The Kamloops Outdoor Club has been hard at work improving navigation aids on the Mount Morrisey back country trails in preparation for the upcoming ski season. This project is funded in part through a FMCBC Member Club Grant.
In the 1980s Kamloops Outdoor Club (KOC) created a network of backcountry ski trails on Mount Morrisey and environs near Tod Mountain authorized by B.C. Forest Service, Recreation Dept. (now Recreation Sites and Trails BC). Once Sun Peaks Resort was created in 1994 their permit allowed them to groom many of the Club’s previously developed backcountry ski trails as part of a commercial Nordic Ski Trail network. The Club was left with 19 km of gazetted backcountry Nordic Ski Trails to maintain with their own resources under a separate Partnership Agreement with R.S.T.B.C.
The backcountry Nordic Ski Trails are available for use by all skiers (general public) andW maintained by the Club towards a goal to facilitate safe navigation where skiers stay found.
Aging signage, increased general public use, and a need to coordinate with the groomed Nordic network prompted a re-assessment of navigation aids installed. The Club continues to replace aged, worn signs with new FMCBC-funded ones, add and replace directional indicators, add map-coordinated trail flagging, and other improvements to aid backcountry Ski Trail navigation. Additionally, in collaboration with Sun Peaks Resort, the KOC has been adding new, more visible junction maps.
Recently this fall, members installed new signs and new maps on two popular trails, and re-positioned old signs to assist with way finding. The Navigation Aids Project is approximately 75% complete.
