Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, Champlain Pkwy, Glide Wax: , Grip Wax:
ROUTE: Up the Fortune Lake Parkway from P10 to the Champlain Parkway T and then left down the CP about a km
TRAILS: For the most part the parkways were the only option unless you like off-road type skiing. I think Demsis is saving up major grooming until the end of the snow fall and to prepare for the weekend.
SKATE: No grooming at all on the FLP which made for a heavy climb with all the new snow. There was a fair bit of traffic so much of the snow had been tamped down. The CP was groomed from the Gatineau Parkway but not toward the Lookout. There was less traffic there so it was a tough ski because of the soft snow, despite the grooming. There were nowhere near as many leaves as yesterday, but there were still quite a few. For the most part the leaves did not get in the way of progress.
CLASSIC: Lots of classic skiers out but on skied-in tracks. Where the CP was groomed the tracks were clean but shallow. They were fine for downhills on skate skis.
TRAFFIC: Lots and lots of people out with P8 looking to be about three-quarters full and P10 about half full.
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).
