Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: North Loop, Glide Wax: , Grip Wax:
SKATE: Short run up the Doldrums. Very icy with little grip near the parking lot but quite a bit better as you go up towards P9. Lots of glide of course but control was much improved after the first 500m or so.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Grooming this will be tough especially with the very cold temperatures we are expecting over the next few days. Hopefully the less trafficked areas will have more snow to work with. Having said that, Demsis has always been able to work wonders with exactly this kind of difficult weather changes.
CLASSIC: The tracks were well-formed and most people were making good progress.
TRAFFIC: I am really starting to like this later-afternoon skiing; there are far fewer people on the trails and no fighting for parking.
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).
