Laurentian Snow Report ( MSS- Tremblant )

The first measurable snow that stuck around fell over the Laurentian region December 9th ( 12 " to 14 " ) less than a week later another 4 to 6 " and that is it. Since the air is cold the snow is dry and good quality powder but just not enough of it as measured about 16 inches of accumulation at elevations just under 2000'. Spent the last 2 weekends skiing the easy stuff as coverage is not deep . With this amount of coverage , the ski areas couldn't open without the snow guns blasting . Hopefully this weekend will add some snow as once you pass the 2 ' mark things will get interesting

Picked up about 4" of dry powder today through the mid Laurentian area ( a little less at Tremblant ) . Base depth now close to 2 ' of dry quality snow , however trouble on the horizon as possibility of rain Saturday into Sunday which will once again set us back .

Freezing rain , rain , drizzle and fog have spread over the entire region soaking the snow pack ( which is about 2') . Temperatures are scheduled to drop off later today /tonight so it will all freeze over . Back country skiing back on hold ( after barely starting !) until new snow arrives . Anxious to get out on our new trails but will have to wait. As reported , Always rains during the Christmas break( Year 7 as per Tony ) .

Note : The place to be is the North East of Quebec city along the St. Lawrence as " Le Massif " is reporting snow and more on the way . At least one eastern region has escaped the curse .

http://tremblantsnowreport.com/2009/12/ ... s-30dec09/

Honest video report of the conditions

Time for a update , no doubt about it Laurentians are getting the short end of the ski pole in snow this year. After the rain ( Dec 26/27) the Larentians have picked up less than a foot of new snow on top of a 1 " crust . Total snow depth around the 2 ' level give or take a few inches either way . After today's storm there is probably more powder on Mont Royal in Montreal ( 8" since last night) . All of this is causing us to go elsewhere looking for snow and digging into the ski budget. Groomed skiing on trails with a snow making base are fine as my reports are only about natural snow trails.

For the first time this season , headed over to our home base of skiing ( Alta ) to check things out . The 500' vertical Alta opened last week on natural snow so wasn't sure how it would ski with only a 2 ' base . A inch or 2 of snow since last Sunday helped out on the more open trails as they offered good turns and first tracks through the new snow . My estimate is the snow pack is about 2 feet behind normal levels as this was evident when looking at the more legendary steep terrain through the woods( kids said it looks like MRG ) . Lots of small trees showing that are normally buried. Nevertheless , good work out as always great to ski areas with no grooming or no machine base.

Well , we have reached the the half way point in the winter and the Laurentian area is in dire need of snow . While the kids were in their CSIA program took the opportunity to hike up into the local hills . Had 2 hours off to drive from one ski hill to a hiking hill ski and return so only time for one run . Base depths are running at about 2.5 ' , still way below normal but made hiking a workout as trail was not packed down . Skiing was a challenge as a few layers of crust under 3 " to 4 " of snow grabbing at your skis.

Finally , 6" of snow since the day of heavy rain ( Monday ) . The cold front is roaring in like waves on a beach creating snow squalls . Won't be able to check it out till Saturday morning . Curious how the base held up after all the rain. it will be a day of "Load Powder " as they say over on the MRG site. O

Anthony":25hj3xon said:

Finally , 6" of snow since the day of heavy rain ( Monday ) . The cold front is roaring in like waves on a beach creating snow squalls . Won't be able to check it out till Saturday morning . Curious how the base held up after all the rain. it will be a day of "Load Powder " as they say over on the MRG site. O

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Last night was real good in the Gatineau hills. Totally surprised, better than last weekend and last Wednesday night. 10cm of fresh that stuck to the ice making in not icy even in a slalom course.

Patrick , Your report backs up what I was thinking , that the new snow in the beginning was a bit on the wet side followed by colder air with drier snow . Untracked snow should be in fine shape especially in the wind loaded areas . Still not deep but better than the last few weeks.

Spoke to soon , 6" my arse . After monsoon rains last Monday the Laurentian zone picked up 2 maybe 3 inches in sheltered areas nowhere near enough to cover frozen ruts . Laurentian natural snow skiing is in serious trouble base depths are just over a foot of bombproof with about 2" to 3 " of powder on top ( wind blown ) . Of course , groomers are fine they can survive anything just can't stand skiing them

No offense, but why would a natural snow powderhound spend much time in the Laurentians when the Townships, Vermont and even the Quebec City areas get much more natural snow?

No offense taken, agree 100% as better chances for powder in Northern VT and Northeast of Quebec city and even the Townships in comparison to the Laurentians . Although raised on Laurentian skiing there was a time that I would never ski there for those very reasons. Would spend all my time at MRG , Smugglers Notch , Jay and Sutton . However , now as a family of five and 1.5 incomes a return to the Laurentians has become a necessity due to time and money ( . The Laurentians are close by ( 45 minutes from the city house- the Closest VT hill is Jay at about 2 hrs 15 minutes ) so can easily bring one kid downtown for something and then still ski the same day . To compensate for the groomed out mole hills we always look for places to ski . Quite often no lifts involved, either hike or use a snowmobile ( made some new trails this year on a friends land and still can't use them) and of course we have Alta which has a lift but no grooming . The problem now and it is a continuous trend is that snow levels in the laurentians are falling and have been for a few years . Still manage to bring the gang down to VT a couple times a year( MRG , Bolton , Jay ) .

OK , Back from out west and looking outside and it doesn't look good, maybe if I take of my mandatory snow tires it will snow. :lol: Why not , tried everything else. Snow base still at 12" to 13 " .

Finally it snows , at least 2 feet in the snow belt ( mid Laurentian area ) less to the north and south . The 2 feet opened up all the terrain that has been unskiable up until now . Temperatures just above the freezing mark so snow became damp and heavy but still very deep.

Well another weekend and into the spring conditions of freeze and thaw with no new snow . Looks like April out there ,cant get motivated . Newspaper articles are calling this winter the sissy winter , all because of our snow tire law , indoor hockey and shopping malls . Environment Canada is calling it the warmest winter on record . Well , off to Montreal tomorrow for the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Well, here it is late December 2010 and still no good snow in the Southern Laurentians north of Montreal. All the storms seem to be gyrating crazily north, south ,east and west of what is the birthplace of skiing in North America. Global warming is taking its toll.
I have been trying to ski the backcountry trails laid down the better part of a century ago in the Southern Laurentians, but these past few years, it has become a real challenge. From the winters of 30 - 40 years ago which offered dependable snow from mid November to mid April, we now are lucky to get reasonable conditions from January to early March.

It might be better to lay out Backcounty trails in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC or Central Park in New York City.
These places seem to be getting better snow than where it should fall.

My strong impression is that the Laurentians are usually deficient in snowfall compared to both the Townships and the Quebec City areas.