Jay Peak - February 20-21, 2024


While I have been too busy to write the detailed trip report that this post deserved, I still wanted to give a quick recap of what was likely my best 2 days spent on skis! Last February, during my winter break, my friend and I decided to capitalize on the 35" of snowfall Jay Peak (located in Northern VT 4hrs from Ottawa) had received over the 5 days prior to our visit, and planned a one night ski trip. The weather and conditions were amazing, with a colder and cloudy first day at -7C, but this was followed by a bluebird day with +4C weather!  I don't think we have ever felt more challenged as skiers at any other ski resort (including 2 in the Rockies) than Jay. Since we have been really enjoying the glades this season, we specifically chose Jay for that reason, as this resort is known to receive one of the highest average annual snow totals of the East Coast. Combined with the fact that the mountain has an insanely large footprint of gladed terrain, this makes for s...

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Mont Tremblant - January 28, 2024


After a restful night's sleep in our ski-in / ski-out condo, we were ready to hit the slopes for our second and final day of our little ski trip to further explore all Mont Tremblant had to offer. The hill had received a slight (3cm) dusting of fresh snow, and temperatures were forecasted to be hovering around 2C, making for some wonderful soft snow conditions! Additionally, 102/102 runs were listed as open, up from 100/102 the previous day, as Vertige and Zig-Zag, the Versant Sud's steepest runs, had finally opened.  We boarded the Soleil chairlift after skiing down from the Porte de Soleil, and were surpsied to see a slight inversion, an extremely rare site for Tremblant! We then made our way to the unique glade of Les Bouleaux, known for passing under the Soleil lift and requiring a short, 3-minute hike from the junction of the Ryan Haut and Bas runs to reach the starting point. The hike, in combination with the run's long length, varied terrain, and is...

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Mont Tremblant - January 27, 2024


Three weekends ago, my friends and I headed to Tremblant for a one-night mini ski trip! We had rented a ski-in/ski-out condo, and it was our first time staying overnight at the resort. We left Ottawa at 5:30am, hoping to arrive at the hill before opening. Temperatures were forecasted to be in the range of -2 to +2C all weekend long, making for some of the best conditions we've ever seen at the resort! We arrived at 8am, and parked at the base of the Porte de Soleil chairlift. After gearing up, we boarded the lift, and skied down to the village base, where we picked up our lift tickets.  The plan for this weekend was to explore as many gladed runs as possible, as none of us had ever been to Tremblant with snow conditions this good! The region had received a large dump of snow in mid January, with more smaller amounts of snowfall throughout the following week, and most notably had not received the freezing rain that the Ottawa region had suffered from! 100/102 trails and glades...

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Camp Fortune - January 22, 2024 (Snapshot)


I had initially started to write a longer report for this trip last week, though unfortunately my phone crashed and the draft was not saved, so here's a little snapshot from the night: My father had yet to ski this season, so we decided to head to Camp Fortune for some night skiing. Temperatures were very nice, around -2C, and a few centimeters of snow were forecasted. To our surprise, the hill ended up receiving around 3 inches of fresh powder, making for some amazing skiing conditions. All runs were open except for Heggtveit, which at the time had large mounds from recent snowmaking (it has since opened).  Here are some photos from the night: 

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Whiteface - January 4, 2024 (Snapshot)


On our second day of skiing Whiteface, we were pleasantly surprised by a 3-4 inch  (7-10cm) snowfall on the mountain, making for some “East Coast Powder Day” conditions! While the number of open lifts and runs (7 and 20) was similar to the previous visit two days prior, there were patches of fresh powder on the sides of trails, and the rocks and ice patches were presented themselves less frequently!  Once again, the views were incredible, with the supposedly partly cloudy day turning bluebird, leading to stunning views of the upper mountain, Lake Placid, and of course, cloud inversions! The favourite run of the day was The Follies, which was the one run off the summit that was not open on our previous ski day. Its alpine environment of snow-covered trees, in addition to its gentler, zig-zagging slope, made for some unique views of the sun, clouds, and lower mountain! It was a great day at Whiteface, where by my rough estimate I skiied 19,000 tota...

