Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, Champlain Pkwy, #1 (green) (#2 - #24), #1 (blue), Glide Wax: Swic LF8, Grip Wax: N/A
It was a great day for Crust Cruising (to be known as CCing)(thanx for term to Ken Trischuk), for trail skiing, and for Warm Rock Sitting (to be known as WRSing).
Went from P10 via FP to CP to lookout then via #1 to the pond 1 km past Wolf Ridge - spent 2 hrs CCing the pond surface - returned, via #1, to the pond between #1 & #24 - spent some more time CCing and then some WRSing - then reluctantly returned to P10 via #1, CP, & FP.
The morning tracksetting was excellent deep loose sugar snow leaning to powder in the cold spots. It appeared to go all the way - at least as far as McKinstry. On the way back in the shade the snow stayed unchanged; in the sun it became soft but not mushy; where the sun had been it tended to glaze over. The CCing was unbelievably good firm and fast. The tracks looked excellent everywhere.
Via the ski pole test I estimated that, beside the track, the snow depth was about 60 cm on top of the hard base from the January rains. It’s quite compact and should be slow to melt.
Today was as close as this OF (connu en francais comme VBH) will ever get to paradise.
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).
