After the Christmas thaw and lack of much new snow since then, skiing was not in the cards. However, walking on the wide paths and roads was fine. Skating was also an option. The refrigerated rink was up and running, along with a sizable portion of the natural ice surface on Beaver Lake, opened just that morning for the first time this year. It was overcast and about -12 C.
We were only eight people who were at the Beaver Lake chalet at 10 am last Sat. None of us had
our skates, so off on foot we went. We were soon joined by five late-comers, who had phoned us to ask where we were. The now 13 of us walked up to the main lookout where we took some tourist-style photos. We then went for a loop around the cross and then back towards Beaver Lake, for about 5 km. Along the way, we kept running into stragglers both on foot and then a couple of people on ice skates. From our initial group of eight, we ended up with a count of 19 BTers on the mountain that morning.
Then it was off to “Melrose Place”, aka Monique Isler’s home in NDG. Thirty of us ended up 
there, with the usual eclectic selection of food dishes. From noon to about 3 pm, we dined and noshed and feasted! There was also lots of conversation, especially about the sorry state of the ski season and the impending forecast of rain the next day! But, no matter, we drowned our sorrows in food. There was some talk that we should return to the mountain to walk off all the eating. But that was just talk. Besides, the pre-rain snow storm was getting under way…
Many thanks to Monique for hosting us her all with her usual aplomb!