What’s the most important issue to do with the winter trails in Gatineau Park?
Answer these 4 questions.
(survey on winter trails issues)
On January 12 the Gatineau Park Winter Trails Roundtable met. This group includes local ski and outdoor clubs, NCC officials, trail maintenance contractors, ski patrollers and representatives of the park-using public. One of the main tasks of the meeting was to explore which issues should be discussed and in what priority. The Roundtable came up with some priorities but would benefit from other park user’s input.
I’ll report on survey results as they accumulate and make sure the roundtable sees them too. I hope to get a French version of the survey in place as well (but don’t vote twice, okay!).
I have asked those who attended the roundtable not to complete the survey, since they’ve effectively voted already. Only later did I realize that means that these people can’t see (until I share the results) what questions I’m asking.
The answer is that I’m trying to replicate the choices that roundtable attendees had by first presenting the list of issues (as I understood the 12 we discussed), and then presenting the issues as grouped by our moderator into 5 more general discussion areas. In each case I give users a chance to indicate which they think most important, and which is next most important.
I’m not expecting this will re-prioritize the roundtable, but instead give food for thought.
To me, the most important issue is improved grooming on #1 and#3. For skate skiiers, these are the only “fun” trails; this year they have been woefully undermaintained; #1 is so bumpy it is impossible to maintain technique, even as late as yesterday, where it is shown as being “groomed”.
In addition, #1 should be groomed to the firetower. Many many many skiers like to do the trek out there but of late, it is rarely done.
The issue with #3 speaks for itself; this is the “most popular trail in the world” – you would think it would be groomed more often.
Repeatedly this year I went out looking forward to a nice ski on #1 or#3 only to find that conditions were so poor that I had to stick to the parkway and cut my ski short out of boredom.
My sources tell me that grooming Ridge Road from Champlain Lookout to McKinstry will be attempted this weekend.
As an avid skate-skier, I’m horrified by the deplorable grooming of trails and lack of grooming (#1 to the fire tower and #3 in particular). I’m concerned about the use of snowmobiles by Demsis. Operators drive them in the middle of the trails, which ruins the skiing surface, and leave deep ruts, which create dangerous conditions. They are out cruising all the time. It’s like a private snowmobile club with exclusive access to our park. I’ve also narrowly avoided being hit by a snowmobile that was going at least 60 km/hr. Demsis employees don’t care – they tell you to complain at the Visitor Centre. I’ve had NCC staff laugh at these issues, write patronizing replies to letters of complaint as well as promise to follow-up and then fail to do so. I used to be proud to invite my friends from outside the region to ski at Gatineau Park. I’m too embarassed to invite them now; I visit their ski venues instead. This is an incredible shame. We have a world-class facility that now resembles snowmobile trails through hydro rights-of-way. When the Demsis contract expires, we must ensure, for reasons of poor and indifferent performance, that it will not be allowed to submit another bid. Concerning NCC staff, as a federal government employee, I’ve never been so disappointed in my colleagues.
My observation of GP grooming and what is going on.
The Gatineau park is going green, which means its’ carbon footprint needs to be reduced. To meet this goal, grooming activities have been cut by 50% this year. Our carbon emissions targets will require another 50% cut next year.
We would like to buy electric groomers, but they don’t exist. So mechanical grooming of trails will be curtailed by 2015 to meet our Kyoto targets of zero emissions.
Many of our drivers have only learner’s permits, which restricts them driving on roads. They are not qualified to drive off-road. Also, it is not safe to drive while it is snowing, so grooming activities will be suspended during periods of snow precipitation.
With respect to grooming Ridge Road to the fire tower. Are you serious? That would take a tank of gas and compromise our Kyoto targets.
Burma is special project. You whined and complained when we took the bumps out a few years ago to accommodate low snow grooming. So we are putting the lumps back in. We thought that you would like the luge run at the end of the hill.
Many of you had asked us not to groom the red trails last year. We did that and it was a great success. So much so, that we have extended the no grooming policy to most of the trail network. The skier response to this policy has been terrific, so the no grooming policy will be expanded to include most trails for the 2011-12 season.
Our commitment to grooming trails to the highest standards means that we can realistically groom only a few of them. Well ok, we will try to groom the Parkway loop. But that is a bit much don’t you think?
Sincerely yours,
The Gatineau Park
[Editor: Humour?]
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I’m a classic skier, who lives in Chelsea and accesses the park several times a week. I have no complaints about the maintenance of the trails, perhaps because I’m not seeking optimal performance in my skiing, but simply enjoying the chance to be outside, deep in the woods, away from the roads.
