Thursday, March 29, 2007

Pick your line


T junction
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
Had an afternoon appointment across the bridge today so, rather then race back to work, I headed up to get in another ski. It was a strong decision and I stand by it. Beautiful sunny afternoon today. I didn't bother with layers of fleece but just went in t-shirt and shorts. Skied up the Parkway, went out Ridge towards Penguin and then came back and ventured a little further up towards Blacks. The snow was pretty good with a few sections of walking. The walking sections are starting to get a bit longer but so far aren't too bad. Quite a few (several?) others up today including a few people at the parking lot who cautiously asked "how far can you go?" when I got back to the car. "Far as you like if you don't mind a few walks along the way. "

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Going, going...


Going, going...
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
After yesterday’s torrential rains and today’s 15C sun I grabbed my skis after work and headed up to the Park to see what was left of the snow. It actually wasn't too bad. The photo shows a thinner section of the hard compacted base with the parkway's yellow line peeking through. Still frozen solid, the base melts on the top (from the warm air) to give a nice texture to hold the edge of the ski while skating.

I skied up from P10 and out to Black Lake before returning with a quick detour up to the lookouts. There was one section of "grass skiing" ('bout 100ft.) but the rest was pretty good and some sections were really good. I took a quick look up Ridge and it was reasonable as well although the steeper descents probably aren't covered anymore.

Unfortunately the rest of the week is supposed to be sunny and warm so those thin patches (like the photo) will start to break through to road... and then it will become an exercise in finding long enough patches of snow to bother skiing. I'll keep plugging away this week. Heavy(?) snows in the forecast for Easter weekend... might not be the end just yet...

Sunday, March 25, 2007


Huron lookout
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
I went up to the Park today with the intent to head out to the firetower. We got some snow last night - about an inch - and Lafleur had done their usual expert job grooming the Parkways but they didn't go out the trails so I had to reconsider. I skiied beyond the lookouts for a ways but decided the new snow was really only effective at hiding rocks and gravel where the base snow has melted through. I had my rock skiis on but there are limits to how much gravel sliding I will do. Instead I came back to the carefully groomed parkway and skied up to Black's before turning back to P10. The Parkways looked to be in midwinter form but the icy base(which is none too thick) was just beneath the new layer of snow.

When I started my ski the trees were all covered in the fresh powder like a nice coating of white icing but by the time I returned the temperatures had climbed above zero and the icing had mostly fallen off. One nice view I had at Huron lookout (pictured here) was some thermal stratification (of sorts) with layers of cloud on the valley floor and high above me while a nice clear layer of sky was open at my level. Further on at Champlain the clouds were spilling over the escarpment down into the valley. For the most part the high level clouds stayed with me so no sunny skies today. Tomorrow it will rain and the rest of the week will be quite warm. I'm pretty sure this will be the last weekend of skiing.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Into the tunnel


Into the tunnel
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
Today's ski was a good one. I did a lap of the Parkway and the snow has held up surprisingly well. These (spring) days the snow freezes overnight and melts during the day but Lafleur did their usual expert job of grooming early in the morning to leave a good surface with enough texture to hold an edge. There were a few bare patches but coverage was complete enough that I didn't have to take my skis off anywhere except crossing the Meech lake road. Today was a bit of a grey day so I have one more photo from Lake Placid showing the culverts that allow skiers to go under the roads beneath the auto traffic. They work great. Snow gets plowed into the culvert and then groomed up for the skiers and we don't have to run across a highway to get to more trails. Perhaps the NCC should invest in some of these along the Meech lake road!
In spite of the good skiing I expect there will only be a few more days of skiing. Temperatures in the teens are forecast for a few days so I'm putting my good skis away. I'll keep the rock skis handy tho' in case we get a rogue storm

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Russian Hill


Russian Hill
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
This is the top of the 'Russian Hill' at the Lake Placid ski complex. The trails were designed for the '80 Olympics and the Americans wanted to show how tough they were.... the Europeans were not impressed when they arrived! The name suggests a favourite spot on the course for the Russians but in fact the Russians made a formal protest that the whole course had too much climbing - a protest that was duely noted and rejected. The Americans then decided to name the biggest climb after the Russians because the two nations were such great friends at the time ;-) Of course the Russians ended up taking (almost) all the medals anyway so apparently they didn't find it too hard afterall.

