Spring Skiing
This weekend was an interesting mix of weather that made for some great skiing (yes, our run of perfect bluebird sky weekends came to an end). Saturday was warm and wet. It never really got below zero overnight so I decided no need to rush up at dawn to get to the ski trails. I expected they would be soft and slushy regardless of the grooming conditions…. but I was wrong. The trails had been freshly set and I got onto the Parkway from P6 in cool(+2C), drizzly weather. The track was reasonably hard so I skied up the Parkway to the lookouts. Drizzle turned periodically to rain, freezing rain, sleet and even snow so I got a complete mix of precipitation as I skied along. Made for tough visibility as my glasses iced over quickly. In spite of the rain the trails were holding up reasonably well. After the lookouts I headed down Fortune to loop around the Parkway and here the trails started to get a little slushy. For the most part I expect it was because of the volume of people skiing from P10 and the Doldrums but as I looped around past Penguin (and saw fewer and fewer skiers) the snow actually started to get soft and wet (this time from the rain no doubt). The final climbs back to P6 were pretty slow as my skis sank 2 or 3 inches into the wet heavy snow with every stride. Glad to get to my car where dry clothes and some food was waiting.

Sunday I decided to get an early start as the temperature dropped to –2C overnight and I expected the trails would be hard and fast first thing. The day started overcast and flirted with becoming a sunny day most of the time I was up there… but never totally succeeded. Parking at P10 I skied up the Parkway and out to the firetower along Ridge. This is a favourite route for a spring ski and today didn’t disappoint. Everything was perfectly groomed corduroy out to McKinstry. Just before the Wolf trail I passed 1 skier and from there to the firetower I had "first tracks" on the pristine trail. The forest was really beautiful this morning with yesterday’s precip frozen to the trees like crystal. From McKinstry out to the tower the trail wasn’t groomed but the base was solid with a few cm of fresh snow so I skied on.


Surprisingly this was my first visit to the tower this winter. I’ve skied out to McKinstry a number of times but for various reasons hadn’t gone out the last couple of k's. Today the clouds were just starting to break up as I arrived so it made a nice spot to take a break. The ski back was pretty fast with the track holding up well but things started to soften as I got back to the lookouts. A quick ski down Burma and then back down to the car ended a perfect spring ski.

There is still a bunch of snow up there and only the lookouts have succumbed to the warm weather exposing bare asphalt. Sadly, Tuesday will be the last day they groom the trails. End of the contract year I suppose which is tough to argue with. We don’t usually have so much snow this late in the year…. okay we NEVER have this much snow this late in the year. P10 and P8 were packed as I was leaving so I’m sure there would be skiers interested in skiing as long as it lasts. Next weekend is slated to be close to 20C so even with the current quantity of snow it might quickly become marginal skiing…. We’ll see. I’m sure I won’t be the only one up there when I go skiing in the Park after Tuesday.

Morning sunrise

Morning sunrise
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Got back to skiing this morning. Did a nice loop out of Asticou and up to the junction (photo is from last week). Conditions were good with fresh grooming in the skating lane. It was good to get back on the skis. My leg is healing up slower than I originally expected but doesn't bother me when I skate so that's what I'll do. Interestingly I've developed some spectacular bruising on my leg (almost a week after the fall?!). I now have a patch that is 12 shades of violet decorating my leg.... sort of nice in the current absence of spring flowers.

The snow in town is disappearing rapidly - much faster than I expected but the trails (compacted all season) are still in excellent shape - no bare spots anywhere. They soften up a lot during the warm days but if you time it right in the morning they are hard and fast. As long as they keep grooming the snow periodically the skiing should be good for another couple of weeks. Snow called for today and tonight! Could be mixed with some rain but the new snow mixed with the old could make for some good skiing on the weekend. That said it looks like our great run of sunny, warm weekends is about to draw to a close with gray sky's for the next two days. Ah, well... April skiing - Take what you can get.

Another sunny weekend

Phillippe cabin
Originally uploaded by kenmores

We have had an amazing run of beautiful weekends. I don't think I've seen a single cloud on a Saturday or Sunday since the big snowstorm at the beginning of March. Just pure blue skies which makes for some great skiing weather. This weekend things are getting pretty warm (+10C). I guess mother nature is trying to get things back on schedule and melt up all of the snow... but she's got some work ahead of her. Despite warm days and occasional rainy weekdays, there is still a solid base for skiing. Saturday I did a classic ski along the Pine road and then headed up to Lusk Lake. The trails were perfectly groomed and I practically had the place to myself. As the day wore on the trails started to soften a bit but not too badly and never to a mushy consistency (lots of frozen base beneath the top wet layer).