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Whiteface - January 2, 2024


I last skiied Whiteface Mountain in December 2019. Due to Covid, I hadn’t returned since then. However, my sister and I decided to bring our equipment along on our family trip to Lake Placid, in the Adirondacks, and ski the largest vertical (3166’) East of the Rockies! Whiteface has always been a special resort to me, as it was the site of my second ever ski lesson, and my first ever chairlift ride 9 years ago, and it’s combination of vertical and views makes for enjoyable long runs! Previously, I had never moved past the lower mountain lifts due to my ability level, and was now excited to return and explore the entire mountain. Due to the recent rain storm and lack of snowfall, 19/96 trails serviced by 7/13 lifts were forecasted to be opened l, though with top to bottom skiing, one couldn’t complain!   My sister and I arrived just before opening at 8:30am, and after picking up our tickets, we headed to the Face Lift Express Quad to do a warm up run on the lowe...

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Calabogie Peaks Resort - December 21, 2023


After a busy period of exams, I hadn't been on skis for over three weeks, and was eager to return! My mother and I planned a little day trip to the Calabogie area, where I decided I would take advantage of the last day of early season pricing (30$ instead of 50$), and ski for a few hours at Calabogie Peaks Resort. We arrived at 1pm, and I hopped on the Solar Quad lift. I didn't visit Calabogie last season, but I also happened to be skiing this hill the exact day, December 21st, in 2021. Conditions and snowmaking operations were much improved this season, as 7 runs were open off one chairlift, as opposed to only 2 in the 2021 holiday period. The open trails are outlined below. Despite it being a colder day (-10C with a windchill of -14C), it was sunny, and snow conditions were firm but not icy, making for some great carving turns.   There were some fun side hit jumps, as well as pockets of fresh power, on the sides of some trails, and the low crowds made for non-existent lift ...

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Mont Tremblant - November 25, 2023 (Opening Weekend)


Last weekend, a few friends and I made the early morning drive from Ottawa to Mont Tremblant for our first day of the 2023-24 ski season!  The weather was forecasted to be partly cloudy, with increasing sun in the afternoon. Temps would be on the colder side (-10C) in the morning, before warming to reach -2 later in the day.  Despite the lack of rain and generally cold temperatures this past month, only 6 trails were open. Essentially, there was a top-to-bottom green run on the Versant Nord (P'tit Bonheur to Beauchemin Bas), and a upper half blue run on the Versant Sud (La Crete to Beauvallon Haut/Alpine). A staff member later told my friend that the lack of terrain on opening day (There were 16 runs open the same time last season) was due to the women's world cup race scheduled for the next weekend taking snowmaking priority. Regardless, we were more than happy to be skiing anything in November!  We arrived just prior to lift opening at 8:30am, and after getting su...

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Camp Fortune - April 15, 2023 (Closing Weekend)

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On Saturday May 15, 2023, my sister and so joined a group of friends for one last use of our night ski passes on Camp Fortune’s closing weekend. The weather was sunny, with the day’s warmest temp being a peachy 23C! Every run off the Skyline quad was open. To honour their passholders, the resort offered free skiing to all types of season passes, so we could not pass up another chance to use our night passes.  We arrived at 9am, and planned to ski up until the 3pm closing time. For the first hour or so before my friends arrived, my sister and I enjoyed a few laps on Heggtveit, Bud Clark, and Sparks. The snow was still freshly groomed and barely mogulled, and despite being slushy, it was pretty fast!  Between 10-11am, my friends arrived, and we spent the rest of the day enjoying the slushy snow and gorgeous...

