31DEC-Once again excellent conditions

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Mar11-To the Fire Tower

From Penguin including 1b, 24, 40,33 Burma everything was freshly groomed.  On the Champlain Parkway it seemed that only one side had been done over night.  Generally the grooming was excellent except for Burma where it was good but because it is not flat the grooming is more on the sides than the middle.  I had started fairly early so it was only on the way back that things started to slow down a bit and you could start to hear the dreaded sponge sound every now and again.  Overall it was a fantastic day.

4Mar Penguin, Burma to Fire Tower

Every trail was groomed since yesterday.  Speed seemed to be dictated by exposure to the sun and how long ago the trail had been groomed.  Grooming ranged from good to excellent.  Burma was very firm and a bit icy in the middle of the skate lane, as if the groomer just passed over as opposed to digging up the snow a bit.  The good news is, it was fast.  As one got closer to the Tower the slower it became but there was more corduroy.   24 was particularly nice, again.  I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of debris.  All in all another great day in the park, not sure why there were not more people out?

Mar 3, Parkways, Ridge, 1b, 24

The skating today was pretty good.  Some sections were slow, some fast.  The middle of the skate lane is pretty firm with good speed.  Go to the side however and prepare for quick deceleration.  As far as I could tell no classic grooming took place.  On the parkways, up Penguin and along Ridge for awhile all had a fresh skate lane.  1B, Burma, 24 etc were groomed yesterday and were a little better today I thought because they have firmed up.  With all the crude on the trails I would assume the classic skiers had a tough go of it.  As for the skate lane if you were careful you could avoid the big obstructions.  With cooler temperatures and fresh grooming the skiing could be quite good tomorrow.

26 Feb from P6 to Fire Tower

From P6, down the parkway then up Penguin, Burma, Ridge, 1b and 24 out to the Fire Tower was all freshly groomed.  The snow ranged from slow to very slow with some improvement as the day went on.  It was a great day, the trees were once again lovely with all the fresh snow.  Frankly the grooming is below par. (At least for skating)  Deep snowmobile ruts up Penguin and  the Demsis ridge (sometimes a ledge) has become more of problem with the softer snow.  Plus this ridge has now been moved closer to the center of the skate lane!  Still, another wonderful day to be outside.

25Feb-Pine Road

At 9am the website claimed that 50 had been groomed "1 hour ago" so I headed out to P16.  I think it had been groomed but it certainly had not been in the last hour.  There was 3-5cm of fresh snow but it was still skatable.  At Herridge a snowmobile had been by.  There were no  ruts to speak of and it had been pulling one of those cages.  This improved the skating a fair bit but did nothing for the classic track.  It was like this until the junction with 55.  From 55 to P19 there was one narrow skate lane that was not in good shape.  Grooming is required.  55 had not been groomed.  However on my return trip I passed the heavy groomer coming toward me by the lake.   As it turns out it had come from trail 52.   I assume that by now 55 etc has been groomed.  This means that the section between P16 and Herridge still needs to be groomed.  On the return trip, near Herridge,  I came across a very large tree that has fallen over the trail requiring one to take off the skis to climb over or crawl under.  By now it likely has been cut up and removed.   Things were slow but not as slow as I was prepared for and with the snow in the trees it turned out to be a lovely day.

23 Feb night ski from P10

Skated from P10 to Ridge to just past 24.  Conditions range from very hard packed to thin powder closer to 24.  As reported on other sites the Demsis ridge has appeared closer to the center of the trail in places.  When its hard packed like this it is not too bad but with the new snow......  Given the forecast hopefully this will all be a moot point.  Hopefully the snow will stop soon enough later Friday that all the trails can be groomed Saturday morning.  It could be a fantastic weekend.

Night ski V-Day

My usual Tuesday ski from P3.  Like last week it seems the parkway between P3 and the fork was not groomed however between the fork and P8 was fresh.  Trail 5 was in good shape and trail 26 was excellent.  The snow is still nice and fast.  Preparations are obviously underway for the big races, including Danger signs at the bottom and top of Pinks.