Sadly I took a bit of a crash coming down the back way from Lusk lake and managed to yank my leg in odd directions. Made for a slow painful ski out and I'll be off the trails for a few days to heal up those muscles that were pulled in ways they are not meant to go... but there should still be snow for a while so I'll be back up there as soon as I can. Save me a spot on a sunny bench!

"Forrest Gump skiing"

Sweet tracks in the warm spring sunshine
Originally uploaded by kenmores

You never know what you’re gonna get. Skiing this week has turned decidedly spring like. We got a lot of rain on Monday and Tuesday and temperatures during the day have been high single digits. It’s still freezing overnight though so the trails are in pretty good shape. I skied Wednesday through Friday and had good albeit very different skis each time. Wednesday morning I got fresh grooming on the Parkways and Ridge road, which made for nice, fast skiing. I was a little surprised to see the trails in such good shape after the rains but I guess the groomers had the same mindset and were out working the network into shape.

Thursday after work I took the waxless skis and went for a classic ski from P12. Thursday was gloriously sunny (+8C) and getting a chance to ski (in shorts) after work in full sunshine is a real treat. I wasn’t expecting much from the trails (slush and slop probably) but was pleasantly surprised to see pristine (albeit a little slushy) conditions. Made for a great ski and a chance to sit and enjoy the sun (at 7pm no less!) before cruising back down. Friday morning I was a little early for the groomers so the tracks were a little rutted and icy but no matter (the groomers seem to roll onto the trails at 7:30am… make note!). It was still a nice ski and I took another chance (perhaps the last?) to ski across a few lakes where I met some of the parks local inhabitants (beavers and fischers) hard at work. I guess it will soon be wise to stay off the lakes as they start to soften but for right now its pretty tempting to cruise across the surfaces which are still firm and fast.

So it looks like spring skiing is here to stay (plenty of warm days ahead) and I’ll have to be ready for whatever conditions I find when I get to the Park. Lots of snow left so I should be skiing for a couple of weeks yet before the April duathalon (walk/ski/walk/ski….) sessions begin.

Going out like a lamb?

Ramparts
Originally uploaded by kenmores

March skiing continues to be amazing. Still lots of snow and today was another perfectly sunny day that stayed below zero. This meant the skiing was in excellent shape just about everywhere I skied. It only got a little slushy towards the end of the afternoon but for the most part the trails were firm and fast.

I skated a good loop today and while the Parkways and Ridge road were pretty busy I still managed to find a few quiet spots to ski. After a warm up on the Parkways I flew down Burma and then - halfway along - crust skied up to the Ramparts (which was a fun challenge with skating gear). From the look of the trail I was the first to ski up there in a while. The crust is starting to get thin and the backcountry trail made it a bit of a challenge but I got to try some rarely used techniques to conquer the descents. The "grab for some trees" to slow down (when moving slow towards a drop off) or "clamber away from the trees" (when moving fast down the dropoff) worked pretty well and then there was the "all hope is lost, make a quick prayer" technique which worked twice (and failed once). At any rate I made it to the top and enjoyed the lookout for a while. I was also surprised to see that someone had recently skied up from the Meech lake side to the lookout... must of used skins to climb the precipice. Nice!

Next stop was the race trail near Camp Fortune. It was freshly groomed and looked like only two people had used it today. Its a great trail with lots of big climbs and fun, fast descents. I guess it doesn't see much use as - like most race trails - it doesn't really go anywhere but just snakes back and forth on itself.... but its a lot of fun regardless.

Tomorrow looks to be more of the same (sunny days and sweet skiing) but some seriously warm/wet weather is headed in for next week. It will change the consistency of the trails but should only go a short way to reducing the snow pack. Should be some good skiing next weekend as well.

Easter Ski

Easter Ski

Today I went for an Easter ski. Its really rare to get an Easter long weekend this early in the year. Usually we are lucky to have any snow at all when Easter finally rolls around. In fact (shuffle, shuffle, digging through facts books), Easter hasn't been this early in the year in over 80 years.... and is not scheduled to be this early again this century. Since I don't anticipate being around for the next coming of such an early Easter weekend I was determined to take advantage of the long weekend to get some skiing in. Conditions have been much the same the whole weekend - a cloudless sky, warm spring sun, cool temperatures with a bit of a breeze and hard, fast tracks. Waxing for glide has not been a problem. I could have probably chosen peanut butter or wallpaper paste for my glide wax and still gotten good glide. These spring skiing conditions are likely here for the remainder of the season with warm temperatures (and sun) in the day thawing the tracks and then cold nights refreezing them. Makes for some fast skiing which is nice.

