Past Event
The Trail Beckons: 100 years of Cross Country Skiing in the Gatineau
Wakefield Library - March 18, 2019
At the Wakefield Library, Malcolm Hunter, local author and former Olympian skier, gave a delightful presentation with stories and accounts of his days skiing in the Gatineau Park with histories on some of the trails, lodges and cross-country skiing life from the 1920s to the alpine skiing days of the 1960-1970s to present day. Based on his recently released book, “The Trail Beckons – 100 Years of Cross-Country Skiing in the Gatineau” – Malcolm shared many photos and stories including how in the 1920s, groups of up to a thousand skiers who would make their way up to Chelsea and other stops via train to cross-country ski the over 300 acres of land in the Fortune valley and the various lodges they would stay in overnight before making their way back the following day. Malcolm also touched on the development of the two ski clubs of the time – the Ottawa Ski Club and the Cliffside Ski club and the Night and Trail riders groups who helped in building and grooming the trails. A number of happy attendees went home with Malcolm’s book which can be bought in some local stores or ordered from this link: http://burnstownpublishing.com/product/the-trail-beckons.