The trails are mostly one way which has many advantages. First off, when you're climbing a wickedly steep hill you don't have to keep looking up to see if someone is barrelling down on you. Second, the trails get worked in specific to the direction of travel - nice "V's" going up and smooth trail on the descents. I'm told they even designed the downhills to be slightly gentler then the ups so they won't get washed out by people snowplowing down them The descents may be "gentle" but it's all relative. I found them pretty fast (and fun). The climbs can be brutishly steep but thats part of the equation. In some locations, if you are able to use your speed off a descent correctly, you can roll almost right up the next climb.

The plaque in the photo is dedicated to a former volunteer who used to work at this location marshalling ski races. I thought it was a nice touch although I first thought - as I approached it - that it could just have easily been a spot where someone expired. The 'Russian Hill' is wicked steep and long... and just climbs hard up and away from you. I chose to stop and take a picture (not cause I needed to ;-) (no really!)

P.S. Check out the colour of the sky! I didn't make that up either. Today it is raining and hot :(

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Lake Placid timing shed


Timing shed
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
I took the day off and went down to Lake Placid to ski at the (former) Olympic facility. They have an excellent trail network that is maintained at world-class levels. I like to make the trip at least once a year just to change it up and ski some new trails. Last year I waited too long and the snow disappeared before I got around to it... so it had been too long.

The day was absolutely gorgeous but what strange (beautiful) weather I had. I arrived at 9:30 (first car in the lot) and it was 5F. By noon it was 25F and when I left it was 35F (sorry for the units... L.P. is in the States...). It was sunny and cloudless all day so the temperature soared with no apparent front moving through - strange (but beautiful!). The snow was super cold and dry, packed powder when I started in the morning and starting to get slushy by the end of the day. I had 2 pairs of skis (both waxed with blue glide – real smart :-o ) so I had about an hour midday when the skis were rocketships - before that they were slow and by the end they were really slow.

But today wasn't about fast skiing; it was about having fun on the windy trails that zoom up and down. I did a lap of the main loppet trail in the morning (~25k) and then after lunch I poked around on some of the smaller ones and took a few pics. This photo is of a timing shed on the course - a remnant of the 1980 Olympics. This one is at the base of the Porter mountain trail climb. I guess they took split times of the Olympians at the bottom and top of this massive climb to see who could climb the fastest. They could have timed me with a calendar today ;-) but it was still good fun! I’ll post a few more pics over the next few days. As I got back to Ottawa the rain started…. Skiing could have an abrupt ending in the next few days.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

The bridge at Fortune lake


The bridge at Fortune lake
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
Today was a gorgeous sunny day. There was a bit of a wind blowing but for the most part, in the trees, it was warm (-1 to -5C) - perfect for a ski.

I took the classic boards out again and did a tour of some of my favourite backcountry trails. Skyline, Upper Sparks, Western, Pipe dream, even some of Highland.... all the gems. I haven't really had a chance to ski the backcountry trails as there hasn't been enough snow this year.. and perhaps that's still the case. Keeping a sharp eye out for rocks, roots and "water hazards" was the rule on todays ski. Mostly they were avoidable with some care. My skis have been pretty beat up over this season so perhaps I was a little less cautious then usual. I'll just get 'em stone ground down. "Could you grind a 1/2" off the base of this pair to get them flat again please?" ... or maybe I'll just buy a new pair.

