Only 3 female BeaverTails turned up on Mount Royal at 10 am Saturday morning. The Conditions were NOT good at all. In fact it looked like they had specifically groomed the trails to discourage skiers; in that they had removed many of the tracks by grooming course snow to level them. The section under the bridge was officially closed, but that didn’t stop us.
We still had a very nice ski in the sunshine. Jessica and I used waxless skis which worked well and helped slow down the glide on the fast hard packed hills. Monique had a lot more glide, but needed to stop and reapply wax. Report by Nancy Atkins.
(Editor’s note: Nancy reports that they saw a Pilleated Woodpecker while on the trail. That’s the really large one with the pointy red head.)
Author: btnsc
I blame myself. Clearly, I waited too long to send out my e-mail about skiing on Sun at Gai Luron or the P’tit Train du Nord. I sent it out on Sat afternoon at 3:30 pm. It’s no wonder only two people opted in. I’m SURE if I had sent it first thing Sat morning, dozens of you would have turned out. I’m sure it was the late notice that dissuaded you and not the cold weather and the prospect of icy trail conditions. Indeed, many of the people I canvassed at the EOS Party mumbled that they had already made other plans. It seemed that most of those plans involved staying in bed as late as possible on Sun morning…
Given the fast conditions, me and the two other opt-in skiers (Mickey and Sharon, of course) decided to ski on the flatter PTdN. I made my way up to Mont Rolland (Saint-Adèle) for 11 am DST to meet them. We had the later than usual start since we lost an hour during the night with the change to Daylight Saving Time. The 
parking lot was not very crowded, go figure. It was -17 C (felt like -24 with the wind). I’ve skied in much colder weather, so the temperature was not an issue. The trail conditions were another matter. The PTdN people are good at grooming their trail, but the thaws and lack of new snow had left the tracks hard and icy.
I had optimistically applied green wax at home, but Mickey and the guy at Espresso Sports advised me that klister was a better bet. The universal klister I had brought with me is rated for -5 C to +10 C, but I figured
Report by Jan W
We had 21.5 two-legged hikers (Ken hiked only the middle half of the trail with us…) and two happy 4-legged canine hikers covering the 13.5km trail Le Haut-Lieu, starting near the Sucrerie de la Montagne, south of Rigaud. The temperature was a bit below the freezing point when we started, but it was sunny with little wind, comfortable hiking weather. Most of the loop has a wide trail with quite gentle hills. However there are a couple of ascents, the larger one between the 8.5 to 10.5 km marks on the southern edge of the loop, with the last part fairly steep. Well, if it’s steep, there had better be a view somewhere at top of it (Hiker Trail Design 101), and there was, mainly towards the Saint Lawrence Lowlands to the south, so it was a good area for a rest and 
snack stop. From there is was a comfortable 3.5km hike back to the parking lot.
The trails here are fairly well marked, but there are a couple of intersections in the first 2km not shown on the trail map, so care is needed to follow correctly. The full loop hiking time was about 3 hours 40 min for the main group, with a smaller group finishing earlier. It was a nice hike, and now it’s time for the snow to fall…
Jan W writes;
I couldn’t have asked for better weather, and the leaves were still in prime colour. We (Sue-Anne, Maria, Robbie, Cathy and myself) started from Underhill State Park dressed warmly and with extra layers in our packs, this is mid-October right?…well…we were all wearing one layer less by the time we reached the treeline. We put back on a layer once on the ridge, then enjoyed the sunshine, blue sky, very low wind (for a Mansfield summit….) and coloured mountains below as we traversed.
