With a planned day off today, Mont Gleason was the mountain of choice for a mid-week getaway. I had received a message from a good friend of mine a few weeks ago that he was coming up from New York with his spouse for a week holiday to do some skiing in Quebec, and wanted to check out Mont Gleason. So we met up at the mountain at 9:00. Cloudy skies and a temperature of around -7 degrees. There was already a decent amount of cars in the parking lot, with a few school busses that had arrived with kids for their day out on the mountain. We got ready and hit the Quad chair at 9:30 to start the day. Only the Quad chair was spinning with the double chair and both t-bars remaining idle. The conditions were fantastic with groomed packed powder over a firm base. All but maybe 3...

This was a trip that I was going to make a bit later in the season, but curiosity got the better of me, so I headed to Owl's Head to see what had been happening lately with all the changes over the past off season. There is a long term plan in place for Owl's Head for improvements, and if they are anything like what saw today, it's going to be awesome! First off I arrived at the mountain for 8 am, and the first change noticed was the main parking lot configuration. No longer are you parking with the width of the lot, you are now parked nose to nose for the full length of the lot row by row. This would allow for more vehicles to be parked. The next obvious change is the chalet outside and inside. The outside is not quite finished yet with siding left to be installed,...

While in the Stoneham-Tewkesbury region this weekend for a family visit, I decided to take advantage of some time and head off to Station Touristique Stoneham for the morning to get some turns in. Staying at the Manoir Lac-Delage overnight, I was at most 10 minutes away from the hill. Manoir Lac-Delage is a popular hotel that had their own ski hill at one time and has since been closed for a number of years. All the trails are grown in, however there are some leftovers of the double chair and t-bar that they had. I arrived at Stoneham just after 8 am and there were already people rolling in. At that time it was mostly cloudy, and a balmy -18 degrees, luckily with no wind. 18 of 42 trails were open with all 4 Quad Chairs spinning and the 2 beginner carpets. The first rides of the morning were up the l'Alize Quad chair...

Did a quick mission up to Fortune to see how the hill faired from the rainfest of Friday.  Pulled into Skyline around 9:30. Skyline had just opened for the season on Saturday and the base is looking great with Chute, Canadian, Bud Clark and Sparks open.  The conditions were fast hard pack granular with little or no ice.  Fortune did a great job of recovering from the rain. In fact, the base on Canadian seems the highest I've seen it, making the run steeper than normal.  Skied over to the valley without having to skate ski at all.  The snow was even better in the valley plus the sun was hitting that side.  Temperatures were hovering around -12C and snow making was happening on the Meech runs.  The resort was pretty quiet for the start of the holidays, some lessons were going on and race practices were happening on Slalom.  Overall another great morning of skiing.  Now lets get...

With the weather forecast looking bleak for Friday and Saturday in the Townships with a freezing rain warning and rain to follow, a visit to Mont Bellevue this evening was warranted. I arrived at the hill at 6:45pm to a half-full parking lot. Plenty of decent parking close to the chalet. Tonight was Thursday Men's Night where men 18+ ski free for the evening. There were 6/10 trails open and the Quad and the Beginner's Carpet were operating. Tonight's skiing was on groomed granular snow over a firm base. There were no icy patches anywhere. The conditions were fantastic. There was a small snow park on the right-hand side of the main trail with one rail and a couple of humps. Bellevue had been making snow earlier in the week and the snow cat was at work on building the snow park on trail 5 & 6 where it usually is. There was...

Mont Orford was the destination choice today to start off the 2018-19 season. There were other options that were thought of that involved a bit of travel, however I decided to stick to something nearby. This would be Orford's second weekend of operation. With the dump of snow this past week Orford was a good choice. All of Giroux North was open counting for about a dozen trails with the Giroux North Quad giving access. I arrived at the mountain at 8:45 under cloudy skies and the temperature hovering around 0 to -1 Celsius. I met up with an old friend of mine from my Owl's Head days so this venture was not a solo one. There was a decent crowd, but the wait in line was no more than a minute or so if that. I wouldn't even consider this a wait. Everything was flowing smoothly in line.  Today you were skiing on a mix of groomed man made and packed natural...