The park management would appear to have a tough crowd to satisfy — athletes, recreational users such as myself, environmentalists, tourists, local residents…. it’s not easy to juggle I’m sure.
Over time, frequent users will naturally begin to feel a personal ownership of the park. This is useful in that it creates a community of people who have a vested/emotional interest in the well-being of the park, and can monitor the park’s development, and any violations of park rules by other users.
But it can also create factions that have opposing views on what is best for everyone. Ultimately this is a public space, not a private one.
I look forward to getting out into that new snow again soon — maybe even today. I will take the conditions as they are, because after all, the park is a bit of wilderness, and with that comes randomness, and lack of control. For myself, it is this break from human intervention and conformity to imposed standards that makes the park valuable.
Perhaps the underlying issue here is: should the park be managed as a wilderness space, a sports facility, or if possible both?
My issue has always been that the NCC doesn’t enforce the requirements stated in the contract both NCC and Demsis agreed to. In fact the NCC goes out of it’s way to make excuses why the conditions aren’t as they should be. Yes we have had a tough year for snow but there really isn’t any reason now why trails get groomed with snowmobiles instead of real groomers except as a strategy to save money. I do skate and classic equally and enjoy the ungroomed skier trackset trails also. You will notice that under the Profac contract people weren’t happy. With Lafleur you were hard pressed to find someone complaining and now we are back to unhappy skiers with Demsis. For those of you who say it is mother nature think back to the winter of 2007-2008 when we had the largest snowfall season since 1971. What were the issues with the new contractor (Demsis) a 12″ high ridge at the overlap of the grooming tracks. Try skating on Ridge with a monster ridge like that. The NCC said they wanted to give them a chance. Did us a lot of good didn’t it. Hope the nasty weather doesn’t peel off too much snow. Anyway tough grooming conditions are where you really know the caliber of the grooming company. We’re batting 500 with the last 2 contractors let’s hope the average improves.
I’m with Ian. To me its not complicated. There is a contract that states in Section 2 “Context” that GP is a leading North American ski destination. Section 5.1.4 references a high quality surface and then says it is incumbent on the Contractor to “produce optimum daily ski conditions…” (It also specifically notes both classic and freestyle and levelling of trails etc.) I don’t believe GP typically has optimum daily ski conditions in the context of a leading North American ski destination. Simple as that.
Its a fair debate whether GP should have groomed trails at all but today there is a contract and all taxpayers should want to know that they are getting value for money. I suspect the costs of the contract are not covered by the pass revenue.
I agree 100% with Lynda. Is it a Chelsea thing as I also live there???
Could the grooming be better, sure but I am sick of people wanting perfect grooming every day. XC skiers seem to have become worse than DH skiers!!! Heaven forbid to ski on natural conditions. I guess what has put me over the edge was complaints about grooming last Saturday and quotes from sections of the contract. The trails had been groomed but it snowed a reasonable amount so there was loose snow. How could that be? We had friends visit and they were amazed at what we have and were shocked at the complaints. Their only comment was people should enjoy what they have as other places are pale in comparison. So go ahead and quote subsection 3.2.1.1.1, I’ve gone skiing
.
I agree it’s great to get out and ski and we are blessed to have Gatineau Park. I don’t live in Chelsea, but I ski there 4-5 times a week, many times in the dark. I ski classic and skate. I learned to ski in my 40s and I am in my 50s and I am not a racer. This winter I skied around 6-7 hours a weekend, so I saw a lot.
I have skied in a few other places in North America, and I know from experience and based on talking to others that we used to have some of the best track set and skate conditions in the world, based on the grooming. No longer.
Here are my concerns: The packing of the skate tracks has been crappy since LaFleur left. Never has there been a wide sweep of flat centre to skate on. There is always a sharp rise in grade from one side of the skate track to the other that is dangerous for learner skiers, and dangerous at night for the rest of us. I am a small woman, but several times I have been skating and sunk because the packing is so poor. I watched a guy do a face plant for the same reason.
I have skied almost everywhere this year on classic skis as well, even a few of the backcountry trails. The classic tracks have been untrustworthy. There are big swales on the downhills on Pink Lake and Black’s and those are downright dangerous. People end up out of the tracks, flattening things and making it risky to go down the hill in the tracks.
I am really enjoying a return to a more risky Burma, but I don’t know why after years of widening it to make it safer, there is now not even room to pass in places.
I am just looking for a place to have my voice heard. The NCC accepted the contract from Demsis, the out of town company that under bid the local professionals, LaFleur, LaFleur who knew the job and raised the standard every year. It’s LaFleur’s fault for providing such excellent service, excellent grooming and raising our expectations of what grooming should be. Blame them!