We hiked up along the Halfway House trail, then along the above-treeline ridge (taking the Long Trail) until the Chin (summit) and then back down on Sunset Ridge. In total, it was a bit over 10km, 750m vertical and about 5 hours 15 min. We spent a least 30 minutes at the summit for lunch. The only part where we met almost nobody else was the Halfway House trail. The Sunset Ridge trail had steady hiker traffic, and the summit/ridge even more due to many who drove up the Toll road or took the Stowe Gondola. There was still plenty of room to enjoy
it all. At the bottom when we left, we saw about 1 km of parked cars lining the access road to Underhill State park…we weren’t the only ones who wanted to enjoy the colours and get in a good hike.
Sharon Z report from PTN
Conditions were pretty good except for a short distance at the beginning. We did classic. Skating would have been harder especially earlier in the day because the track hadn’t softened up. All in all it was definitely worth it!
Are they the last skier standing?
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Tales from the CSM
It is well known that the Canadian Ski Marathon is not easy, a two day 160kms cross country ski event. This year to add to the fun the weather did not co -operate.
Here are notes from two club members Glen C and Mickey Z who “enjoyed” the weekend.
Clen C’s note:
It was really tough… the first section on Sat was met with very heavy snow, and we were all completely blocked up… only doing 3 km in the first hour. The waxing for both days was very difficult, as the snow was so heavy and also variable. This meant for lots of double poling (the arms a very sore), and climbing was tough too.
On sat, we had lots of rain in section 9, and then we waited at the checkpoint to start section 8, but it was closed due to a stuck groomer… hundreds and hundreds of skiers waited in the pouring rain for directions… we all froze!!! After about 1 hour, they decided to bus everyone to the start of section 7. My caloric burn on day 1 was 3500, and on day 2, it was 3000.
Sunday started off much better, as there was only a little snow… then it cleared to a beautiful sunny day. But, this also made for very difficult waxing, as the temp was near 0. Skiers did not know what to do.. klister, red, silver, etc…
Yes, I achieved my objectives, and finished the last section around 3:20. Feeling really tired and sore. Mickey and I enjoyed a nice Subway sandwich across the street from our hotel (high school gym floor), which really hit the spot!!
Mickey , please feel free to add…
Mickey Z’s note
Terrible. What’s the opposite of fun?
It was the worst conditions anyone can remember – slush and ice covered with a thin layer of powder. Nothing worked – no combination of waxes and klisters. The fewest number of people finished compared with previous years. Unlike last time when I finished all 10 sections with an hour to spare, this time I missed the cutoff. It was the first time in my life that I can say I didn’t enjoy the ski.
I should have bought a pair of no-wax skis.
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“Lessons learnt” tales from the ski clinic
Dalia’s tale.
Dan and I didn’t join the ski clinic on Saturday, although we got there just in time.
Here is our story.
We got to Morin Heights around 9:30 am and decided to get a head start on the trails in order to get back in time for the ski lesson I was very much looking forward to. When asked about the best trail to take for an approx 6km ski, we were recommended to take the trail 2, 4, 37 and 50 for a round trip.
We headed off at 9:45 and our 6 km ski became a 14 km, slippery and more difficult ski than usual. Did we take a wrong turn? Maybe. Being optimistic, I was determined to take on the challenge of the climbs and the hills, despite the no so good conditions and my frequent falls. At the very end, after 4 falls on the same last big hill, My legs felt like jello and I walked down the last hill, with a few bruises and a bigger bruised ego.
Lesson learned: take the ski lesson BEFORE going out on a difficult trail!
As the Pres noted,. If it’s any consolation, you are far from being the first person to have this happen to them! One year Glen and some others arrived just as the clinic started, out of breath and sweaty because they had realized they were late. Just last year, one new member also went out before, lost his way and did not get back in time for the clinic.
Let that be a lesson to you all.
Three Beavertails went out for a ski on Christmas Day (Dec 25) to Cap St Jacques, and to their dismay, there was no snow!!! They were going to try the “squirrel” or “rabbit” trails… Good thing they brought their bikes with them…
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We have our first skier
The first skier of the season has been identified, Ghyslaine at Foret Montmorency Dec 06
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Weekends and Special Events
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