Quebec & Eastern Townships skiing?????

I was quite impressed with the plowing done at Mammoth last January after the 95 inches in 31 hours. The storm stopped ~10PM and I arrived ~6AM and it was all packed powder on the roads.

Tony, we arrived there on 1/4 to a fantastic 7 days of bliss! We probably crossed each other, next time we must meet. I ACCEPT and probably should heed your advice (as always), but we are going there because of huge $$$ savings, and the change of pace (le french aspect and food). We may even luck out and get acceptable conditions!

jamesdeluxe, salida, and Patrick, and all others, gracias for encouraging words (and all those links Patrick!).

Heck, worst case we change flights and cough it up, or just wait 'till next Xmas (this will be our first non-skiing Xmas since 1999).

I've decided (at this point in time)to shorten the trip by 2 days, and to bypass Sutton and Bromont due to less vertical, so this is new game plan:

Arrive at BTV 4:30PM Monday 3/26, drive directly to and stay in Owl for 2 nights (or Mansonville), rent equipment there for 15 days.
Owl 3/27 @$15 CDN
Orford 3/28, after drive to Beaupré and make that base for next 10 days.
Massif 3/29,30,31
Mt. St. Anne 4/1-4/7 (with possibility of Stoneham or Massif again).
4/8-10 ??? Jay or Tonwships or Stowe or Sugarbush or Burke or Bretton Woods, or stay in Quebec, it will be up to WEATHER.

Lodging suggestions in Owl (Mansonville), and Beaupré? 2 Queen Beds or Studio, if in Motel BREAKFAST included, if Condo must have kitchen. No frills, unless we can get a nice deal for walk-to-lifts at Mt. St. Anne.

Again MANY sincere thanks for wonderful advice. Cheers!
 
Gpaul":3ogukofz said:
I've decided (at this point in time)to shorten the trip by 2 days, and to bypass Sutton and Bromont due to less vertical, so this is new game plan:
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Don't let Sutton's vertical fool you. By all means, drop Owl's Head instead. Sutton is much larger and much more interesting. It has much more charm, too, for things like maple-sugar-on-snow will be served outside, the lodge is rustic, etc. Owl's Head has a few cruisers, but that's about it -- enough to entertain for maybe half a day. It's tall and narrow.

By contrast, Sutton's 1,500 feet of vertical doesn't tell the whole truth. In fact, you'll be hard pressed to find more than 1,000 continuous feet on the mountain. However, it's strung out along a broad ridge with lots of multi-faceted lines, has the beauty of entry-level tree skiing just about everywhere, and its terrain undulates and rolls as it spills down the hill. Fascinating skiing.

Gpaul":3ogukofz said:
Lodging suggestions in Owl (Mansonville), and Beaupré?
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There's little in the Owl's Head area, including Mansonville, other than what's on the mountain. You could instead stay in Magog, have a wealth of nice restaurants, etc. (it's fun just strolling down rue Principale), and use that as a base for Orford and just drive over to Sutton. There are lots of places in the Sutton area, too, but for dining and apres I much prefer Magog.

Should you dine in Magog, check out Le Papillon -- I assume that it's still operating. Ask owners Jean-Denis and Micheline if they remember Mr. Guido, a Jay patroller who often came in after skiing 10-15 years ago. I'll bet that they do. They used to own the best restaurant in town, Le Chat Noir, but were forced to change the name and I think move the business after a title dispute went south.

Beaupre, in my opinion, has all the charm of a Nebraska truck stop. It's just a strip of the four-lane full-access Rte. 138 that has a reduced speed limit and stop lights. It's gaudy, tacky, run down, and decidedly un-ski-town-like. It would be much nicer to stay above town near the Ste.-Anne slopes. Or better still, stay in Quebec City -- one of the most charming cities on this continent -- and simply drive back and forth, it's not that far (30-45 min.). Should you choose to spend more time skiing Le Massif, Baie St. Paul would be an option as well, but the highway weather is far different once you travel east of Beaupre, as the road climbs a couple of thousand feet. Baie St. Paul is almost limited to just B&Bs as well.
 
