Connor Lalande

Pontiac March 4, 2023

With the ground veiled in freshly fallen snow, Ski Pontiac hosted a cross-country skiing and snowshoeing clinic at Astra Estates on Saturday and Sunday of this past weekend. Organized in conjunction with Ski à l’école Outaouais, event attendees were invited to borrow equipment and receive basic instruction free of charge.

Ski Pontiac volunteer and cross-country skiing enthusiast, Deb Powell, said that while the organization’s events have an instructional component, they are by no means only for beginners. Rather, Powell explained, Ski Pontiac also hopes to foster a setting for participants to meet others and always have a group to enjoy the trails with.

“The whole idea of these events is that you know at least one person will be there,” Powell said. “So if you’re not entirely comfortable going out on the trails yourself, then there’s somebody to go out with you.”

Alongside Ski Pontiac volunteers, Katelyn Bertrand, an ambassador from Ski à l’école Outaouais was also present. Ski à l’école Outaouais’s stated mission is to “create more opportunity, fairness and fun among young people,” Bertrand explained that snowshoeing and cross-country skiing clinics are an indispensable experience for getting kids and adults alike into the outdoors.

“The Pontiac is so rich in natural resources,” Bertrand said. ”We are lucky that we can just go into the bush and go snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.”

Ski Pontiac hosts weekly cross-country ski meetups every Thursday morning at 11.