The ski season so far… such as it is.

Not too many blog posts of late. The ski season, such as it has been, continues to tick along. The amount of snow this year has been nothing to write home about but I’ve managed some good skiing from time to time. New Years Day’s big melt all but washed the snow away but little by little we’ve been regaining ground. For the most part there’s now pretty good coverage and I can ski in the evenings after work without fear of naturally stone grinding my skis. I have managed to ummm….“devalue” a couple pairs of skis this year though they were done during daylight hours so I guess that’s my own fault. Rocks don’t seem to have any conscience at all hacking away at my bases so I’ve no one else to point to when I inspect the chips and (brand new) extra grooves. I think I’ve managed to salvage one pair though with some careful work on the bench at home but I may be shopping for skis at the closeout sales this spring.


Warm atmosphere at Keogan lodge most nights
Evening skis have been pretty good of late. Except for a brief cold snap the weather has been pretty comfortable. Most nights I seem to get caught up in the evening “dinner crowd” traffic on the trails as people race into, and then later race out of, the parks huts with a full pack of dining goodies on their backs. Not a big problem really except most of these people tend to wear headlamps and I usually (barring a new moon) opt against. “Why’s that a problem Kenmore?” Well, as I ski past little platoons of diners they all tend to look directly into my face thus temporarily blinding me. The irises of my eyes are naturally wide, WIDE open to take in the low light (which I might add is plenty of light to ski by!) and then - BLAMMO! Someone hits me in the face with a million candle power headlamp and the world just… sorta… disappears into a wall of white. As yet I haven’t skied off a trail or into a tree…or another skier for that matter so I guess there are bigger problems to worry about. To be fair I’d rather see others enjoying an evening ski so I guess I’ll learn to live with it and practice skiing with my eyes shut so I can cope when the “night goes out” (so to speak).


Just don't point your light in my eyes!!
Went for a ski today (during the daylight hours – go figure) after a nice little snowfall last night. Picked the backcountry trails in Gatineau Park and was quite pleased with my choice. Managed to oversleep so I didn’t get first tracks on anything. Not a big deal as it was only 4 or 5cm of snow. I'll set extra alarms if we ever get a big dump of snow! Still it was nice to visit a few of the classic Gatineau trails. Still the odd rock here or there but the ski tracks give you some clues, as you approach obstacles. Previous skiers have veered to the right or left to dodge some impending block of base scouring granite so following suit is well advised. More snow would be appreciated but for now the skiing continues to be fine.


Fresh snow on "Alexanders Road"
Managed one short day trip up to Forest Lea near Pembroke. I’d stumbled on it a few summers ago and had always meant to go back during the winter. Nice little network of trails up there. Not huge by any stretch – just one 10km loop with several short cut trails to make for some smaller loops. Still the trails had a really nice feel with lots of rolling Canadian Shield terrain in and out of woodlots and cut blocks. Bit of a long drive to go regularly but worth the trip to visit once in a while. Planning to go visit a few other ski centers sometime soon so keep watching for upcoming posts on ski trips to come.... Oh, and send snow if you have any connections.


Forest Lea Ski area main lodge - worth a visit