Cross Country

What does winter mean to an RA cross-country skier? Bright blue sky. White snow. Fresh air. A ski trail through the woods. No lineup for a ski lift. Exercise. Friends to ski with. And a time for socializing after, at a local restaurant!

The ski club's motto is "friends to ski with", and we offer recreational skiing in a social atmosphere. We welcome skiers of all levels, especially new skiers. The first few outings are on easy trails, as even the experienced skiers need to get their muscles back in shape, after a long summer of hibernation. Even as we move to intermediate trails as the season progresses, there is often an easy way to get to the same destination.

We have day outings every weekend during the ski season, alternating Saturday mornings (9:00 AM departure) and Sunday afternoons (12:00 PM departure.)  Our outings are generally to Gatineau Park, although we have one outing this year to Petite Rouge, about a half-hour drive north of Montebello. We meet in the RA west wing lobby 15 minutes prior to departure, to organize carpools.    After, we go to a local restaurant, either for lunch or dinner, to socialize. Skiers share the cost of gas.

The only requirement to ski with us is that you can do a snowplow turn and a snowplow stop.

For information on our cross-country weekends, click here.  Cross-country ski lessons are offered by the City of Ottawa.

Cross-Country Schedule

Date	Time	Event	Details	Notes
Thu Nov 19,09	19:30	Waxing clinic	Bytown A, west wing, 2nd floor, RA Centre.
Sun Dec 6,09	12:00	Gatineau Park	Beginner ski. Check SNOW phone or Web site.	Car Pool, Supper
Sat Dec 12,09	09:00	Gatineau Park	P19 Lac Philippe to Renaud Cabin. An easy ski for the beginning of the season.	Lunch, Car Pool
Sun Dec 20,09	12:00	Gatineau Park	P7 Kingsmere to Huron via trail 30 and trail 1. Trip leader Cheryl Nakamura.	Car Pool, Supper
Sat Dec 26,09	12:00	Cancelled - Gatineau Park	Cancelled due to snow conditions in the Park. P16 (Pine Road) to Herridge. Trip leader Louise Cameron.
Mon Dec 28,09	09:00	Gatineau Park - CANCELLED	Cancelled due to global icing. P1 Asticou around Pink Lake.
Fri Jan 1,10	09:00	Gatineau Park	ROUTE CHANGE: P19 (Lac Philippe) to the south end of the lake. 10 k round trip on an easy trail. Ski conditions are excellent. Meet in teh RA west parking lot at 8:45 a.m. for spearture at 9 sharp. (RA building is closed.)Trip leader Jean-François Mélançon.
Sun Jan 3,10	12:00	Gatineau Park	P19 Lac Philippe to Lusk Cabin. Trip leader John Reilly.	Car Pool, Supper
Sat Jan 9,10	09:00	Gatineau Park	P19 Lac Philippe to Lusk Cabin. Trip leader John Reilly.	Lunch, Car Pool
Fri Jan 15,10		Val David weekend	Stay at Auberge du Vieux Foyer and ski at Parc regional Dufresne.	Car Pool
Sat Jan 16,10		Val David weekend		Car Pool
Sun Jan 17,10		Val David weekend		Car Pool
Sun Jan 17,10	12:00	Gatineau Park	Meet n' ski day trip for those not going on the weekend trip. P7 to Keogan via trails 30 and 1 (B with a short I, 10 km).	Car Pool, Supper
Thu Jan 21,10	09:30	Gatineau Park	Mid-week ski. Note late start. P16 (Pine Road) to Herridge (B, 9 km). Trip leader Jane Rau.	Car Pool, Lunch
Sat Jan 23,10	09:00	Gatineau Park	P12 Meech Lake to McKinstry Cabin (I, 19 kms). Better eat your Wheaties! Perhaps our most challenging trip - not for the faint of heart. Trip leader Jean-François Mélançon.
Sat Jan 23,10	09:00	Gatineau Park - less challenging	The plan is to go from P2 and use trails 29, 5, 15, the Parkway, and 26. For those who don't like Wheaties, a less challenging outing planned. Meet at the RA Centre at the same time as those who plan to ski to McKinstry and we will sort ourselves out and proceed to either P1 or P2 (route is yet to be determined) and have a more leisurely ski in the park. We'll stop for a bite at a local restaurant afterwards. New Trip leader - Cheryl Nakamura
