Steve and Sandy lead the tour to Molar Meadows on the weekend of December 18-19. The temperatures were seriously cold, the forecast was optimistic as were the hardy skiers who showed up no matter what. (We booked that hostel bed and made that potluck dish and it is Alberta winter after all….) The hostel parent had changed since our last visit and most of us noted the hostel had been spiffed up, especially in the kitchen.

Considering the temperature we decided on a late start; it was very close to the longest night or the year, the moon was full, the sky clear and did I mention it was cold? We woke to -28 and decided to make the best of it. I had all my layers on. The saving grace was lack of any wind.

We split into 2 groups after we made it up the first hills , with a few stops for correcting waxes. What do you put on for -28? Margo and Karen took the group who wanted to reach the meadows; Ron hiked Heart mountain the day before and politely slowed his pace to keep them company .Jeff and Debby had new skis to play with; George was on his first trip of the year. The turnaround was just shy of the meadows.

Even though it warmed up briefly during the afternoon, Steve and Richard could not keep their feet warm enough for safety and the second group turned around at the campground. Nancy, Sue and Sandy were ok with returning to the hostel for some hot food and to thaw out. They skied out by themselves after lunch to the river, where Sandy stepped into a bog and thoroughly iced her skis, boots and bindings.

We shared the hostel with 3 other groups. One had the sauna running and it was well appreciated. We had the second supper shift in the kitchen and as always had an awesome potluck. We decided on Glacier Lake for  our Sunday ski. The temperature was again -28, and we all went home early with an unexpected free day.