Lead women at the ING Ottawa marathon

Lead women
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos

Well I managed to get through another Race Weekend here in Ottawa. Things worked out pretty well this year. Not a lot of sleep over the last week (seems like the last few months) but it paid off in the end. No one got lost, the course worked well, the weather gods gave us perfect weather (cool and drizzly) and the crowds (runners and spectators alike) had a great time. It's quite an amazing thing to see how big this monster weekend has become. We have a race committee of 25 people who organize the event. Once the weekend arrives this whole mass of runners, spectators, suppliers and contractors swings into action and takes over the downtown core. It can sometimes be tough to imagine there's any control at all in this beast... but it all ticks along without issue. Moving 30000 runners through the streets of town over two days of races is a sight to behold - not something you soon forget.

But it's over for another year... a few wrap up items to take care, a couple of days to catch up on my sleep and then time to plan some hiking trips for the summer.

May 2 4

may 2 4
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

Ahhh the first long weekend of the summer. Queen Victoria's birthday seems a strange reason for a holiday yet we celebrate it with vigour here in Canada. This usually involves a cottage (not important who's) some fireworks (the bigger the better) and perhaps a few beverages. Of course if you're up to the cottage (especially if it’s not yours) then there are chores to undertake to get it up and running for the summer. I got conscripted to help build a new dock at a friend’s cottage near Maniwaki. We spent two days working on "Super dock" and managed to get it about half done. We had several helpers come by to help with construction but this monster of a dock will take a few more weekends to complete. Saturday was warm and sunny but the blackflies were taking a serious toll (I’m scratching pretty bad as I type this) while Sunday was freakishly cold (8C), drizzly and windy (no bugs). Hard to tell what weather was more conducive to productive carpentry? My friend was pretty pleased with the progress. He still has the second half of the dock to get finished but he can putter away with it through the summer - most of the big jobs have been completed. At the end of each days labour there was some good eats (plus a drink or two), a campfire and a healthy sized box of explosives.

I had thought of perhaps making a run to the Adirondacks on Monday to get the first climb in of the season but I was pretty beat from dock construction. With the busy week ahead (it's Ottawa Race weekend coming up) I decided to stay home and relax. Much to do in the next few days…

Evening ride

Evening ride
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

The mountain bike trails are open once again for another season of riding. I grabbed the bike after work and went up for a ride. I've been riding on the road a little bit this spring but facing the short but very steep pitches of mountain bike trails is always a bit of a struggle first time out of the box. I managed to ride up everything (sometimes pretty slowly) but I didn't go for the truly steep trails (not yet at least). I'll get a few more rides under my belt before I go for the steep and deep trails. It was actually surprisingly cool out tonight. Single digit temperatures seem to have discouraged the bugs completely which was a nice treat. Two weeks ago they were getting pretty active but the cold has curtailed their activity. Stopped at the Wattsford lookout to take a picture of the evening light spreading over the city in the distance.

The end of a good hike

The end of a good hike
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

After Sundays great hike up the Eardley escarpment, Mike, Bryan and I couldn't restrain ourselves and headed back on Monday afternoon for another hike. Spring is the best time of year to hike - cool weather, no leaves blocking the views and no bugs. Well.... that last one seems to be coming to an end. Todays hike had the black flies out and a little more focused on their mission. They still weren't biting much but they were certainly starting to swarm around us. At the end of the hike we found a great spot on the edge of Lac Carmen and the cool breezes kept the bugs at bay.... but soon they will be stronger, highly motivated, organized blood sucking machines. As I mentioned yesterday it will only be for a short period so I'll let them take over the Park and soon enough they'll start to die off. It's kind of like fall colours... the "leaf peepers" come out, race all about in a flurry of activity and take over the Park - but you give them their 2 weeks and they start to dissappear again. Patience