Sun Jan 31,10	12:00	Gatineau Park	P19 (Lac Philippe) to the south end of Lac Philippe via trail 50 (B, 12 km). Trip leader Chris Hutton.	Car Pool, Supper
Sat Feb 6,10	09:00	La Petite Rouge	A change from Gatineau Park, La Petite Rouge is about 90 minutes from the RA Centre and has 25 km of groomed trails. Bring your lunch or buy it there ($15, set menu, served between 12:00 and 1:00 only).Trip leader Cheryl Nakamura.	Lunch, Car Pool
Thu Feb 11,10	09:30	Gatineau Park	Mid-week ski. Note late start. P7 Kingsmere to Huron via trail 30 and trail 1 (B with short I, 12 km). Trip leader Jane Rau.
Thu Feb 11,10	19:00	Killington trip rendezvous	Meet in the Bytown A room in the west wing to get details of the trip, meet room mates etc.
Sun Feb 14,10	12:00	Gatineau Park	P6 Mackenzie King Estate around Pink Lake (I, 11 kms) Beginners can stay on parkway to Pink Lake. Trip leader Glen Campbell.	Car Pool, Supper
Fri Feb 19,10	13:30	Weekend to Killington departs	Depart west wing parking lot of RA Centre at 1:30 pm. Bus available to load at 1:00pm
Sat Feb 20,10		Weekend trip at Killington
Sat Feb 20,10	09:00	Gatineau Park	P9 Fortune Parkway to Huron cabin (B, 11 kms). Lunch. Trip leader is Jim Forbes.	Lunch, Car Pool
Sun Feb 21,10		Weekend trip at Killinton	DH ski at killington, XC at mountain top or Mountain View
Mon Feb 22,10		Weekend trip to Killington returns	Return to ottawa after skiing
Sun Feb 28,10	12:00	Gatineau Park	P9 to Huron via #3 (I, 16 kms) Very scenic but also very challenging. Beginners can go directly to Huron (B, 10 kms) and feed the chickadees as they pass Shilly Shally. Trip leader Jean-François Mélançon.	Car Pool, Supper
Mon Mar 1,10	18:30	Gatineau Park	Moonlight ski P10 to Keogan (B 8 kms). Bring a headlamp and dress warmly. Trip leader Jim Forbes.	Car Pool
Thu Mar 4,10	00:09	Gatineau Park	Mid-week ski. Note late start. Route to be determined. Trip Leader: Jane Rau
Sat Mar 6,10	09:00	Gatineau Park	P11 O’Brien to Herridge Cabin (I, 19 kms) Beginners can go P16 Pine Rd to Herridge. (B, 10 kms). Trip leader Jean-François Mélançon.	Lunch, Car Pool
Sun Mar 7,10	09:00	Gatineau Park - CANCELLED	Norway Day starting from Relais Plein Air (P2). Note the 9:00 start. This trip is cancelled due to the changes to Norway Day celebrations.
Wed Mar 10,10		Mid-week car-pool get away.	Possible mid-week get away to Mont Ste-Sauveur. See details on website or Trip Information Newsletter.	Car Pool
Thu Mar 11,10		Mid-week car-pool get away.
Fri Mar 12,10		Mid-week car-pool get away.		Car Pool
Sat Mar 13,10	09:00	Gatineau Park	P17 Wakefield to Herridge (I, 20 kms). Get a good night’s sleep and eat a hearty breakfast before this trip. By the time you get to Herridge you’ll think you invented the herringbone! Trip leader Jean-François Mélançon.	Lunch, Car Pool
Sun Mar 14,10	06:45	Cancelled - Day Bus Trip	Cancelled due to insufficient registration. (It's supposed to rain anyways.) Mont Tremblant/Mont Blanc/Domaine St-Bernard. Meet at RA West wing at 6:45 for 7:00 SHARP departure. Possibility of group dinner on return to Ottawa. A reminder to set your clock ahead before you go to bed the night before. Yes, it'll be daylight saving time already! Don't be late! And don't forget ypur RASki membership card to take advantage of special pricing at Mont Blanc.
Sun Mar 21,10	12:00	Gatineau Park	Easy ski. Trail TBD. Trip leader Glen Campbell.	Car Pool, Supper
Sat Mar 27,10	09:00	Gatineau Park:CANCELLED	Easy ski. Trail TBD.
Sun Apr 4,10	12:00	Gatineau Park: CANCELLED	Easy ski. Trail TBD.