Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, Champlain Pkwy, #1, #1 (blue), Glide Wax: Swix LF6 over graphite, Grip Wax: Swix blue (V30)
Went classic from P10 to the green water tank on #24 via the parkways and #1. Conditions were good, firm, and fast.
The parkways and #1 were trackset this AM. On the parkways everything is in great shape - both classic and skating. After the lookout on #1 the classic tracks are great; the skating track is variable with good sections and others where there were significant grooves that would last for about 50m - it appeared that there had been equipment problems with tracksetter.
#1 between #3 and the lookout has now been trackset. The classic tracks looked good; the skating looked to be somewhat uneven.
Nothing has been done on #40 or #24 - they’re skier tracked with about 8cm of new snow since the last tracksetting.
For the “real” skiers #18 and #9 looked to be in good shape.
Gatineau Park is ski paradise! The network of ski trails offer machine groomed skate skiing and classic skiing as well as little groomed backcountry trails. Multiple access points allow skiers to access a variety of terrain and scenery.
The NCC offers season or daily pay rates.
For suggestions on where to ski, excellent trail descriptions, photos and maps checkout Michael McGoldrick`s website about recreational xc-skiing in Canada`s National Capital Region (with an emphasis on the Gatineau Park).
