Katherine Flies the Coop

On Jan.24th, Katherine rented a big van which we loaded up with her stuff and helped her deliver to her new apartment which she'll be sharing with her friend, Jen.  It was probably the coldest day of this winter, but all went well.  So, now we only have Jerome with us in the nest and two spare bedrooms.

Cross Country Skiing at Mont St Bruno again

Another 4 cm of snow fell yesterday, and the trails were all regroomed this morning.  So, the conditions were excellent today...so much so that Katherine conquered trail #1 without once!

Mont St Bruno - End of Trail #1 - Jan.19.2011

Trail #1 at Parc Mont St Bruno is 9km of mostly slow climbing, but the last bit of the trail is the best part as it is all downhill.  The little bit of fresh snow today made the trail very easy to negotiate...so, I took a chance of descending holding the camera and, thus, without the support of my poles which you can hear dangling from my wrists as they scrape along the trail's surface.

Return to Mont St Bruno again

We went back to Mont St Bruno again, and Katherine decided to join us.  Temperature was -19 deg C, so it was pretty frosty, but the trails had been regroomed this morning and were in very good condition.  Also, because it's Monday, there were not too many people on the trails today making for a more peaceful experince than yesterday.

Parc Mont St Bruno

The St Bruno trails finally re-opened Jan.16th after a two week closure.   Michele and I decided to take advantage of this long sought opportunity.  It was good to get back out on the trails.  Because it was a Sunday, and because everyone in the area had been deprived of the trails for such a long period, the trails were VERY busy.  After returning home, we set a nice apres-ski fire to warm ourselves.

Mont Orford

Parc Mont St Bruno was forced to close the cross country ski trails for 2 weeks after the rain on New Year's day and the several days of mild temperatures above zero which followed.  So, on Jan.15th, Lynda convinced us to go to parc Mont Orford where snow conditions were much better.  Katherine had a chance to try out her new skis and her friend, Catherine, came out as well for her very first time ever.  Altogether, we were, Suzel, Lynda, Katherine, Catherine and Dan. When we arrived at the park entrance, the parking pit was full, and we were told that we could not enter the park as the ski trails were full.  So, we parked at the Centre D'Art (the next entrance down the road) and entered the park illegally through the woods. As it turns out, there must have been at least another dozen cars who did exactly the same thing.  So, we didn't feel too guilty about it.   Conditions were very good and we all had a great time.  And the trails were not over-crowded at all as the entrance guard had told us.  Finally, it snowed again that very day!