Laurentian Report ( Quebec )

I noticed that during the snow drought Tremblant had a lot higher percentage of its runs open, pretty impressive compared to most places actually. I was talking to a hardcore skier at work and he laughed and said they have a special deal on hydro rates from Quebec Hydro and can afford to blow snow when and where other hills can't. I just shouldn't be surprised, it is all about selling rooms anyway.

It has been interesting seeing our Hostas sprout 3/4" growth and the Tiger 1.5" in January, in Ottawa, I hope they stay buried now.
 
Spensar":au4c7l6p said:
I noticed that during the snow drought Tremblant had a lot higher percentage of its runs open, pretty impressive compared to most places actually.
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This week was the coldest of the year, meaning that temps were below freezing most of the week. Geez :roll: Everyone was blowing snow like there wasn't any tomorrow. Ste-Marie (Outaouais - Ottawa local) shutdown operations this week for (as their website said) "intense snowmaking". I also spoke to Lucky Luke who lives in Bromont and he mentioned that the mountain shutdown their night skiing for a few nights (?) in order to make snow.

The Tremblants, Bromonts, Kmarts, St-Sauveurs of this world have a powerful snowmaking system, they also have deeper pockets.

Anyways, planning to hit Tremblant tomorrow. There's according to their website, 70 runs open. I'll try to write something later tomorrow night.

Heck, Edelweiss even shutdown all their runs except one on Thursday night in order to make snow. :x I wasn't a happy camper*, I wanted to write a report.

*Reason I was pissed off. Website had 5 runs open including a blue run, to my surprise, only 1 green was open served by a fixed-grip quad and they were charging FULL-PRICE. Ah yes, Edelweiss is part of the MSSI Group. :x Not pissed about the FULL-PRICE, but on the bad information on their website. If I would have known, I would have driven 20 miles less and gone to Fortune.

Ah yes, gone...my lawn is green again. :roll:
 
I hope the cold weather means the corner has been turned. Some snow around Ottawa to go with the cold would be nice. ...and Tremblant's deep pockets go further with an electricity subsidy. Hope to get the kids out next weekend too.
 
The Laurentian area between MSS and Tremblant received about 8? of snow last week with a bit of rain last Friday before the temperatures dropped off. This was enough snow to open up the natural snow ski area of Alta that uses no artificial snow, so this is where we went to experience some non commercial skiing . Skiing was better than expected as we did not have to deal with a icy artificial base that I am sure was the case at the larger areas that become scraped down real quick. Alta today provided a good work out as you had to carve your turns through new snow with a thin crust on top. More snow this week in the forecast which is what is needed to open up the woods.
 

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6" of dry snow fell in the mid Laurentians today and the best thing is that there was no sleet , rain or freezing rain all snow with more snow in the forecast for later this week. This should help in opening up more of the natural snow trails . The Tremblant area received about 4" .
 
Jan. 28 - The total snowfall over the last 7 days has only been a few inches however we have been skiing on un groomed natural snow trails for 3 weeks . Today was another great day with skied up loose snow and even trails with a few inches of powder. The key is in finding the correct trails away from large commercial areas ( Tremblant -MSS) . Coverage in the woods is still thin as branches and stumps are everywhere just waiting to snag the unsuspecting skier. Still waiting for a good storm with a foot of snow to open things up .
 
Nice Valentines package for folks in the area (postal codes starting with a H, J, K, G or M) from Grey Rocks. 1 nights lodging with 2 lift tickets and 2 meals for $65 from Feb. 14 to 16. The tickets are good for Gray Rocks and Mont Blanc.

---------------------------------

VALENTINE'S PACKAGE

50% OFF on our Ski "à la carte" package

1 night hotel lodging
1 dinner
1 Breakfast
Meals gratuities
2 day lift ticket (valid for Gray Rocks and Mont-Blanc)
Social calendar and nightly entertainment for adults and children
Acces to our indoor pool, hot tubs and sauna

Room Value
Standard 130$ 65$*
Heritage 150$ 75$*
Country Charm 170$ 85$*

*Valid from February 14th to February 16th 2007 inclusive and only for residents with postal codes starting with a H, J, K, G ou M.
Rates are per person based on double occupancy, taxes extra.
Certain conditions apply. Ski lift ticket valid on 2 mountains (Gray Rocks and Mont Blanc)
 
Tremblant yesterday (Jan. 03) Soleil side closed, Duncan Express closed so longer two lift ride to top of North Side. Expo icing up somewhat. Lots of snow being made all over the south side and blacks in good hape on that side. Overall snow in good shape, liftlines minimal as expected on a cold Tuesday.
 
