MSA and LeMassif 12/28-12/30

[Anonymous]

MSA was mostly frozen hardpack which was only a little better than ice. The "groomed snow on a firm base" meant that there was a thin layer of snow for the first couple of hours until it all got swept away by hordes of skiers. Heroic attempts by groomers to make snow got mostly defeated by either the weather or the volume of skiers that turned the new made stuff into icy hardpack in no time. The best runs were any bumps or glades as they saw less traffic.
LeMassif conditions were almost indentical to MSA but with far fewer skiers. The best snow was found at the "Camp Boule Express" area, where the glades saw less traffic and good snow could still be found. The "Maillard Express" lift's mid-station was a total disaster. Almost all the traffic from this area approaches the mid-station through a narrow trail that is pure ice. Why there were no accidents is a mystery.

 

[Anonymous]

MSA was mostly frozen hardpack which was only a little better than ice. The "groomed snow on a firm base" meant that there was a thin layer of snow for the first couple of hours until it all got swept away by hordes of skiers.
LeMassif conditions were almost indentical to MSA. The "Maillard Express" lift's mid-station was a total disaster. Almost all the traffic from this area approaches the mid-station through a narrow trail that is pure ice. Why there were no accidents is a mystery.

I am a regular at le Massif and MSA. You just can't trust Mont-Sainte-Anne's snow report. They are good at making people ski on lies...

As for the mid-station at Le Massif, this is an example of very poor lift and trail planning. It was reportedly done by Snow Engineering. The way the mid-station is located, on the side of a rocky outcrop, it will be impossible to significantly improve the situation, because there is no space to build another access.

My feeling is that the Maillard Express was simply a fundamental mistake, as was the creation of the Charlevoix trail and the National Training Center. There is not enough available terrain to accomodate the trafic generated by a high-speed quad. The terrain was already accessible by a traverse from the top of the existing "Grande-Pointe Express" lift and should have been developped that way.

The whole operation precipitated the de-facto bankruptcy of the previous administration of Le Massif. Now, the new owner is stuck with this bad design and the money pit that is the National Training Center.

 

[Anonymous]

I skiied Le Massif the 3 days from 12/28 to 12/31 and would have to disagree with the assessment about the conditions. Perhaps Jonn has been spoiled by usually great local conditions. I can say that by comparison to what I have experienced in a number of major resorts over the past few years, it was pretty good - amazingly so given the weather they've had.

Maybe my expectations had been lowered from the recent weather, including the rain, so I was expecting it to be terrible. However, I found all trails to be very skiiable with enough snow to keep a good edge. There were a few icy sections where trails converge, such as the aforementioned midstation. But these sections were no worse than similar trail bottlenecks that exist at virtually all resorts.

In particular, I thought the blacks and double blacks were in good condition. Le 42 is a great run that I would rank up there for fun value with any run I have encountered (even compared to the Alps and Rockies). The glades runs were also a treat.

The morning of the 31st was fantastic with a good dump of fresh snow. That turned to freezing rain and then rain by mid afternoon, but my legs were gone by then anyway.

Also, I thought the crowds were very reasonable given that it was over the x-mas holidays. I do have to agree that the Maillard express lift seems a bit ill conceived. It is a shame that the Le Charlevoix run was closed. It looks like a rocking good run.

Beyond the skiiing, I was very impressed with the area. I had a package staying at the nearby Auberge St. Jean for 4 nights, 1 dinner, 4 breakfasts, and 3 days lift tickets for $767 CDN (including tax and tip) for two people! The restaurants I ate at were better and a great deal cheaper than those in most major ski resorts.

I will definitely be back. When all things are considered, I would have to rate it as maybe the best place to go overall in the East. Why go to Tremblant and get ripped off?

Jonn, you should count yourself lucky to have such a great place to ski in your backyard. Have you been to Blue Mountain lately?

 

[Chromer]

MSA was mostly frozen hardpack which was only a little better than ice. The "groomed snow on a firm base" meant that there was a thin layer of snow for the first couple of hours until it all got swept away by hordes of skiers.
LeMassif conditions were almost indentical to MSA. The "Maillard Express" lift's mid-station was a total disaster. Almost all the traffic from this area approaches the mid-station through a narrow trail that is pure ice. Why there were no accidents is a mystery.