I took a relaxed ski out to McKinstry cabin today. The trails were great but the crust skiing was even better. I can't remember conditions for crust skiing like this in many years.... just point and go! Through the trees can be a bit of a problem dodging the brushy stuff but when you find an opening its easy skiing. I imagine there are probably spruce traps to catch the unwary but I never got near any spruce trees so no worries on that regard. I jumped off into almost every bog, marsh, pond or lake I could find and, based on the tracks I saw, I was not alone (although I only saw one actual person off trail). Makes for some nice new vantage points of the park and new areas to explore. I even spotted some beaver activity... not the actual beavers mind you but there were lots of signs they are up and about and working hard already. I expect they have probably been surprised more than once by the odd skier cruising past their hole... something they would not likely have seen before (unless they are Frank and Gordon I suppose).

Spring!

Fresh tracks
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Spring may have arrived but it still looks a lot like winter. I got out on a Good Friday to get a little skiing in. Still not feeling great but I wanted to take in a little of the snow today so just a short ski. We got a bit of rain through the week so the tracks were decidely icy (even with the fresh grooming) but not so much so that it wasn't fun. It was probably a great day to skate but I inexpilcably brought my classic skis... which was pretty nice too. The icy snow was pretty abrasive though so I had to stop a few times to reapply wax which was quickly stripped off the skis. I even took some time to do some crust cruising through the woods as the snow (with this weeks rain) had frozen up nicely. This meant no more trails required... just point and go - sweet.

Too much of a good thing?

Taylor lake stream
Originally uploaded by kenmores

There has been some awesome skiing since the big storms came through last week. I've been skiing almost everyday in all kinds of conditions - storms, sun, clouds, rain... we've had a little of it all. In fact, I've skiied so much I may have picked up a bug of some kind and am feeling a little wiped out these days. Time to take a rest day or two to recover.... but the spring is charging fast and I don't want to let the good snow go to waste! Add to that its still daylight after work so I want to get skiing while the chance is here. Ah well, perhaps better to stay (get?) well rather than overdo it and miss out on the spring ski season. We have a LOT of snow so I expect the skiing should be good for some time.

I skied around the Lac Phillipe area on Sunday which was (appropriately) sunny. The sun has certainly gained some strength in the last couple of weeks and the trails were feeling its rath. Conditions were snowy in the shade and icy where the sun got to it. Made for tricky waxing. Probably would have been a great day to skate but I chose otherwise so you have to "run with what ya brung". It was still a beautiful day to be out and I found a few (windfree) spots to enjoy the spring sunshine.

The snowy day

The snowy day

Off he went, into the deep, deep snow(Ezra Keats). The storm of the season certainly lived up to its name. We got 50cm of snow over the last 36 hours and about 80cm in the last week. That’s a lotta snow to fall in such a short time. It’s made life in the city a challenge (thank you 4-wheel drive) but for the most part things are now looking good. This snow allows us to get closer to the record of snowiest winter ever…. But there’s still a ways to go and we’re running out of days. We need 40cm more in the next 10 days. Could be a tall order but we’ll see.

I skied in the Park before, during and after the storm and for the most part, the only challenge was the actual getting to the park. Once there the skiing was fine. Friday I dodged out of work a little early to try and get a skate ski in before the snow started to fall. I was a little late (ie it was snowing when I got there) and there was a good 5 or 6 cms down before I got back to the car but for the most part the skiing was great (on past Wednesdays great snow). The roads and parking lots were actually surprisingly empty but I guess people were hunkering down for the big storm to hit.

Saturday I got up to the Park around noon. There was a brief window in the storm Saturday morning where the snow tapered off for a spell. Many had taken the chance to drive up to get a ski in before the second wave of snow arrived. P7 was pretty much full when I arrived. That said I was a bit late getting going and the snow started to pound down on me by about 2pm. I did a tour of some great backcountry trails most of which had been broken out already. I met quite a few skiers on the trails and every one had a big smile on their face. The groomers were also rolling around on the main trails (Parkway, Ridge, Burma). They were clearly trying to get the first lot of snow packed down before the next layer came. Good on them to make the effort. As the storm picked up I ran into problems. While the skiing was fine, my glasses would either ice up or fog over. Both resulted in the same outcome - that I couldn't see where I was going so I slowly made my way back to the car. I’ll have to see if I can invest in defrosters for my glasses. When I got back to the car around 4 the lots were now all but empty – again I assume people had raced home to hunker down. The drive home was, umm... a slow crawl as the storm was really hammering down. The plows were out but it was a bit of a losing battle so I made slow progress to get home safe. Other drivers did not seem to exercise the same caution and I came across many cars in (on top of ?) snowbanks, crunched into other cars and so on… Seems common sense (slowing down in a big storm) isn't so common.

Sunday I woke up and loaded up to go for another ski. The roads were now cleared so the drive was easy. Once in the Park I found the parking lots almost empty!?! I guess people were home digging out or resting aching shoveling muscles so – for the most part - I had the trails to myself. The groomers had been around some of the main trails and were working on others. Even groomed the trails were pretty (really?) soft…. But that’s to be expected. With so much snow there’s no way to instantly lay down a solid base to groom. As a result things were a little slow. I broke out a couple of backcountry trails which was hard work (or maybe I’m just a wreck from shoveling so much snow) and skied around a few of the groomed trails. It was a beautiful day – a bit cold but the sun was starting to come out making it a nice day to be out. The depth of snow is amazing right now. Should make for some great skiing for the next little(long?) while.

