As it got dark and the snow fell on Norway Bay Saturday night, snow enthusiasts hit the trails that surround the Astra Estates golf course for an evening of torchlit snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, hosted by Ski Pontiac.
This year’s event, while organized to benefit from what was left of February’s full moon, did not feature much of a moon at all, and saw participants instead brave the beginnings of the winter storm that brought another 30 or so centimetres of snow to the region over Saturday night and Sunday.
Kelsey Stanley was one of the nearly 200 people who partook in the evening. She toured the trails with her two young kids, daughter Presley Thomson and son Pryor Thomson. Huddled around the fire after finishing the trail, Stanley said that they would love to come back.
“It would be nice for us to get our own set because it’s a nice setup that they have here,” Stanley said. “It’s something that we think about going to often, but it’s nice that it’s close to home too.”
Pryor and Presley didn’t make it the whole way through the three-kilometre trail, but Stanley said they had come prepared for this possibility, with a sled in tow.
Ski à l’école Outaouais’ Pontiac coordinator Katelyn Bertrand was also there, offering cross country skis for attendees to borrow for free, to ensure all could enjoy the evening. She said her lending supplies were running low, due to the popularity of the event.
A warm lasagna supper and live music inside the golf club greeted outdoor adventurers upon their return from the trails.
While the annual moonlit ski event has been going on for more than 10 years, this is the third year that it’s been at the Astra Estates.
“It was just a small group of people who were interested in organizing something in and around the neighbourhood,” said Ariane Cloutier, president of the ski club. “They bought a Ski-doo to build a groomer and we’ve kind of grown from there.”
Cloutier said the club’s ski trails became very popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the community’s seasonal residents stuck around through the winter, but the interest has since decreased. She hopes events like Saturday’s will continue to bring in new winter sport enthusiasts.
