Jan 27-Trail 50-not so good

A few weeks ago I reported that grooming was fantastic on trail 50 but alas it was not the case today.

I left P16 at about 9:30 for a nice skate.  There was fresh grooming with some ridges but overall it was ok.  Unfortunately the groomer at turned down 36 and there was no fresh grooming between 36 and 52.  For this  stretch it was skied-out and rutty with a trough about 2 or 3 feet wide running down the middle.  The trough was not very deep but still there should have been fresh grooming.  After 52 there was again some grooming.       Unfortunately it was quite poor with the same kind of trough but now it was deeper.  It was like this all the way to P19.  The trough meant that the effective skate lane was very narrow.  This same type of sub-par grooming was in place on 55.  Overall the grooming for skating was not very good.  The tracks looked very good, so for my diagonally minded friends they would have had a great ski.  Its too bad that such a great trail on such a lovely day cannot have quality grooming to match.

Jan 25

Left P3 around 12:30.  It didn't look there was any fresh grooming until I got onto #5.   It was very freshly groomed.  At the bottom of Pink the big groomer was heading up the hill.  The Gatineau Parkway, Penguin and Ridge were all very well groomed. The Champlain Parkway was also excellent.  It seems that the only area that didn't have fresh grooming was the Parkway at the bottom of Pink to P3.  Not sure if it was groomed much earlier today and was just that much firmer?  I saw 3 or 4 groomers this afternoon so everything should be in good shape for tomorrow.

Jan 20 P16-P19

For several years I have been frustrated by the poor grooming on trail 50.  This is a great trail but for some reason it has been a challenge keeping it in good shape.  Today was different.  As far as skating was concerned the grooming was as good as I have seen it in several years.  The grooming was also good on 55 and 54.  (54's overall condition is only fair with a lot of debris)

Leaving from P16 the tracks may not have been all that great and I think that had to do with the time it was trackset.  The tracks improved with the double pass imparted by the groomer coming back from #36 and then the other one coming home from #52.  After the junction with 52 all the way to P19 the tracksetting looked very good.

Even though the skate grooming was excellent the conditions were not ideal with the track becoming more challenging as it froze.  Coming back to P16 I was warned that people were crashing on the hill and several were walking.  I elected to give it a go and was successful until I hit the area beside the field.  A very large gust of wind made me fight for balance with the net result seeing me on the ground.  First crash this year after about 650km.  No harm done and it might have entertaining for the small crowd at the head of trail who saw it.

If they get out there again and till the ice we could have excellent conditions this week even though we will be in a deep freeze.

Jan 19 - A tough slog in the morning

Left p6 around 8:30 and headed south to loop around and come up Penguin.  One skate lane had been put into place several hours before.  There did not seem to be any recent grooming on Penguin itself nor on Ridge although the trees kept the snow depth managable.  After Champlain the snow became difficult, 1B had not seen too much activity.  Coming back to P6 from Champlain along the parkway was ok as this area seemed to have been groomed at some point very early in the morning.  Overall it was a slow and in some places tough slog.  As I was passing over bridge at p5 I could see a groomer on the parkway.

Early tomorrow should be fantastic

A cold Jan 18

Today I thought I would give classic a try.  I left from P10 around 1:30pm.  By then there was fresh grooming on the FP and Ridge all the way to #24.  The grooming on Ridge and particularly 1A and 1B was excellent.  Still lots of sticks stuck in some of the classic track so one must be attentive.

Jan 17-Fortune, Penguin-#24, North Loop

Some days we have been pleasantly surprised by fresh grooming even though it was not reported on the NCC website.  Unfortunately today was not one of those days.  Still, conditions were not bad with fine powdery snow atop a very hard packed base.  In some cases the snowmobile traffic improved conditions, in others it made it worse so it was a breakeven proposition.

Jan 16

Skated the main parkway loop and Ridge between Fortune and #2.  Seems that grooming was late today because I came across fantastic grooming with wide skate tracks, new tracks etc.  Started out at 2pm and even then we saw a groomer coming down Fortune.  I can't comment on the section between Champlain and P3 but I think it was groomed this afternoon?  Skiing will be fantastic tonight.

15 Jan Ridge and Parkways-grooming well underway

I left P10 around 9:30 heading toward the North Loop and then up Penguin and the groomers were out in force.  The parkways, and Ridge had been done except for Champlain Parkway between the two Ts.  This section was very icy but with one or two mm of snow it was barely doable.  Some sections had been groomed earlier only for skating but the track setting seems to be catching up.  Where it was groomed conditions were fast and fun.  I assume that by later this afternoon the entire parkway network will be fantastic and they will keep working on the secondary trails.

Jan13 - Burma/Ridge

Got off to a late start leaving P10 around 1:30.  I headed up Burma.  It had been given the "thumbs up" on the website but I think that is being generous.  No tracks had been set and I don't recommend it with good skis.  There is plenty of debris-some of the sticks will not give if you hit them.  Be careful of the sawdust in some of the faster sections.  The trail needs a few more passes with the groomer just to pack the snow down some more and hopefully this will help with the sticks and twigs.  A lot of progress has been made on this trail and the hard work clearing away many, many trees is greatly appreciated.

Ridge is getting rough with more debris showing up.  The section between Champlain and #24 is pretty good with some soft spots that poles are sinking in to.  The parkways are ok all things considered.  Fortunately the thaw will be over in a few hours and with some grooming things can be brought back quickly to their former glory.

Jan 11 P3-Ridge

There was fresh grooming on much of the parkway network. Ridge was freshly groomed and once again the grooming was excellent.  There is plenty of debris so I would not suggest using your best skis.

Grooming on the parkways was excellent although the section between P6 and the Gatineau parkway did not seem freshly groomed but nonetheless still good.

It was freezing rain lightly between about 11am and noon but it did not impact the quality of the ski too much.

Trail 5 was freshly groomed too.  Hopefully they will use the same grooming technique in this section of the park as they use on Ridge ie. get rid of the Demsis Ridge.

Overall another great day.

Jan 9 -Ridge Expansion

Started off from P10 around 12:30 and headed via North Loop to Penguin.  Conditions were excellent.  Ridge was recently groomed and although I turned @ #2 the groomer didn't!  Not sure if it went past 24 or not?  I passed by Burma, the crime scene tape is gone and it looks like it has been groomed so I assume it is now open.  The Champlain and Gatineau Parkways were freshly groomed with some groomers still out after 2:30.


I must say that this year the Demsis Ridge has not appeared on Ridge Road and day after day it is excellent.

Jan 7 Parkways, Ridge, #5

Skated from P2 leaving at 1:45.  #5 was very freshly groomed but unfortunately the "Demsis Ridge" was making a reappearance.  I went on the parkway and was surprised it was not freshly groomed.  However heading up Pink the groomer was coming toward me.  At Gatineau Parkway up Penguin/Ridge, Fortune Parkway and then back down the Champlain Parkway the grooming was new and fantastic.  It was not new on Ridge but still was pretty fast and very flat.  The parkways were great.  As I neared P2 on the way back the large groomer and a smaller one were just below Pink, working in tandem to create fantastic conditions.  Classic tracks all looked great.  Fair number of walkers on the trails however around P2.

3Jan-Parkways and Ridge

It was more of the same today.  Ridge was faster than the parkways.

There is a new grooming pattern on the Champlain Parkway with the new tracks put in one side that are spaced quite wide with the normal width on the other side.  This makes the skate lane a bit more narrow but is not a problem.  The width of the wide tracks is the same as has been done on #50.

Heavy equipment was on Fortune moving more trees that continue to fall and thus this area was very freshly groomed.

2Jan-grooming and trail update

Skated from P3 doing the parkway loop + 1 to #2.  No grooming as such but the big machine was out on Champlain moving more trees (they keep falling) so this did provide a skate lane that was excellent.  It zig and zaged as the machine went from side to side moving the trees.  No classic tracks were set.  In other areas there was "grooming" because of all the snow machines out clearing trees.  Overall the conditions were very good once again.

The update I rec'd today is that some of #15 will be groomed this evening.  #24 is almost ready to go and P12 will be open soon.  #3 has seen good progress.  Beyond #24 is said to have 1.2m of snow.  My source did not know how long it would take to get all of Ridge ready again.