Tom V – Page 4 – Beaver Tails Nordic Ski Club

2016 01 24 Mont St Bruno : 24 Enjoyed an Excellent Day at Mont St Bruno

Since our ski season finally started this season with the snowstorm on Dec 29, there have only been a couple of wet days where we could not ski. The skiing has been fine, but most days have been gray and overcast. This weekend the sun finally came out in all its glory and the skiing was all the more delightful!
When the two dozen Beaver Tail members met at 9:30 am at Mont St Bruno, it was -15 C. But there was little wind and the temperature was expected to rise quickly over the next few hours. We got our ski and gear organized and then started leaving in smaller groups. Mickey and Glen C, our two members who are training for this year’s Canadian Ski Marathon (Feb 20-21) were looking to do a lot of mileage so they, along with David I, left first. Our lone snow-shoer also set out. We had a couple of skiers who decided to stick to green trails. Then it was the rest of us who went out to tackle the blue trails at various speeds.

When I talked to some people at the ski clinic the day before, they had expressed skepticism as to how good the conditions could be at Mont St Bruno, especially given how the trails at the local on-island parks were beginning to look a bit tired. But Mont St Bruno had retained a lot of their snow and since it is a Parc national, it has the good grooming equipment to make the most of it. All the trails had well-formed tracks and there was plenty of snow to control the descents. One member said she was was quite surprised at how good the trail conditions were. She added that it was the best skiing she had had at Mont St Bruno in years!

The largest group of us followed the #1 blue trail, which is the largest continuous loop around the park. It starts off with a lot of steady climbing in the first 3 km, then settles in to a nice mix of ups and downs, followed by flat sections that follow the edge of a lake. As we headed back towards main chalet, we turned off onto the #3 and then #7 trails, and then looped back onto the northern part of of the #1. Most of us were back at the chalet by just before 12 pm. By then the temperature had already warmed up to -8 C. We ran into our ski marathon guys — they had just switched from green to blue wax and were setting out for their next loop!
We had a few newer members out on Sunday who were skiing at Mont St Bruno for the first time. They all remarked on how a pleasant place it was to ski. I’m sure that all the members of our group skiing and snowshoeing there on this day were in agreement!

27 BTers at the Morin Heights Ski Clinc

The weather conditions for this year’s ski clinic were the best we have had in years! It was a cool -15 C in the morning, but by the time we started the clinic at 1 pm it was -9 C. When you were in the sun and sheltered from the slight breeze, it was exceptionally comfortable, even during the parts when you were standing around to listen to the ski instructors.
But first, some news regarding the facilities at Morin Heights. It turns out they have made a big improvement to their ski centre on Lac Echo Rd. Until last year, they had one small building beside the trail along the aerobic corridor, plus a long trailer in the parking lot up the hill on the other side of the road. During the summer, the city of Morin Heights bought an existing two-storey building and has made it the principal chalet d’accueil. The Chalet Bellevue is just 100 metres south of the aerobic corridor on Bellevue Road, but it is tucked behind some trees so it is likely you have never noticed it. It’s a large building that was originally a hotel and more recently a senior citizen’s residence. It has a large common area with lots of table and chairs. They have plans to add a waxing room, lockers, and even showers. It will also act as a base for mountain bikers. It

will definitely add to the appeal of skiing at Morin Heights!

There were five of us who arrived at 10 am for a morning ski. The Triangle trail was our first choice. It was open, but was described as being slick and fast. We opted instead to do an out-and-back on the Aerobic corridor. It’s a gentle uphill most of the way north. (It’s an old train line, so it can’t be too steep!) But that does make for a faster return trip. On the way back, we passed a few other members who arrived later and went out for a shorter pre-clinic ski.
We gathered in the Chalet Bellevue at 12:30 pm and Glenn Kyte, our ski clinic organizer, took attendance. We then walked over to the parking lot at the top of the hill. It’s where we used to meet in the large trailer, but now there is only a small trailer that acts as a secondary ticket booth. Our four instructors this year were Rick, Gary, Anne and Arnie. We split up into our groups (beginner, intermediate, advanced and skating) and started our lessons at 1 pm.
As I mentioned as the outset, the conditions were ideal for a ski lesson. Each of the four groups did a number of different exercises and drills during the next 1.5 hours. It was entirely pleasant! Afterward, someone of us met back in the Chalet Bellevue and chatted. Everyone reported having a great afternoon of improving their skiing abilities.
Many thanks to Glenn for once again organizing a successful and well-appreciated ski clinic! He went up to Morin Heights and coordinated the groups even though he could not ski himself due to an early season injury.

