February 19, 2007 – Organizers of the 29th edition of the Keskinada were kept on their toes. With winter taking its time making an appearance and snowfalls somewhat on the light side, there was no taking anything for granted.

In the end, 2716 skiers turned out to enjoy the splendours of Gatineau Park throughout four days of activities. They came from 19 different countries, including the United States, Japan, Australia and several European countries.

“The Keskinada is a tradition that our most loyal followers would not miss for anything in the world, even in this most unusual year. And our indefatigable volunteers were once again reliable and plentiful,” indicated Alain d’Entremont, the event’s President.

The free technique day, which took place on Sunday, was dominated by Canadians. In the 53 K, Stephen Hart of Peterborough, ON finished the course in 2 hours 28:24.8, only nine one-hundredths of a second ahead of Alberta’s Erik Carleton, two-time bronze medal winner of the Canadian Championships. Cyrus Kangarloo, another skier from Alberta, climbed to the third step of the podium, finishing two minutes ahead of Ottawa’s Karla Saidla.

In the women’s group, Brooke Gosling finally got her gold, after finishing third in 2005. She beat British Columbia’s Nikki Kassel by two minutes, as well as Ottawa’s Sheila Kealy.

Claude Laramée, outgoing President of the Keskinada, completed his tenth Worldloppet, doing the Keski 53 K for the very first time, making him a “Worldloppet Gold Master”.

For the men’s 28 K free technique event, Gavin Hamilton and Chris Mamen, both from Ottawa, climbed to the top two steps on the podium. Gatineau’s Patrice Doré won third place. Among the women, Waterloo’s Andrea Dupont took the gold. Brandy Stewart once again earned the silver, after finishing second in the 28 K Classic Style the day before. Third place went to Karine Perrin, from Ste-Adèle.

The Keskinada also offered up activities on the more recreational side in the afternoon, including the 10 K and the 2 K Mini-Keski, making room for the younger participants. The starting signal for the Mini was given by His Excellency Pasi Patokallio Ambassador of the Republic of Finland, the host country for this year’s event.

Earlier in the week, the Salomon Women Will Trek, the Keski’s opening activity, drew 58 women. After enjoying a warm traditional Finish beverage, they completed three loops of a 1 km run. The activity ended with a fine pasta meal, accompanied by entertaining presentations by Catherine Therriault and Isabelle Laberge, two Gatineau women who scaled Mount Kilimanjaro in December. A full range of classic technique events were presented on Saturday.

“This 20th edition also gave us the opportunity to read the pulse of our participants on the eve of our 30th anniversary jubilee. The event is at a crossroads, and we will soon be calling on our regional partners.” added Alain d’Entremont.

The projected dates for the 30th anniversary are February 14 to 17, 2007.