I spent this past weekend with XC Ottawa at our traditional “on snow’ camp at Universite Laval’s Foret Montmorency, a forestry station and outdoor education center located about 1 hour north of Quebec City. La Foret staff guarantee at least a 2km loop, thanks to snowmaking and snow preservation (they stocked 6,000 m of last year’s snow under a thick coat of sawdust). We skied on the loop last year, and were impressed at what they could do with such limited terrain: it had steep uphills, downhills, and technical turns. Add to that trailside accommodations with three hearty meals a day, and you have a superb setting for a training camp.
Lucky for us, it had been snowing at Foret Montmorency all week, and we had 15 km of groomed trails to ski on! Good thing, because a 2 km loop might have been pretty crowded as the facility is becoming popular with many clubs looking for early snow. XC Ottawa shared the trails with athletes from Carleton University, Queens University, Chelsea Nordiq, Bates College, Highlands Nordic, Ontario talent squad, Fondeurs Laurentides, Skibec, plus a few other clubs and skiers.
Here are a few pictures. . .
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