I am a regular at le Massif and MSA. You just can't trust Mont-Sainte-Anne's snow report. They are good at making people ski on lies...

As for the mid-station at Le Massif, this is an example of very poor lift and trail planning. It was reportedly done by Snow Engineering. The way the mid-station is located, on the side of a rocky outcrop, it will be impossible to significantly improve the situation, because there is no space to build another access.

My feeling is that the Maillard Express was simply a fundamental mistake, as was the creation of the Charlevoix trail and the National Training Center. There is not enough available terrain to accomodate the trafic generated by a high-speed quad. The terrain was already accessible by a traverse from the top of the existing "Grande-Pointe Express" lift and should have been developped that way.

The whole operation precipitated the de-facto bankruptcy of the previous administration of Le Massif. Now, the new owner is stuck with this bad design and the money pit that is the National Training Center.

Not to mention ruining La 42 in the process...

 

[Patrick]

Le 42 is a great run that I would rank up there for fun value with any run I have encountered (even compared to the Alps and Rockies).

If you think "42" is a great run now, you would've found it amazing prior to the major changes in 2001(?).

Having been back since then, but I saw pictures of what is left of that run. Sad . YES, they might have gain a great run with The Charlevoix run, but make no mistake, they lost another great one with the real 42.

 

[Admin]

they lost another great one with the real 42.

Hear, hear!

 

[Anonymous]

The general public did not gain much with the Charlevoix, because this run is closed most of the time, either for training or for safety reasons. The steep upper pitch is so icy that anyone who falls at the top will slide all the way down. It gets very fast very quickly... Now put about 50 skiers at the same time at the top of the pitch, 50 more in the pitch, and imagine the action. I have seen it and it is not a pretty sight.

When you see "Charlevoix - Open" on the snow report, it refers more often than not to the lower part only, from the Maillard Express mid-station to the base.

The top of the Charlevoix will usually be open after a big dump, or in the spring when it is allowed to become bumpy.

Worst thing about the Charlevoix is that with all the potential layouts available on Cap Maillard, the one that was chosen is the only one that ensured the near-destruction of the 42. In addition, further expansion beyond (southwest of) the Charlevoix is now blocked by this massive closed-off trail.

As for the 42, it was (is...) a natural-base trail that was not designed to be fed by a high-speed quad. It is usually completely scraped off by excessive traffic.

The best thing Le Massif could do now would be to make the 42 usable again by widening slightly the upper section, getting rid of the tree islands, and blasting and grading the base. Plantation of new trees is also required to isolate it from the Charlevoix. The mythical 42 is dead already. Let's stop pretending it still exists.

One of the two most epic runs in my carrer was in the 42, after a one meter snowfall, when Le Massif was serviced by bus. It goes without saying that I will never be able to relive such a run .

 

[Patrick]

The bus area. You are showing your age Bernard. :wink:

Unfortunately I never made there personnaly at that time. The closest I was to making it was when in Ste.Anne for 3 days we had planned a side trip to le Massif, but I still was weaken by one month mono... I decided to be reasonable .

That month I missed great skiing Le Massif and seeing U2 Unforgetable Fire show at the forum.

Never made back in the bus years.

PS. What I meant to say earlier was HAVEN'T BEEN BACK instead of Having.

It's unfortunate that the whole Charlevoix run is not open, I understand it might be dangerous for some skiers... but I loved to try it.

 

[Anonymous]

The bus area. You are showing your age Bernard. :wink:

More than you think. I even skied Le Massif before the bus area. At that time, the daily capacity was one Ford Econoline (7 skiers). They would drop you on the side of the road at the top of the mountain, them tow you behind a ski-doo for about two miles to the top of the area.

Then you would shi down while the van would get back to the base. No one but this little group of skiers would be making tracks on the mountain. When they stopped for lunch at a small restaurant in the village of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, no new tracks were being made while they were eating...

The trails had been previously cut thanks to a federal make-work program. This very limited operation lasted for only a couple of years. I think it was around 1976-1977. Then there was a hiatus of a couple of seasons, and bus operations started around 1980 if I remember correctly.

 

[Patrick]

The bus area. You are showing your age Bernard. :wink:

More than you think. I even skied Le Massif before the bus area. At that time, the daily capacity was one Ford Econoline (7 skiers).

The Ford Econoline era :?:

I am definately impressed. =D>