Lots of families out today on the main trails (and even a few on the "reds"). The powder snow had been groomed down on the main trails and everyone seemed to be enjoying the day. This is likely the last Sunday ski on good snow. Hints of +17C are in the forecast before the weeks out. That could be troubling for the snowpack (if you can call it that). Still, perhaps one or two more good skis up my sleeves before that rolls around - and maybe one or two after that as well.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Fresh tracks


fresh tracks
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
We got a little storm blow through last night which was a good thing. Most of my skiing this week has been on hard frozen crust which - while really fast - is really really fast ;-) That is to say easy on the uphills and a little frightening on the descents. Today there was a nice layer of powder on top of the frozen crust. We didn't get quite as much as predicted but there was a good 3-4 inches down.

I headed up to the Wakefield trailhead (I was the only car when I arrived at noon!) and headed into Lac Philippe. No grooming (too soon as it was still snowing) but I had one set of tracks to follow. Unfortunately the tracks only went as far as the base of the long ridge climb and then turned back. From there to Pine road I was breaking trail. It wasn't too bad but a little slower then I had expected. Toured down to Lac Phillipe and then decided to head back. Got some nice powder descents and finally started meeting some other skiers as I got within a few k of the car. Where was everybody? This snow isn't gonna ski itself!!!

The long range forecast looks troubling. Double digit + temperatures and some rain for several days at the end of the week. We don't actually have much snow down so it could be a fast, early end to skiing this year. We'll see what happens but I think its time I switched to early morning weekday skis just to be sure I get my fill before spring arrives.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Sunny bench


Sunny bench
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
Today was quite a contrast to yesterdays icy storms. The clouds blew though and I (finally) got a beautiful blue bird sky with warm temps (+1C). Lafleur de la Capitale was heroic in their efforts to groom up the frozen crust from yesterdays rain and the trails were a perfect corduroy.

I did a Tour du Lac up at St Cecile end of the Park visiting Lusk, Taylor, Phillipe and Mousseau lakes along with a few other puddles in between. The skiing was gorgeous and I took plenty of time to enjoy as many sunny spots as I could. The bench pictured is always a favourite to stop at and enjoy the spring sunshine. Almost makes me glad that spring is arriving.... alas along with the warmer days go the gently melting snows. The track was mostly a nice snowy trail but it did start to soften up where the direct sun sat on it all day. That said, for the most part it was fast skiing.

Not too many people up at the north end of the Park. Those I did come across were all smiling tho'. Sunny skis are always a nice experience.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Approaching storm


approaching storm
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
Today was a tough day for a ski but I went none the less. I had originally planned for a classic tour with Mike and Bryan but - with the prediction of an approaching freezing rainstorm - they decided to bail out. It was probably the wise thing to do as the freezing rain made the classic tracks hard and icy - very difficult to ski on (even for Mr. Waxless). When they called to cancel I decided to grab my skating skis and head up anyway. Skating in freezing rain isn't too bad because you tend to ride a little more on the edges of the skis so you can break through any icy crust that form.

The predicted freezing rain started just as I drove out of my driveway but it wasn't too heavy so I headed up to P9 (passing a few cars in the ditch - slow down morons!) and strapped on the skis headed for the lookouts. The skiing wasn't too bad when I started but after an hour or so some very dark clouds rolled in and the freezing rain started falling in earnest. In short order I was soaked and the track was starting to get a little glassy. From there on it was a carefully measured effort. Being soaked meant you can't stop for a break or risk chilling down very quickly (hypothermia style) so I took a nice easy tempo that I could maintain back to the car.

Also a problem was that my glasses iced over - no deicer to clear the windshield so to speak! With Thursdays ski (when my eyes froze shut with a -27C windchill) and today's iced over glasses, I'm getting a lot of opportunity to put in to practice my saying that "I know the trails so well I could ski them blindfolded." At any rate I made it down safe and sound. By the time I got to the car, the surface of my clothes had formed a thick layer of ice so it took me a while to "melt" on the drive home and then a long hot shower brought me back to life.... but it was still fun.

