Kananaskis Country Ski Trails

Hans B. Neumann is a history lecturer at Scarborough College, University
of Toronto.

This paperback is another in the increasingly popular genre of regional
trail handbooks for cross-country skiers. The area treated in this one
is the Kananaskis resort area southeast of Banff, only recently
developed for the Calgary Winter Olympics amid considerable controversy.
This area—known to almost everyone as K-Country—contains some of the
best-groomed and best-maintained ski trails in the Rockies.

Each of the major regions and its ski trails is thoroughly discussed in
separate chapters: Canmore, Kananaskis Valley, Spray/Smith-Dorrien,
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Highwood, Sheep, and Elbow. The
individual trail descriptions are clear, informative, and concisely
graded and ranked. (While the trail maps are adequate, matching
topographical maps of a larger scale would be an improvement.) Each
includes directions on access, a description of facilities, an overview
of trail conditions, and options for alternative routes (where
possible).

Amply illustrated with black-and-white photos showing off the area,
this thorough and professional book would enable serious
cross-country–skiing enthusiasts to familiarize themselves with the
bewildering number and grades of trails in this region long before their
skis are dropped into the snow on arrival at the trailhead.