Spring skiing

As often happens this time of year I fall behind as the switch from winter to summer activities transition quickly and there is a long list of to do items to be taken care of. To step back a few weeks… The spring ski season was really quite good this year. The season itself was long – starting in mid November and having decent snow until the 20th of April for me. That’s a pretty good stretch for sure and a rarity over the last few years. Wrapping up a successful season of grooming As luck would have it I managed to get out a good number of spring days to enjoy the sunshine and the snow while it lasted. Often I get 1 good day of warm temperatures and sunny sky’s but this year there were lots of opportunities. A favourite spot to enjoy the sunshine The crust cruising was somewhat short but I did manage one magical morning where the crust was just right. For the uninitiated, when the warm sun repeatedly melts the top layer of snow… and the cold nights refreeze that layer several times – the result is a solid crust that one can ski on anywhere the will takes you. While westerners have huge open slopes, we in the east get to zip through the bogs and open hardwood forests. It’s a remarkable feeling of freedom and takes you into some areas of the forest that are otherwise inaccessible the rest of the year. I got one such morning and I explored the back bogs and hopped from one remote pond to another. Its always interesting to stumble out of the woods onto a main trail and often takes a few minutes to figure out just where the heck you have arrived as the angles look suddenly different. Soon enough though I get reoriented and, zoom – back into another opening in the trees and off to find somewhere else unexplored. Like all good things though, as the sun gets high the crust starts to soften… and you have to work your way back to the trails as your skis start to break through lest you be stranded deep in the woods until the snow melts completely. The crust cruising canvas - any line you like! Finally, after a number of good spring trips, the trails started to break up and the inevitable “portages” opened forcing me to walk sections. Once these portages open up its usually not long before the snow is gone completely. I skied on the 20th of April and then rode a lap of the parkway on my bike 4 days later (with a few short snow portages to contend with). Snow starting to get pretty dirty in the trees Uh-oh... looks like the sun is setting on the season So summer pursuits have begun and the sudden hum of blackflies is actually starting to lightly fill the forest. Mountainbike trails will open next week and the even the high peaks have started (more slowly) to release their grip on winter. Race Weekend is fast approaching and I have endless paperwork to catch up on before race day arrives. One side benefit to working the races is that I got invited to a first screening of tRANscend and a chance to meet and greet the right honourable Wesley Korir who will be running (very fast!) in Ottawa. The movie will be playing at the race expo this year but we - the "staff" - got a sneak peak. More details can be found here and it is a most excellent film indeed. Well worth checking out if you are a runner or into endurance sports in any way shape or form. If your not in Ottawa on the Race Weekend then a wider release will be held in the fall. Sometimes May goes too fast as a result but there should be lots of time to ride, hike and generally enjoy the summer approaching. Hard to imagine I skied here just 2 weeks ago...