Banff Mtn. Film Festival tickets available now!

Tickets are on sale now for the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour in Huntsville!

Please note there are two shows, on Tuesday, January 20 and Wednesday, Jan. 21. Different films are shown each night. I recommend going to both! No, I haven't picked the films yet but will in the next two weeks or so. Check this blog later for a list if you would like more details on the films being shown in Huntsville.

Tickets are available at the Algonquin Theatre box office at 37 Main St. E., on-line at algonquintheatre.ca or by calling the theatre box office at (705) 789-4975, or 1-888-696-4255, ext. 2352.

Here's a teaser - check out the always exciting World Tour Intro Video:

The things we do to stay connected...

After the heavy wet snowfall we received recently, I had to trek across the AO roof with a broom and clean off the satellite dish. Despite the fact that we are not that far from civilization, satellite is our only option for high-speed internet. It's pretty reliable but the dish doesn't work too well when it is coated with an inch of crusty snow...

The Algonquin web

This must be the season for creating web sites. Well, it is that awkward in-between time in this part of the world when you can't paddle because the lakes are frozen, you can't ski or snowshoe because there is not enough snow, hiking or biking is awkward because there is some snow, so what's an outdoor person to do? For some, apparently, the answer is to stay inside and make web sites. Or blog.

Along the lines of Gord Bell's site, referenced in my last post, Bob McElroy has recently created The Algonquin Web, a compendium of Algonquin-related blog and news feeds. I am honoured that he elected to include this blog in his list. Thanks Bob!

In Bob's words:

The Algonquin Web comprises references to news stories, blog entries, and website updates related to canoe tripping and camping in Algonquin Park and surrounding territory (which includes, in practice, most of the adjacent Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Forest). It is compiled by melding selected rss feeds, augmented with the manual addition of items.

Handy new weather site & winter links

If you are a weather forecast junkie like me, you'll like this handy web site created by Gord Bell, owner of the Beauview Cottage Resort in nearby Baysville.

The site, called accu-window-weather, has links to a number web cams located in tourism destinations throughout Ontario. If you don't believe the forecast, there's nothing like a sneak peak to double-check!

Who knows, maybe some day Algonquin Outfitters will have a weather web cam (hint, hint)...

While we are blogging about weather, here are a couple of other handy links for the upcoming winter season:

• The Ontario Winter Road Conditions report
• Algonquin Park five-day weather forecast
• Huntsville five-day weather forecast
• Algonquin Park winter information
• Hidden Valley ski area snow conditions
• Sir Sam's ski area snow conditions
• Algonquin Park XC ski trail conditions
• Arrowhead Park XC ski trail conditions
  
• Haliburton Nordic Trails conditions report
  
• Links to weather cams throughout Canada and around the world
• NOAA satellite image - check ice status of Algonquin lakes!

Winter is here!

Happy winter from Algonquin Outfitters!

Sometimes it is hard to believe in global warming. When I drove into Oxtongue Lake this morning, I was surprised to see that at least 75% of the main body of the lake was frozen over, an unusual event for this time of year.

Well, the ice is thick enough for a fox to make tracks on it...

The same scene taken on Nov. 24, 2006 - winter arrived late that year

While some Ontario ski resorts are opening tomorrow and southwestern Ontario is experiencing huge snowfall amounts this week (I heard that some areas south of Lake Huron will be getting up to 60 CM over the next 48 hours), our area has a nice coverage but still not enough for skiing and snowshoeing. Be patient, it will come!

Outfitter Creek is still running
Look at the strange shadows made by the canoe rack