Trash out

trash out
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

A couple of back to back hikes in the Gatineau's as spring starts to take a stronger hold on the situation. Sunday I went for a climb with Mike and Bryan up the Eardley Escarpment just below the Western ski hut. Well,... we didn't actually know that was where we would end up but as the trail got steeper and we entered a rockfall below the cliffs, we could hear voices above us... and it wasn't angels. Turns out the trail we had chosen climbed through the rocks to the base of the cliff that Western Hut sits on. As we got to the top there were several large groups having lunch and enjoying the day. Guess they took the easier trail from Champlain lookout. It was a great day to be out but I fear spring weather is about to change as the blackflies were starting to make an appearance. They weren't biting just yet but they were flying around so it won't be long before the woods become an unpleasant place to be - for a short while. Usually blackfly season is only 10 days or so... but then the mosquitoes come out... and then deer flies... and then I suppose the snow arrives so perhaps I should look on the bright side.

It also became apparent we were approaching civilization on our hike as we discovered a lot of trash in the rockfall below the hut. I assume it had been chucked over the cliff from the hut. Lots of beer and pop cans, a fair amount of broken glass, old buckets, signs and even a fire extinguisher. In the photo, Bryan is demonstrating how the trash arrived in this spot. We decided to take the extinguisher home with us. I have access to a "hazadous waste" collection at work so it would be best to properly dispose of it rather then leave it to decay in the woods.

Spring colour

daffodils
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

It always amazes me how quickly the spring colours come in. After four or five months of a monochromatic landscape the grass turned really (really!) green in the last few days. Also, these colourful plants start popping up adding splashes of colour everywhere. I'm sure, for the most part the colour seems dramatic because everything has been black and white (and salt stained) for so long. The grass is probably no greener then it will be in June, July or August.... but it seems really intense right now after the winter.

On another note, I thought flowers turned their heads towards the sun. These daffodills seemed to be pointed in almost every direction regardless of the sunshine..... strange. I found them at the side of the freeway so perhaps some of the flowers were put off by the traffic noise and exhaust and had turned their backs in disgust in spite of the sun.

Open Parkway

Open Parkway
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

It was a pretty wet weekend but the sun finally came out on Sunday after lunch. I went for a ride in the Gatineau, hoping for some quiet roads with the parkway gates still closed from ski season... but it was not to be. I guess the spring cleanup of the parkways has been completed and the NCC opened the gates to motorized traffic for the season. It was pretty strange being up there with cars and motorbikes screaming around. For the last few months the Park has been so peacfully quiet - skiers are a relatively quiet bunch. Now the park echoes with high revving motorbikes who treat the Parkway as their personal Laguna Seca speedway (most cars seem to obey the speed limits). The racing motorbikes is nothing a few RCMP speedtraps won't cure (a spring ritual and I believe a real RCMP moneymaker ;-) but the cars are back on the roads for the season I suppose. Two more weeks before the trails are dried up and open for mountainbikes. I suppose I can wait that long.

Marathon course measurement

course measurement
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

This morning was course measurement time. As part of my duties as co- route coordinator to the National Capital Marathon I get involved in the measurement of the race course for the upcoming marathon. Today we headed out to certify the new course to the correct distance. This is done on bicycle with a calibrated instrument attached to the front wheel. The riders ride the full route and must ride the tangents (shortest distance) through all the curves. This sometimes requires riding on the left hand side of the road and drifting back and forth as the curves of the road dictate in order to get the shortest (straightest) line which the runners will use on race day. To do this safely we hire two police cars to drive as our escort - protecting our pack of riders from any early morning traffic. In theory it sounds easy but most motorists we meet at 6am aren't ready to deal with a fleet of squad cars (sometimes on the left) with lights and sirens blazing. In a few cases they panic and do strange things. Pictured here is the "hand off" from Gatineau police to Ottawa police as we cross the border back into Ottawa. It wasn't too smooth and a few cars leaked into our group... but Ottawa police quickly neutralized any movement and we were soon on our way again.

