GuideGatineau.ca

Join Olympians Sara Renner, Patrick Biggs & other experts for a discussion on today’s challenges and the future of snow sports.

February 5 at The Canada Aviation and Space Museum [NOTE NEW LOCATION]  – free admission

Register here to attend

More details here

I got word that Mort’s Cairn is suffering damage as young people enjoying Camp Fortune’s aerial park have been also using the cairn as a climbing structure.

You’ll remember that this monument was dedicated in 1950 to Charles Mortureux, the president of the Ottawa Ski Club for much of the first half of last century, and the man who founded Camp Fortune and turned the Gatineau Hills into a ski mecca for cross-country and downhill enthusiasts alike. Mort’s influence was not unsubstantial in the very formation of Gatineau Park.

My last intervention on this issue was a year ago when I’d been told that the NCC had sought a quote for refurbishment of the monument but evidently that work has yet to proceed. We need to urge the NCC to undertake the restoration.

I have asked that tonight’s GVHS 50th anniversary celebration include a plea to the 100+ attendees to contact the NCC to encourage them to protect this bit of history and I hope you’ll drop the NCC a line as well.

NCC update tells us that Gatineau Park parkways open to traffic at noon on Friday May 4th.

Get your cycling in while you can.

Jo-Ann posted how the north loop parkway was fully cyclable by Sunday, only six days after her last photo of skiing that same section.

For a couple of years now I have meticulously documented the increasing length of available cycling parkway but this year things happened so fast, and I’ve been so involved in other things, that I missed the entire sequence. This post is a chance to catch up on a few other things I missed as well as note those “other things.” Continue reading →

NCC press release:

End of Cross-Country Ski Season in Gatineau Park

Canada’s Capital Region — The 2011-12 cross-country ski season on the trails at Gatineau Park officially ends today, Friday, March 23. Continue reading →

NCC and Ville de Gatineau are starting work on a new bike path (actually “recreational pathway”) along a short distance of the east side of Gatineau Park. Here’s the announcement.

The NCC has posted openings for new members of their Board of Directors.

On Saturday the NCC posted that the Cross Loop Road was closed due to flooding, and thus so was P15. I don’t see them having changed the notice so I don’t know if this is still the case.

Report in the Citizen that a “recognized” federal heritage building in Gatineau park is now at a critical juncture. The question, to renovate and try to find a use for it, or to knock it down and re-naturalize the grounds. Continue reading →