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Mont Tremblant - March 25, 2023

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On the last Saturday of March, my friend and I decided to ski Tremblant for our last ‘big mountain’ ski day of the season, in addition to it being his first time at the resort. Conditions were extremely windy, cold for spring (-5 to 1C without windchill), and snow conditions started alright and ended poor. That being said, we had a great time, and got to explore the terrain off every lift on the mountain that day! Since the temperature never exceeded freezing, the obstructed sun did not soften the snow as the daily conditions report said it would, leading to overall poor snow conditions due to the freeze the previous day. Nevertheless, all lifts and 102 runs were open, with 2/3 having been groomed the previous day. The snow on the Versants Nord and Edge was the least icy and wind-exposed, so we spent the majority of the day there,...

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Camp Fortune - March 21, 2023

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  With night skiing slated to end on March 22, I decided to take my sister on a birthday ski trip for our last night ski of the season. We arrived at 3pm, and immediately headed to Heggtveit to improve our confidence on steep runs, as we had both finally conquered Ottawa’s steepest trail this year!   We then headed to the Valley sector, skiing the glades off Marshal and Slalom one last time for the season: While the Meech Glades (which are usually closed during night ski pass hours) are my favourite on the hill, a more recent favourite has been Duffy, which is also seldom open, in contrast with the above Marshall glades which are all open much more frequently. We decided to ski Duffy a few times, enjoying the spring snow conditions and deep snowbase: I particularly love this natural “chute” through the rocks, as it makes the...

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Sunshine Village - February 25, 2023

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On our 4th and final day of skiing in Banff, we enjoyed one last Rocky Mountain ski experience at Sunshine Village Resort. We awoke at 7am, seeing some beautiful sunrise views from our hotel room window: We then got dressed and boarder our 8am shuttle to the resort. Temperatures were expected to range from -15 to -20C, fortunately (and unfortunately) our warmest day of skiing of the trip!    Since it was a Saturday, we did expect more crowds; however, the base-to-village gondola lineup took no more than 5 minutes: All lifts were open, meaning that we could finally experience the resort’s expert terrain which was closed on our last visit three days prior. I have attached the trail map for reference below: Unfortunately, the high base elevation meant that winds were blowing snow from the surrounding peaks and valley into the air, creating a sort of haze similar to our...

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Lake Louise - February 24, 2023

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On our third day of skiing in Banff, we headed to Lake Louise for what was likely my favourite day of the trip. The previous night, we welcomed our 4th and final trip member, who would be joining us for the last two days of skiing. We woke up to a cold, but bluebird day in Banff, and boarded our 8am SkiBig3 shuttle to Lake Louise, a 45 minute ride. The trail map is listed below for reference: For the first time on the trip, the skies were fully clear, allowing us to finally see the mountaintops unobstructed by the fog and clouds.  The majestic Castle Mountain at sunrise:  Unfortunately for us, temperatures had changed to be colder than forecasted, with the early morning hours coming in at a brisk -31 (without the wind chill). Thus, the mountain once again offered discounted tickets and free hot drinks, in expectation of lift...

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Lake Louise - February 23, 2023

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On our second day in Banff, we planned to head to Lake Louise, which boasts 3250 vertical feet, 9 lifts, and Canada’s second-largest area! While temperatures that day would be similar to the (brutal) previous day, it was worth noting the effect caused by elevation. Lake Louise’s upper mountain is at a similar elevation to Sunshine Village’s base area! This meant that the base area would be 5-10 degrees warmer than the summit. Nevertheless, a cold warning was still in effect, with the mountain offering discounted tickets, and free hot drinks, to accommodate for the lift delays.  At 8am, we boarded the Lake Louise Shuttle, and enjoyed some amazing views on our 45 minute ride there! We arrive a little before 9am, and since the lifts did not plan on opening until 10am, we decided to give our skis a much-needed wax (due to the extreme cold causing the snow to be less...

