For those of you not familiar with the CSM, it covers a 160-km course from Lachute to Montebello on day 1 and then from Montebello to Gatineau on day 2. Each day is broken up into five sections and most of the 2000 participants do a subset of the course each day. But others attempt to be a “Coureur des Bois” by covering the entire distance during the two days. Go here for more details: http://csm-mcs.com/en/the-event/what-is-csm/
Over the years, several members of the club have taken part in the CSM. This year, the Beaver Tails were represented by three of us: Vivian H, Monique I and me. It was the first time at the CSM for all us and it was quite a weekend! Vivian and Monique did two of the five sections on Sat (38 km), but they were by far the two most difficult sections with lots of steep climbs and crazy descents. On Sun, they did another two sections out of five and covered 25 km, for a weekend total of 63 km. As for me, I somehow managed to ski the entire 160-km course over the two days and attained Coureur des Bois Bronze status. That was thanks to weeks of training and thanks to lots of useful advice from the other BTers who had ski the full length in the past. It was tough and I am still recuperating, but it was a great experience!
Only three photos from the CSM — too busy skiing and then my phone battery died before the finish line.