Did you notice Trail #53 has become a shared trail now? They will only lay one set of tracks on one side until *hopefully* the ditches fill in to lay one seton other side. One skate skier skied it today and chewed up the tracks pretty good since it’s so narrow. Def a trail to avoid on weekends from now on. Too bad, I really liked that trail.
I feel like starting a petition about this one. The dedicated classic trails are such a joy to ski just as the dedicated hiking trails are a joy to hike. Both seem to be eroding to pressure from increase usage of the park. I love both skate skiing and mountain biking, but do not feel that all the trails should be shared. I’d love to know who has been pushing for these changes.
Sue
December 21, 2016 07:19
This is the response I got from the NCC when I emailed to voice my discontent: “Kindly note that the idea of a shared trail between classic and skate skier for trails 51-52-53-57 was proposed through the Park Dialogue meetings. These meetings are organized so user groups can voice their concerns/requests to the NCC. It was determined, based on other experiences on trails in the core of the Park, that these trails are wide enough to accept both skiers (similar to trail 3). What you are experiencing now is not the result we are aiming for, once we get more… Read more »
Trail 3 can also be problem trail at times. Skaters have been known to do their personal time trials (to post on Tri-Rudy or other online sites) and yell track to all and sundry who are on the trail even when other (slower or weaker) skiers are in the midst of negotiating a downhill. Last year I knew of someone who had a serious knee injury because of an impromptu time trial erupting on Ridge Road. She quickly pulled off the trail to get out of their way, caught a ski tip in the deep snow and that was it… Read more »
Jamie
December 21, 2016 15:51
I would love to know when these consultations were held, how well advertised they were (ie was it clear that ski trail use would be up for discussion) and how numerous were the voices asking for the change. Squeaky wheels and all that. This effectively kills P17 as a viable starting point for speed demon averse beginners or intermediates or, worse, puts them at risk. Using Burma as a precedent is rather disingenuous — Burma is a blue and there are other green options to get to the same areas – not true in the case of P17 as a… Read more »
Sue
December 22, 2016 07:34
I agree with both of you. I did also state in my email to them that Trail 3 was effectively a skate ski trail now as the classic tracks get wiped out within an hour and half a dozen skate skiers going by. I also mentioned that reducing the classic tracks to just one lane going down Fortune pkwy to make more room for snowmobiles and to keep them of skate lane was another example of giving priority to skate skiers over classic skiers.
Garry has also pointed out that double poling would be pretty much out of the question for classic skiers as the second trail (if it’s ever wide enough to put one in) will be right in the bushes and in the soft snow. I am tempted to skate 51/53 this week to see if I can easily avoid the classic tracks or if it would have to be the main focus of the outing. And that single lane down Fortune means that faster classic skiers are constantly going in and out of the track to pass slower skiers – more… Read more »
Did you notice Trail #53 has become a shared trail now? They will only lay one set of tracks on one side until *hopefully* the ditches fill in to lay one seton other side. One skate skier skied it today and chewed up the tracks pretty good since it’s so narrow. Def a trail to avoid on weekends from now on. Too bad, I really liked that trail.
I feel like starting a petition about this one. The dedicated classic trails are such a joy to ski just as the dedicated hiking trails are a joy to hike. Both seem to be eroding to pressure from increase usage of the park. I love both skate skiing and mountain biking, but do not feel that all the trails should be shared. I’d love to know who has been pushing for these changes.
This is the response I got from the NCC when I emailed to voice my discontent: “Kindly note that the idea of a shared trail between classic and skate skier for trails 51-52-53-57 was proposed through the Park Dialogue meetings. These meetings are organized so user groups can voice their concerns/requests to the NCC. It was determined, based on other experiences on trails in the core of the Park, that these trails are wide enough to accept both skiers (similar to trail 3). What you are experiencing now is not the result we are aiming for, once we get more… Read more »
Trail 3 can also be problem trail at times. Skaters have been known to do their personal time trials (to post on Tri-Rudy or other online sites) and yell track to all and sundry who are on the trail even when other (slower or weaker) skiers are in the midst of negotiating a downhill. Last year I knew of someone who had a serious knee injury because of an impromptu time trial erupting on Ridge Road. She quickly pulled off the trail to get out of their way, caught a ski tip in the deep snow and that was it… Read more »
I would love to know when these consultations were held, how well advertised they were (ie was it clear that ski trail use would be up for discussion) and how numerous were the voices asking for the change. Squeaky wheels and all that. This effectively kills P17 as a viable starting point for speed demon averse beginners or intermediates or, worse, puts them at risk. Using Burma as a precedent is rather disingenuous — Burma is a blue and there are other green options to get to the same areas – not true in the case of P17 as a… Read more »
I agree with both of you. I did also state in my email to them that Trail 3 was effectively a skate ski trail now as the classic tracks get wiped out within an hour and half a dozen skate skiers going by. I also mentioned that reducing the classic tracks to just one lane going down Fortune pkwy to make more room for snowmobiles and to keep them of skate lane was another example of giving priority to skate skiers over classic skiers.
Garry has also pointed out that double poling would be pretty much out of the question for classic skiers as the second trail (if it’s ever wide enough to put one in) will be right in the bushes and in the soft snow. I am tempted to skate 51/53 this week to see if I can easily avoid the classic tracks or if it would have to be the main focus of the outing. And that single lane down Fortune means that faster classic skiers are constantly going in and out of the track to pass slower skiers – more… Read more »