Although we keep thinking the end of the cross-country ski season is imminent, you would never know it by the great ski conditions we had last weekend!
At Cap St Jacques, they extended their trail grooming activities by a week, a few days after they said they were done for the year. There were nine of us there on Sat morning enjoying the -7 C temps. Meanwhile at our other designated Sat morning destination of Mount Royal, I had reports of six members out and about. After dealing with tricky damp snow after the mid-week snowfall, the colder temps brought us snow with superb glide.
Despite the midwinter-like snow and ski conditions, we went ahead with our End of Season (EOS) Party on Sat evening. Forty-four of us got together at Natalino’s in Dorval in the private dining room on the second floor. We spent the first hour mingling and talking over drinks. Of course, the most important topic was: Where should we go skiing the next morning! A consensus quickly formed around the idea of going to Gai Luron. I duly tweeted and e-mailed that decision to the membership from my phone as we sat down for dinner.
The rest of the evening was spent eating, drinking, chatting and laughing. After the main course, I got the crowd’s attention and delivered a few words of thanks to all the people who have helped with particular roles or club events during the past season. I also gently reminded everyone that, after 18 years as president of the club, this really and truly is my last year. Not that I lack confidence that you will all respect my decision to step down, but just to be sure, I have already booked flights for next fall and winter that will take me to other countries many time zones away.
The EOS Party was a great success. Many thanks to Cheryl Walker for organizing this wonderful cap-off to our season!
But like I said, the season is not done just yet. The next morning at Gai Luron, no fewer than 13 BTers assembled on a cold and sunny morning. Go figure! We’ve been trying to get people up to Gai Luron and the PTdN the last few Sundays, but we never had more than four skiers turn out. But now that the end of season is at hand, it’s like people are saying, “Oh! I’d better get out and ski before it’s too late!” Maybe next year we should hold the EOS party in early February, if that’s the trigger to get people out.
Anyway, it was a spectacular day at Gai Luron. When we arrived, the board outside the chalet said it was -16 C, but it was warming up fast and it was already -13 C when we started shortly after 10 am. Mind you, it was sunny and there was no wind, so it did not feel cold. And by the time we were finishing up at around 1 pm, it had already reached -6 C.
The trails at Gai Luron were, as expected, in excellent condition. All of them were open, including the narrow, single-track B and C loops off the L trail that wind through the woods. After completing the L+B+C trail, four of us went off to do the G trail. Shortly after the start of it, there is a sign for a turn off to a “vue panoramique”. We usually ski past that sign, but on this nice day we decided to ski up the hill to the view point. One can see far off to the east and south. Indeed, on this especially clear day, we could look towards Montreal and see Mt Royal, the buildings of downtown and even the Olympic Stadium jutting up in the east end. After a great morning of skiing at Gai Luron, some of us took advantage of the bench outside the waxing cabin to lounge in the sun.
It was a magnificent weekend of skiing. And judging by the weather forecast, it looks like we will have at least one more good weekend of skiing!