I woke up this morning and said to myself "a man's gotta believe in something so I believe I'll go skiing". The day looked stellar with the temperature drifting up towards zero and sunny skies. There's some "weather" coming over the next few days so it made for an easy decision. I lingered over the morning paper to let the "pre-work ski" crowd get cleared out of the park. Instead I got an alpine start just after lunch (good paper this morning). Once on trail I found the tracks were immaculate with everything I skied on being freshly groomed (is Krusty here?). I'm making a mental note that the groomers schedule has fresh grooming on Monday morning after the weekends hordes of skiers... and so should you... if indeed fresh grooming is what you're looking for. Made a nice long classic ski tour and was just wrapping up when I got a call from a friend. He was busting out of work early and did I want to go for a ski? Yes I did. He was going to skate but as luck would have it I still had my skating skis in the car from the weekend so - after a brief pit stop at the M&R to refuel I met up with him and we skated a nice loop. Fortunately he doesn't ski as much as he used to so I was able to hang on to his pace in spite of my earlier ski. Daylight held for as long as it could (~ 5pm or so) but by the time we were back it was good and dark. Time for a burger and beer.
Hmmm, classic ski + skate ski = duathalon.... perhaps classic ski+skate ski+ burger and beer = triathalon?
Monday, January 28, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
XCOttawa race day
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.
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.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Weekend skiing
Got in some good skiing this weekend. I did a large loop up near Lac Phillipe on Saturday under a mixed bag of weather. It snowed hard, was gray, had some sunny breaks and a few patches of blue sky before snowing some more and then closed with a nice sunset – all at ~ -5C. The trails had a few interesting water hazards along the way (pictured) and a few interesting bumps where perhaps water once was. Still plenty of signs of the big thaw. Hopefully more snow and colder weather will cure that.
Sunday I awoke to much colder temperatures. First thing in the morning it was –20C and I was off to help out with the Richmond road races (5 and 10k runs). I thought it would be pretty frigid but with no wind it was actually quite a pleasant morning (got a free toque out of the deal so you can’t beat that!). With positive energy from the runners I raced home, had a quick lunch and headed up to the Park… but the wind had kicked up so it was pretty frigid after all. As luck would have it I forgot my water bottle (Freudian oversight?) so I made a relatively short loop and raced home to football, a fire and some hot food.
Unfortunately the Park seems to be falling back to poorly groomed trails again. The Parkways and “priority 1” trails are immaculately groomed (showing the new contractor knows how to “renovate” the icy trails after the January thaw) but anything off the beaten path hasn’t been touched since the big thaw – and they’re still recommending these trails on the website. The colder temperatures returned 10 days ago – seems like enough time to do the 1st priority trails and then move on to some of the secondary ones. I find that somewhat disappointing. It was still great to be out but I’m missing Lafleur more and more these days. (Will Krusty be here?)
Sunday I awoke to much colder temperatures. First thing in the morning it was –20C and I was off to help out with the Richmond road races (5 and 10k runs). I thought it would be pretty frigid but with no wind it was actually quite a pleasant morning (got a free toque out of the deal so you can’t beat that!). With positive energy from the runners I raced home, had a quick lunch and headed up to the Park… but the wind had kicked up so it was pretty frigid after all. As luck would have it I forgot my water bottle (Freudian oversight?) so I made a relatively short loop and raced home to football, a fire and some hot food.
Unfortunately the Park seems to be falling back to poorly groomed trails again. The Parkways and “priority 1” trails are immaculately groomed (showing the new contractor knows how to “renovate” the icy trails after the January thaw) but anything off the beaten path hasn’t been touched since the big thaw – and they’re still recommending these trails on the website. The colder temperatures returned 10 days ago – seems like enough time to do the 1st priority trails and then move on to some of the secondary ones. I find that somewhat disappointing. It was still great to be out but I’m missing Lafleur more and more these days. (Will Krusty be here?)
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Post-January thaw skiing
Colder temperatures have prevailed and winter is back "on". As is typical of the snow after a big thaw things were pretty icy. I chose to skate over the weekend as I assumed the trails would be pretty slick. The groomers had rolled over the main trails crunching up the ice and giving a nice surface to ski but the base is solid and icy. Made for some good fast skating. Only the main trail network has been worked on so more snow is required before the smaller trails will be skiable. Up near the lookouts the rains actually washed away most of the snow and there is just asphalt remaining... with a little snow along the shoulders. It was here that I discovered the crust cruising was pretty good. Getting out of the track and up onto the smooth snow (ice?) banks one can ski pretty well - who needs groomers! Actually it would be pretty tough to control the speed on a downhill so this was only good for flatter stretches.
I didn't take too many pictures this weekend but the weather was actually beautiful. I think this was the first sunny weather since Christmas day. The temperatures hovvered just a few degrees below zero. Strangely the trails weren't too busy but I guess most people must have expected icy conditions and stayed home. We're supposed to get some more snow this week so hopefully this will draw people back to the trails (but not too many - I need a parking spot!)
Things were pretty hectic at the birdfeeders though. The birds and squirrels are still fighting over the seeds. No manners at all for this lot.
I didn't take too many pictures this weekend but the weather was actually beautiful. I think this was the first sunny weather since Christmas day. The temperatures hovvered just a few degrees below zero. Strangely the trails weren't too busy but I guess most people must have expected icy conditions and stayed home. We're supposed to get some more snow this week so hopefully this will draw people back to the trails (but not too many - I need a parking spot!)