Another snowy day

Mr. King I presume?
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Wow!! Another foot of snow dropped over the last couple of days. We’re now sitting at the 2nd snowiest winter in recorded history for the Ottawa region with over 3.5 m of snow falling this winter. I went out and had a quick ski last night. The groomers had been out during the storm but not since it ended so there wasn’t really a groomed track… but there was a hard base under a thin layer of powder. Bit of a mixed bag in terms of conditions and it turned pretty cold after the snow finally stopped. I did a short loop around the Mackenzie-King estate and Pinks Lake to see what the snow was like. With such a lot of snow we should be skiing well into April but I know things can turn in a hurry and warm weather coupled with rain can eat away at the trails pretty fast. Time to enjoy these excellent conditions while they last. The temperature should stay several degrees below zero for the next week or two. After that – who knows? More snow is called for this weekend. Could be another big dump but it’s a little too early to tell. If we’re currently sitting at the 2nd snowiest season in history, I say we go for the record! I’ll have to have all kinds of skis ready for Saturday… just in case!

Norway Day

Norway Day

Another great day of skiing. It’s getting hard to remember how many great days it's been this season… and March has only begun! Today I skied up to Huron for Norway day to get some vafels and warm solbærtoddy, a great treat courtesy the Norwegian embassy (Many thanks indeed!). Big crowds at Huron today – who’s kidding who, big crowds everywhere! Perfect –5C and blue skies brought every skier for miles out to enjoy the day! Bryan and Mike had also skied up to Huron to sample the Norwegian fare so we took some time to have lunch inside the lodge before heading out to explore some trails. Managed to score a table right by the woodstove which was handy for heating up lunch however keeping track of the tinfoil wrapped sandwiches on top of the woodstove was a challenge as it was loaded up with many lunches. In the end I think we all got what we brought. Always a risk to “upgrade” your sandwich off the woodstove. Tough to tell which ones are better when they’re all wrapped in foil.


After lunch we headed out to ski some of the trails. All the main trails had been nicely groomed so we started along the Burma Road. Usually trail 3 is pretty quiet but today there was a steady stream of skiers heading both ways. About halfway along I tempted the guys to try some backcountry powder so we headed along 12, 11 and 9 to introduce them “gently” to some of what the backcountry has to offer. Today was perfect as the soft powder snow makes for soft landings if things go astray on a tricky descent. They did great though and no one crashed (while I was with them) so perhaps the guys are ready for some more tricky runs… hmmmm. Finally we got on the freshly groomed race trails at Camp Fortune. With Mike making a short loop around, Bryan and I tried the “reverse amphitheater drop”. A tricky maneuver that we both successfully pulled off (although it was a close call for both of us in the final run out). Then it was time for us to part as Bryan and Mike headed north to their car and I headed south across Ridge to get to my own car. On Ridge road it was again pretty busy (did it ever stop being busy today?) but I made short work of it and jumped off for a little more backcountry powder before hitting the Parkway and the ski back to the car. Driving out was no easy feat either. The Chelsea Nordique ski club was having a “year end” party at P5 and the lot was filled with cars spilling out along the sides of the road for a quite a ways. Once in the village itself the heavy traffic had brought out the local constabulary trying to keep some order as happy skiers made the trek home. All in all a great day on the trails. Spent more than 8 hours out skiing this weekend in beautiful skiing conditions. Here’s to March bringing many more days like these.

Powder Day

sunset
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Today was another perfect day but for a whole different set of reasons. March came in like a lion I suppose… albeit a lion treading softly on another 10cm of dry powder snow!! I wasn’t expecting this so I didn’t spring out of bed at dawn but when I did get up I sprinted around getting skis and gear together like a madman and then racing off up to the trails. I haven’t had decent powder since I skied up Whiteface back in November. Got stuck behind a snowplow(with a few thousand other skiers) but finally made it up to a crowded P7. The last few days have been bitterly cold skiing and the snow was groomed into a bullet hard concrete consistency. Very fast for skating but today things were very different. Despite the crowds I was surprised to find I had the honour of breaking trail on Skyline. This is great news to a powderholic like myself and enjoyed some sweet turns on the loop out. Alas from there on I found most of the trails skied in (I guess there are a few more out there like me :-). That’s okay – even with one or two sets of tracks it’s still great fun to ski in soft dry powder snow. In fact I found quite a few people out on the backcountry trails which was nice to see. Lots of families with little kids learning the joys of powder snow. Nice!

