Tuesday

A cross country ski along the Gatineau River rail tracks. The only flat land around, perfect for a skate ski.

Wednesday

A little road running action.

Friday 

A Friday afternoon playing hooky Board Meeting with an important associate at Camp Fortune. 

Saturday

Neighbourhood trail hike with the kids.

Sunday

Another family hike on our neighbourhood trails.

Monday

A PD Day, I took off the end of the day to take the boy for a ski at Camp Fortune.

Wednesday

Monday

Perhaps the first day that felt like spring; the melt had well begun and it was almost warm for a trail run. The snow was still deep, and a foot off the packed line meant a quick knee-deep burial.

I entered a creekside valley, and the steam came off the water and enveloped me like a tropical jungle.

Good Friday

A final family ski weekend at Tremblant.

Saturday

Competitors in costumes or pure skivvies attempt to run the pool. Some make it.

A successful polar bear swim at Lac Mercier! Note the ice floes.

Tuesday

A first walk on my newly bare backyard trails.

Friday

Trail building in the backyard.

Saturday

A quick first spin of the Spring on the backyard trails!

A season’s passes

I like this picture, you can feel the cold. This is the new approach to GatPark P17, through the construction zone on Highway 5. I had to drive by twice to find it. An ugly and strange juxtaposition to the beautiful woods beyond.

Hardwood predominates in the region, especially along the southern trails. This part of the park is remarkable for the diversity of the forest. It might be the most beautiful ski trail in the park.    

And it was cold.

Roads diverging in a snowy wood.

I found a spur off the main trail to Wakefield, so I followed it to a sudden end:

Under Highway Five, a very unique xc ski feature.

Thursday

Great to be back in Whistler. The conditions were poor, but the mountain is still epic, and there is always fun to be had.

The glades were rock hard and rough shape. But I kept trying.

Friday

Saturday

More Harmony Horseshoe. Easily the softest snow between the two mountains.

Sunday

Rink care begins at home

As with so many things in life, outdoor rec brings with it a host of grasshopper/ ant issues. Tuesday was an ant day, flooding the rink. I finally filled the giant sinkhole in the far corner. Much less uphill skating now!

Wednesday

A return to Gatineau P6, an old favourite. I often skiid here at night last year, so a daytime turn was like a whole new discovery. I also realized how short the trails off here are– I must not go very long at night. In 2 hours I did all kinds of loops, exploring each trail I crossed, and winding up at Pink Lake.

-20-what-now? We love it. Oh, the torturous first five minutes as your body warms up, and your mind tells you, this isn’t going to work!

Saturday was downhill skiing, and Sunday was snowshoeing with the kids, all at Tremblant. Unfortunately, no pictures from this era survive! But I’ve discovered that the two hours the kids are in lessons is just enough time to get to the top, bomb CBC, get one run off the Expo chair, and make it back up and over.

Me and my Pelties

The start of my 20th season with my Peltonens, at the Gatineau Park P7. I got these in grade nine when I joined the XC ski team and first learned of skate skiing which had only taken over in the previous few years. These skis were sold as a kind of hybrid and for many years I used them for both skating and classic just by changing the wax. Good old Pelties. They may not be long for this world.

Ottawa and the Ottawa River from the lookout, with the Gatineau RIver visible to the left.

The first skate ski of the year is always a struggle. I didn’t fall, so I’ll take that as a victory.

Tuesday

And topped off with a few hillsprints in the home stretch.

Thursday

My first night xc ski of 2014. From P16 in the Park, this was a brilliant little trip with my big brother. This picture is a trail intersection. I love night skiing. You really feel like the woods belong to you, and it drives home the beauty of this sport: our facilities are open 24/7. Ski at your own convenience.

Saturday

A family snowshoe in the backyard.

Rink maintenance.

An afternoon family xc ski along the Gatineau River train tracks.

Sunday

Monday

Freezing rain put a shell on all the beautiful powder we’ve gotten, but there’s always a sport to match the conditions. This time snowshoeing.

I went out for a half hour, but stayed an hour and a half, once more, completely lost in my backyard woods as the sun goes down.

Tuesday

First cross country ski of the year, getting reacquainted with beautiful Gatineau Park in wintertime. I took a trail near my house I’ve taken a dozen times, but somehow found this short trail stub that brought me to a lake lookout I’d never seen before. This is (one of) the magical attributes of Gatineau Park. You always find new things.

Halfway into my ski I crossed the groomer, and had this beautiful cream to ski the downhill return trip.

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Thursday

One of my favourite times of day to be out in the woods is late afternoon/ pre-sunset, when the sideways light casts great shadows across each scene, with random details highlighted. There’s a kind of magic to it, especially off trail in the bush where the sunlight comes through in 3-dimensional blocks of light. Thursday was quick and beautiful xc ski.

I cast a long shadow in the Parc.

Saturday

Rainy day of downhill at Mont Tremblant. The kids were in lessons, so we couldn’t miss the chance for “free” skiing.

Sunday

Sunday was a day of rest. Of a sort. A family xc ski along Lac Mercier (Mont Tremblant)

The January thaw leaves a hockey net wet and lonely. A Sutter-esque commentary on the state of the game in Canada?