Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: Gatineau Pkwy, #27, Glide Wax: Swix LF8, Grip Wax:
A short skate from Asticou to Relais Plein Air via Gatineau Pkwy and #27 and back. Unusual conditions - two cm. of snowball snow on top of a hard base. For skating it was good with a fast glide; however, the snowball snow didn’t track as well as real snow - perhaps it’s just that I’m not used to it. The classic tracks were quite fast when double-poling; with the sheen at the bottom of them I expect that grip would be best with fish-scales or hairies or viewed as a “waxer’s challenge”.
In spite of the mugginess of the weather you can have a pleasant day.
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).
