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According to Wm. Thompson via Twitter (though Wm’s route appears more easterly than where 1B shows on the map, nearer Western Lodge)

According to the NCC Gatineau Park website.

Kenmore posted about a Thursday night ski. A few notable notes:

• it’s a whole lot darker at night up there than in the main part of the park
• quite a few people on the trails
• main trails had all been groomed for classic and skate

From the NCC website:

Ski conditions are good on the Parkway network and on recommended trails. The base is hard and icy and covered with a thin layer of fresh powdered snow.

Jo-Ann’s photos make it look not so “hard and icy” though.

The NCC ski trail page shows (for the first time this season) that Gatineau Park ski trails are now considered “open” (well, a few of them at least).

Look what I found at XCOttawa

The NCC ski conditions website still says

• % Recommended Network “0 %,” and
• Recommended Starting Points “None”

but they also say

• Recommended Wax “Blue”

plus

• Maintenance work has begun on the Parkway network (compaction only).
• Please Note: Patches of asphalt are exposed on the Parkways.

The following courtesy of xczone via TriRudy:

Partially groomed from P10 to the T junction. Rock skis to be safe but you may be able to get away with good skis. Thin coverage. Only parkways at high elevation are good today. Too many rocks on ridge still.

The weather office is calling for 50cm of snow in Chelsea this weekend.

Although Twitter has been ringing with celebrations of “lots of snow” in Gatineau Park the fact of the matter is there is “just enough snow” to get a real ski in. Here’s a photo of the north loop from P8 showing plenty of pavement. Not the most encouraging place to start, although the view south toward Penguin looked much better.

In contrast, below is the view up Fortune Lake hill from P10. That’s where I skated. There was snow all the way up with only a few places where the blacktop had been exposed though I could feel the pavement beneath my ski poles with every stride.

The sequel: As reported by Jo-Ann I skied yesterday, via Fischer Crown waxless, to the intersection of #1 blue and the old #10. I could have done the additional 1km+ to the tower without problem. Up to the Wolf Ridge I found conditions difficu. . .