Things were pretty hectic at the birdfeeders though. The birds and squirrels are still fighting over the seeds. No manners at all for this lot.
Monday, January 07, 2008
An extra ski.
I got a bonus this morning. When I got to work - they were closed. Seems a power sub-station fire had knocked out the power to the whole campus - so they sent us home. After a long day of skiing on Saturday, and another long ski on Sunday.... I opted to go skiing today.
The January thaw started in earnest on Sunday and was still with us today. Temp's in the +5C range and occasional light rain. There was also a heavy fog throughout the region. The fog made for errie conditions and occasional scrambles to get back to the right hand side of the trail as skiers periodically came lofting out of the fog towards me. The trails have held up nicely so far. I skated on Sunday on a solid track.
Today things were a little squishy but still pretty good. I broke out the new classic waxless skis that I bought this past summer. I fully intended to use them on warm March and April days when the slushy snow called for a gooey klister wax (something I prefer to avoid)... but when the January "thaws" hit, why let these skis go to waste. They performed flawlessly giving me great grip and I'd waxed them with a yellow glide so they slide really well too.
Tonight it is raining... hard. Rain called for Tuesday to. Sometime Wednesday or Thursday the temp should drop again to more winter like conditions... and I'm sure there will still be some snow around at that point.
The January thaw started in earnest on Sunday and was still with us today. Temp's in the +5C range and occasional light rain. There was also a heavy fog throughout the region. The fog made for errie conditions and occasional scrambles to get back to the right hand side of the trail as skiers periodically came lofting out of the fog towards me. The trails have held up nicely so far. I skated on Sunday on a solid track.
Today things were a little squishy but still pretty good. I broke out the new classic waxless skis that I bought this past summer. I fully intended to use them on warm March and April days when the slushy snow called for a gooey klister wax (something I prefer to avoid)... but when the January "thaws" hit, why let these skis go to waste. They performed flawlessly giving me great grip and I'd waxed them with a yellow glide so they slide really well too.
Tonight it is raining... hard. Rain called for Tuesday to. Sometime Wednesday or Thursday the temp should drop again to more winter like conditions... and I'm sure there will still be some snow around at that point.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
The big traverse - a failed effort
Today I decided to try one of the big circle routes in the Gatineau Park.... but didn't totally succeed. The weather was near perfect after a cold snap we had earlier in the week. Today it was -5 when I started an it climbed to about 0 C when I finished. The snow (and grooming) were perfect. Tomorrow (and for the next few days) we'll be into a January thaw with double digit temps and rain so conditions are about to change. With the weather looming the crowds were certainly out in force this morning trying to get a ski in while the conditions were still good.
My route today started at P11 and went out behind Meech Lake before cutting over to Pine road and the trail to Lac Phillipe. From there it was up to Lusk Lake. The plan was to take the "lost and abandoned" trail 10 which climbs up to Ridge road from Lusk lake and then loop back along Ridge returning to P11 for a great circuit. Unfortunately it didn't quite go as planned. The trail 10 isn't maintained by the NCC anymore but it does still get skied in by those who remember it - backcountry conditions only. Today the snow was deep and soft - I guess not too many have gone this way this year. My poles - clearly designed for track skiing kept sinking deep into the soft snow making for difficult climbing. Finally - about a km up the traverse trail one pole slipped beneath the surface and broke the tip clean off. With a few more km of climbing before reaching Ridge road I had to make the tough decision to turn back and go home the way I came... with one pole. In fact I was probably ~ 1/2 way around the circuit but the long stretch of backcountry trail (uphill all the way) in front of me would have been a tough slog with only one pole so I opted for the easier route back to the groomed trails. So it goes. There'll be other chances to ski through here yet this winter so I'll be back for sure. The rest of the ski became a great "legs only" workout so not all was lost. Even with one pole it was still a great day to be out.... and I saw lots and lots... and lots of people out skiing who would surely agree with me.
My route today started at P11 and went out behind Meech Lake before cutting over to Pine road and the trail to Lac Phillipe. From there it was up to Lusk Lake. The plan was to take the "lost and abandoned" trail 10 which climbs up to Ridge road from Lusk lake and then loop back along Ridge returning to P11 for a great circuit. Unfortunately it didn't quite go as planned. The trail 10 isn't maintained by the NCC anymore but it does still get skied in by those who remember it - backcountry conditions only. Today the snow was deep and soft - I guess not too many have gone this way this year. My poles - clearly designed for track skiing kept sinking deep into the soft snow making for difficult climbing. Finally - about a km up the traverse trail one pole slipped beneath the surface and broke the tip clean off. With a few more km of climbing before reaching Ridge road I had to make the tough decision to turn back and go home the way I came... with one pole. In fact I was probably ~ 1/2 way around the circuit but the long stretch of backcountry trail (uphill all the way) in front of me would have been a tough slog with only one pole so I opted for the easier route back to the groomed trails. So it goes. There'll be other chances to ski through here yet this winter so I'll be back for sure. The rest of the ski became a great "legs only" workout so not all was lost. Even with one pole it was still a great day to be out.... and I saw lots and lots... and lots of people out skiing who would surely agree with me.
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