Tour Schedule 2012

 (all tours start at 10 am) 

January 7th    WENTWORTH NORD

Hosts: Dave and Eleanor Clark, (450) 226-3055

An intermediate  level tour on the Morin-Heights and Viking trails adjacent Montfort village.

Address: 105 Hunter Road, (Montfort) Wentworth-Nord
Directions: Drive through Morin-Heights on 364 West past the Ski Morin-Heights traffic light. After approx. 4-5 km, turn left on Ch de Montfort. This left turn is signed to Wentworth-Nord (Montfort) Lacs Notre-Dame,  Diez d’Aux, and St-Victor and is a few metres past a new flashing signal on the right. After 2 km you reach the village of Montfort. Turn right at the stop sign, go over the bridge and up the very big hill. Drive about 200 meters to the stop sign, turn left onto Ch Newaygo and continue about 1 km, then turn left onto Rue Hunter and go up the hill. At the top, at the 4-way intersection, you turn right and go down the hill all the way to the bottom. The Clark house is the one with the white gallery facing the parking area. For those without all-wheel drive, you may park at the corner of Ch Newaygo and Hunter.

January 14th   LAC BRULÉ

Hosts: Bill and Diane Pollock
Participants please phone Gordon Cohen (514) 843-3660 ext. 4045;  cottage: (450) 226-3455.

A 16-km tour around Lac Brûlé for intermediate skiers.  Brulé’s Blue trail is very well maintained and is a terrific ski -- not to be missed.

Address: 7123 Chemin Lac Noir, Ste-Agathe Nord.
Directions:  Drive north on Autoroute 15, take exit 89 for St. Donat. Turn right on
329 North towards St. Donat, Then proceed about 2 km on route 329 to Lac Brulé. Turn right on paved road with signs indicating the direction to Ste-Lucie (Chemin Ste-Lucie). Cross a bridge just after you turn right. Proceed about 4.3 km on the Ste Lucie road. Watch for a small street sign on the left indicating Chemin Fortin and Chemin Lac Noir. Make a sharp left turn (almost 180°) onto this gravel road through an old gravel pit. Most people miss this turnoff from the paved road to the gravel road. If you come to a street sign that reads Chemin du 6e Rang or Bienvenue à Ste-Lucie you have gone too far. Keep right on Chemin Lac Noir (the other one is Chemin Fortin) for about 2 km and watch for a POLLOCK sign. Turn right up the hill and you are there. Please note that the street numbers are not consistent. Bring your swim suits and enjoy the hot tub afterwards.

January 21st    MORIN-HEIGHTS, WESTERN etc.
 
Hosts: Derek and Hjordis Wills, (514) 683-0696; cottage: (450)-226-8923

An intermediate tour using the mostly groomed trails around the Wills’ cottage. Derek will lead the longer trip and Hjordis, a shorter one.

Address: 299 ch Bélisle, Morin-Heights
Directions: From St. Sauveur follow 364 West to Morin-Heights. After the first traffic light take the first right onto Watchorn past Auberge Clos Joli to a T-junction. Turn right onto Belisle, Continue for 1 km to #299 on your left. Derek and Hjordis will be waiting. Bring your skis up the hill to their cottage.

January 28th   STE MARGUERITE/ESTEREL

Hosts: Marie-Claire Skrutkowska and Philip Harrison (514) 487-2743;
(cottage): (450) 228-3348
A tour on Estérel’s gentle trails, plus the possibility of the Lac Pilon loop.    Marie-Claire will lead a shorter tour.
Directions: We meet at the Centre de ski de fond Estérel on avenue d”Anvers, Estérel. Take Aut. 15N exit 69. Then take 370 East to Ste-Marguerite village. Turn right at the T intersection at Lac Masson onto chemin Masson, and continue to the fire station on your right, (approx. 300 m). Turn left onto chemin Chertsey, and continue driving for 2-3 km. At the T intersection, turn right and immediately left and continue 600 m to the centre. Get your ticket (no longer a CARTE RÉSEAU centre) and join the group. After skiing we will proceed by ski or car to Philip and Marie-Claire’s cottage at 95 rue de Lac Castor. Since parking at the cottage is limited we have to do a bit of shuttling.

February 4th     VIKING WEST AND CLUB DINNER

Non-hosted tour, the club dinner is in the evening. The trails are well groomed, but not track set. This is arguably the best back-country skiing in Eastern Canada.