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Sunshine Village - February 22, 2023

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Over my university break week, a few friends and I headed to Banff, Alberta; our first time being and skiing out west! Three of us arrived on a Tuesday, with the other friend arriving on Thursday, before we all departed that Sunday. After having wanted to visit the Canadian Rockies since I was 9 (one decade ago!), this trip was a ‘bucket list’ type of experience for me! Fortunately, the week we chose benefited from some of the best snow conditions of the year, as 50-80cm (depending on the location), had fallen on the region two days before we landed, giving what the locals said were good conditions after a long snow drought. Unfortunately, extreme cold temperatures followed the snow, meaning that for three out of our 4 ski days, temperatures were in the -20s, 30s, and even 40s once the wind chill was factored in…  Despite the high prices of...

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Camp Fortune - February 11, 2023

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Two Saturdays ago, I headed up to camp fortune for a fun evening of night skiing. Conditions were on the icier side, with the long cruisers on Meech being opened-which are some of my favourite runs on the hill!After 4 years of chickening-out, I finally decided to ski Heggtveit with my friend. While extremely icy and much steeper than I imagined, there were some small patches of soft snow. Nevertheless, the adrenaline was definitely flowing!We spent the rest of the evening alternating between Skyline and the Valley sides, enjoying a beautiful sunset.  We were also able to try out the newly-built large park features, and captured the following images on my friend’s GoPro:

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Mont Ste Marie - January 31, 2023

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Last Tuesday, two friends and I made a last minute decision to skip class and head to Mont Ste Marie, as they had never been and I was hoping to return! While initially forecasted to be a cold day, the sunny skies, low wind, and gradual increase in temperature (from -17 to -8C) made the day feel much warmer. We arrived at 10am, and after purchasing our lift tickets, headed straight to the Vanier lift. Having received two recent dumping of snow the previous Thursday and Sunday, conditions were phenomenal, with nearly all trails open! On the Vanier lift, we skiied most of the grooomed open trails, including Serenade, the Serenade glades (which had decent conditions), and Chanson. We then decided to ski Crescendo, a steep, ungroomed mogul run with large wooden jumps, to test our abilities. The fresh snow provided excellent cover, and despite it being a major leg burner,...

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Camp Fortune - January 26, 2023

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Last Thursday, last minute family plans were made for a quick afternoon/evening ski at Camp Fortune. A storm had passed over the region the night before, dumping 25cm of fresh powder, and the hill had announced that the Meech glades (La Cache) would be open for their first day of the 2023 season! The meech glades are my favourite run at fortune, and despite the fact that they close at 4pm, and my night pass starts at 3pm, my sister and I were still able to make two leg-burning runs! The untouched snow was over three feet deep in some places, and each run through the glades took us a minimum of 8 minutes! It was similar to our last time skiing the Meech glades in powder conditions, from March 2022! After making the last runs from 3:30-4, we headed to the skyline side to enjoy the choppy powder conditions on every...

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Mont Ste Marie (and Camp Fortune) - January 17, 2023

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After wanting to ski at Mont Ste Marie for the past three seasons, the opportunity finally came 2 days ago! I headed to the hill and arrived at 10am, and picked up my student day pass for only 49$! Both the Vanier and Cheval Blanc high speed lifts were running, with most terrain open on the Vanier side, and Dustin Cook and Frank Pouliotte on Cheval. Temperatures were in the range of -10 to -5 C, with a mixture of sun and clouds forecasted. I spent my first few runs on the Vanier side, enjoying the low crowds, fast lift, and amazing groomed snow on the Serenade and Bellevue runs! After the warm up, I boarded the shuttle to the more difficult Cheval Blanc side. The signature dustin cook run was mostly open (due to some snowmaking still in progress), and it made for a fast and steep descent! After a few...

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Mont Tremblant - January 8, 2023

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Last Sunday, I headed to Tremblant with the Carleton University Ski Club, making use of the 50$ lift tickets and inexpensive bus transportation for my last ski day of the Christmas break. With the warm temperatures and amazing snowfall brought by December, I had done most of my skiing in +0 Celsius weather-however, this day at Tremblant would be an exception. The temperatures were forecasted to range from -11 to -20, depending on the wind chill and elevation, so I knew temperatures would be unpleasant! I arrived at 9:30am, where it was clear that snowmaking was in full swing.  The mountain had warned that conditions and visibility would be impaired due to the low temperatures being utilized for snowmaking, in addition to the closing of the Soleil side (2 runs), due to a power outage. Nevertheless, they planned on having 60 of their 100 runs open, and every lift except their...

