Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: Gatineau Pkwy, Glide Wax: -5 to -10, Grip Wax:
ROUTE: P3 to just short of Pink and back.
SKATE: Pretty tough slog the whole way because of the wet snow and the off-wax. Having said that you could make fairly good progress as long as you don't mind going pretty slow on the downhills.
CLASSIC: You have to have the right wax today. 5 to -5 slipped way too much and then Klister was really grabbing. A couple of people I met in the lot had come back to switch to skin skis which seemed to do the trick. Choosing a good track was key as well and a lot of people were going down the uphill track, and having to work hard at that, even downhill.
TRAFFIC: Lots of people out but, as usual, you would hardly notice it on the trails.
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).