The weather finally went above zero in the afternoon and the freezing rain turned to rain so tomorrow might be an interesting ski. The trails could freeze over or be warm and sloppy in the sun. Spring may be coming earlier then expected.... Hardly seems like winter was here.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Norway day


Norway day
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
Today was bar none the best ski day I've had this season. The snow was, well,.... actually snow!!! Grooming was immaculate and the weather was just about perfect. I skated from MacKenzie King up to the lookouts and did a few loops along Ridge before stopping in to Huron shelter.

It was Norway day today which means good eats served up by the Norwegian Embassy. I got there before the big crowds so I didn't have to wait too long for vaffels with jam and goats cheese along with black current tea. A tasty treat that was the perfect refueling stop before my ski back to the car. The crowds were starting to come out in force so I took my leave and headed down Ridge to the parkway. Lots more folks skiing up to Huron so I guess they had another successful event.

The ski back to Mac King was pretty quiet. It's a little bit of a lonelier track with few intersecting trails and a bit of distance to any of the parking lots. It was such a nice day though so I was glad to have it to myself. Skiing on actual snow was a little more difficult then some of the hard, icy track we've had this season. Takes a litte more out of you to maintain your speed and the climbs seem a little longer but its all worthwhile when the snow is so nice.

Ski tips


Ski tips
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
Today was a mixed bag of skiing. After yesterday's big storm I headed back up to the park to do some classic skiing in the fresh (soft) tracks. It was a beautiful day, 0 to -2C with occasional passing flurries. The skiing (and the countryside) was beautiful - an ideal Christmas ski... oops, we're into March aren't we.

I skied along the Discovery trail with thoughts of a loop but the waxing for these conditions was pretty tricky. Cold(ish) dry snow(yesterday) with a fresh layer of wet, warm snow falling as I skied. This made the conditions perfect for big layers of icy snow to build up on my wax pocket allowing for ZERO glide. I reached into a my bag of waxing tricks and called on a technique the racers are now using. I layered up with carrot wax (-1 to -4C) covered with flouro blue (-4 to -9C). The carrot was perfect for grip on the warm damp snow and the cover of blue wax prevented icing up. So goes the theory anyway.... and it wasn't too bad all things considered. I should have brought a cork to work in each layer of wax but other then that it worked pretty good.

But wait a minute! I thought the rule was you couldn't cover a warmer wax with a colder wax!! That's the conventional wisdom I was taught long ago (thanks Dad) but I guess you need to know the rules before you can break 'em. The racing set are always looking for ways to improve grip vs glide. Sometimes with mixed success - just ask anyone who followed the World Championship men's 15k classic race (fiasco?) last week in Sapporo.

It was still a bit of a battle knocking the ice off the bases once in a while but I probably had fewer problems then most people. That said, everyone I came across (most of whom were scraping ice off their skis when I passed them) had big smiles on their face. Fresh snow will do that to a skier ! In the end I just did a smaller loop and took a few more pictures along the way. A great day out indeed.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Heading into the Tempest


Tempest
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
Today was a rare treat. We got snow. Mounds of it. So thick you could hardly see kinda snow. Bryan, Mike and I headed up to Western Hut for a ski today. An excellent destination on any day but today was doubly fun with gobs of snow falling.

While the storm started early in the morning it had not amounted to much by the time we got to P12. We headed up McClosky in a light snowfall. It's a long slow climb but once we topped out we could sort of cruise (in 3 inches of fresh powder) over the trails to the Western hut. Had an excellent lunch by the fire as the storm picked up speed outside. As we peered out the windows to the raging storm our motivation to go back out into the heart of the tempest waned. It became obvious how hard it was snowing when others arrived at the hut covered in a blanket of snow.

Eventually - food and drink gone - we realized we had to head for home. The snow was coming down furiously at this point and any tracks were quickly consumed so it was fresh tracks most of the way home. The lads gave me the point so I got a few sections of "first tracks" on the descents but I suspect they let me lead to break trail on the flats more then anything. Ah well, price well worth it. An excellent day out and we should be set for a (slightly) longer ski season now.