Parks Canada has decided on the trails they will be setting for cross-country skiing this year and now it’s time to wait for the snow to fall. 

Rogier Gruys, product development specialist at Parks, says the trails will be similar to last year, with more family-friendly loops close to town. 

Gruys said the entire plan for this season is snow-dependant, but Parks has outlined a number of priorities that will be track-set as soon as conditions are right. 

“Everything will depend on how much snow we get,” he said. 

The first priority will be the Whistlers Campground. Last year there was one long loop around it, but this year Gruys said they will be setting a number of smaller loops within the campsites for the new Jackrabbits program and families to use. 

“It’s good for families,” Gruys said. “They will really try to come up with a good selection of easy trails.”

Whistlers is a popular ski area due to how close it is to the townsite. Gruys said they hope to set up a warming shelter out of a kitchen house at the campground. 

Other top priorities are the Meeting of the Waters, Moab Lake and Highway 93A to the Athabasca Falls. 

“That will be a great set of options right there,” Gruys said. 

Thea Mitchell, public relations and communications for Parks, said the track-setters prefer to create trails on roads, because they only need 10 centimetres of snow, compared to more for other areas. 

Depending on snow conditions, the Geraldine Lakes Rd. could be set, and more could be done around Moab Lake. 

Gruys said they hope to do more trails on the Pyramid Fire Road. 

“We’re looking at expanding our offer on the fire road,” Gruys said. 

Last year a popular route was the Pyramid Lake Loop, which Parks set for the pentathlon. Gruys said the area will not be set this year, unless they receive a request for another event. He added that setting trails on lakes can be difficult, and they try to avoid it unless the snow conditions are right. 

The cross-country ski season in Jasper usually runs from about December to March, but it all depends on how much snow falls. 

At the Wapiti campground, the trails will be dog-friendly and have winter walking trails. Gruys said they hope to make both demographics happy – those with dogs, and those without. The Wabasso trails may also be dog-friendly. 

A trail with lower priority is the Pipeline Trail, which Gruys said can be hit or miss.

“Some people love it, some people say it’s too cold out there,” he said. 

Centennial Park could be set for the Jackrabbit program if there is enough snow. The benefit would be trails close to town that will encourage kids to use them. 

Gruys said they are hoping to encourage more people to get out on the trails this year, and for more people to go snow shoeing – as long as it is off the set trails. 

“We’d love to get people just to explore winter with the snowshoes,” he said. 

Snow-shoeing is a great sport for anyone to try out, and there doesn’t have to be a lot of snow for it. They are cheap to rent, and do not require much skill to use them. Parks hopes to encourage snow-shoeing and skiing in the park by promoting the family-friendly trails close to town. 

This year, Gruys said they will be providing more information on ski conditions and what’s open on the Jasper National Park website. They hope to create a detailed winter trail map to match their summer hiking trail map. Up to date trail conditions will be available at the Info Centre throughout the year. 

Parks is also working with an Edmonton-based company, Snow Seekers, to promote Jasper’s conditions. There is the potential for an iPhone app that would have information as well.

“It’s a better service to our visitors,” Gruys said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase what we have here in Jasper.”

Gruys said there has been little promotion of winter activities in Jasper in previous years, despite many great opportunities such as ice walking, skiing and snow-shoeing. 

“We see it as a whole winter offer,” he said. 

Ski clubs from Edmonton have expressed an interest in using Jasper’s trails. Usually they travel to Canmore, but the distance can be a bit much. 

“There’s a lot of interest in what we have to offer in Edmonton,” Gruys said.

More advanced cross-country skiers are encouraged to set their own trails with their skis. There are hundreds of kilometres of un-set trails ready to be explored in the park.

“You don’t have to be on these tracks,” Gruys said. 

The un-set trails provide an advanced level of skiing to compliment the easy and moderate ones that are set year-round. Gruys suggests the Medicine Lake trail.

When using backcountry areas, Gruys reminds skiers to use caution and be aware of the avalanche risk. Keep an eye out at trail heads. Parks will be revamping signage in avalanche prone areas such as Parker’s Ridge and the Bald Hills. 

“Before you leave be aware of the risks and have the right equipment,” Gruys said. 

With the plan set for the 2010/11 ski season, all that Gruys has to do is wait for the flakes to fall.

“Let it snow is the motto right now.”

In the meantime, many of Jasper’s lakes are ready for skating with recent cold temperatures freezing up the water.