Not your traditional report per say, but more of a preview of what is happening in the mountains of the Townships. I was at Mont Sutton  today visiting a long time friend of mine who runs the ski shop there for step one of my preparation for the upcoming ski season. It was a nice day for a change, and decided that a small road trip was in order to get the skis tuned up. There had been some snow on the weekend. In the lower elevations it was brown, but up in the mountains there is some snow, and looks like winter.  It was chilly this morning when I left for Sutton, and upon arrival at the mountain it was a bit windy which made it feel colder than it really was. After I was done at the shop I decided to take a ride over to the Chair 5 sector of the mountain for a quick peek,...

While I have been off the radar this summer more than usual, this will hopefully make up for it......a little. I just returned home from a week in PEI and I could not leave the island without a visit to the Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park At Brookvale. Recently renamed from Brookvale Provincial Ski Park, to commemorate Mark Arendz's achievements as a Paralympian for Team Canada. The hill is located in Brookvale, PEI about a half hour's drive from Charlottetown. It is pretty much in the central region of the island and fairly easy to get to. The mountain has one fixed-grip Quad, and a learner's magic carpet along with 9 trails and a vertical of 250 feet. Of the 9 trails, 3 are Easy, 1 Intermediate and 5 are Difficult. There are a ski school and rental shop located in the chalet. The property is well maintained as you can see from the main photo. It looks like the trails are one big lawn to mow in comparison to some trails here at home that I have seen! This would make for less snow to b...

Now the season has come to an end! With the announcement a short time ago that Sommet St. Sauveur was extending their season to May 26-27, I wasn't so sure it was going to happen, but it did! It was pretty much a last minute decision to go as the long range forecast from earlier in the week didn't look too promising, but it changed, like it normally does. So departure from Sherbrooke was scheduled for 6am to be sure that if there were delays, aka the Turcotte Exchange in Montreal, then I would still arrive on time for first runs.It was sunny when I left, but the closer I got to Montreal, it was starting to cloud over. I didn't drive into any rain. I arrived earlier than expected thanks to the little to no traffic on the island of Montreal. Smooth sailing and arrived in the parking lot at...

Massif du Sud is located near the community of St Philemon about an hour and a half drive Southeast of Quebec City, or 3 and a half hours from Montreal, in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Quebec. Here you will find 33 trails and glades with a vertical drop of 1312 feet, served by a fixed grip Quad Chair and a Pomalift. There are 6 Easy, 2 Intermediate, 9 Single Black Diamond, and 2 Double Black Diamond trails. Of the 14 glades, there is 1 Intermediate, 5 Single Black Diamond, and 8 Double Black Diamond descents to choose from. There are 2 snow parks available with a variety of modules with different degrees of difficulty. If you are looking for some bumps, they have 3 mogul trails. There is also 20kms of snowshoe trails, 2 of which are accessible from the summit. They have a full boutique along with rental shop on the ground level with the ticket desk and lockers. Main level you will find the cafeteria with ample space to sit and to have a bite to eat. The bar is also on the main le...

I had been thinking of skiing one more day and earlier in the week I was looking at the remaining available options in the province in which to go, and Massif du Sud was starting to look interesting. A buddy of mine texted me the next day, and was wanting to go out himself to end the season, and he told me that he was going to Massif du Sud and well they say the rest was history. We left Sherbrooke at around 6:30 for the drive out there. Massif du Sud is about an hour or so Southeast of Quebec City, or about a touch over 2 1/2 hours from Sherbrooke. We arrived at the mountain just after 9am to beautiful sunny skies and the temperature was around +2 degrees. By arriving early this gave us plenty of time to wind down from the drive and to get ready for the day. We got our tickets...

What most likely would be my season finale for the 2017-18 ski season, Owl's Head was the destination today. I left Sherbrooke at 7am with a temperature of -4 and partly cloudy skies. That didn't last long though as on the way there it quickly clouded over and started snowing along the autoroute by Mont Orford. It started snowing pretty hard at times, but the travelling was good. Arrival at the mountain for 8am with a light snow falling and a temperature of -4. The conditions were more mid winter than spring today. The trails were groomed packed powder over a firm base. 5-7 cms of snow fell overnight which made for a nice coating over the corduroy laid out by the groomers. There were the typical spring season ice patches but nothing to large. The Main, Baby, Black, and Lake Quad chairs were spinning. 27/52 trails at your disposal. Zero wait time at...

