A final shot from the Keskinada. Once all the elite skiers speed by, the string of racers just keeps coming. I think there were 500 (+/-) racers in the 53 km event. By this point (~40km) they've become a great big string of humanity through the trails of the Park. The day had actually become quite nice by this point and I was going to go skiing myself.... but everywhere I turned there were ski racers plugging along and I didn't want to get in their way. Instead I went home and watched the Daytona 500!! Tomorrow I should have the Park all to myself to go skiing. All these folks will surely take a rest day... maybe two!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
elite women
Another shot from the Keskinada ski race. This one was taken at the 37km mark. Here two of the elite women were battling for 3rd place. Women have a tough time strategy-wise in a big ski race like this. They get started with all of the men (a couple of hundred in the elite group) and therefore have a much tougher time keeping track of their competition. The organizers try to help out by giving them coloured race numbers. At least then if they get a long straightaway they can look to see if there are any other women up ahead (or behind).
Asticou
Spent this Sunday chasing the elite athletes running in the Keskinada loppet in Gatineau Park. This 53km ski race is an annual event round these parts. As luck would have it the race seems to fall on the coldest day of the year and this year was no exception. Saturday's races were pushed back (and shortened) when the 9am temperature read -22C with a windchill of -32C. Unfortunately no one told me they had shortened the course and so I skiied up into the far reaches of the park and waited... but no one came! Actually, it became clear that they weren't coming when I found that the aid stations and course marshalls were not at their posts.... but I still had a cold ski in to find this out. Sunday's races went off as advertised (only -17C at the start) but I had made some inquiries before skiing out to find them.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Snowshoeing
I went snowshoeing with Mike today. First time on snowshoes and it was an interesting experience. We used a geocache (Penny Line) as an excuse to head into the bush and try out these rental "shoes". As someone who has spent many years with skis on my feet, using snowshoes opens up the woods dramatically. You can point them any direction and just go! No need to follow the "trail". Up that hill? - not a problem. Across that pond? - of course! Mike and I are both debating getting into some winter peakbagging so this was our first stab at walking with the "shoes". Seemed to go smoothly although the snow was so hard and frozen we could probably have walked on the flats with just our boots. That said, the crampons on the bottom of the snowshoes make for some excellent traction when going up or down steep hills. I'm sure softer snow would be a different challenge but I label this outting a success. We'll have to try some bigger vertical hikes to see how maintaining your body temperature in winter works out. In summer peakbagging you can sweat up a storm as you labour up the mountains but in winter... "you sweat, you die!".
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Spectators
Another stop along the CSM ski trail. These horses were having a great morning. They would stand transfixed watching the skiers. During a break in the action, one of them - a troublemaker no doubt - would press against the electric fence (to make an escape?). Of course (s)he would get a mild shock and sprint off around the paddock stirring all the horses to chase him. With the arrival of more skiers, they would return to their vantage point. I can only assume they would have been waving if they could. Perhaps they would have liked to follow the skiers to Montebello?
A pit stop
Spent the morning chasing (in my car) the Canadian Ski Marathon trail. Took a few photos along the way. At first light it was brutally cold but by mid-day it was quite pleasant. This photo was at an unofficial pit stop - of which there are many. The trail passes over a large number of farmers property - right up to their houses (with permission) - and the locals set up a water station and greet the 2000+ skiers. As this is the 40th year for the CSM I guess it's well entrenched in the local community and they make a day of it. At the official pit stops organizers have hot food, fires, ski waxing stations and lots of friendly faces (as well as buses home if you've had enough). Enough to make you want to stop sking and spend the afternoon - but there's a time cutoff to make so the skiers make short stops and then ski on.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Womens leaders
Another shot from the Eastern Canadian XC ski Championships at Nakkertok. The 2 womens leaders swapped the front spot throughout the race before Tara Whitten (currently seen here in second) outsprinted Shayla Swanson for the victory. I was somewhere in the woods when they sprinted to the line... but I'm told it was a good sprint. I read a post that suggested the top women seemed to be racing around the course as if they were on ball bearings (fast, fast, fast) but I'm pretty sure they were on snow like the rest of the competitors.
The McCarthys on Montee McCarthy
Sunday Feb 5 - Spent the morning at Nakkertok watching the Eastern Canadian XC ski Championships. A very warm day(+1 - +5C) - reminiscient of April not Feb. - but the rains held off and the racing was good. None of the truly top flite Canadian XC athletes were here today - they have some races coming up in Italy I think ;-) - but the ones that were here looked pretty swift. A tough little course that had a couple of big climbs and some slushy, but fast, descents. Typical race course that was serpentine through the woods. Allowed me to walk around the course and see skiers at many different points along the way. Over 500 skiers took part in a variety of age group races. Here, the McCarthy brothers (Tom and Ed) push up one of the big climbs of the day - a family namesake.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
On the Shores of Lusk Lake
Part of my ski tour on Jan 21st took me up to Lusk lake and the cabin on the shore. A great spot to stop for some lunch or perhaps to rent the cabin for the night and do a sleepover.
Lac Phillipe
A more seasonal appropriate photo. This one was taken after a major snowstorm blanketed the capital. I skiied most of the day under somewhat gray clouds but when I got back to the parking lot... the sun broke out. This was one of the best photos of the day - on the access road to the parking area. Go figure.
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