From a riding perspective its one of the nicest (safest) rides I've ever taken. We ride wherever we want and the police cars lead the way - traffic rules be damned! It's a bit pricey but if you get the opportunity, I strongly recommend it.

Barn near the Luskville falls

Barn near the Luskville falls
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

Today I took what is becoming a spring tradition - the hike up to the firetower along the Luskville falls. It was the first really warm day of spring today (20C) with a cloudless blue sky. Perfect weather to make the climb. This hike is a great warm up to a summer full of hiking/climbing that lies ahead. A few steep pitches but never too long. Just enough to get the heart rate up and remind you that going up hill is hard work. Mike, Bryan and I went up to the firetower on the main trail and then descended (bushwhacked) closer to the climbing crags on the way down to watch some rock climbers in action. A great hike.

Some of you may be wondering what happened with the last big snowstorm Monday. Well it did snow a bunch (close to a foot) but the grooming contract had expired so there was no compaction of the trails. Many people went skiing anyway and made their own track but I decided against it. This storm exposed a weak link in my ski fleet. I wasn't prepared (for one or two days in April) to put klister on my classic skis (perhaps pure laziness on my part). What I need - for just this condition - is a pair of waxless skis. Hmmmm, perhaps I need to review some online ski shops and see if I can add another pair of "boards" to the fleet. It would be silly to miss out again next year should this or other conditions present themselves. I promise to be better prepared for next year. In the meantime I await the first snows of November... and start work on the summer climbing

April skiing

April skiing
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

Well I managed to finally get some April skiing in. I was more or less commited to go south (yes south!) this weekend to find some snow. Word had it there was some good skiing to be had in southern Vermont and I was going to check it out but, with the car half loaded, it snowed here... a bunch. I decided to save some gas money and ski at home instead. We got 10 - 15cms of snow in the Park on Thursday and I went out Friday after work (in a soft drizzle) and again Saturday morning. The new grooming contractor had been out to groom the parkway from P10 up to the lookouts. They even groomed a classic track. The snow was wet and soggy - a little mashed potatoe like - but perfectly serviceable and I had a good ski both days. Used good skis and didn't scrape through to asphalt once. There were quite a number of people up.... okay only a few, but it is mid-April. The weatherman is calling for another "heavy snowfall warning" Sunday night.... Here's hoping the Northern Pikes are right - Snow in June, It happens all the time....

Spring Parkway

Parkway
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

Went for an Easter ride today. For those looking for snow - it's still there, but we certainly didn't get the 3 foot snowstorm I was hoping for. There are now only a few stretches of snow on the parkway. They only last for a few hundred meters each so skiing would be a lot of walking. To my surprise I only saw two other cyclists in the park... I guess they don't like to walk either. Actually I was able to quite happily ride over the snow so it didn't slow me down much.

Cold and murky weekend. It was actually snowing the whole time I rode today but nothing really accumulated. I had full winter clothing on as it never got above freezing. It was nice tho' to get out and stretch the riding muscles. Some of them have been dormant for a while.

last ski

Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

I went for what will probably be the last ski this season on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day and the snow - where I could find it - was great but the walks between sections of snow had grown surprisingly long overnight. I stuck to the Parkways and enjoyed the warm sunshine. Not a great ski but a nice day to be out regardless. Lots of people up enjoying the day with a little skiing and then partaking in Lafleurs' (farewell) season ending picnic. Lafleur won't be back next year so their expert grooming will be missed - hopefully the new contractor can fill their big shoes.

Today was mostly overcast and rainy so I took the rock skis in and cleaned them up ready for next year (or Easter weekend if we get a sudden 2 ft dump of snow... it could happen!).

Pictured is one of the poorer sections of snow. The skis were willing but the owner is perhaps turning his thoughts to the next season. Mud season will perhaps limit the amount of climbing to be done for a little while but the bike has been lonely... and there's this event I'm involved in just 8 weeks away which should fill my time.

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. "

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...

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.

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

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 :(

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.

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.

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.