We will meet at a private cottage off Route 329 adjacent to the Viking West trail.
Details will be emailed during the week prior to the tour.

February 11th   STE-ANNE-DES-LACS – LOKEN TRAIL

Host: Mike Loken, (450) 224-5631

A unique 22-km loop for intermediate skiers entirely on the Loken Trail, which was laid out and is maintained by Mike himself. Gordon Cohen will lead a somewhat shorter tour.

Address: 125 chemin des Noyers, Ste-Anne-des-Lacs
Directions: Take Laurentian Autoroute exit 57, follow chemin Ste-Anne-des-Lacs for approximately 3 km. Immediately before a parking lot on your right, turn right onto Chemin des Noyers. Follow this road to the very end, a distance of about 1.5 km, where your host Mike Loken will be waiting at # 125 chemin des Noyers.

February 18th   SKI WITH THE TOURERS AT VIKING CLUB

The tourers invite the Program parents and all club members to ski with them on Viking’s Red, Green, and Crown trails. We will design a trip to match your individual abilities. Bring along your lunch to eat on the trail and a jacket or sweater for when we stop.

February 25th  NO TOUR

We want to concentrate our efforts on the Viking-Morin Heights Loppet, which takes place the following day, Sunday February 26th. As usual there will be considerable trail work prior to the Loppet and we are counting on the help of the Touring Group. This means Thursday February 23rd and if necessary Saturday February 25th.

March 3rd, 4th, 5th   OUR “WEEKEND AWAY”

Derek is exploring the possibility of returning to La Mauricie National Park, now road accessible. If this does not work out we’ll return to Mt. Tremblant Park.
Details to follow via email.

March 10th    TO BE ANNOUNCED

March 24th   SPRING PICNIC at Lac Notre Dame

Hosts: Gordon and Sorel Cohen, (514) 482-1327, cottage (450) 226-3455

A relaxed tour and wiener roast picnic; the Cohens supply the hot dogs and buns, you bring your own beverages.

Directions: From the Viking clubhouse, continue on Jackson Road for 6.3 km (second stop sign). Veer slightly left and you will reach Lac Notre-Dame in 700 m. Turn right on Notre-Dame Nord for 3.1 km. The road name eventually changes to Notre-Dame Sud and the cottage is on the left at # 1874. Park on the road.

THURSDAY TOURS

Our first tour of the season is Thursday, January 5th. These will be planned by Derek Wills and Gordon. (coordinates below). Every week, by Wednesday evening at the latest, we send an email telling you where we’ll meet, where we’ll ski, and what snow and weather conditions to expect. In this same email, we bring you up to date on the Saturday tour later that week. A few days later, we post a report on the website about the tours of the previous week and usually include photos. These reports are written by various participants and are quite entertaining. Again, send me an email if you’d like to be on the list.

We would like to attract more people to these mid-week tours. With a view to this, we will endeavour to have shorter/slower tours from the same location.

Our Thursday group is smaller than the Saturday group and more informal. We usually stop for refreshments afterwards and discuss where we’d like to ski the following week.

Again, we suggest the purchase of a CARTE RÉSEAUwith your membership as we hope to ski some of the centres outside of our area. They can be obtained from our membership secretary, Wendi Petersen, for $25.

Her address is: 5145 Grand Boulevard, Montreal, H3X 2S3. If you have already sent in your membership and want to add a CARTE RÉSEAU, you can download the membership form, fill in the line for the CARTE RÉSEAU and mail the form and cheque to Wendi.

Derek Wills: Thursday coordinator tel: (514) 683-0696;   derek_wills@sympatico.ca
                                                                                 gdcohen@sympatico.ca

Nota Bene
For both Saturday and Thursday tours.

• Let the leader/ host know that you will participate.
• Bring trail snacks, lunch and liquids.
• Dress warmly in thin layers and bring an extra sweater.
• Have your skis waxed and be ready to start skiing at 10 am.
• For last minute details on any of these tours, call the tour leader or Gordon Cohen.

Watch for last minute changes announced in our weekly e-bulletin. To subscribe send me an email to the address below.
gdcohen@sympatico.ca

Any problem, any time, please call Gordon Cohen, Touring Coordinator
Res: (514) 843 3660 ext. 4045.  After about Feb 15th we shall return home here our number remains 514 482 1327
Cell:  (514) 979-0065,