12Feb P10, Burma to Fire Tower

I arrived @ P10 @ 7:40 to meet my friends and I was the first car there.  There was fresh grooming likely done late yesterday because there was one skate track coming toward us and it looked like there had been a few hikers on the trail.  Still the grooming was good.  Burma had been freshly groomed and was absolutely fabulous.  Flat, wide, fast and fun; in the best condition I have seen it in years.  Ridge 1b and 24 were likewise freshly groomed and fantastic.  The great grooming continue until Ridge turns blue and then it stopped.  It was ok with day old grooming but it was still a disappointment because of how nice it was until then.  Ridge was good to the Fire Tower with it improving from McKinstry just because of the lower level of traffic.  We were surprised by how few people we saw.  When we arrived back at P10 it was full but not packed.  It was cold but not frigid, with the sun and grooming ranging from very good to fantastic it was another great day in Gatineau Park.

11FEB P10-Penguin, Race Trails

I got off to a late start today and was pleasantly surprised that the grooming was still evident.  Penguin was in good shape ie. not too icy.  There is the "ridge" appearing on Ridge that is effectively reducing the skate lane a bit but this was only a minor inconvenience. The race course had seen little traffic but was flat, nice and wide-very well groomed.  It is a real pleasure to ski on those trails although I still find them confusing.  I was very surprised that on parts of the course there were only two other skate marks and this was after 2pm.  Conditions were fast with very good control. 

Night ski 7Feb from P3

I made the mistake of parking at P3.  If the parkway had been groomed they certainly did it at the wrong time-it was rock solid.  I saw a few fellow skaters simply pack it in within the first 200m.  I was hoping that if I could get to 5 things would improve, and they did.  5 was skiable but it was very firm.  I got off 5 just below Pink and the parkway was better than it was closer to P3 but it was not really much fun.  At the T the good grooming started and lasted until P8.  Seems the grooming around the loop is a lot fresher and more enjoyable.  For tomorrow I would suggest limiting yourself to the P8/Fortune area unless there is fresh grooming.

5Feb Pine Road + 55 & 54

Grooming for the most part was good again today.  Just a small amount of snowmobile and hiker traffic but nothing to really complain about.  However trail 54 had not been groomed in some time between the cabin and the hay bales.  Last week it was pretty nice, this week it was forgotten.  The best parts were 55 and the portion between P19 and 55.  When I finished around 11:45 P16 was full such that cars were parking on Cross Loop and Pine however the trails themselves never felt crowded.  One of the great things about trail 50.

Feb 4 Ridge to FT, Burma etc

I skied the parkway from P6 down to Penguin then up Burma, onto to Ridge to the Tower including 24 and 1b.  On the way back I checked out 33, 2 and 40.  Grooming ranges from 7/10 to 10/10 depending on the snowmobile traffic and size of the "ridge" in some places. (I suspect that our classically trained friends would give it a 10/10 everywhere.)  Burma is coming along very  nicely, #24, 33 and portions of Ridge were really excellent.  With the fast snow and bright sun this was really a fantastic day to be out there. 

Night ski 31Jan from P3 Freshly Groomed!

I left from P3 around 6:30pm and took the parkway to #5 and then back onto the parkway at Pinks.  As I climbed Pinks it got darker and the snow got deeper.  It was really quite dark when I started on the climb after the fork, heading toward P8.  I could see a very  bright light reflecting off the trees at the top.  At first I figured I was about to be abducted, then I thought it was the mountain bikers out again who had amazingly bright lights.  As I climbed and the object came toward me I was surprised to see it was the groomer.  No classic tracks, just one skate lane right down the middle.  I have never had first tracks at 7pm.  I went on to P8 and then turned around to come back on the freshly groomed lane.  I caught the groomer just as it was leaving P3.  It felt a bit strange; the parking lot was pretty full, it was surprisingly bright and there was a groomer.  I had to remind myself that it was nighttime.

