Shark Mountain Tours

Parkland’s November 28 2020 Shark Area trip

Overview

The Mount Shark area is one of the areas hidden gems. The site is on the edge of one of the better snowbelts.

Goals

This weekend is planned to introduce skiers to backcountry skiing by a full plus ½ day trip. The trips will combine track skiing, off-track skiing and some bushwacking in flatter, treed area. The day will have participants skiing a long day with appropriate backcountry packs (minimum 35 liter).

There is no avalanche potential on the trail.

Saturday Trips

On Saturday we will do:

  • A 15.5 km ski day with 340 meters of vertical. Track set skiing may be up to 10.4 km of the day’s trip, depending on snow and park staff’s ability to run tracking equipment this early is season. The off-track skiing will be a minimum of 5.2 km.  The steepest slope is a 14% grade.
  • There will be some practice on setting both a new trail and some downhill sking in fresh snow.

Ski Discussion

For simple day trips a set of backcountry skis is recommended. As an example: Rossignol has a nice BC positrack ski with ski widths of 70 mm at tip, 60 mm under foot and 65 mm at tail. It is a metal edged no wax ski. Alternatively Rossignol has an OT 65 ski with ski widths of 65 mm at tip, 53 mm under foot and 60 mm at tail. It is a no wax ski with partial-length metal edges. This OT 65 has less floatation in powder and can be used on tracked trails although it will grind-on-sides when going around curves.

Destinations

The planned Saturday destinations are:

  • Banff Park’s Trail Center warden cabin: for lunch
  • Spray River viewpoint – west of Spray Lake
  • Watridge lake

Spray River viewpoint
Typical untracked section of trail.
Typical tracked section of trail.

Sunday trip

There are three choices for Sunday.

  1. The prime target would be to ski the northwest loop of the Skark area trails which is usually not trackset until later in the season.
  2. 8.3 km ski day with 170 m of vertical
  3. Minimum of 2 km off-track skiing
  4. Maximum grade of 20%
  5. An alternative is to ski an old logging road
  6. 6.4 km ski day with 90 m of vertical
  7. Minimum of 2 km off-track skiing
  8. Maximum grade of 14%
  9. Another alternative is to ski to Shark Lake from the east end
  10. 7.6 km with 150 m vertical
  11. All 7.6 km off-track skiing and likely all breaking a new trail
  12. Maximum grade of 17%

Sunday trip does not have any planned destinations.