I went home after skiing Mammoth on January 3. I could tell by the howling winds and the conditions on Chair 22 that the top wasn't going to be deep powder when it opened.

Admin is right about staying in Quebec City. Lots of interesting things to do there if skiing is no good. Choose your lodging bases with that in mind. Magog in the townships, Stowe in Vermont, etc.

Did you check NYC or Boston for cheaper air? Plenty of places to see there too. My advice is don't plan this as a dedicated ski trip. Go places you would like to visit anyway and assume you'll be skiing only half the time. If you get lucky with ski conditions, that's icing on the cake. This is what I did first time to New Zealand in 1982. A memorable trip even though I only skied 4 days out of 14.

The decline rapidly is not uniform
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I agree. That's why I used the word average. In the real world conditions are springlike but with most terrain open to a point, and then a big rain or 50+ degree meltdown wipes out a bunch of runs and leaves the rest with isothermic snow that's decent for a couple of hours a day on the groomers. Judging by the past ten years the average time for that coup-de-grace event is around first of April.
 
Lodging:

Lodging as I mentioned and Admin seconded, Magog has a lot of charm. Mansonville is fairly small and I am pretty sure you won't find anything to rent here although I hear there's a garage done by a famous architect. :wink:

Admin is also dead on regarding Beaupré, stay in Quebec City or the mountain. When I sleep for a Ste-Anne trip, I do sleep in Beaupré, but I've been to Quebec City many times. If the weather isn't perfect, you can visit the charming streets of old Quebec.

Trip:

Admin is right again about Sutton. Owl's Head is nice, but I prefer Sutton. Vertical doesn't tell you the whole story. You can wait at the late minute to book your lodging, no need to rush and go according to the weather.

Gpaul":2ieq1ylu said:
Arrive at BTV 4:30PM Monday 3/26, drive directly to and stay in Owl for 2 nights (or Mansonville), rent equipment there for 15 days.
Owl 3/27 @$15 CDN
Orford 3/28, after drive to Beaupré and make that base for next 10 days.
Massif 3/29,30,31
Mt. St. Anne 4/1-4/7 (with possibility of Stoneham or Massif again).
4/8-10 ??? Jay or Tonwships or Stowe or Sugarbush or Burke or Bretton Woods, or stay in Quebec, it will be up to WEATHER.
Click to expand...

After all the insisting from Tony, I would say that do the Townships/Vermont of the trip that the beginning of the trip. Anyway, like I mentioned about the lodging, you can book your trip, but you can wait until early March to book and confirm your lodging.

Find the places where you want to sleep. Magog, Quebec City (maybe charming Baie St-Paul), Burlington.
 
Admin":23s48zm9 said:
Don't let Sutton's vertical fool you. By all means, drop Owl's Head instead.
Click to expand...

He's right; nix Owl's Head and go to Sutton. No idea if they continue into late March, but I had a riot at Bromont's "Nuit Blanche" -- weekend night skiing until 2 am.

Quebec City: don't overlook Massif du Sud... read Admin's article about it.
 
:lol: Poor Mansonville, taking a beating here! The bakery is good...
and there are a couple of nice chalets for rent.

We stayed at the smaller of the two cottages rented by http://www.chaletsestrie.com/ Very good clean accomodation, TOTALLY equiped with dishes, linens, supplies, etc. down to the fondue pot. You really only need to bring eats and drinks. This was our spring break base for Jay last year as it allowed pets. There are no pets allowed at the larger chalet. In March they had a no tax special as well. It's about 5 km from Owl's Head, 20 km from Jay and 30km from Sutton and Orford.

And if you are in the area Owl's Head is only $15 CDN for a full day lift ticket on Tuesdays and Wednesays, inlcuding holidays.
 
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