April 6 - Last one this season

I figured that trail 50 would be groomed overnight and I would have a nice fast ski.  As it turned out I was partly right.

I parked at p16 and elected to walk down the hill seeing as there was no snow on the bridge.  Skiing from there was ok but there had not been the grooming I was expecting.  There was some grooming that was perhaps done later yesterday starting at 36.  It was icy with some frozen ruts.  It was like that until Herridge.  Then it got great!!!  The grooming was fresh and was really good right to P19.  There is the odd muddy spot but it was easy to get around.

Unfortunately trail 55 did not look like any grooming had been done at all so it was only trail 50 today.  I saw many people cruising the fields and it looked like fun but I hope they didn't do that because they thought the trail was no good.

Perfect temperature, fast, freshly groomed snow and lovely sun.  A great way to end the season.  I put the waxing table away this afternoon.

Thank you to all the folks who I don't know but frequently recognized me out on the trails and always had a friendly smile or nod for me and thank you to those who have sent me emails supporting my trail condition report.  

Tomorrow I will watch Paris-Roubaix then its out on the bike.

24 March Trail 50 etc

Skating along 50, 55 and 54 today was fantastic today-cold snow and warm sun, at least for a while.  Frankly the grooming was good but not great with a ridge present much of the time and some snowmobile traffic.  Fortunately I was out before there were too many walkers but there were a few.  The best skiing was on 54 up to Lusk.  At the start the snow was quite fast but 2.5 hours later it was starting to slow down particularly in the swamping areas where the moisture is starting to come up.  Still lots of snow.  People who really love to ski do not look forward to the end of the season but when the ending has days like today its ok.

March 10 - A Tale of Two Cities-The Beginning of the End?

Imagine a great day like today, below zero at night, above zero during the day, stated 38cm snow base and finding NO GROOMING on what is supposed to be a "primary trail".  I don't think Craftsbury, Lake Placid, Mt. Ste. Anne would have such fantastic conditions and decide not to groom on a Sunday morning.  Well this is Gatineau Park and weird things happen here.

I went to P16, arriving at 9:30 for what I figured would be prime skiing.  It started out well with good fresh grooming but the groomer turned left at 36.  There was not grooming in the skate lane.  It was a skied out, icy crude.  So I stopped turned around and drove to P6.  Pity anyone who came here for March Break and went  there-what a disappointment.

So here is the other "city".  Although not fantastic on Ridge the grooming from P6 along the parkways up Penguin was good.  I detoured down 4 to the race course.  This was fantastic.  By this time it was 10:30 and there was only one other set of tracks disturbing the very good grooming.  Burma had seen lots of traffic but was in good shape.  All the way to 24 and back on the parkway conditions were very nice so overall my day of skiing was not ruined.

There were a lot fewer skiers out than I thought there would be and as far as I could tell there was no one looking at passes at P6 or P16 and P5 is now closed and with #50 left ungroomed on a weekend - is this the beginning of the end?

March 8

There was fresh grooming on all the trails I was on but this does not mean that the conditions were great.  Here are the details:

All parkways-very good
Penguin/Ridge to Fortune Pkwy-chunks of snow on the edges minimizing skating area-not great
Burma-more chunks, worse than Ridge, not good
Ridge from Burma to #2-chunky-not great
Ridge after #2 to "2km to go sign" on way to Mckinstry-very good, no chunks
(Note: 2nd crash of the year just after the 2km to go sign-large immovable branch sticking out of trail!!!)

Depending on the shade conditions ranged from tough to very nice although I started around 11am and so got stuck with some pretty moist snow.

Still a great day to be out but what with all the chunks, faulty equipment?

Mar 4 - fresh grooming everywhere

I didn't get out until later today and I wasn't sure if anything would be groomed to freshen up the trails from the weekend.  On the one hand it was nice to see fresh grooming everywhere except I found that in those areas freshly groomed it was very slow.  Not sure if that was my wax, my weakness or just slow snow?  On the parkways it was firmer and although not fast it was decent.

The race course was great and I was the only one there but it had the slowest snow of the day.  I apologize now for any destruction done to the tracks.  It was unintentional but basically unavoidable on some of those climbs. 

All of the following were freshly groomed today
Champlain and Fortune Parkways
Penguin and Ridge although Ridge was a bit too "ridgy" in some spots
Race Course
Burma
1A and 1B
24
Ridge right to the "2km to go" sign on the way to Mckinstry.

There was not a lot of skiers out today where I was so the trails will still be in great shape Tuesday.

Mar 2 - North End of Park

Trail 50 is living up to its reputation as the most inconsistent trail in the park.  Today fortunately it was on the positive side of this inconsistency.  From P16 grooming was excellent until trail 52.  Grooming was slightly more recent past 52 and a touch "ridgy" but still very good.  Between 55 and P19 it was a little more "ridgy" but still a good 7/10.