29Jan, from P6 - Penguin to Fire Tower

I left from P6 and headed down the Champlain Parkway to the Gatineau Parkway to come up Penguin.  The grooming on the parkways was very fresh.  I passed a groomer on the Gatineau Parkway and the track in front of the groomer was excellent, there really was not a need for that portion to be regroomed.  From the bottom of Penguin to Fortune Parkway was really good.  I couldn't tell if it had been groomed by human traffic or the groomer.  FP was perfect.  I went up Burma but it was not groomed.  It was still good skiing but quite slow.  From Champlain Lookout to the Fire Tower was not groomed.  It was slow and after a while began to wear me down.  The scenery was spectacular with the trees covered in snow.  1b and 24 also were ungroomed.  On the return leg down Ridge I turned right on the Fortune Parkway to head to the Champlain Parkway.  The Champlain had a fair amount of snow on it.  I am not sure if it had been groomed earlier but there was about 3cm of slow snow.  I think I went down King at about 15kph!  All in all a lovely day.  A long easy ski became a long tough ski, at least for me.  If they groom tonight tomorrow should be great.

28Jan Pine Road A++

I have often complained in the last few years about the poor grooming on this trail.  The NCC seemed to always have some problem in this neck of the park.  Today was entirely different.  I left skating from P16 around 9:30.  The trail was freshly groomed, flat and perfect a well earned 10 until 52.  After 52 I would rate it a 9.5 as there was a bit of the Demsis ridge,  I turned left at 55 and quickly encountered the groomer so I headed up 54 because it obviously had been freshly groomed.  The trail was actually in pretty good shape and the grooming here was once again excellent, all things considered. I had first tracks again on this trail.  The odd thing is that coming back from Lusk (just after the hay bales) I realized that my tracks were gone; they were grooming this part of 54 again.  After 54 I turned left and headed to Taylor Lake.  This part was ungroomed, because I had passed the groomer.  It was still skiable as it had about 3cm of fresh snow on top of the loud icy base.   The parkway part from 55 to P19 was also freshly and well groomed.

Overall the grooming today was as good as I have seen it on trail 50 in a few years.  One of the things that was missing were the snowmobile tracks, what a difference it makes to keep those machines off the freshly groomed trails.

Between 52 and Herridge is a fresh deer kill.  A stark reminder of the natural drama that plays itself out constantly in this great natural environment. 

26Jan night ski from p10

Seemed like FP was groomed up to Champlain but the rest of the Champlain parkway (ie left at the T) had not been been groomed and was very hard packed.  Same with Ridge, it was skiable but very firm.  However Ridge after the Lookout was groomed at least past 24.  All in all, not too bad.

25Jan Nighttime ski P3-P8

Skated from P3 to P8 with a diversion onto trail 5.  It is icy but not too bad, it clearly had been groomed since the rain.   I suspect that those who were out when it was a bit warmer and softer really would have had great conditions.  Should be the same thing tomorrow.  Another 5cm and we would be back to perfect conditions.

22Jan, Penguin to FT + Burma etc

If for some strange reason you didn't like the conditions yesterday you would have been disappointed again.   The only difference was less snowmobile damage and grooming right out to the Tower, in others words- fantastic.

I left from P6 @ 9:30 and headed down the parkway to come back up via Penguin then I wanted to hit the Training Course.  There was a race on so I didn't get a chance to check it out for the first time this year.  Instead I went over to Burma and then headed to the Tower. 

The following trails were in very good to excellent condition: Parkways, Ridge; Penguin to the Tower, 4, 14, 1b and 24.  As for Burma, it is much improved and is certainly enjoyable although it could use a little more work.  At least it wasn't the slog that it had been a week or so ago.  Although I was going up, the hill coming down to the parkway is no longer a luge run.  There are a few thin spots showing up, in fact I got a nasty nick on Burma from a rock.

