Frankontour
New member
Forecast this morning : 30-40% of chance of rain, high 40s... I finally took the decision to go skiing passed 8h30, so I was a little bit late at la Reserve, especially after the 75 miles of road from Laval. But what a day !! It was a real good decision to go. With the rain in view for the long weekend, there is just 4 ski areas in Laurentians / Lanaudiere that decided to open this weekend and as Vallée-Bleue wasn't open today cause of rain, there was just Tremblant, St-Sauveur and la Réserve open. Yesterday, there was just some cruising terrain (+ terrain parks) that were open at St-Sauveur, but today, there was still some super extreme trail possible to ski, so it was a real good day, despite a little bit of rain and big clouds all day long. <BR> <BR>On the lower mountain, the main trails were full width with an impressive coverage, for a ski area that didn't spent too much in snowmaking this year... as you can see on Slalom, just below. <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2203.jpg" ALT="Slalom will be skiable up to early may without problem"> <BR> <BR>Last year, big surprise, as I went on may 25 and it was tough to believe there was so much snow remaining in that trail : <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2204.jpg" ALT="hey, we're on may 25 !!!!!!"> <BR> <BR>The upper mountain had less snow, cause it's 200x more rocky. But in Loup-Garou, the snowpack was still incredible and it will certainly remain skiable until at least mid-may, as it's in a big canyon facing north east. Last year, there was still a ±700' long snow patch on may 25... incredible... this year, I don't forget my skis !! <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2205.jpg" ALT="Loup Garou"> <BR> <BR>I talked of extreme terrain. I was super happy to see that the Chute Libre (free fall) was still skiable top to bottom. The first pitch was officialy closed, but the ski patrol told me it was just for make think a little bit the skiers before they take it. Despite that, it has been one of the most popular trails today, as the people present were super extreme skiers... as always at this mountain dedicated to extreme skiing. The second pitch missed snow in a little almost flat place which was the only way to pass on a part of the pitch (except jumping 8-10 feet high ice cliff). So I asked to have a shovel and I shoveled a good 10 minutes right under the chairlift, just to make it pass correctly ! lol. I think I saved many skis with that, as the skiers were simply passing on the rocks. After that place, it was really hot, with some nice snow & ice cliffs to jump for the rest of the pitch. Incredible to have a trail like that on april 19 !! <BR> <BR>first pitch <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2206.jpg" ALT="First big pitch of Freefall"> <BR> <BR>second pitch <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2207.jpg" ALT="The long 2nd pitch of Freefall"> <BR> <BR>More... I was the first to not believe it, but the first monster pitch of la Pirouette was still possible to ski. In fact, the part of the cliff I usually jump was too dangerous and the upper gladed part was also, but bypassing the worst place in the woods, it was really cool to take it a last time this year ! The "Luge" was closed as there was no snow to reach it from the chairlift, but I walked to it and the upper part was really incredibly good, with soft bumps with correct snowdepth. hmmm <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2208.jpg" ALT="Pirouette... lololol not so bad"> <BR> <BR>Another incredible thing is that there was still some great ski to do in the glades. Ok, it was really thin in several places, but la "Sous-bois" was still super popular. Enough incredible to think that, as it was already thin, on early march. La "Foret enchantée" was also not so bad. <BR> <BR>May be 65-70 skiers, probably not enough to make money, with the new quad running for the last weekend of the season... <BR> <BR>So... a real nice day and after, once again cause of Lftgly with his super reports, I decided to do a little detour of 15 miles to reach Val Saint-Come, for a last run & half into l'Avalanche ! Looking the mountain, it's a shame that it's not open this weekend, as there is still enough snow to open almost every major trails... but money is money, even here... <BR> <BR>The mountain today... still tons of snow. <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2209.jpg" ALT="VSC power closed"> <BR> <BR>and the 1st pitch of Avalanche, which was still super good and with a huge snow cover except at bottom, which was still Ok. <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2210.jpg" ALT="Avalanche... see you next year"> <BR> <BR>Now, I think it's going to be Nordic & West 70 for me, until the end of chairlift season 