The Canadian Ski Marathon celebrated 40 years on February 11 & 12^th, with sunshine and great conditions. This event is truly about participation, as no times are recorded or places awarded. The CSM is organized into 10 sections of 12-20km each, 5 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday. Tourers ski one or more sections, and Coureur des Bois ski all ten. To rank among the Gold CdB, you must ski all 10 sections (160km) with your gear on your back and sleep under the stars. Read On..

NBNRT member Kelly Wallace started out with Pierre Harvey and the other Gold Coureur des Bois, on a chilly (-26C) Saturday morning. Once the sun rose, the mercury climbed quickly and the trails were in remarkable shape, considering the skiff of ice on the surrounding terrain. Many of the trails cut across farmland, woodlots and private land, which is only trackset once a year. There are lots of flat sections, some good climbs, and some very exciting descents. Section 3 has been aptly called “The Bobsled Run” by many skiers, as the elevation changes about 200m in less than 5 km.

It was a frosty night at Gold camp, but the group of U of Guelph and Waterloo alumni made it a very friendly and fun place to be. The Sunday morning start was rather cool, but skiing under the full moon made it all worth while. After the sun rose on Sunday, and it was another beautiful day for skiing. Skiers of all ages take part in this an event that every good Canadian skier should do at least once!