Balance

This picture shows that you're balanced if your toe, knee, and nose are on a vertical line. There are several terms to describe this: vertical alignment or vertically stacked. Check out this article for more info: Better Balance for Nordic Skiers

Trip to Renaud Cabin from P19

Feb 1 Saturday beginner friendly trip 

So this trip will be quite inclusive -- beginners, kids and both types of skiers are all welcome.

Short route: P19 to Renaud cabin via #50, then #55 to Taylor Lake, and back to Renaud cabin. Approximately 7-8km. 

Long route: P19 to beach at end of Phillipe Lake via #50, then double back to Renaud cabin then Lusk cabin via #54, and back to Renaud cabin. About 15km. You can choose to skip the Lusk cabin part. After lunch, ski to Taylor Lake before going back to P19 if you still have energy.

We carpool at Scott and Parkdale government parking lot at 9:45. Plan to arrive at P19 at 10:30. Meet at Renaud Cabin for lunch at 12:30. The distance between P19 and Renaud cabin is 3km but feel free to explore.


Carpool time: 9:45 at Scott and Parkdale
P19: 10:30
Lunch time: 12:30 at Renaud cabin

Bring a lunch and enough water.

Day pass is $20 for adults. Kids 12 and under are free.

P19 is at 45.624483, -76.010456 or +45° 37' 28.14", -76° 0' 37.64.

Hallmarks of good skiing

Good skiing, to me, means two things:

1. You have excellent weight transfer and balancing
2. You're utilizing big muscles (or core) to propel yourself forward. You will not get tired as easily and you can glide much further.

There are signs when you're skiing well. For classic skiing, your ski is lifted up high if you're kicking hard. This also means you're entirely balanced on your gliding ski.

For skate skiing, power comes from bending at waist, ie, using your core muscles. Check out Olympic skier Jessie Diggins to see how much she bends.

You want to retrieve your ski as close as possible and land on outside edge. This way you don't waste time moving your body to balance. When you put your ski down, your body should be right on top of it. You then roll your ski from outside edge, to flat, to inside edge.

Cross Country Skiing Safety and Ethics

Copied from CanadaTrails

Safety Guidelines

To avoid problems and to be prepared for any difficulty that might arise on a cross-country ski outing, follow these safety guidelines:

• Let someone know where you will be skiing and what time you will be returning, particularly if you are going into a backcountry area.
• Check your equipment before you leave home, to ensure that it functions properly and that you have everything that you will need.
• When venturing into mountainous areas, follow the basic avalanche safety procedures
• Carry a map of the area where you are skiing. If trails are not marked, you will also need a compass.
• Wear a backpack containing food and drink, a waxing kit, extra clothing, emergency repair equipment and a first-aid kit.
• Know your limitations--in terms of both trail difficulty and distance--and ski on trails that are within your ability.
• Ski in groups of three or more, especially if venturing into backcountry areas. If someone is injured, one person can stay with the victim while the other goes for help.
• Know the symptoms of and remedies for frostbite and hypothermia. Check the other members of your group for symptoms at regular intervals.
• Eat and drink at regular intervals to maintain energy and hydration levels. Physical activity suppresses the appetite, so eat a few mouthfuls of food and take a few swallows of liquid every half hour or so, even if you're not hungry or thirsty.
• Before crossing ice over lakes or streams, ensure that it is thick enough to support your weight. Ski centers usually warn their clientele about thin ice, but in backcountry areas you will have to make your own decisions. Several weeks of continual freezing temperatures are required to build up a safe thickness of ice.

Emergency and Repair Equipment

At the beginning of the winter put together an emergency/repair kit including the following basic items:

• a cigarette lighter or waterproof matches
• two or three candles to provide heat and light
• a metal container or plastic bag to melt snow
• a lightweight emergency blanket or plastic tarp
• a whistle (if you happen to get lost or injured, three short blasts will alert searchers to your location)
• a pocket knife with a screwdriver blade
• a replacement ski tip and pole basket and screws for your bindings
• a roll of duct tape (to repair just about anything)

Skier's Code of Ethics

Follow these guidelines to help make skiing a safe and pleasant experience for everyone:

• Always buy a trail pass when skiing at a commercial center. Your trail fee helps pay for grooming and maintenance of the trails.
• When stopping, step off the trail to leave room for other skiers to pass.
• On double-tracked trails ski single-file except when overtaking.
• When a skier behind calls out "track," move to the right to give them room to pass. (In Quebec if someone calls "piste" it's not an insult, just French for "track".)
• Avoid cutting off other skiers when entering trails or overtaking.
• Ski in the specified direction on one-way trails.
• Descending skiers have right-of-way on hills. Climbing skiers should move as far to the right of the trail as possible when oncoming skiers approach.
• Fill in sitzmarks after falling on trails.
• Pack out any garbage that you have brought with you. Leave nothing but tracks, take nothing but pictures.
• Avoid walking or snowshoeing on ski trails--footprints decrease grip and glide.
• Skating on classically groomed trails will similarly disrupt the grip and glide of classic skiers.
• Leave your dog at home--dogs not only leave paw prints (and more unpleasant things) but can also cause an accident.
• Stick close to the trail--you may get lost or your tracks may lead other skiers astray.
• Respect private property. Some landowners are gracious enough to allow use of their land. Trespassers may cause this privilege to be revoked.

Any comments or suggestions for additional guidelines would be welcomed

Backcountry skiing in Gatineau Park

I had skied ungroomed trails in Gatineau Park before but it was a precarious endeavor with regular classic skis. With very little control, going downhill is scary to say the least. The long skis also make going uphill hard when one has to herringbone up. The tips of skis are often caught under fresh snow and voila you're stuck.