2016 01 15-17 A Boffo Tremblant Weekend!

Wow, what a great weekend! It was our third year in a row holding the Mont Tremblant Weekend at the Hotel du Lac. And it’s only getting more popular — we had 52 people take part this year, a new record.

Just five days before the Tremblant Weekend, we had pelting rain followed by a quick return to freezing weather, making most of the trails an icy mess. But that’s the beauty of cross-country skiing. It only takes a few cm of fresh snow and some skilled grooming to make the trails excellent again. As a result, we were able to enjoy three days of great skiing and snowshoeing.
Indeed, after sharing messages on the website’s forum page, about 14 members who had the day off on Friday drove up north midday and got in some good skiing at three different locations — the P’tit Train du Nord, Parc des Campeurs (Ste Agathe), and Domaine St Bernard. I was among five skiers at Parc des Campeurs who met at 1 pm. It was overcast and -12 C, no wind. Not all the trails were open, but the trails we skied on were in fine condition, not icy and with enough snow to have control on the descents.

People arrived at the Hotel du Lac throughout the afternoon and evening. Some people had dinner in the hotel dining room or local restaurants. Several others took advantage of the full kitchens in their condos to bring food and have a nice home-style dinner.
The next morning, we woke up to a perfect forecast — light snow falling with a temperature steady at -4 C. At breakfast in the dining room, which overlooks the lake and the downhill ski centre, everyone was planning their day. One quartet opted to go snowshoeing at Domaine St-Bernard. Most of the others decided to make the 45-minute drive to the far side of Mont Tremblant to the Parc National and go skiing. After a few minutes of milling about in the swish new “centre de découverte”, we spread out over the trail network and everyone reported splendid mid-winter conditions. Our adventure group of skiers tackled Le Malard trail, which features a 2-km climb and then a 2-km descent. Some returned to have soup by the fireplace and then drove back to the hotel, while others couldn’t help themselves and went out for more skiing.

After freshening up and perhaps a brief lie-down, it was off for the evening program. First stop, the wine & cheese in the condo of our weekend organizers, Cheryl & Helene. Yes, all 52 of us were in one condo, snacking and drinking and sharing tales of a great day on the trails. Then it was off to the hotel dining room for a gourmet dinner. Finally, many drifted over to the bar for a night cap and a game of pool.

The next morning we had a great blast of sunlight during breakfast. But the clouds rolled back in and it was -12 C. For the last day, people did a variety of activities. Many went for another day of skiing or snowshoeing at Domaine St Bernard. Others went for a walk to the ski centre village or drove to St Jovite and visited the shops there. Then after lunch the drive back to the city. There were no traffic delays on Aut 15 in the mid-afternoon when I drove home.

A big thanks to Cheryl and Hélène for again organizing this very successful weekend! Two years ago, they were the ones who found the Hotel du Lac and proposed doing our first weekend there. Once again this year, they took care of all the details, including getting all the food and drink for the wine & cheese party.
I have a feeling we will back at Tremblant next year, by popular demand!

Jan 09– 11 Skiers Before the Rain at Cap St Jacques

The forecast was for 1 or 2 C, with rain arriving mid-morning. But who knew how long it might be before we could ski again. So 11 skiers turned out at CSJ last Sat at 9 am.
Most were on their waxless skis and they were happy they were. But I used my regular skis with red wax and that worked surprisingly well. Most of us did followed the 10-km red rabbit trail, while some others did a bit less or more. Meanwhile, the rain held off and the skiing conditions were very pleasant.
It just goes to show you that even when the conditions look doubtful, the skiing can be great!

BTNSC Holiday Skiing (& Eating) Round Up — Dec 30 to Jan 3

After one of the warmest and greenest Decembers on record, we made a very abrupt and very complete transition to winter on Dec 29 when we got a dump of 39 cm of snow! After not being able to ski at all up to this point, here was our chance to make up for lost time! Consequently, we had three scheduled ski outings (& one eating outing) in the space of five days — all of them on the island.

Wed, Dec 30 — 13 Skiers at Bois de Liesse

While the snow was still blowing on Tue Dec 29, we declared an informal ski outing the next morning at Bois de Liesse. This was a bit exceptional in the sense that we do not usually schedule a ski outing on a day that is not on the weekend or is not a public holiday. But we knew that many members had extra days off, so we decided to go for it.

