I'm writing this report because it's clear conditions today were far better in the center of the park than near Asticou. I only had time for a couple of skate-ski exercise laps of the Doldrums, but conditions were great and it was a most enjoyable ski. First of all there I would guess Chelsea received over 8cm of fresh powder in the past 24 hours, while east Ottawa has perhaps a couple of centimeters of melting slush. The Doldrums had been freshly groomed, but skier traffic was starting to compress the skate lane flat by 10AM. However, glide was still great and control excellent- it was easy to focus on technique and one-skate up the shallow North Loop hills. P8 was busy but not full. My hunch is the best skiing this afternoon will be up on the ridge west of the Champlain Lookout. With luck up high the temperatures will stay cold and the snow powdery. Enjoy!