A truly great day skiing. 

21Jan 1Black to the Fire Tower

I left from P9 hit the Doldrums and turned left @ 13 to head over to 1black.  From there it was straight up to the Fire Tower with a detour on 24 on the way up and 1b on the way back to the FP.  When I checked the GP website this morning it indicated there had been no new grooming.  However everywhere seemed well groomed except from McKinstry to the Tower.  The grooming itself was very good however there was some damage in different places from snowmobiles.  The worst was on trail 13 where there is major damage.  The ruts were quite noticeable on much of Ridge although not too much of a problem.  24 was untouched and was fantastic, as was Penguin.  The ungroomed part of Ridge past McKinstry was still very good with a few cm of fresh snow.  (Fortunately the lack of grooming here discouraged the hikers that were out last weekend)

I'd be surprised if those on their classic skis today would have anything bad to say, all looked good.

Re: 1Black.  This trail is listed as a skating trail on the GP site.  However in sections it has two classic tracks close together and no skate lane.  I guess from this it really is not for skating but it is very nice section with a couple of steep (but short) climbs.

19JAN-Night Ski P10 FP to Ridge to 24

I don't think there was any grooming today but it really didn't need it.  Trails are fast and firm yet seemed to have better "footing" tonight relative to last night.  Parts of Ridge were fantastic.  However they insist on driving a snowmobile on sections of this trail even though they could come down the parkway but when conditions are this firm and fast its not too bad.  That being said there are still some good size gouges on the parkway from the snow machines.  There is a bit of hump forming past the 1b cutoff.  All in all though I think the grooming in this part of the park is better this year than last?

18Jan-night ski P3-P8 & 5

Seems like the grooming was pretty good today on the parkways and 5.  In spots there were some gouges, perhaps from a snowmobile, that were a bit tricky.  It was particularly dark tonight so these will not be an issue in daylight.  It is very firm!

15Jan P10 to Penguin to Fire Tower, incl. Burma

The grooming today ranged from very good to outstanding all the way from the bottom of Penguin to the Fire Tower.  1B and 24 were also very good.  The only problem is Burma.  The website had the "thumbs up" for skating but this is a mistake.   It was not freshly groomed so the skating lane is too narrow and makes for an unpleasant 5km.  The skaters would be doing their classically trained friends a favour staying away until it is widened because the skaters are chewing up the classic track that if left alone would be very good.

In some spots on 1 blue there were hikers out causing some minor destruction to what was otherwise very nice grooming.   Also there was a group  snowshoeing on Fortune Parkway!

The wind was cold, the sun was warm and the trees were spectacular.  Just what Gatineau Park in January should be.

14Jan Pine Road- a mixed bag

I hope there weren't too many skaters who left from P16 and cut short their ski in despair.  The grooming started off poorly but after #52 the grooming ranged from very good to excellent.  (I think it was all good news for those going classic particularly after 52.)  The details:

From P16 to Herridge it was poor.  Clearly some kind of machinery had gone over the trail but there remained a trench for much of it.  The trench itself was firm but the sides were very soft, fine on the downhills, tough going up. 

From Herridge to #52 things improved but it still was not great. 

At #52 it became fantastic.  The skate lane was flat and firm and even at 1pm had seen very little traffic.

Grooming remained excellent until about #55.  After 55 it was still flat but kind of chunky on the left (as you headed to P19).  Because the snow was firm this was not a serious problem.

55 to Taylor lake ranged from good to excellent.

Even in the areas where the grooming was excellent it was still "bi leveled".  Typically this reduces the skate lane by 1/3.  Still, this is better than the trench that has developed.  I think this trench is from too much snowmobile traffic in exactly the same place.  The snowmobiles can help firm things up if they are not constantly driven in the same lane all the time.  Seems to me that if a snowmobile needs to use a particular trail it should spread things out a bit.  Maybe it could even play a role in levelling out the trail in those sections that are bi leveled.

