Frankontour
New member
*** THIS IS THE CORRECT CONVERSATION*** (I got some big troubles before to post it) <BR> <BR>Do you remember last year on april 25 ? I took my skis and started to hike & ski 4 mountains of the region. <BR> <BR>Well, yesterday was the 2004' version of this fabulous trip ! <BR> <BR>I started late in the morning, to let the snow corn. <BR> <BR>First stage was at Val Saint-Côme, in the upper Lanaudière. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3760.jpg" ALT="VSC POWER"> <BR> <BR>Facing south, I knew the snow would be super nice at 11h. Effectively... <BR> <BR>Lower Avalanche (all bumped up on left) <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3761.jpg" ALT="Avalanche power"> <BR> <BR>And the upper part was just like last year (on april 12) : Amazing huge moguls on this 30+ degrees pitch on 200' high. Middle part (40 degrees) was quite nice although a bit less cover than last year on april 25. <BR> <BR>Here is the upper part <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3762.jpg" ALT="Avalanche hmmmmmmm"> <BR> <BR>What a shame to not have skied this amazing mountain of the season, except 1½ run on Avalanche <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT="
"><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=""><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=""> <BR> <BR>After VSC, I drove the rollercoaster road 347 to reach la Réserve. The ski area was still open monday (VSC closed sunday), so I just took a little pic. As you can see, the lower mountain is still very well covered, but the extreme pitches without snowmaking are gone... but were still skiable on the easter weekend. The glades are still skiable too but thin. Obviously, the LG Canyon is still alive for a while, but I don't think I'm going to ski it in june this year, unless we have a cold spring. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3763.jpg" ALT="La Réserve"> <BR> <BR> <BR>After that, I left to Mt Garceau that also closed on sunday. It was tough to make a choice : <BR> <BR>Grand-Duc was looking good but groomed <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=""> we see that it's really the lack of skiers that closed the mountain... although it was a bit more finished than Val Saint-Côme. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3764.jpg" ALT="Grand-Duc"> <BR> <BR>The Togo was also looking good with little bumps, but I was looking for better... <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3765.jpg" ALT="Togo"> <BR> <BR>but when I saw that the Chiquita, my ex-#1 favorite trail overall was all bumped in its long middle part, the choice was extremely easy to do. <BR> <BR>Entering into this blue moguls paradise trail : <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3766.jpg" ALT="Chiquita 1"> <BR> <BR>Just a bit lower, after a tougher spot <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3767.jpg" ALT="Chiquita 2"> <BR> <BR>After I left Mt Garceau, I did a little 25 miles detour to ski at Mt Blanc, a ski area that I hate now, but it's still where I began to be a real extreme skier and I had skied it each of the last 14 years, so I didn't want to stop that now. <BR> <BR>It's another ski area that really closed cause of the lack of skiers... look at all those bare spots in the "Robert" trail ! <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3768.jpg" ALT="Robert with a LOT of bare spots !! lol"> <BR> <BR>I was surprised to see all the snow remaining on the upper part of the mountain. I almost decided to ski an off-piste which still had a good feet of snowdepth. But I played safe, skiing the Moustache, a semi-bumped narrow black trail. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3769.jpg" ALT="Moustache nice"> <BR> <BR>I avoided the lower part lurking on the Couloir... and I saw it was still "skiable" in the pitch....... So I hiked it <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT="
"> <BR> <BR>This is the trail where all began for me. First real extreme trail, in 1990 and first extreme trail where I decided to speed like crazy, in 1996. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3770.jpg" ALT="Couloir upper"> <BR> <BR>The lower part was also nice ! <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3771.jpg" ALT="Lower Couloir"> <BR> <BR>I left Mt Blanc to see what was still remaining of natural snow at Mt Alta ! Nothing ? not exactly. Not a lot at the base, but there was still a ton of snow if you was just forgetting the last 400' long to reach the base. <BR> <BR>I was talking to the owner when a friend of Zoneski arrived at the mountain. We asked the owner to run the chairlift just for us (LOL) but the unloading point is too dangerous without snow to let us land on it <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=""> So he suggested us to hike in car <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=""> so we did it for a wonderful run on the "Principale". <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3772.jpg" ALT="Principale upper"> <BR> <BR>Lower <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3773.jpg" ALT="Principale Middle"> <BR> <BR>I should have skied the glades of the mountain, cause all the upper mountain is still skiable... should be nice <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=""><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=""><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=""> <BR> <BR>I love sooooo much the Laurentians' snowbelt ! <BR> <BR>After that, I left Alta with my friend to reach Mt Gabriel. South side was quite devastated, but the O'Connell trail was still nice (especially hiking in car) <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3774.jpg" ALT="O'Connell"> <BR> <BR>He left me after gave me a lift up the north side of the mountain for a run in the George's Pass / Zig-Zag <BR> <BR>George's Pass <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3775.jpg" ALT="George's Pass"> <BR> <BR>too bad they destroyed the trails with BRs just to make the trails less interesting for persons like us <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=""> <BR> <BR>The Zig-Zag was nice, though ! (a narrow twisty intermediate trail) <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3776.jpg" ALT="Zig-Zag"> <BR> <BR>And finally, I hiked the Tamarack (on right) to ski the Coupe du Monde (on left). The snow was still quite nice, but it was 7h30PM, so it was beginning to freeze a bit. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3777.jpg" ALT="Coupe du Monde and Tamarack"> <BR> <BR>WHAT A DAY !!!!!!!!!! <BR> <BR>Absolutely amazing day, one of the greatest this season. Some of the best conditions with perfect corn, some incredible moguls, (spaced + competition ones) I think I'm going to remind me of this day for a very very very long time!!
