RA Ski Club, Ottawa, Ont. Canada    -     Snowphone: 613-736-6235

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     Aug./09:  Meet'n'bike to Long Sault                         Feb./10: Skiing at Pico, Killington Vermont                     Feb./10 - XC ski to Huron lookout

Ski one of the worlds most famous areas!

Tour the Sella Ronda, the ultimate ski tour!

Transportation from Ottawa and 4 star accommodations.

Spend a night in historic Venice on the return trip!

COST: $2290 - $2350 double; $2455 single, taxes included

For more information, click here

Kemptville to Merrickvile Trip, Sat. Sept. 22
Meet: RA west wing entrance at 9:15 AM for 9:30 departure by carpool.
We'll bike on scenic, quiet country roads and have a picnic lunch in Merrickville. See box at the right for all the details.

Bike safely!  Check out RA Ski's Biking Guidelines.

2011 Weekend Trips

Val David, Que. Jan. 14-16
Parc Regional Dufresne (formerly Far Hills) is the largest XC ski centre in the Laurentians, with more than 100 km of groomed trails. We’ll stay again at the Auberge du Vieux Foyer. Downhillers are also welcome, and can ski either at one of the nearby hills or drive up to Tremblant. Registration opens trip Info Night, Nov. 3.

Mont Sainte-Anne/Le Massif, Feb. 18-21
We’re staying on the ski hill at Chateau Mont Sainte-Anne for a three day weekend trip. Downhill skiers will ski two days at Mont Sainte-Anne and one day at Le Massif. Cross-country skiers will ski at Parc Sainte-Anne, with its 213 km of trails. Registration opens Trip Info Night, Nov. 3.

My Helmet Saved Me!
The RA Ski Club strongly recommends that downhill skiers wear a helmet.  Read the story here.

Download this 8.5 x 11 poster and post it on a bulletin board at work. (Be sure to get permission first.)

Click here to download the poster.

2009 Trip Information Newsletter

The 2009 Trip Information Newsletter, containing the RA Ski Club's complete
winter program, can be downloaded by clicking here

Sign Up for Ski-Mail

We send out a weekly Ski-Mail e-mail, containing club news, upcoming events, along with last-minute additions or changes.  To subscribe, click here.

Latest Trip Report(s) - Visit Trip Reports for more  

Mosaika Wed Sep 01,10 

When a group of cyclists were enjoying their picnic at Petrie Island on August 29, one RASki member asked "If I have an idea about a possible outing, who do I speak to?"

At that point, plans were quickly made for a get-together the next Wednesday evening at Parliament Hill to see the NCC's light show "Mosaika". Thanks to Glen for getting the information out quickly, we had eight people join in for the last minute event. Five of us met earlier for dinner at the Green Papaya on Queen St.

The show was great way to spend a wam summer evening before fall sets in.

Social co-chair - Louise Cameron

Biking to Petrie Island Sun Aug 29,10 

Sunday, August 29 dawned sunny and warm. Eight cyclists met up for a ride from Blackburn Hamlet to Petrie Island. Actually, 4 of us met at P25, as advertised; the other 4 were at P26. Some trouble with numbers? (oh - wait - wasn't one of them a former Math teacher?)

Once we all got together, we proceeded along a pleasant pathway that often was right besdie the river. At Tenth Line we switched to the North Service Road, since the gravel along the path was loose and not the best for the skinny tires that some riders had.

Shortly afterwards, we arrived at the island and enjoyed a pleasant picnic under some trees. A pleasant ride back was followed by a trip to Tim Horton's for a cool snack.

Trip Leader - Louise Cameron

TRIP REPORT - MEET'N'CYCLE BATE ISLAND /EXPERIMENTAL FARM, Sun Aug 08,10 

Despite cloudy skies, we took a chance on meeting at Bate Island to cycle some 25 kilometers and get some exercise. Eight people came and a ninth person joined us partway through. As trip leader, I decided to be the last person to make sure everyone stayed with the group. But I had a very hard time keeping up with the rest and despite working very hard, was just not making much progress. I began to question whether I was growing weaker with age, was just in such poor shape that I should really be at the gym daily to try and improve or if really the rest of the group was practicing for the Tour de France next year! Every once in a while, the group would stop for a water break and I would eventually catch up. After about a half hour of our outing, I discovered the reason why I had been working so hard. My back tire went totally flat!

Here is where `friends to ski with and BE with` comes in. Everyone stopped their ride and stayed with me, while tools, patches, inner tubes and skills were offered. It was a major operation once we diagnosed that my tire had an `aneurism` that could be repaired on the spot. Soon we were on our way again and cycled another 40 yards to discover the tire was once again flat. This time, more extensive procedures seemed required with perhaps a total tube replacement but a second `aneurism` was discovered, another patch applied and we were once again on our way. A total tube replacement could not be performed even though one of the right size was available because we had no wrench required to remove the back tire. Once the patch was secured, the tube inflated and we could resume our journey, it was much easier pedaling this time and I realized I was not in that poor physical shape after all and quite able to keep up with the rest of the cyclists. What a relief!!

We arrived at the Experimental Farm just before noon and had a bathroom break and continued to the Arboretum where we enjoyed our lunches and each other`s company. The rain clouds seemed to be approaching so we decided not to linger any longer and return to Bate Island via the Experimental Farm and down Island Park Drive. Only.....my tire was completely flat again! So we managed to resuscitate it by pumping it up but this time the `aneurisms` were too much and the poor tube just died completely within a few seconds of being pumped up. So the group returned to Bate Island and I walked my bike to the Experimental Farm with one of the cyclists where I waited while one person would return with his car to pick me up and return me and my disabled bike to my car back at Bate Island. I insisted the other cyclist should continue on her way before the rain started because I could take shelter in the washroom if necessary. It didn`t take too long for the group to return to Bate Island and my rescuer to arrive well before the rain.

A similar situation arose a couple of weeks ago with another group of people I sometimes cycle with and there were three others out of 20 who stayed to offer help to the stranded cyclist. In this case we were returning from Aylmer to Park Moussette and he got a flat tire about halfway back to the Park. The rest of the group had continued cycling without ever a stop along the way to ensure no one was missing. I was dispatched to catch up with the others to ask for assistance but they had not stopped anywhere and I didn`t catch up with them until the Park. If he had been the last person in the group, no one would have known he was having problems until they had returned to their starting point. It really emphasizes what a great group of people RA Skiers are! Many thanks to everyone who helped out, stayed with me for moral support and special thanks to John Bishop for his skills at repairing inner tubes and coming to rescue me by car at the Experimental Farm.

Trip Leader: Doris Dallaire