It was cloudy and -4 C at 10 am when we meet at the Chalet d’accueil des Champs. Nine of us set out together to finally get our ski season under way. Four other members arrived later. For the first km of skiing the trail was only skier-tracked, but then we caught up to the tracking machine and the rest of the skiing was on freshly groomed trails. We did the red rabbit trail for a nice 5.5 km loop. It should be 1 km longer, but part of it could not be groomed yet because it passes through a swampy part that was not frozen yet. I did a bit extra and was even able to ski along an ungroomed trail underneath Aut 13 without having to take my skis off. There is often not enough snow to be able to do that!
It was a short, but sweet, first outing!

Fri, Jan 1 — 15 Skiers at New Year’s Day Special at Cap St Jacques
Last year on Jan 1, there was a thaw and we could not ski. No lack of snow this year! There were 15 of us who shook off any lingering effects of the previous evening’s festivities. Indeed, it was the best turnout we have had for our New Year’s Day outing since 2010 (16 at Gai Luron).
It was cloudy and -1 C on the morning of New Year’s Day at Cap St Jacques as we gathered at 10 am in the parking lot (chalet was closed). We set out and soon found that the trails here were not as nicely groomed compared to Bois de Liesse. But it was still quite manageable and we forged on. About 3 km along on the red rabbit trail, signs directed us to take a detour around a part of the trail that could not be groomed due to soggy and unfrozen ground. Our group of 15 spread out and some took short cuts. But most of us ended up meeting again at the end. Most of skied between 5 and 10 km. It was a great way to ring in the New Year!

Sun, Jan 3 — 26 Skiers at Bois de Liesse
After reports from Mount Royal of poor grooming and trails with streams running through them, we decided to switch our pre- pot luck ski outing to Bois de Liesse. This worked out well enough as 26 BTers turned out to work up an appetite — 25 skiers and 1 on snowshoes. We gathered at 10 am and as usual it took a few minutes to herd the cats, I mean members, in to a formation suitable for the group photo.
Once again it was a cloudy and mild day. The temperature was edging close to 0 C and this made the waxing a bit challenging. Well, it did for those skiers who were using waxable skis. Several members opted to use the waxless skis they keep on standby for just such a day! Meanwhile, those of us with waxed skis got a good upper body workout as we alternately skied and pushed ourselves along with our poles!
With such a large group, we inevitably spread out and took routes of varying lengths. But must us limited the outing to about an hour and a half. After all, we had…

Sun Jan 3 — 34 Pot Luckers at Melrose Place

…a pot luck to get to! We ventured into snowy NDG and battled the roadside snow banks to find a place to park near our traditional destination of Monique Isler’s house on Melrose Ave. (Kudos to those of you who walked or took public transit!)
Between 12 and 1 pm, we arrived at Monique’s, diligently following the signs directing us from the front door down to the vestaire, and then through the basement up through the second staircase to emerge in the kitchen. The dining room table was soon groaning under the weight of a delectable display of divine dishes. And then there was the separate sweet table full of desserts. For most of us, it was the last day of the holiday feasting period, so might as well make the most of it! Besides, we had the excuse of having exercised that morning, right?

The dining was accompanied by much animated conversation. Nothing like lots of snow and mild temperatures (and great food) to get us feeling festive! It was truly a worthy celebration of a wonderful start to the ski season. Towards mid-afternoon, people slowly began departing. Fittingly, we walked outdoors to be met by more big snowflakes gently coming down.
Many thanks to Monique for once again opening up her home to us!

Sun Dec 20 — A Nice Walk in the Woods at Bois de Liesse

We have been walking so many Sundays that we are running out of new places to go. Going to Bois de Liesse was something of an afterthought. How interesting could that be? But it’s close by and who has a lot of time to spare this close to Christmas? So Bois de Liesse it was. Well, it turns out that 27 people and 3 dogs had a splendid walk there last Sun!
It was sunny and -3 C as we gathered by the Chalet d’accueil des Champs at 9:30 am. Of course, with our mild El Niño winter, there was no snow or ice on the ground. I mention this because once before a few years ago, we tried to walk at Bois de Liesse in December. The trails were so ice-covered and treacherous, we quickly had to abandon them and we ended up doing our “nature walk” on the adjacent streets of Dollard and Pierrefonds!

Our usual group shot takers — Linda and Monique T — were both absent. There were no other park visitors about. But as luck would have it, the day before I had received an early Christmas gift — a selfie stick! So I was able to get me and everyone else in the official group shot.

Our guest hike leader this week was longtime member Ken B. He is a regular walker of the Bois de Liesse trails and he had mapped out a route to keep us out for at least 2 hours. We set out on the familiar ski trail leading away from the chalet to the west. But then things were quickly less familiar as we found ourselves walking across a small wetland on an elaborate boardwalk. That’s when I, and several others, realized that we do not know this park as well as we think we do!

