Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, #1, #24, #1 (blue), Glide Wax: LF8, Grip Wax:
P10 - Fortune, Ridge, 24, McKinstry, Fire Tower
It was roulette, and we won! When we left home, the NCC web site still gave #1Blue a yellow triangle and indicated it was last groomed on Feb. 24. We figured it was worth checking out. Surprise! It was in great shape and looked recently done. It hadn't seen much use, and was uniformly groomed, unlike the stretch of Ridge between Huron and Western (some large snowmobile ruts).
The snow was reasonably fast at 9:00 a.m., and the fact that I even made it there and back is proof that the conditions never did get super slow. The slowest part was when I picked up some klister from a downhill classic track. After wiping it off at McKinstry, things really picked up!
I didn't quite make it all the way to the Fire Tower, but Garry reported that it was "all good".
There are two photos at musicianonskis.ca
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).
