club has been maintaining the Kane Valley Cross Country Ski Trail System since 1991.

Parking and Facilities...
There are five parking areas with the largest being P3, located just off Kane Valley Road approximately four kilometres west of the junction with Highway 5A/97C. This parking spot can accommodate buses and also has a shelter with a fire pit. There are shelters with fire pits throughout the trail system as well as outhouses and map boards. Map brochures are usually available at the various parking areas.

Kane Valley Trail Fees and Club Memberships.

Memberships...
Membership fees and donations pay for the year-around maintenance of the Kane Valley trails. An annual membership costs $40.00 for an individual and $80.00 for a family for the 2009-2010 season. Members receive periodic newsletters about upcoming Club events.

Daily Rate...
Users who are not members of the Nicola Nordic Ski Club are requested to make a $7.00 donation each time they use the trails.

As memberships and donations fund the trail system (grooming in the winter, signs, maps, removing danger trees and overall trail maintenance), the revenue from these two sources is vital to ensuring an enjoyable and safe skiing experience for all skiers.

Click here –> Membership Form for a copy of the form.

Mail completed form along with a cheque to:

Nicola Nordic Ski Club
PO Box 1499
Merritt, B.C. Canada V1K 1B8

The ski club is unable to accept credit card or on-line payments. Trail tags will be mailed on receipt of completed form and payment. Please allow one week for processing.