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Camp Fortune - January 6, 2023

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Last Friday, some friends and I decided to head to Camp Fortune one last time before the Christmas break was over, and school and work made life busier! We arrived at 3pm, and after getting dressed in the lodge, we headed to the Skyline lift. Temperatures were hovering at around 0 C, but surprisingly, the snow was not as soft and mogulled as our previous outings in similar weather. Rather, the snow conditions were on the harder and uneven side, though still significantly better than skiing large moguls. Additionally, there was not a single patch of ice to be found! Due to large lines on the main (Valley) side of the hill, our group stuck mostly to Skyline, skiing the runs Sparks and Bud Clark. The poor visibility caused by fog and clouds made for some amazing photos. On our third run, we had gotten 30 seconds into the chairlift ride...

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Camp Fortune - December 28, 2022

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Last Wednesday, a seemingly unannounced storm dumped 15cm of snow in the day’s early hours. With legs still sore from the night before, a smaller group of the crowd from the previous night decided to drive up and enjoy the fresh snow, in addition to a new black diamond run being open on Skyline (Bud Clark to Canadian). We arrived at 3:30, parking this time at Skyline, and headed straight to the lift. There was a heavy fog and light rain/snow in the air, which made for a cool picture just as the lights switched on   Despite the warm weather and recent snowfall, the fresh snow had fallen after grooming, making conditions were extremely mogully and icy! Compounded with a larger crowd turnout than the evening prior, and this created a slightly unsafe atmosphere with people speeding down trails, and people having fallen in the middle of them! However, the...

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Camp Fortune - December 27, 2022

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After months of anticipation since buying my Camp Fortune night ski pass in July, I was finally able to use it! Tuesday, December 27th was set to be the first night of night skiing, and a group of friends and I decided to hit the slopes. In addition to having three green runs off the Pineault and Clifford chairs, a blue trail (Sparks to Skyway) had just opened on the Skyline sector! We arrived to a fairly full parking lot, and long lift lines on the Pineault Quad. However, the Clifford quad had minimal lines, so we spent the start of the evening skiing there. Conditions were packed powder, making for some great turns. The Marshall glades were decently covered, and I (cautiously) gave them a try, though it was still thinner than I would have liked!  We then headed to Skyline to meet up with a few more friends, and...

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Mount Pakenham - December 17, 2022

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Two weeks ago, a few friends and I made a last-minute decision to ski Mount Pakenham on their opening night of night skiing. A large storm has come through the region the day before, dumping 25cm of fresh snow-making for some amazing early season conditions! 3 runs off the Mika Chairlift were open, including a mini park. The snow conditions were packed powder, with lots of untracked fresh stuff to be found on the sides of the trails! Not a single patch of ice to be found! While the glades were open, they were still too sketchy to ski with the thin coverage! Lines were minimal, so we were able to enjoy many quick laps, making use of the many features and jumps found on the sides of the trails.    IMG_2537.MOV  After a wonderful first night ski spent  under the stars, we packed up our things and drove home.

Mont Tremblant - November 27, 2022 (Opening Weekend)

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After months of anticipation, my 2022-23 ski season had an amazing start at Tremblant! This season, I bought new equipment through my favourite local ski shop, Kunstadt Sports. Additionally, I joined my university ski club, which provided a discount on equipment, as well as half-price lift tickets and transportation to Tremblant! After not skiing any large mountains last season, I was eager to return to Tremblant. I also hoped to finally be able to ski the more difficult runs open, as I had not done so on my last visit due to the differing levels of ski ability in my family. I was quick to sign up for the first bus of the season, which would run on Tremblant’s 4th day of the season. After an early morning bus ride, we pulled into the parking lot. After depositing our gear at the Chalet des Voyageurs, we received our lift tickets, and...

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