Mont Grand-Fonds, QC 03/24/10

[jamesdeluxe]

Another fantastic day in Quebec that mixed great cuisine and excellent skiing. With a foot of new snow decorating the art-filled village of Baie Saint-Paul, we started off with breakfast at atmospheric Chez Bouquet:

As good as the food was:

I found it hard to concentrate on the meal with this scene outside:

We arrived at 9:45 at Mont Grand-Fonds, which was reporting 18 inches of new snow. There were only eight cars ahead of us in the parking lot.

We didn't have our fat skis with us and Juliet was struggling with the wind-affected pow on her skinny sticks, so I went off and did a bunch of 1,300-vert runs by myself, which all looked like this...

But since this is a couple's vacation, I spent the rest of the day with her on groomed runs that had four to six inches of soft untracked and skied beautifully.

Mont Grand-Fonds is a fun locals mountain with an interesting story. Formerly a private ski area that was always on the verge of going under, it is now owned by the nearby municipality of La Malbaie and run by a non-profit organization with a very detailed and realistic business plan. General Director Daniel Bouchard, who worked many years at Mont Sainte-Anne, spoke with me at length about Mont Grand-Fonds' concept -- one in which the citizens of La Malbaie are partners and directly responsible for its success.

 

[Harvey]

Nice report James. Your reports are like no others.

 

[Patrick]

GPAUL LIVES!!! :mrgreen:

This morning reports 45cm in the last 24 hours. NICE!!! :mrgreen:

Mont Grand-Fonds is a fun locals mountain with an interesting story. Formerly a private ski area that was always on the verge of going under.

Are you certain about the fact that the ski area was private? The ski area used to be owned by le Manoir Richelieu hotel and Raymond Malenfant. It was tied somewhat similarly to defunct Gray Rocks ski area and the hotel. Not really the definition of what the ski business sees as a Private ski area. It might a translation thing, because the ski area is own by a non-profit organisation. That is understanding of what the person might have meant (if that information was passed to you), however I might be mistaken.

about Mont Grand-Fonds' concept -- one in which the citizens of La Malbaie are partners and directly responsible for its success.

There isn't much around and they have been issues maybe a couple of years ago about a possible shutdown. All the saga is on ZS somewhere. There isn't much in the Charlevoix, regardless of the tons of snow. Le Massif is on the southern edge of the region and is a major destination, as GF is a regional area for locals or tourist staying in La Malbaie.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

GPAUL LIVES!!! :mrgreen:

Hola amigos!

Are you certain about the fact that the ski area was private? The ski area used to be owned by le Manoir Richelieu hotel and Raymond Malenfant.

Euh, wouldn't Le Manoir Richlieu be considered a private owner? I have a "historique" that mentions: "le 31 janvier 1996, la MRC de Charlevoix Est et la municipalite de Riviere Malbaie devenaient officiellement proprietaires du centre de ski." So yes, I understand what you're saying.

 

[itbeme]

From what was visible, it looks like a beautiful spot. And all to yourself. What's not to like?

 

[Patrick]

Are you certain about the fact that the ski area was private? The ski area used to be owned by le Manoir Richelieu hotel and Raymond Malenfant.

Euh, wouldn't Le Manoir Richlieu be considered a private owner?[/quote]

When you were saying the hill was Private, I thought you meant it was a Private Club (ie. only members are allowed to ski - like Yellowstone and a bunch of ski areas in Southern Ontario), like a Private Golf Course.

Generally people don't talk about a hill being private when it's privately own because a vast majority are.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Generally people don't talk about a hill being private when it's privately own because a vast majority are.

You're right. I meant to say "privately-owned" (as opposed to owned by the municipality).

I was posting these TRs at the end of a long day of nonstop skiing, eating, and socializing... and was too tired to write clearly.

 

[Lucky Luke]

We didn't have our fat skis with us, and Juliet was struggling with the wind-affected pow on her skinny sticks, so I went off and did a bunch of 1,300-vert runs by myself, which all looked like this...
View attachment 6

You're tracks were still printed in the crust yesterday. 4 days too late for me and my family, but the groomers and the nordic skiing were really great! We (me and my 2 kids) still bagged 7 runs in the not groomed runs.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

My wife loved the blue groomers at Grand-Fonds that have birch trees scattered every 30 or so yards (especially "Des Bouleaux").

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Since the snow flurries on my visit there last week cut down on visibility, here's what Grand-Fonds looks like on a clear day -- taken in January 2005 after a rain/freeze event.

The trails go green to black from skier's left to right: