Gatineau Park ski conditions 30JAN p16-p19 & 55

#50 had been groomed early and had set up well however the Demsis "Ridge" has returned, big time,  between p16 and Herridge.  Not only is the trail clearly "bi-level" but the snowmobiles have been going in the skate lane rather than on the top of the ridge which might knock it down a bit.  Even worse than this are many very deep and wide gouges or troughs.  These appear frequently and are not only there on the steeper downhills.  After Herridge things improve a little and the closer one gets to Lac Philippe the better.  There are several thin spots on the usual hills plus there are thin spots in the classic tracks along the trail with grass, leaves etc clearly visible.
From the campground entrance to P19 the grooming is not very good at all.  The ridge at this point runs right in the middle of the skate lane.  However the snowshoe trail was nice and level-go figure?
Taylor lake road starts out from #50 looking not so good but improves after about 400m.  Its not as good as it was a few weeks ago but was quite enjoyable but this part I would rate 7/10.
There is a decent amount of snow in that part of the park.  Its not a lack of snow that is causing the problems, in fact in the tree covered sections, where the snow cover is less, the skiing is faster and the ridge is not a problem.
Trail 50 has had weak grooming for several years now.  I find it worse than other parts of the park.  The trail itself should be pretty easy to groom, its fairly level and not too rocky.  I don't know if it is a different kind of equipment but Demsis just can't get it right. 

Gatineau Park 29Jan - to Fire Tower-FP, Burma, 1b, 24, Ridge

I arrived @ P10 after 8am and was a little surprised how few cars there were.  Heavy equipment had been used to groom and the FP was perfect.  I turned right on Burma, no grooming had been done but it was still ok.  I was surprised when I got to Ridge-no grooming.  I went along to 24-no grooming.  And so it was this way to the Fire Tower.  I was the first skater so it was slow but very enjoyable.  Ridge after McKinstry has been neglected this year.  It was doable but clearly had not been groomed as often as the rest of 1 blue.  Still this part of the trail is worth the effort.

On the return I noticed 24 had been groomed as I went by the first Ridge/24 intersection but Ridge itself was not groomed.  At the next 24/Ridge intersection the grooming on Ridge began but I turned off to 1B-no grooming but by then enough skiers were out that it was nicely packed down. 

But then what did I see?  A large piece of heavy equipment coming toward me on 1B.  This was the machine we had been waiting for but why was it there @ 11am when the park is crowded?  I think its ill-advised to have this piece of equipment out when a) it was too late, the snow was packed down and quite nice b)its dangerous on such a trail when the park is busy because the machine is so wide c)with the skier traffic there is no time for the trail to harden, right away deep gouges were being put into the trail by the skiers.  I'm sure that within an hour it was no better than it was without the grooming.

 I forgot to check Burma on the way back so I'm not sure if they did that later in the morning?

All in all a pretty good day, it was tougher than normal but well worth it. 

Gatineau Park 28Jan late afternoon ski from p10

I left from P10 and headed down 32 for Penguin.  32 does have some very thin spots and one must be vigilant.  The duldrums are well worn but decent.  Penguin was good as the troughs have been reduced making it much easier to make your way up.  However the hill at the lookout was all worn out again so be careful.  Ridge was quite good until Fortune-I think it had been groomed late in the day, either that or there was little activity today.  We all know what to expect after that on your way to Champlain!  The classic tracks everywhere seemed to be pretty good. 

The deer that hang around Huron are becoming more tame every day.  Today one of them just stood in the classic tracks staring at me while I skated by.   

With a little more snow tonight I expect tomorrow will be very good.

Jan 22 - Duldrums, Penguin, Ridge, Burma, 24 and 1B

Fortunately the skating was not as slow as I thought it might be.  Grooming was pretty good everywhere except 24 has not been groomed recently and there is plenty of snow on it.  1B may not have been groomed but was ok because of skier traffic.  There is a little gravel on Penguin.  Burma needs to be groomed, widened and flattened!  I wonder if the "troughs" on any of the trails can fixed this season?

We all know that the trails are very bumpy with a nasty crown in the middle every now and again.  I used to think this was due to lack of snow.  I am not sure this is the case.  Even with more snow its not clear how this problem will be solved.  I wonder if the folks at the Gatineau Loppet are already looking at contingency plans?  You can ski up Penguin, Ridge and Burma but it would be a disappointment if you travelled a long way, even if you got one of the free hotel rooms they are offering.

Gatineau Park ski conditions 15 Jan. p16-p19

Today I skied p16-p19 and back just as it was starting to snow.  Conditions are about what you would expect.   Skating was fair and there was a shallow classic track.  We need more snow.  Watch out for stones on the hills and the odd rock sticking out.  It seems that more snow was falling up there than in the city.  Lets hope we get closer to 10 than 5 cm.

Gatineau Park ski conditions 9Jan11 Loop from p6

I left P6 around 3:45pm so I figured the trails would be pretty beat up by then.  I took the CP to the GP and then up Penguin along Ridge to Champlain and then back to p6 along the parkway.  The parkways were as I expected for late in the day.  Another good grooming and they will be excellent.  Penguin and Kyber pass need lots of work.  The snow was totally removed in some places by the those coming downhill.  Sections could be deemed dangerous (certainly for skis) with a few rocks and gravel showing.  Even Ridge past Huron has some sketchy sections.  I'm not sure what can be done to keep snow in those places, it may just require another meter to make them totally safe.

Once again I was left wondering about the "crowning" on parts of Ridge, for example the strip below Kyber.  I don't see how more snow will help this problem.

My goal was to get to Champlain Lookout in time for the sunset, I figure I missed it by about 5 min, it would have been beautiful this evening.

Gatineau Park ski conditions 7Jan11 Parkway loop from p9

As accurately reported on the NCC website @ 8am there was no new grooming.  In spite of this "warning" the park was about as crowded as I've seen it.  The lovely new snow made for tough skating conditions although the snow itself was pretty fast.  Classic looked like fun.  If the trails are groomed at the right time they should set up nice and firm for tomorrow.

I'm not sure if there was enough snow for good grooming to take place on trails like Burma or 1 Blue so it may still be a while until the crowds can spread out.