Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: North Loop, Glide Wax: Summer wax, Grip Wax:
Decided to do a Calvinist run of the north loop (no pain - no gain exercise; instead I had a pleasant day of it.
Demsis has ground and groomed leaving a very controllable surface for skating. I went as far as P9 with a few back-and-forth runs around the bench with complete control everywhere.
I talked to someone who said that he had done the complete parkway loop and that conditions were good everywhere.
The surface is a shallow fine sugar-snow with hard ice underneath which favours skating. I didn't hit asphalt anywhere. Pole tips good enough for hard ice are in order.
Classic would not be too good.
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).
