Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, Champlain Pkwy, #1, #1 (blue), Glide Wax: LF4, , Grip Wax:
I concur with a lot of what Ron reported.
It was a great day for classic skiing....fresh grooming in the afternnon on Fortune to Champlain lookout as well as on Ridge toward Mcinstry.
But I was skating....totally different conditions....hard, icy, slick surface on Fortune and Champlain parkways...the skating lane had not been groomed.
There was grooming for skaters on ridge....especially past # 2. But with the cold, it was very hard, abrasive and fast.
I had one fall due to inattention on a flat section....man, that is one hard surface!!
One big disappointment: a fellow skater had chosen to glide across the classic tracks on Champlain and Fortune to get to freshly groomed and softer snow! What a shame!!!
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).