I looped out along some of my favourite trails like (name removed to maintain its secrecy) and (name removed to maintain its secrecy) all of which had some great soft powder to ski. No land speed records were set but that wasn’t the point and I spent some 4 hours pickin’ trails and jumping off into the fluff. My only mistake was that - in my haste to head out in the morning - I forgot to check if my camera had a memory card in it. It did not so my camera played a backup role as ballast on my descents (the photo is from my evening walk after I got home). My second mistake was not to bring any food with me so four hours proved a little long to be out there. I finally had to come in out of the snow to get something to eat…. Maybe I should have headed back after lunch? Ah well, once I was off the trails I would have had to come home for some dry clothes and then drive back, find a spot to park, etc. etc.. I’ll head back tomorrow – Its Norway Day - so I’ll have some vaffels to look forward to as I head out into the snow.

Top Notch Skiing

Top Notch Skiing

This weekend was about as close to perfect for skiing as I can imagine. Saturday and Sunday both dawned around –10 or -12C but it warmed to a couple of degrees below zero by the afternoon. The freezing rain we got last Monday proved to be a minor inconvenience and the trails are in just about ideal shape. There was even a full moon this week making for some great night skiing (lunar eclipses aside of course).

I opted for a little roadie out to Murphy’s Point Park to ski their trails on Saturday. I was once a member of the Tay Valley ski club (keepers of the trails) but the couple of years I joined they never had much in the way of snow to actually ski on (a tough reality that probably makes recruiting members a challenge no doubt). This has not been a problem this year. I skied pretty much everything they have to offer all of it in excellent shape. They have some really nice roller coaster terrain – lots of little ups and downs that can be a fun ride if you can keep your momentum going. Much to my surprise – despite it being a beautiful day for skiing – I only came across a half dozen people on the trails – ahhh the country! I’m sure this wasn’t the case on Ridge road!! The grooming conditions were pretty good for this volunteer driven ski area. They even have a short skating loop (I happened to have my skate skis so I gave that a go too – sweet). Made a nice change of scenery for a days ski.


Sunday I decided to brave the Gatineau Park, which I was sure would be pretty crazy with crowds. I drove up to P17 to ski the Wakefield triangle among other things. The lot was pretty much full when I got there at 9:30 but the crowds weren’t a problem at all. The woods just kind of “swallow them up” and I found it to be easy skiing occasionally passing small groups. I used my share of wax today starting with “special blue” wax and working my way through the range (blue, extra blue and finally carrot). As the day progressed, the temperatures climbed and the warm sun glazed up the tracks making for occasional wax stops. In fact I probably could have used another stop for purple (warmer still) by the end of my ski as I had little grip on the last few climbs but I hadn’t carried my full wax box with me (it’s big and metal so it would be awkward to ski with) so I toughed it out. The sun is indeed noticeably gaining strength now. I hate to say it but I fear spring may actually come. I guess it always does but I keep hoping for endless winter. That said, no worries just yet. There are a few good mid winter skiing weeks yet to go and with all the snow we’ve had I’m sure the spring skiing will be good as well.

Loppet Weekend
Well it was Loppet weekend again here in Ottawa.... and of course - for those of you that can't translate - Loppet means "f&**^! cold" weekend. Actually it wasn't as bad as it has been in past years for the newly named (but 30th edition)Gatineau loppet. I made the annual trek up to the park to ski/drive around and catch some of the racing action from various vantage points. Pretty sure this is my 30th year of chasing the ski races so at least I know where I'm going to be in the middle of February.

Saturday was a series of classic races and it dawned with -20C temperatures(not much wind though so that made things feel a bit better). I went to a few spots (mostly driving) to see the classic races. I had scanned the start lists Friday night and was pretty excited to see Lukas Bauers'(CZE) name in the 30k classic race! I suspect (okay I know) it wasn't the Lukas Bauer (current world cup XC ski leader). There was of course a World cup race in Czech the same day. Also, he was listed as starting in the "E" wave here in Ottawa which was probably another clue, but you never know... In the end it was pretty cold standing around waiting for Lukas so I didn't take in the full race. Instead I decided to head off to get in a ski myself. By then (~noon) it had warmed up nicely to -12C under perfect blue skies. I made a tour of some of my favourite backcountry trails enjoying some of the great powder we've had over the last few days.

Sunday was considerably warmer with -11C at the start of the skate race. I made the full tour skiing to the start line and the 5k point before driving and skiing higher up in the park to see the race develop. Ivan Babikov was here and he seemed to control the race pulling a small trio away on the Penguin hill and holding a good gap the rest of the way through. In the end he beat Robin McKeever by a few seconds at the finish line. Being high up in the park I couldn't beat them back to the finish line but I suspect it was a "no mas" sprint.

