Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas ski

Nice Tracks
Enough coverage along the Pine road

Out once again for my annual Christmas ski. Didn't get the big dump of snow which I asked Santa for, but he's a busy man this time of year so I'll let this one slide. Skied out of P16 along the Pine road. Conditions were still pretty nice though - hard track and decent coverage. A few exposed rocks on some of the steep descents but that's predictable so easy to spot and slalom around. Chose to classic ski and the grooming for the first part was predictably poor with shallow and/or washed out tracks from all the traffic that part of the trail gets(need fresh snow!). Beyond the hut the grooming improved substantially and I was able to whiz along with little effort. Took some time to enjoy the view at Lac Phillippe before turning around for home. Saw a few other people out enjoying a Christmas ski as well but for the most part it was pretty quiet. Perhaps folks were lower down in the park getting a quick ski in while the bird gently roasted.

Ski patrol working Christmas day
Ski patrols out on Christmas

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Winter Solstice ski…almost

For years now I’ve debated doing an overnight at one of the cabins in the Gatineau park. Seemed like a good idea and this year Bryan suggested the same so we picked a date, booked Lusk cabin (half price on weekdays!) and sent out a flurry of emails to entice a few more willing bodies – if only to help shoulder the load on the ski in. Most people had their share of excuses and to be fair – a week before Christmas – they were mostly pretty valid but Dave signed on so we had a trio to head in. Another flurry of emails got the logistics set up and on Sunday afternoon we met up for the trek in. Temperatures were most excellent at just a few degrees below zero. Snow level was a little low but enough that we wouldn’t be walking up a gravel track. Things were looking up.
Warm Renaud
Time for a pit stop at Renaud

Dave arrived with shiny new rental skis so I enquired – “you actually skied before?” With Clarksonesque aplomb he replied “No, but how hard could it be.” Perfect! Perhaps not the time to learn with a 30lb pack on your back. The spectacular wipeout he managed in the parking lot didn’t instill a lot of confidence. Actually, truth be told he managed really well. The ski in is mostly flat or uphill so there was minimal chance to strike high speed balletic poses while hurtling towards tree trunks. A few tips from the peanut gallery and his technique was more than sufficient to get him up the trail. A brief pit stop at Renaud shelter energized us for the long climb up to the cabin and the long climb…well even with the heavy packs it wasn’t as bad as I suspected. Cracked the door of the cabin around 4pm and had a few scant minutes of daylight before darkness enveloped our little shelter by the lake. Second longest night of the year (by a second or two) so we had plenty of darkness before the morning came.
Arriving at the hut
Arriving at the hut


The cabin itself is pretty well set up. Half dozen bunks, a supply of kitchen gear, a couple of tables (with benches and chair) and a smokin’ hot woodstove. So hot in fact that we spent most of the evening with the windows of the cabin wide open. Took a little bit of back and forth to balance the heat from the stove and cool from the night air but eventually we got the cabin temperature somewhat less than tropical. A quality meal was put on with contributions from all and a relaxing evening listening to music, debating important issues and occasionally stepping outside to listen to the silence of our location. We were a night early for the full eclipse of the moon but it was pretty heavily clouded over anyway so it would have been a non-issue regardless.
Evening in the cabin
Ensconced in the cabin - time to get some dinner cooking


Monday morning was (perhaps rudely) broken a few times by “work alarms” which of course we didn’t need to partake of. Breakfast and a few emails by some (no names) to confirm that indeed they were “too sick” to make it to their desk today… before the easy ski out. Well, easy for most. Took Dave a few goes to get the hang of sliding downhill but fortunately no damage was down on the early attempts so all went well. Another stop to Renaud found the woodstove dead cold so we spent half an hour getting it going. Just started to warm up when we decided it was time to head back to the car so to the next folks who arrived at Renaud to a toasty warm cabin.... your welcome! Trails were decidedly quiet on this Monday morning but we did meet a few people out and about.
Morning chores
Nice morning to chop a little wood


So a big success for our overnight trek into the wilds of the park. Dave might even come back so his lack of ski skill wasn’t a big deterrent. The packs weren’t nearly as heavy as I expected, the food was first rate, the sleep was most comfortable and stepping outside your door to clip into the skis is always a treat. Time to book another trip in soon.
If Chickadees could smile
Come back soon... and bring more cornbread!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Fresh snow

Nice to finally get out on some real snow after the last couple of weeks of somewhat marginal ski conditions. Add to that that I can ski out of more than just P10 (probably skied more from P10 in the last 2 weeks than I will the rest of the winter)and the season is finally starting to ramp up. Last weekend’s rain/freezing rain event was not good to be sure but we’ve had a few decent snowfalls since and the base is now deep enough that good skiing can be had on the parkways and even the main arterial trails are reasonably covered. The snow is so good that I’ve finally put the rock skis away and brought out the good boards. Hopefully the rockers will remain in the basement until springtime.
Summer entry gate
Quiet summer entry gate at Lac Phillippe

Skied last night out of P19 on a rare evening ski up at Lac Phillippe. Man, it’s a whole lot darker at night up there than in the main part of the park. Of course it’s a whole lot further away from the city so there’s a lot less ambient light to be had. Still, with a headlamp the skiing was fine. Add a little moonlight and you’d have a recipe for a great night ski. Met quite a few more people on the trails than I expected. Several small groups still making their way into the huts for the night and a few folks like me out for an evening ski. I guess on weeknights people still work during the day and then head up to take advantage of the half price fees for a hut stay during the week. Snow conditions were really good. The main trails had all been groomed for classic and skate. The side trails had just had an initial rolling. Perhaps still a little too thin to be doing a full groom on them just yet but there’s more snow coming down tonight so the park should be in good shape by Christmas.
snowy rack
Snowy ski rack

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Getting closer...

Still waiting for a little more base to build up. Apparently the skiing has been reasonable on the Fortune Parkway (inspite of the torrential rains we got last Monday) but from the pictures I saw it looked a little thin. Maybe it was okay but I figured, fresh snow falling as we speak, that soon enough there would be some better skiing to be had.
Not quite ready for the "shoes"
Just a dusting here and a few "water hazards" along the way

Today I took off for Lac Phillippe (skiis in car just in case) but found very little skiable snow. Instead I went for a loop around snowshoe trail 74 (didn't need the "shoes" today either). Interesting to check out this trail – one that was new to me. It takes an unusal cut through the ridge between Lacs Renaud/Taylor and trail 55. I’ve looked up there countless times(from the surrounding trails) but never ventured over… gonna have to go back to check it out again and explore a little more in there at some point.
Tall signs
Tall signs... until a meter of snow hits the deck

Made a quick pit stop into Renaud cabin and found the fire blazing – sweet! Thought maybe it would be too early to luck into warm woodstoves but clearly other folks are out and about even without the snow down. From there it was a quick jaunt back to the car and every step the snowfall increased. Looked almost skiable when I got back so a few more cm’s and we’ll be in business.
Getting there
Down and dusted but still a little thin