"><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=""><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=""> <BR> <BR>After VSC, I drove the rollercoaster road 347 to reach la Réserve. The ski area was still open monday (VSC closed sunday), so I just took a little pic. As you can see, the lower mountain is still very well covered, but the extreme pitches without snowmaking are gone... but were still skiable on the easter weekend. The glades are still skiable too but thin. Obviously, the LG Canyon is still alive for a while, but I don't think I'm going to ski it in june this year, unless we have a cold spring. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3763.jpg" ALT="La Réserve"> <BR> <BR> <BR>After that, I left to Mt Garceau that also closed on sunday. It was tough to make a choice : <BR> <BR>Grand-Duc was looking good but groomed <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=""> we see that it's really the lack of skiers that closed the mountain... although it was a bit more finished than Val Saint-Côme. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3764.jpg" ALT="Grand-Duc"> <BR> <BR>The Togo was also looking good with little bumps, but I was looking for better... <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3765.jpg" ALT="Togo"> <BR> <BR>but when I saw that the Chiquita, my ex-#1 favorite trail overall was all bumped in its long middle part, the choice was extremely easy to do. <BR> <BR>Entering into this blue moguls paradise trail : <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3766.jpg" ALT="Chiquita 1"> <BR> <BR>Just a bit lower, after a tougher spot <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3767.jpg" ALT="Chiquita 2"> <BR> <BR>After I left Mt Garceau, I did a little 25 miles detour to ski at Mt Blanc, a ski area that I hate now, but it's still where I began to be a real extreme skier and I had skied it each of the last 14 years, so I didn't want to stop that now. <BR> <BR>It's another ski area that really closed cause of the lack of skiers... look at all those bare spots in the "Robert" trail ! <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3768.jpg" ALT="Robert with a LOT of bare spots !! lol"> <BR> <BR>I was surprised to see all the snow remaining on the upper part of the mountain. I almost decided to ski an off-piste which still had a good feet of snowdepth. But I played safe, skiing the Moustache, a semi-bumped narrow black trail. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3769.jpg" ALT="Moustache nice"> <BR> <BR>I avoided the lower part lurking on the Couloir... and I saw it was still "skiable" in the pitch....... So I hiked it <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=""> <BR> <BR>This is the trail where all began for me. First real extreme trail, in 1990 and first extreme trail where I decided to speed like crazy, in 1996. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3770.jpg" ALT="Couloir upper"> <BR> <BR>The lower part was also nice ! <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3771.jpg" ALT="Lower Couloir"> <BR> <BR>I left Mt Blanc to see what was still remaining of natural snow at Mt Alta ! Nothing ? not exactly. Not a lot at the base, but there was still a ton of snow if you was just forgetting the last 400' long to reach the base. <BR> <BR>I was talking to the owner when a friend of Zoneski arrived at the mountain. We asked the owner to run the chairlift just for us (LOL) but the unloading point is too dangerous without snow to let us land on it <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=""> So he suggested us to hike in car <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=""> so we did it for a wonderful run on the "Principale". <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3772.jpg" ALT="Principale upper"> <BR> <BR>Lower <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3773.jpg" ALT="Principale Middle"> <BR> <BR>I should have skied the glades of the mountain, cause all the upper mountain is still skiable... should be nice <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=""><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=""><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=""> <BR> <BR>I love sooooo much the Laurentians' snowbelt ! <BR> <BR>After that, I left Alta with my friend to reach Mt Gabriel. South side was quite devastated, but the O'Connell trail was still nice (especially hiking in car) <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3774.jpg" ALT="O'Connell"> <BR> <BR>He left me after gave me a lift up the north side of the mountain for a run in the George's Pass / Zig-Zag <BR> <BR>George's Pass <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3775.jpg" ALT="George's Pass"> <BR> <BR>too bad they destroyed the trails with BRs just to make the trails less interesting for persons like us <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=""> <BR> <BR>The Zig-Zag was nice, though ! (a narrow twisty intermediate trail) <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3776.jpg" ALT="Zig-Zag"> <BR> <BR>And finally, I hiked the Tamarack (on right) to ski the Coupe du Monde (on left). The snow was still quite nice, but it was 7h30PM, so it was beginning to freeze a bit. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3777.jpg" ALT="Coupe du Monde and Tamarack"> <BR> <BR>WHAT A DAY !!!!!!!!!! <BR> <BR>Absolutely amazing day, one of the greatest this season. Some of the best conditions with perfect corn, some incredible moguls, (spaced + competition ones) I think I'm going to remind me of this day for a very very very long time!!