By lunch time, with a fair amount of skiing under my belt and a Texas low filled with freezing rain descending rapidly on Ottawa I opted to head home and watch the Daytona 500 from the warmth of my living room. We got a fair amount of freezing rain but nothing too severe and (as I write this) its switched to light rain so we shouldn't lose too much snow. Of course this means all the loose fluffy powder we had is now toast. I'll venture up to the Park tomorrow to see what the damage is.

CSM '08
This past weekend was Canadian Ski Marathon time again. I hadn’t really planned to go in it again this year but last years experience with the “low snow, revised route” (while perfectly understandable given the snow we got last year) was not quite the experience I was looking for. Going in a big circle two days in a row was not quite the overland, cross-country tour I was hoping for… so I came back again to get a better sense of the traditional (regular snow) routing.

I didn’t really get enough long classic skis in this year to seriously plan on skiing the whole route but with ample checkpoints along the trails I opted to tour it figuring I would go out and ski what I felt like, enjoy the day and then jump on the provided bus when I felt I had enough. In the end I skied 3 sections a day for a little less than 100km on the weekend.

Saturday dawned early and shaped up to be a perfect day (albeit somewhat overcast) with –5C weather warming up to –1C and occasional light snow falling. I drove to Papineauville and then hopped on the bus for the ride back to the starting checkpoint in Buckingham. Our bus arrived first at the start line and I had 20 minutes to kill before they unleashed us. After testing the wax I got into the starting pen and somehow ended up on the front line of our wave of skiers …and before I could decide this was a bad idea (starting in front of 3-400 over eager skiers headed very quickly for just 2 sets of tracks) the count down was on. Fortunately, on “GO”, a guy two or three places over from me promptly fell over. This effectively blocked most of the herd allowing a couple of us to shoot off for the first tracks and we enjoyed the front of the pack for a few kms. I settled into a comfortable pace and started to enjoy the day.

The snow was great and the trail was in good shape although, with all the snow we’ve had in the last few weeks, the base was a little soft which meant some of the steep downhills had rutted out with the earlier waves of skiers on them. This made a few spots a little tricky. On one steep downhill with a sharp left hand curve at the bottom I skied the turn only to hear a giant Waahoooo!! coming from behind me. Looking back I saw the person behind me miss the curve and launch off into a giant cloud of powder… took him a while to dig himself out but it looked like fun. The k’s clicked along and after the 3rd section I decided, while I could probably ski another leg, it might be better to call it a day and therefore insure I could have another good ski on Sunday.

Sunday was a very different day. We got 4 or 5 cms of fresh snow overnight and the temperature stayed up near –1C. This made for some tricky waxing, too cold = no grip, too warm=clumping and icing. I started with orange (a bit slippery) and then switched to purple wax but it was no go – snow iced immediately giving me huge clumps of ice under my feet. The real savior came from a box of “correction wax” that I haphazardly threw in my pack before leaving home. My Dad bought a few blocks of this stuff at a sports store closing (a real deal!) some 30 years ago (never seen it anywhere since). We’ve used them maybe 2x’s in those 30 years… but Sunday it was pure magic allowing my purple/orange combo wax to grip but keep it (to some extent) from icing up on the climbs. In the end, after steep climbs, I still got a bit of ice build up on the bases of my skis but a quick kick of the skis cleaned off the bases and got me gliding again.

With the fresh snow it meant some trail breaking was required. I had my track skis with me and they are perhaps not the best for this condition. The result was a slower pace and made it a little tougher to pass slower skiers with (at times) only one track broken out but it was still fun. Again I skied 3 sections including the “expert” section. I wanted to see what "expert" means but Sunday it was perhaps not at its “expert” best (or maybe I was?). The fresh snow made for some fun descents which I’m told are a lot more tricky when icier conditions prevail. Again the kms clicked along and before I knew it I was heading down the last stretch. In the final few kms a cold front started to move in and the temperature started to drop. (We had –20C weather Sunday night). This drop in temperature meant my wax was finally working exactly as designed (no more icing up)… and then I was done. (drat!)

Overall this was much more the overland experience I was looking for. Some parts of the trail are great while others a little less inspiring but you defiantly pass over some significantly changing beautiful countryside – rugged Canadian shield hills, rolling farmland, cottage country, carefully landscaped golf courses then suburbs and finally arriving in the city.


Things I learned this year:

· Several handfuls of cookies are an excellent source of motivation/energy to get you going down the trail… unfortunately they don’t last as fuel for more than the first few climbs… therefore carry more cookies with you (preferably enough to get you 70k down the trail).
· No matter how much of a “healthy living“ event you think you are participating in, you are still likely to see someone taking a smoke break mid trail… not sure what the lesson is here… except maybe it takes all kinds?
· Every farm in Quebec has a 40-year-old bulldozer parked near the barn. Of course I didn’t actually see every farm in Quebec but I think I saw enough of a cross section of farms (all with bulldozers) to feel safe in making this a rule.
. Some folks got on the bus in the morning headed to the starting point of the day (and rode it 40 min+ mind you) before realizing they left their skis back at the car! Lesson - try to remember to have your brain with you when going to an early morning ski event.
· Big “scary” hills are a lot of fun when they are covered with fresh powder (I probably knew this beforehand but this was reinforced).
· I have better skis in my fleet for powder skiing…. I should remember to bring them on my next powder day(and make sure they get onto the bus with me).

