Great conditions at Tremblant Sunday for the Gwen Picnic
Extravaganza!Just a week prior to our Tremblant Picnic on Sunday only six members had registered, plus me, Gwen and Richard, for a total of nine. I was pretty sure people were waiting to get a clear picture of the weather and trail conditions, which turned out to be fantastic, and in the end, we were a total of 24 Beaver Tailers enjoying great trails and equally great food in the La Renardière cabin. It’s been a crazy up-and-down winter with the weather, and resulting cancellations and changes of venue. No wonder people were hesitant to commit.
With 76 centimetres of fresh powder in the past 7 days, and clear, cold blue skies, the trails were groomed to perfection and the temperature was ideal for skiing. Three main groups headed out from the Centre de Découverte for a lovely morning ski. Destinations were Bois-Franc, Poisson and Malard. Julie Tessier graciously skied up to our picnic cabin to get the wood stove going, so that it was wonderfully warm and inviting when the rest of us showed up after our morning outings, and laden with food and drink prepared by our terrific host, Gwen, and here obliging side-kick, Richard
We packed the hut, and filled up admirably with mulled wine, hot chocolate, fondue, sandwiches, lemon bread, fresh veggies and fruit. I also learned that Gwen has been doing this for thirty years! Some old-timers present knew this experientially of course. No wonder that she has it down to a fine science! It’s a great Beaver Tails tradition, one of my favourites, and hopefully we’ll keep it going for years to come.
After packing stuff out, we headed home, thankful for a beautiful day in the outdoors, with good friends and good cheer. The Tremblant Picnic is a long day, however you slice it, but at least this year we were blessed with perfect conditions for the drive home. All-in-all a great day!