Spring ski to Champlain lookout

Went for a spring ski yesterday from P10 to Champlain lookout. Snow was "sticky" which helped a lot on the uphill part of the Fortune Parkway. It started out cloudy but the sun came out and made for a great day of spring xc skiing.

More pics

The night shift

With several days of rain/freezing rain in the forecast and a full moon, Bryan, Ken and I decided to go for an evening ski from P10 up to Huron cabin for supper and some then skiing under the full moon. The outing took a near disasterous turn right at the start as Bryan left something behind at work: it was his foil wrapped sandwiches. The traffic was much lighter now that the busses are back running. We got to P10 under sunny blue skies and headed up the Fortune Parkway to meet up with Ken around Fortune Lake. The tracks were slick which made for lots of poling on the way up and predicted a quick ride back to the car later on.

We stopped in at Shilly Shally for a beverage before heading up to Huron Lookout to check out the sunset. While the sun was blazing, the mostly cloudy skies kept the photo session short. We headed back to Huron cabin and started preparing supper. There were pots of soup and sandwiches cooking on the wood stove, chili bubbling on a portable burner, french bread and cheese on the table and a well stoked fire. As we were working on dinner we were making mental lists of items to add to the menu for next time. We had the cabin to ourselves for more than an hour before a birthday celebration arrived.

With that we made our way back down Ridge road through the Khyber pass by the moonlight. The was no one coming up through the pass and it was clear sailing back to Shilly Shally. From there we stopped several times to take photos of the moon when it emerged from various bank of clouds (I have some practising to do on my night photography). The ride back down the Fortune parkway was awesome, other than a few bumpy moments in the tracks. At the parking lot there was some debate about finding the steepest, narrowest trail in the park and doing it in the dark but that was all talk.

Nights at the cabins are a cool scene and something to be done again, soon!

Waffle day with a side order of fresh powder

Today was a spectacular day out in Gatineau Park. The sun was out, it was about -5C and there was a fresh blanket of 10cm of snow that fell yesterday. Oh and it was Norway day at Huron cabin. From 11am to 2pm, staff from the Norwegian embassy were at Huron serving vaffles with a slice of goat's cheese and some tasty jam as well as some sort of hot berry drink. Plenty of sugar to load up on and serving staff who were polite but forcefull if you tried to go to the front of the line!!

Bryan and I skied in from P9 which was almost full due to the event. Ken skied from P6 (MacKenzie King) and met us there. We had our usual sandwiches to toast and the vaffles really hit the spot too. After loading up on the calories we spent the afternoon skiing the less travelled back country trails which were in perfect shape due to the new snow. We took trail 3 (Burma Road) to 12 and then 11 to the Fortune Parkway and then 9 towards Camp Fortune ski hill. These trails are all quite narrow with some short steep hills which can be tricky when icy but today there were a joy.

Ken left us at the junction of 32 and 9 to head back to his car. Bryan and I heard what sounded like a child crying and yelling. We skied up the hill and found a young guy (about 10) who seemed to have been abandoned by his dad and couldn't get one of his bindings to close on his boot. We stopped to help him (this happens to my bindings too when there is a lot of powder) and once he got going again his dad and brother showed up. Seems strange to me that a parent would leave their child behind like that, pretty dangerous.

After some twists and turns and falls into deep snow we were back on the Fortune parkway and the easy glide back down to the parking lot. What a great day to be out enjoying fine Norwegian food and awesome back country skiing!

Ski brakes and repair tips

I went for a nice ski this afternoon from P7 to Huron Lookout and then return via Ridge road. It was a great day with temps hovering around -5 and snow conditions that suited my waxless skis. It is mostly uphill for about a kilometre from P7 with the steepest bit of the climb at the end. Once up this hill you can turn around and see Ottawa and then ski in the woods on rolling hills until you come to to three cabins (Keogan, Shilly Shally and Huron). I took Ridge road to Keogan and then turned onto the parkways to check out the view from Huron Lookout. Then a short ski up the connector trail to Huron cabin.

The cabin was full but the bench outside was free so I put my sandwich on the woodstove and sat outside watching the action at the well stocked bird feeder. Plenty of squirrels and red headed woodpeckers were enjoying their lunch. Sometimes deer will come and eat the seeds off the ground.

The ride back to the parking lot has some fun steep downhill sections that are marked with the ominous looking exclamation point sign. The second of these hills is sometimes referred to as Suicide hill. There is usually traffic going up and down and at the bottom you have to make a right or left turn or else you keep going and hit a strategically placed bench. While waiting my turn to go down I saw a woman snowplowing and scraping her poles in the snow behind her to slow herself down. I don't think it made much difference. Then I got a tip about repairing ski poles with duct tape and twigs. Useful information for sure! It is a fun ride to the parking lot from there and a great way to end the day!