In my case, this lack of knowledge is especially egregious. I have lived only a 10-minute drive from this park for over 25 years! I have been there many times over the years, but it has always been in the winter to go cross-country skiing. So I thought I knew the park, but it turns out the ski trails leave out a lot! Ken took us to along the trails to an observation platform overlooking the large stream. Ducks were seen walking on the ice of the partially frozen water. We then went under Autoroute 13, crossed Gouin at a traffic light and made our way along trails that hugged the north shore of the island. All of this was new to me! If you look at a map of the park, it is an odd shape, with lots of different sections, some of which you have to go out your way to find! It’s also a lot bigger than you might think.

Ken led us back to Gouin and then along Pittfield Blvd to cross over the stream to the southwest section of the park. We did a loop there and then went back under the 13 and soon reached Maison Pittfield, the main chalet on the northern side of the park. After a short pit stop at Pittfield, we continued back east. At about the 7-km mark, we were back in sight of the chalet we set out from. But we were all up for some more exercise, so we crossed into the eastern section of the park and did another 2 km.
We got back to the Chalet des Champs after hiking 9 km in just over 2 hours. It had been a delightful and invigorating outing. Many thanks to Ken for mapping out and leading a great hike!

Last Sat — 56 Revellers at Christmas Party

It was the second year in a row that we had our holiday party at Bitoque, the Portuguese BYOB on Notre-Dame, near Atwater.　 Last year we were upstairs in a space shared with other diners.　 But this year, we had a large private room in the basement, complete with sound system and dance floor.

We began gathering at 6 pm.　 Several of us were delayed 30-45 minutes by an accident on Aut 20 near 1st Ave., but we were eventually all seated in time to place our dinner orders.　 The food and conversation were all great.　 We also sang Happy Birthday to founding-president Al — funny how it always seems to be Al’s birthday when we have a party!

As we finished dessert and coffee, the dance music was cranked up and the party got into an even higher gear.　 People danced or talked for another good while.　 Everyone agreed that the party was a huge success!

A thank you to Steve G for bringing his tablet with a playlist to supply music for the dancing.　 A special thanks to Ray D for debugging the sound board and making the music distortion-free!　 And finally a very big thank you to Joanne Bender for organizing the party!　 Her many tasks included collecting all the names and cheques, as well as visiting the restaurant several days beforehand to make sure the room would be good for us.　 Merci, Joanne!

Sun Nov 29 — Three Dozen at Île Bizard!

We like to have a range of different Sunday hikes during the fall months while we wait for ski season to arrive.　 Some are long, some are hilly and some are both.　 And then sometimes we have a hike that is neither very long nor hilly.　 Our hike last Sunday at Île Bizard was one of those.
The promise was for a flat hike of 8 – 9 km in 2 hours.　 What’s more, the Île Bizard location made it easier for many people to get there.　 This seemed to be an irresistible combination for many of you as we had a season-record of 36 hikers turn out on Sunday.

We gathered at the parking lot on the northern side of the island a few minutes before 10 am.　 The sky was cloudy and the temp was -2 C, but there was no wind.　 There was some initial concern when the clock reached 10 and our hike leaders (and Île Bizard residents), Theo & Monique, were nowhere to be seen.　 However, they arrived a few seconds later and quickly dispelled any suggestions they had got lost!

Monique quickly got us organized for the group photo, putting her camera on a timer so she could get in the photo also.　 Then we set off.　 But unlike every other time the club has hiked at this park, Theo did not take us across the road towards the main part of the park, but instead took us 500 m towards the shore where we walked along a lovely and secluded beach area.　 Even many long-time West Island residents had never seen this side of Île Bizard!

We back-tracked to the parking lot and then crossed the road towards the main trail network. We soon encountered one of the highlights of the park, the long wooden boardwalk across the swampy wetland.　 The thin layer of clear ice on top of the water made for some nice scenery (and some even nicer photos, like this one — don’t forget to take a look at the rest of them!).
Our large group was often strung out over a few hundred meters as some paused to take a nature-photo break at the boardwalk, or the other type of nature break at the outhouse at the trail junction a few kilometers after we started.　 But Theo kept track of us all and made sure nobody missed any turns.　 He was aided in part by Mark S, who was “hiking” on his fat bike and acted as our sweep / sheepdog to make sure any stragglers did not get dropped.

As promised, we got back just before noon, after hiking 7.8 km.　 It’s probably our shortest Sunday hike, but everybody was very pleased all the same to have gotten out for some good exercise and still have all afternoon to start getting ready for the holidays.　 A big thanks to Theo and Monique for taking such good care of us!

Post script to Toms report

Theo has set a new standard for leading hikes.

btnsc

Prevost Nov 8 — Where’s the trail?

