Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: #53, Glide Wax: Swix Universal, Grip Wax: Swix Violet and Swix Red
Arrived at P17 intending to ski #52 but found no classic tracks even though the NCC website indicated recent grooming (26hrs ago). No big deal, continued on #53 but the groomed classic track ended at the junction of #51 which is now closed. Track conditions varied from nicely groomed to crusty, icey ruts to wet snow mainly in the sunny open areas. Dirt and bare patches are starting to appear and piles of debris left over from the December ice storm cleanups. Not a great ski overall mainly due to poor wax choices on my part (used violet and then red when clearly klister was the order of the 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).