Busy day on Ridge road

Busy day on Ridge road
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Went for a ski in the park today. I was thinking I might head over to Nakkertok to check out the mass start races but the snow was so nice I just kept skiing and eventually it was too late to head over for the races. It was a busy day in the Park today. Tough to get a parking spot but once I got going things thinned out as you skied further from the lots. At one point I was going along Ridge road(pictured). There were predictably a lot of people along there tough easy to ski through the traffic. Nice to see lots of folks out enjoying the warm weather and fresh snow. Today was about -3C with some light snow falling and occasional sunny breaks. The tracks were nicely groomed from Fridays snow. Looks like we're getting some more rain in the middle of the week. We'll see how much we get and to what extent it affects the trails. Fingers crossed.

Groundhog day...

Powering down
Originally uploaded by kenmores

…and I find myself back at Nakkertok for another day of ski racing. Anyone see Bill Murray skiing the course? Actually this was a whole different set of races this week - Eastern Canadian Championships and I was simply a spectator this time. Quite a few more people this week as well on another stunning day. Mostly sunny with –5C weather although we lost the sun later in the day. We got a dump of snow on Friday afternoon/evening (~ 8-10 inches) so that was probably a headache for the groomers. Fortunately Saturday was sprint racing so they only had to have a 1.2k course up to racing snuff. It looked to be in good shape albeit a little soft but nothing that can be done about that with all the fresh snow.

I took the good camera gear and was armed with some ideas of where to stand to get some good shots based on what I saw last week. There was a pretty good field here. The world junior and U23 championships have been postponed (no snow in Poland) so all the best young Canadian skiers came here instead. Made for some good competitions. I got a handful of good shots, learned a few good photo lessons and enjoyed the ski racing - a good day. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay for the main event – the senior men’s and women’s heats – as I wanted to get a ski in myself before an evening appointment but I’m sure they were well fought. Not sure if I’ll go back tomorrow for the distance races. Tomorrow is Super Sunday and that means I have a lot to do before getting ready for some football. If I do take in the action I’ll post a few pics here as well.

P.S. a collection of rodents said 6 more weeks of winter… or an early spring. Depends which rodent you hold to be most trustworthy as a meteorologist.

Gotta believe

Approach to MacKing
Originally uploaded by kenmores

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?

XCOttawa race day

Open category start
Originally uploaded by kenmores

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.

Weekend skiing

Yellow Tape
Originally uploaded by kenmores

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?)

Post-January thaw skiing

Was it something I said?
Originally uploaded by kenmores

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.

An extra ski.

the T... I think
Originally uploaded by kenmores

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 big traverse - a failed effort

Along the Pine road
Originally uploaded by kenmores

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.

New Years in Ottawa

Bridge "waterfall"
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Took in the New Years' Eve fireworks show tonight. There was an early show - (1857 hours) to celebrate Ottawa's selection as the capital. It was a decent show with all the explosions, cascades, precussion shots etc. that one hopes for in a fireworks display. I may run back for the midnight show... Just a quick post to wish all a Happy New Year.

Christmas ski

Kennedy Road
Originally uploaded by kenmores

I got an excellent ski in on Christmas morning. I went up to the Wakefield trailhead and looped around in the northern part of the park. The NCC has reopened the Kennedy road to skiers after closing it for snowmobiles for the last few years so I went to reacquaint myself with this trail. I looped around to the Lac Phillipe gate and then toured out to Taylor Lake and finally up to Herridge/Healey lodges before heading back to the car. Everything was freshly groomed so conditions were really good. In fact I perhaps lucked out a little bit as - once I got to Herridge lodge - the rest of Pine road connecting the southern part of the park had not been groomed as yet. I guess the Wakefield crews turned around there and went home at that point. There was one open "water hazard" right near the parking lot where the past weekends rain had ponded and not frozen over but it was easily avoided. For the most part I had the trails to myself seeing only 5 or 6 people all day. There were other cars in the lots tho’ and the lodges were pretty busy with skiers having a Christmas brunch. All in all a great ski out - and the sun shone the whole time I was out with clouds rolling in only as I got back to the car.

