The NCC website indicates no fresh grooming. Fortunately this is not accurate. The parkways were being groomed this morning as was Ridge between 14 and Fortune. The part of Ridge that was not groomed was still excellent and faster than the groomed portions. Another great day.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
30DEC parkways and Ridge
Although skating was slow today the grooming was very good. Ridge, from Penguin to Fortune Parkway was as good as I have seen it. Nice and level and much faster snow than the parkway. Ridge was open until Trail 2. The portion after Fortune had more debris but was still good. As expected, the parkways were in great shape.
Later I was in the lower portion of the park. 5, 26, 27, 29 were all in excellent shape.
Another great day.
Later I was in the lower portion of the park. 5, 26, 27, 29 were all in excellent shape.
Another great day.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
29 December Trail 50
When I looked at the first update from the NCC this morning I was disappointed that not more was groomed since yesterday given the heavy traffic. I ventured to trail 50 thinking it would have had less wear and tear. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that it was freshly groomed,. As of this post the NCC site still says it was groomed yesterday.
From P16 to Lac Philippe the skate lane is very narrow but from the Lac to P19 and the trail to Lac Taylor it is nice and wide. Conditions here would have to be rated 10 out of 10.
The narrow skate lane is a problem but it seems this section was groomed with one pass creating a very nice flat surface. I kind of prefer the narrow lane to the Demsis Ridge that was there last year. I expect that the narrow lanes are temporary.
The moral of this very nice story is not to believe the website. Conditions were excellent.
From P16 to Lac Philippe the skate lane is very narrow but from the Lac to P19 and the trail to Lac Taylor it is nice and wide. Conditions here would have to be rated 10 out of 10.
The narrow skate lane is a problem but it seems this section was groomed with one pass creating a very nice flat surface. I kind of prefer the narrow lane to the Demsis Ridge that was there last year. I expect that the narrow lanes are temporary.
The moral of this very nice story is not to believe the website. Conditions were excellent.
Friday, December 28, 2012
P9-P3 + Trail 15
I skated earlier this morning between P9 and P3. It was pretty slow but conditions were great. I too spoke to the guy walking with the sled on the trails. I told him nicely that walking was not permitted. When I saw him there were two hikers together and the footprints continued for several kms.
Later in the afternoon I was on the classic skis and when I saw the crime scene tape at trail 15 was gone I gave it a go. The big tress are all gone but there is still lots of dodging to do as one approaches trail 34. No grooming but well used. You could tell it had been worked on today.
Later in the afternoon I was on the classic skis and when I saw the crime scene tape at trail 15 was gone I gave it a go. The big tress are all gone but there is still lots of dodging to do as one approaches trail 34. No grooming but well used. You could tell it had been worked on today.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
23DEC P16-P19 + Taylor Lake
Growing slightly tired of the parkways I thought I would take my chances on trail 50 since the NCC website gives it the thumbs up.
For classic I would say conditions were fantastic.
However as a skater I found them less so. There was no fresh grooming except from P19 to trail 52. This part was excellent although already the skate lane was being violated by walkers.
I got the impression that the previous grooming was of high quality but it was destroyed by all the walkers between Herridge and P16. This area really needs to be groomed often. There were 3 trees blocking the trail but nothing a few minutes with a chainsaw would not fix.
Rumour has it that a groomer is broken and may be the reason for lack of grooming. Still, an enjoyable day with not as many people out as I thought there would be.
For classic I would say conditions were fantastic.
However as a skater I found them less so. There was no fresh grooming except from P19 to trail 52. This part was excellent although already the skate lane was being violated by walkers.
I got the impression that the previous grooming was of high quality but it was destroyed by all the walkers between Herridge and P16. This area really needs to be groomed often. There were 3 trees blocking the trail but nothing a few minutes with a chainsaw would not fix.
Rumour has it that a groomer is broken and may be the reason for lack of grooming. Still, an enjoyable day with not as many people out as I thought there would be.
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