Today I headed up to Nakkertok to help out with XCOttawa’s duathalon ski race. The duathalon is an interesting race where skiers race a loop in classic style and then swap skis and race another loop in skating technique. It makes for an interesting race and forces skiers to be strong in (or at least practice) both techniques (and remain calm when they are swapping skis). I was assigned a corner to marshal keeping the skiers on track. For the most part it was a well marked and flagged turn but, as a race director myself, I know its best to have a person actually standing there to make sure the racers make the right turn and don’t get off track (don’t even get me started about athletes missing a turn… I still wake up in cold sweats from that one… argggh). Today the races were run in waves (different age categories) so between races I was able to ski off to other parts of the course and watch some more of the racing action (making it back to my post for the next race of course). My only complaint was that my corner was in the shade (thus a bit chilly). I’ll have to grease some palms to get a sunny corner next time ;-) Actually it was a good day weather wise warming from –12 to –6 with a clear sunny sky.
After the races wound down I took a tour of the skating loop – a fun track. Conditions were really good, as we’ve had a little bit of fresh snow over the last few days. The race trails were in immaculate shape – hats off to the groomer who could teach the Park contractor a thing or two about grooming ski trails. All in all it was a good day and a good chance to see how much Nakkertok has changed since I raced here back in high school. I still recognize a few of the trails but that’s about it.
After the racing I loaded up and drove over to the Park for a twilight ski along the Kennedy road. This trail (53) is rapidly becoming one of my favourite loops. It’s a really nice mix of hills, forest and fields. I got halfway around the loop before total darkness fell. I was hoping for a nice sunset but alas a few clouds rolled in and hid the sunset. With the moon rising a little later in the evening it actually got darker than I expected on the trail but I made it out in one piece. A nice day of skiing (skating at Nakkertok and classic in the park – my own duathalon). More days like this one please.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Nice pics. How does Nakkertok compare to Gatineau Park? It is on the east side of the Gatineau river?
They've got some nice skiing there. Indeed it's out in Cantley to the east of the river. They do accept "non-members" for a day use fee. Certainly makes for a nice change if you've skied up everything in the Park.
Post a Comment