Almost Christmas

Christmas lights
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Been skiing a lot over the last week since the big storm. The conditions and tracks have been really good but for the most part the days have been dull grey and not particularly conducive(inspiring?) to picture taking. Sunday we got a lot of rain (a whole lot) so I stayed home. It looked a little too perfect for getting hypothermia with cold rain falling. In the evening we got a flash freeze so I ventured out in the afternoon today to see what the trails would be like. The sun was even out this morning but by the time I got out to the trails it had clouded over and started to snow again. The trails weren’t in bad shape (after the rain and freeze) but were nothing spectacular. I chose to skate as I expected the tracks to be hard and icy – and they were. The old grooming contractor often worked magic in prepping the trails after challenging weather to turn them into extraordinary tracks… the new contractor…ummm, not so much… but it was okay and they've improved a lot lately so I'm not complaining. I’m hopeful that tomorrow I’ll be able to get a good Christmas ski in the morning. With luck I can get up there before the crowds arrive with their new skis, new mitts, new toques etc. (not that I’m averse to new gear… hoping for a little of that myself) At any rate tomorrow should be good - the sun is even reported to make a brief appearance. Haven’t seen the sun in a while so it will be good to be confirm that it actually still exists.

When two weather systems fight...

stormy
Originally uploaded by kenmores

We got a little more snow on Sunday… then we got a little more, followed by some snowfall and then a bit of snow. Close to 40cm fell in all and it made for some challenging driving. Actually I drove up to the Park on Sunday morning and it wasn’t too bad at that time but coming home after my ski was a challenge. The storm really started to dump snow while I was out and the plows couldn’t keep up. In several places I faced white out conditions but luckily there wasn’t much traffic on the roads. I skied fpor a couple of hours in the storm making a loop in the lower half of the park. NO I wasn’t the only one out there. I actually met lots of people on the trail. If I could see under their masks, scarves and/or balaclavas I’m sure they were smiling also. It’s shaping up to be a great ski winter. I also met the grooming vehicle. This is the second time I’ve met them in the middle of the snowstorm. Seems strange to me that they wouldn’t wait (and save gas) until the storm stopped dumping snow before heading out to work the trails…. but I suppose they’re the experts (?).

The temperature was pretty cold (-13C and windy) but I stuck to the trees for the most part so it wasn’t too bad. These temperature changes are really putting a stress on my old waxing iron. I use a “Singer – no steam” iron to work my skis. It’s an old family iron that I “borrowed” many years ago. Yes I have been forced to apologise (many times) for what happened to Dad’s shirts after I borrowed it but I didn’t think wax would STAY on the iron…. And besides shiny (waxy?) shirts were briefly in style in the 90’s so maybe I did him a favour. At any rate the old iron is starting to show its age. Time to get a professional grade iron for the wax room.

A Friday ski

Making our way along
Originally uploaded by kenmores

I took Friday off and went for a ski with Mike and Bryan. It being Bryans birthday, his Dad came to town and joined us for the trip. We skied up to the Lusk Lake cabin, had a good birthday lunch and then headed around Taylor Lake. It made for a good ski and the conditions were really good with a few inches of fresh powder down on a solid base. This made for a good chance to spot (and guess at) lots of animal tracks in the fresh snow.

It was an interesting day weather wise. Cold then warm then cold again, calm then windy, light snow then blizzardy then clear... we pretty much had a bit of everything. Never was the weather a real issue though and a good time was had by all.

There probably wasn't enough fresh snow to justify new grooming but it was interesting to see that the snowshoe trail had been freshly rolled while the ski trail was untouched. There were a few other strange grooming "issues" that I spotted under the fresh snow but I am firm in my resolve. Just like Bart Simpson at Camp Krusty - "Krusty will be here!!" - I'm convinced the issues will be corrected. One lady we met was clearly not of the same mindset (and not too timid to voice her opinion to complete strangers) - each to their own. In the meantime I'm really happy to be skiing on December 14th - good grooming or otherwise. Besides a quick pitstop for a poutine on the way home improves anyone's mood.

What a difference a day makes

freighter
Originally uploaded by kenmores

A good nights rest and lots of carbs and I was able to erase Saturdays miserable effort off the books. The skiing went from "wondering if it would ever end" (Sat.) to "wishing it would never end" (Sun.). The temperature had dropped overnight and the clouds rolled over so it wasn't as nice a day but I felt 100% better. Again there were lots of people on the trails today.

I skied up Fortune and out Burma before turning out towards the firetower. Finally I turned back and did an extra loop through the Fortune valley. The tracks everywhere were in great shape. This is probably the earliest I've skied on Burma... ever. Its often late into January before we get enough snowcover to ski it. There were a few thin spots here and there that the grooming machines likely churned up but nothing that couldn't easily be avoided. Ridge was nicely set and they've even taken a stab at rolling some of the black trails so things are looking up. Hopefully I can avoid the mistakes of Saturday (if I can figure out what they were) and keep rolling through the winter.