It was a splendid day for hiking at Prevost — sunny and 5 C. After a delay due to the late arrival of our hike leader (me!), 12 of us finally set out at 10:20 am.

It’s sometimes difficult to get other members to lead a hike if I’m not there.　 I tell people, it’s not a big deal, just get the trail map and use it in conjunction with the trail markers.　 But there are a couple of places we go to that are exceptions.　 Rigaud, when we start from the Sanctuary, is one of them.　 We usually have to get our local expert Christine B-M to guide us.　 The other exception is Prevost.　 I have done this hike over a dozen times, but even with a clear map of the desired route, I sometimes struggle to keep us on track.　 There are trail markers here and there, but there are many poorly marked turns that are tough to find even when I know they are coming up and I’m looking for them!

The first challenge is finding the correct path up to the summit of Mount Shaw.　 As usual, we briefly took some wrong turns and did a bit of back tracking before we found our way up to the summit with its big boulder. Now, to call this lookout “Mount” Shaw is a being generous, even by Laurentian mountain standards.　 But there is a nice view, so I guess that’s what counts.

As we made our way down to Lac du Paradis, we were joined by a late-arriving Kelly and her handsome pooches, Thor and Loki.　 So now we were 13 plus two dogs. We paused to admire the lake and watch the dogs frolic in the water.　 Then it was up to the power lines and the steep path parallel to them.　 We then went along the upper ridge and emerged at the first of the two main lookouts. We continued along the edge of the ridge to the second lookout, where we took a lunch break.

I then tried to follow the MOC trail further north, but I could not find the turnoff and wound up on the roughly-parallel WZ trail.　 So a bit longer than planned, but it was a nice way down also. We went back the usual way — west on the WN trail, then south on the JE trail before joining the dirt road (closed to traffic) and finally the P’tit Train du Nord.

It was another classic day of hiking at Prevost.　 Stats: 9.0 km, 3 hr 10 min, 13 very happy hikers (plus the two dogs).　 For five people, it was there first time at Prevost, and they especially enjoyed discovering these great trails not so far from the city!

Mont St-Hilaire — What? Walk in the Rain?!?

The day before the Sun Nov 1 hike the weather forecast for Mont St-Hilaire was for rain and wind.　 Like many of you, I reflexively thought, “We can’t possibly hike in the rain!”　 But then I thought, well, why not?!　 It’s not like I don’t have all the weather-resistant gear and clothing I would need!
Normally, we likely would have cancelled.　 And if there was going to be any heavy rain, we surely would have done so.　 But the forecast was just intermittent light rain, and after having to miss the previous two Sun hikes, personally I was keen to get out in the woods and I thought maybe some others might be also.　 So I figured, let’s give it a try
My call for hikers was answered by six people.　 In the end, three had to opt out for various reasons, and so there were four of us who met up at Mont St Hilaire at 10 am.　 It was indeed raining lightly as we gathered in the centre d’accueil.　 We were a determined bunch, especially two of the group who had unexpectedly stayed out partying the night before until 3 am!　 A lucky thing the clocks changed overnight and they had an extra hour to recuperate.
After congratulating ourselves for having made it this far (i.e, driving through the rain to the park!), we set out on the trails.　 It was 7 C and still raining lightly, but the Weather Network and the radar map predicted it would end in about 30 minutes.　 Sure enough, the rain did stop and it did not rain again for the rest of our hike.　 The wide, well-maintained trails of the nature center were wet but not muddy.
We took our usual clockwise route.　 We first climbed to the Burned Hill view point, where there was only a partial view due to low cloud cover.　 We then continued on to the more prominent Pain de Sucre look out.　 By the time we arrived there, the rain had stopped and the visibility of the surrounding areas was surprisingly good.　 Pain de Sucre is a popular stopping point for park visitors and there are usually many people crowded onto the big rock.　 But on this day we were the only ones there.　 This exposed view point was one of the only spots where we felt the strong winds.

Indeed, we had to take care not to get blown off the rock!　 But everywhere else on the hike, we were completely sheltered from the winds — it was downright tranquil.
After descending from Pain de Sucre, we decided to forgo the usual trek north to the Dieppe and Rocky view points.　 Instead we cut across the center of the park from west to east on the purple trail (sentier mauve).　 We then walked south on the trail that skirts the edge of Lac Hertel.　 We paused at the small wooden lookout deck to admire a large group of ducks on the lake.　 We then continued south back to the centre d’accueil.
Hike stats: 8.5 km, 2 hr 26 min and 4 happy hikers.　 Not bad for a day that

originally looked like it would be a washout!