Naturally the snow was pretty slow today, more time to enjoy the sun!

11JAN Night Ski P10-Ridge up to 24.

Another fast and fun night ski.  With the wind at one's back it was really easy skiing, a bit cold on the way back though.  Grooming was very good with a few thin spots along Ridge and the Demsis ridge is making a reappearance here and there although this will all be a distant memory this time Friday.

10Jan -night ski P3-P8 and back including 5

What else can I say-it was fast and fun.  No problems on 5.  There were lots of people out there tonight.

8Jan P16-P19, 55, 54

I've always been a big fan of trail 50 and for the last few years consistently disappointed by the grooming.  Unfortunately today was no different.  For some reason the fantastic grooming we saw yesterday was not duplicated in this part of the park. 

One can still ski on the trail and have a great time.  There is some debris in the skate lane and the classic tracks but not so much as to be a real problem.  Today it was pretty fast and firm.  Some might think it is too firm in the skate lane because of the snowmobile traffic (in some areas this has resulted in a kind of trench down the middle of the trail).

From the campground to P19 the trail is on a road yet for some reason the grooming (except for a short stretch) is not nearly as nice as on the parkway system.  I almost wonder if this is because construction equipment is brought in during the week to work on the section that has been washed away?

Trail 55 out to Taylor lake is similar.  It is very skiable but I wonder why a trail on a road can't be flat? 

54 is a real work in progress although no fault of Demsis.  A couple of sections have been washed away and with the usual icy sections on the downhills extreme caution is required particularly as you approach the hay bails on the way down.  (At one point I just walked.)

I am now used to the weak grooming in this part of the park and thus lower my expectations.  Its still a great trail and I am often surprised how little traffic there is between Herridge and the campground.  I would think that those on classic skis would enjoy this trail more than those skating.

P6-Penguin-Fire Tower

In summary conditions were excellent even if it was a little slow in spots.  The details:
P6 to Penguin via Parkway-excellent
Ridge Road from Penguin to #3-very good grooming, a little thin in spots
Ridge from 3 to Lookout-not groomed but skiable, very bumpy, needs more snow
Ridge to 24-excellent
24-couldn't tell if this had been groomed recently with a lot of traffic or just not groomed, bumpy, needs more snow
Ridge from 24 to McKinstry-very good fresh grooming, is thin in spots with a few rocks showing
McKinstry to Tower-Seems to have been groomed yesterday but had a thin layer of slow, new snow, grooming still very good but it did take extra effort.
On the return 1B-has been groomed recently but perhaps not today, bumpy, needs more snow
1B to P6 along the Parkways-excellent

Especially considering the snow this was perhaps the best day of grooming I have seen in a long, long time.  We can't blame the NCC for the lack of snow or the fact that it was slow today at certain points.  I had rock skis because I wasn't sure how Ridge would be further up and I did experience another nick.  Debris is showing as are a few rocks.  One could get away without rock skis.  If the grooming is as good Sunday it will be fantastic as things should speed up a bit.

Night ski 5Jan

I skated from P3 to P8 and back.  On the way out I went on 5.  The parkways were in good shape although the section between P3 and Pink is particularly firm.  5 was more pleasant because it was not as firm. 5 was in good shape with only the odd icy patch.  If we get only another 2-3 cm of the white stuff the skiing will be that much better even if there is no fresh grooming tomorrow.

2JAN12 Evening ski

Skated from p3 up to near P6 and back.  The conditions were firm and fast but not so firm that it was difficult, just lots of fun.  There was about a half cm of fresh snow from a brief snow shower.

I have been away for a few days and saw some complaining about the grooming.  I don't really have a complaint about the parkways I was on tonight.  The website said they had been groomed 6 hours before.  There is a dip in the middle of the road where there is a good skating lane that is pretty flat.  The only issue for some might be the occasional occurrence of the Demsis bump running down the middle of this lane but it really was not much of a problem.