Hey Anthony, we'll be something like 100 or 150 from ZoneSki this sunday (4th of february) at the mountain... so unless you prefer to skip that day due to the crowd, come to see us ;)

(PS skiing is free this sunday, if you inscribe yourself on http://www.zoneski.com/tournee )
 
Thanks for the offer I noticed the message on Zone Ski .com but we will be down the road at V.B. as the 3 kids are in the CSIA lesson program (every 2 nd Sunday). Don't mind buying tickets at Alta as like to support them and keep them going. For our family Alta offers one of the only choices for Adventure skiing that is close by and affordable. Laurentians used to have quite a few choices for adventure skiing but they are disappearing very fast as hill operators can't wait to bring out their groomers after a snowstorm and roll the new snow making it as hard as concrete . I have often asked them why they just can't leave a few trails as they are but the response is always the same. The public wants them groomed. My other favourite spot is MRG(VT) as they offer great adventure skiing and very affordable .Unfortunately only able to ski there about 6 days per year and believe me we all wait for that trip to MRG. Have a good one on Sunday; probably be at Alta on Saturday.
 
Anthony":nznv231d said:
For our family Alta offers one of the only choices for Adventure skiing that is close by and affordable.
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No kidding. How far from your house is Alta, as I noticed that you're from Val David.

I was curious to see how far was Alta, Vallée Bleue and Belle Neige from each other. These are as pretty much on highway 117, I mesured that from the Alta parking to Belle Neige (VB is in the middle), the distance was slightly under 5km.

Talk about an excellent choice and diversified family skiing at independently ran ski hills. That's one of the reason why we decided to spend a few days of our Spring Break there last year.

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards ... 500993face
 
My Laurentian skiing background is a long one as family connections dates back almost 100 years. Raised in Christieville /Morin Heights/Montreal but sold the property (Still have family connections in Montfort (near Morin Heights).The last 11 years have commuted to Val David on winter weekends. So home in Val David is a motel on 117 on Saturday nights . Close to Alta and other areas.
 
Anthony":126pu6kp said:
My Laurentian skiing background is a long one as family connections dates back almost 100 years.
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I guess I'm not the only one. :wink:

Anthony":126pu6kp said:
Montfort (near Morin Heights).
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A have a set of great-parents that were married in Montford and eventually moved further north to Brébeuf (near St-Jovite now part of Mont Tremblant). Other set founded the village of Brébeuf. Both grand-parents and mother were born there. My grand-father used to groomed the Tremblant run in the 40s with snowshoes.

The Irish-Canadian side of the family were all Montrealers and my dad become a ski instructor/ski bum and taught all over the Laurentians (mostly around Gray Rocks/Tremblant in the 50s) and eventually moved on in the early 60s to a new area called Glen Mountain in the Townships were he eventually meet my mom. :lol:
 
Normally when you receive 6 to 8 " of snow it is a big deal but after hearing reports of 4 feet in VT the 8 inches just sound like dust. Since the time to be in VT was during the week decided not to jump on the bandwagon and headed north instead of south . Well the Laurentians only received less than a foot but even this amount of snow makes for good skiing . The mild temperatures brought out the crowds with probably record numbers at Tremblant and MSS. We were over at Alta to see what was left of the snow. Not bad :!: Last week Stowe this week Alta . I am just glad to be out on the boards.
 

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Since my last report , the Laurentians received about 10 inches of snow ( March 2 nd - March 5 ) followed by dry cold condtions up until March 11. The last 5 days have seen temperatures way above normal with periods of heavy rain and fog transforming the snow into spring granular. Today , temperatures are falling at a good clip freezing everything to rock solid ice or frozen granular . All hopes are pinned on receiving new snow Friday night into Saturday ( March 17 ) . Maybe with the help of St. Patrick we will have a powder day and if no snow falls it will be a Guinness Day :lol:
 
About 6 to 10 inches of snow fell over the Laurentians on Saturday ( March 17 ) on top of a very hard even icy base left over from the rain and warm temperatures last week. Spent the day on the natural snow trails at Alta where if you picked your lines correctly you could find boot deep wind blown powder drifts along the sides of trails . The combination of the wind , rain and warm temperatures have eroded natural snow trails so the addition of 10 inches can only go so far. overall , a good day where if you searched for fresh snow you could still find it . With warm temperatures in the forecast later this week , natural snow trails throughout the Laurentians could be in trouble as base depths are already thin as there has not been a storm all year that has deliverd more than 12 inches of snow .
 
Normally not be a big fan of trails covered end to end in artificial snow and for the most part avoid them during the regular season as they are usually wide and groomed out. However, in spring time they become a whole different adventure as left on their own they usually bump up quickly while the natural snow trails melt away. The Laurentians received about 2 inches of snow Saturday night which was not far off from being 2 inches of crazy glue on top of the corn snow. This made for sticky surfaces when crossing trails without much pitch. Despite thick cloud cover and the odd clear break temperatures climbed up to the 50 degree mark softening everything up on the bump runs. Anyone planning a trip to Tremblant will find the artificial trails well covered but all the natural snow trails are melting away quickly and could very well be done for the year. More warm temperatures this week will continue the snow loss.
 
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