Trail 55 was also 7/10 but the part of the trail that goes along Lac Taylor was not recently groomed and had some snowshoe traffic.  There is a very good snow sculpture at the last yurt at Lac Taylor.

Trail 54 scored a good 8.5/10.  All in all this part of the park was in very good shape and made for a great day of skiing.

1 March update

I was skating from P6 starting around 2pm.  From a grooming perspective it started very well except the fresh grooming only went about 100m as the groomer had gone down #7.  (For my striding friends 7 looked fantastic).  Turning left on the parkway I headed to Penguin and Ridge.  There was fresh grooming only starting near the Gatineau Parkway.  Ridge did not have fresh grooming.  Fortune Parkway had very good conditions but I was very disappointed with the condition of the grooming on Burma.  From Burma I went to Champlain and back on the parkways.  Champlain Parkway to Fortune was very good but between Fortune and Gatineau Parkway there is no fresh grooming at all.

Basically everything had been groomed since the big dump but seemingly some spots, only one time.  This is not enough given the amount of snow.  Really strange is the fact the NCC sent out an email stating that because of the recent snow they would focus on the parkways.  Well, a big stretch very obviously needs to be groomed while at the same time trail 7 looked great?

Burma and Ridge have many soft spots, large gouges, luge runs etc.  Well I was out I did not see any grooming in progress.  Hopefully they will get to these trails overnight as they need to be compacted badly.

22Feb Trail 50

Today, for skating on Trail 50, the conditions ranged from ok to poor.  According to the website there was grooming yesterday.  However today it felt like fresh grooming because both sides were very soft with plenty of corduroy visible.  There was then a snowmobile driven down the middle.  The snowmobile helped by making it nice and firm.

As one approached Lac Philippe there was significant deterioration.   There was more snowmobile traffic and lots of hiking on the trail.  Even the grooming itself, from yesterday, didn't seem to have flattened the skate lane between the Lac and P19.  This stretch was really bad.

Trail 54 was in the best shape but it too had a snowmobile track down the middle. 

10 Feb-Penguin,Ridge, Burma etc

I left P6 around 9am to skate toward Penguin.  I was pleasantly surprised by how firm the skate lane was however the firmness lasted only for 100m where the groomer had turned off toward another trail. 

The parkway was slow and quite messy.  I am not sure if it was groomed or not.  The tracks did not look good either.  Things improved at Penguin.  There was a small ridge that ran along Ridge that was decreasing the skate lane forcing some degradation of the new tracks but overall Ridge was in very good shape, much better than the parkway.

I turned right at Fortune parkway, it was not in good shape, again I could not tell if it had been groomed or not.  I turned at Burma and was very happy to see that it had been freshly groomed.  It was in excellent condition although it is a touch narrow. 

After Burma I was back on Ridge again until the top of the hill after Wolf.  It was in good shape and quite firm.  In spots there was snowmobile tracks.  24, 2, 1b were all in very good shape.

I came back along the parkway and it was soft in the middle.  Lots of skaters seemed to be having as much trouble as I was.

Hopefully they will get the replacement groomer here soon to improve the parkways.  Overall the conditions were slow again but the grooming was very good everywhere except the parkways.

Trail 50, 54 9Feb

As one would expect there was fresh grooming everywhere.  Still it was a slog, at least for me.  The snow was quite slow and still needs more time to settle before we can get the skating up to speed.  50 itself was groomed but then as is pretty routine a snowmobile had gone over it between \Herridge and 55.  It didn't even take the turnoff to the snowshoe trails at Lac Philippe.  For some reason the road leading to P19 wasn't great.  However trail 54 was fantastic.  Nice flat surface for skating and excellent tracks for classic.  In that snow I think 54 is the hardest "green" trail in the park.    It was a great day to be out.

Feb3 Trail 50

Fortunately Trail 50 has been returned to is previous glory of a few weeks ago.  Grooming was fantastic.  Unfortunately a snowmobile then went on the section from Herridge to the camp grounds at Lac Philippe. The damage from the machine was minimal decreasing the rating from 10/10 to 8/10.  The section to Lac Taylor was perhaps 7.5/10.

Why they can't coordinate the grooming with the snowmobiles going out for chalet maintenance is one of the great mysteries of Gatineau Park.  Still, a great day on the trails today.

Feb 2-From P2 to #24

Skated from P2 up to Penguin and then Ridge to #24.  Then came back along the parkways.  Overall conditions are good and fast.  The quality of the trails depended on the time the trails were groomed yesterday.  A few had become quite hard but everything was good overall.  In some sections the Demsis ridge is making a return.  This diminishes the skating area and is forcing everyone into a smaller space causing part of the trail being "skied out" sooner while 1/3 is in excellent shape.

(Watch out for debris, particularly on 24 where some sizable sticks are stuck in the snow and will damage ski bases)

Seems to me that we are not seeing really fresh grooming for Saturday morning.  Recently the trails have been groomed early on Friday rather than very early morning Saturday.

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.