This year Ed and I bought proper backcountry skis, aiming to ski from hut to hut on a multi-day trip. The skis we purchased are Rossignol BC 80 with sturdy BC bindings and boots. The skis have full length metal edges for better downhill control. They're also much shorter -- mine are 175cm, making uphill climbing easier on narrow trails.

This past Sunday was our first long trip out. We timed it so it was after some fresh snow.  This is important when planning for backcountry ski trips to minimize risk of injury. We chose Gatineau Park because it is close and has many backcountry trails. The trails took us up and down, exactly what backcountry skiing is about.

Here is the route we took.

Trails are very well marked in Gatineau Park but still navigation can be a problem. I used my Garmin Fenix 3 watch with a preloaded gpx route but still I missed a few turns. The watch beeps when I am off course but sometimes I just don' hear it. Google Maps can be downloaded for offline use and they show many of the trails with numbers (or names). Coupled with a paper map, they should be enough to get you home unless your phone runs out of power. The downside is you have to pull out your phone often to check, which is inconvenient. To be safe, I studied the map beforehand, noting possible exits in case I need to take a faster way out.

A lot of people apparently had the same idea and we very rarely had to break trails. BC80 performed admirably doing kicking and gliding. We grunted on steep climbs and cheered when going downhills. The snow was soft and the scenery was beautiful. We had a smile on even when falling.

Eventually we reached our lunch spot at Western Cabin. Many people were already there. We managed to get a table and put our lunches on stove. We also met up with Lauren, who skated up from P10. Social time is always important -- it is part of skiing as much as skiing itself.

We returned via more or less the same route, mainly because I forgot a turn on #18. We also skied a bit on parkway but it wasn't pleasant for BC80, which are too wide to fit in the tracks.

This is Ed looking good on his 185cm BC 80.

Copied from CBC.

4 urban cross-country ski trails to try this winter

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No need to head to Gatineau Park

CBC News · Posted: Jan 17, 2020 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Sure, gliding through the wilderness is a nice way to spend the day. But if you want to stay closer to your transit stations and your artisanal doughnut shops, we've prepared a list of four urban ski trails to check out. (Nahila Bendali Amor/Radio-Canada)

Don't want to head into the wilds of Gatineau Park to get your cross-country skiing fix? 

Well, good news: there are plenty of options right here in Ottawa for fans of the sport. 

Britannia Winter Trail

The new kid on the piste, the six-kilometre Britannia Winter Trail will be making its debut this season with a pilot project set to launch in February.

The multi-purpose trail will run eastward from the Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre in Britannia Park, skirting Mud Lake and the Britannia Conservation Area to the south.

"We have this beautiful landscape here along the river," said Judy Dudley, president of the not-for-profit Britannia Winter Trail Association. "It's not as well used in the winter as it should be.

We get the latest on the Rideau Winter Trail and the Britannia Winter Trail as they gear up for the season. 7:30

The trail will be groomed, but salt won't be used in order to protect the conservation area. Dogs are welcome, as are snowshoers and fat bikes.

The association hopes to one day connect the new trail with the nearby SJAM Winter Trail.

Ski Heritage East

Skiers in east Ottawa have easy access to trails along the Ottawa River, thanks to Ski Heritage East.

• Orléans skiers plot east end's answer to SJAM winter trail

The roughly eight-kilometre network was launched in January 2018, running from Green's Creek in the west to Trim Road in the east.

The trails have been open since December, and are groomed regularly.

This map shows the length of the Ski Heritage East trail, which runs from Green's Creek all the way to Trim Road. (Ski Heritage East)

SJAM Winter Trail

For the past three years, the SJAM Winter Trail has offered skiers a convenient outdoor setting that's close to transit lines and not far from the downtown.

The 16-kilometre trail runs along the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, from the Canadian War Museum to Westboro Beach, with loops at the Selby Plains and at Remic Rapids.

Under ideal conditions, there are two tracks: one for cross-country and skate skiers, and another for snowshoers, winter cyclists and hikers. 

Groomers were hard at work Thursday, getting the trail into peak shape.

Rideau Winter Trail

This will be the first full season of skiing on the Rideau Winter Trail, after a successful pilot project last year.

• New winter trail opens along Rideau River

The trail's official launch is Saturday, meaning folks will soon be able to ski, snowshoe or bike along a meandering loop of more than a kilometre through the green space from the Adàwe Crossing to Highway 417.

The plan is to groom the trail once a week, so it's always ready for the weekend, said Nicki Bridgland, one of the trail's organizers.

"The real purpose is to create urban recreation in the wintertime — to get outside, to enjoy winter, to have a chance to play rather than stay inside," Bridgland said.

Nicki Bridgland says the Rideau Winter Trail will be ready to launch Saturday, with ski rentals available for people who don't have their own pair. (Hallie Cotnam/CBC)

Moonlit Ski to Keogan Cabin

Six of us skied various routes to Keogan cabin on Jan 9, 2020, which should be a full moon night. It was fairly cold and the snow was hard and slow. I left a little early to visit Champlain lookout for a bit more exercise. Ed wanted to do a loop of parkways so he left early too. The rest took the direct route to Keogan. Moon showed through trees a bit and I was able to ski without headlight.

After getting to Champlain lookout, I still had time so decided to ski a bit further. Took #1b to intersection of #1 and #2 and then back via #1 to Huron Cabin. After taking a peek of Huron, I went to Keogan via parkway and met up with the rest of group.

Over a bit of wine and snacks, we chatted about everything. People at the next table were having an elaborate dinner with wine. We ogled at their dinner and promised we'd do that on our next trip. But seriously our table was full of goodies and the chat was lively as well. All in all we had a great night skiing and socializing.

Picture credit goes to Yan and Ed.