For the third year in a row, the ski weekend at Ottawa/Gatineau turned out to be a great success!  We had our doubts this was going to be the case when the 18 of us who had signed up for the weekend made our way to Ottawa.  There had not been any new snow since the thaw a week earlier.  Three of our group who arrived early to ski at Gatineau Park on Friday afternoon found fast and icy conditions.  Most of the non-green trails were listed on the Gatineau website as “not recommended”.  But there was supposed to be 5-10 cm snow coming on Friday night, so we had our fingers crossed.

I also arrived early on Friday, but I opted to go for a skate on the Rideau Canal.  It was the first day the canal was opened to skaters, although it was limited to a 2-km section.  Most of the group (13 of 18) met in the hotel lobby on Friday evening Continue reading →