Today's choice of destination was Mont Orford. What a beautiful bluebird sky! I arrived at Orford at 8:15 and the temperature was just below 0 but felt warmer in the bright sun. Spring was definitely in the air today. Parking was pretty decent and the walk was not long to the chalet. Crossing the foot bridge from the parking lot to the chalet, the brook was flowing with a strong current, and the sound of spring welcomed you to the mountain. The Hybride, Giroux North and East Quads, and even the double chair on Alfred Desrochers was in operation. The coverage was still pretty decent with a few typical spring icy patches starting to appear, along with some bare patches on Alfred Desrochers. The start of the day was on groomed granular snow on a firm base but that quickly softened up as the morning progressed. There is still snow in...

With an opening in the schedule this weekend, and opportunity knocking at the door, I decided to answer the door and take off for the day to Tenney Mountain. This trip had been in the making for sometime now. Had I not gone, I would have to have waited until next season. Tenney Mountain had been closed since 2010 and has recently reopened, albeit it a limited phase for this year, made possible by the hard work of a group of individuals lovingly known as "Team Tenney" lead by Michael Bouchard. With the mountain being closed for roughly 8 years, a ton of work has been done just to get part of the mountain and the double chairlift known as the Hornet operating again. Trails had to be reclaimed from Mother Nature's growth and there are a lot more trails that still need work just to be skiable again. What was open today, and since early March, was...

It had been 3 weeks since the last outing which resulted with a leg injury and being off the boards during that time. Feeling much better now, Mont Bellevue was the destination this evening to see how well the leg felt. I had pulled my calf muscle on my left leg skiing at Wildcat at the beginning of the month. Putting the boot on was fine so that was a good sign. I had arrived at the hill at 6:30 to a half filled parking lot. It had been announced that this was to be Bellevue's last weekend of the season. Tonight was the last for night skiing, plus it was freebie night for the Men. Only the quad was spinning this evening and all trails were open. The conditions were still pretty decent. Machine groomed granular snow over a firm base with one or two little spots that were bearing ice. It is very...

This trip was in the works since last week for another destination in New Hampshire, but on the way down I found out that the mountain I was to ski today was closed and would be until midweek, to preserve the snow. We haven't been the only ones to have been hit with the warm temperatures and snowmelt. So there was a decision to be made; a) abort the trip, or b) continue on and come up with a backup plan. I chose option "b". Enough time to figure out where to go. That turned out to be Wildcat. It would be my first time here, although I have been by it a few times before in the summer months. I arrived at 8:45 with the temperature of around 0. The top of the mountain was socked in with fog, but the bottom half you could see. From afar the coverage...

After a couple of weeks since my last outing, a visit to Mont Gleason was in order for the day. Leaving Sherbrooke at 7:15 I arrived at the mountain an hour later. Temperature was -12 under a sunny bluebird sky. The Quad chair opens at 9:00 so with the early arrival I had plenty of time to wind down from the drive and take my time getting ready for the day. Also when you arrive this early, parking is great, right close to the chalet. Today the Quad and Double chair were spinning along with the Magic Carpet in the learning area. the T-bars were not operating today. After the short warm spell with a touch of rain from the past couple of days, the conditions were actually pretty good. Groomed granular over a firm base was what was awaiting everyone this morning. Coverage was decent everywhere. The glades were not on the...

The morning started out not as early as the last road trip. The destination today was Owl's Head. On the road by 7am and arrived at the mountain for 8, with a temperature of -24 and no breeze at the base. 45/52 trails announced open along with 6 chairlifts. The 5-10 cms of snow they received during the week helped out a little. The conditions were of groomed, packed powder over a hard base. There were some little powder stashes that had been tracked along the side of some trails. The first runs of the day were up the Main Quad to Lilly's Leap, Centennial to the Kamikaze, and then over to the Lower Standard via the Crossover. The coverage was pretty good to start. It's well known that the upper trails here can get scraped down pretty quickly depending on the crowd. Today the crowd was moderate and no waiting at any of the...

This trip today to Sommet Mont Olympia was a last minute decision made easy by an invite by friends from New York who were skiing in the Laurentians this week. The morning started very early with my departure from Sherbrooke at 5:45 am. The trip through Montreal was decent even though construction was at pretty much full tilt on the Turcotte Exchange. I arrived at the mountain at 8:00 and the temperature was a mild +2 degrees under cloudy skies. The was a moderate wind blowing as well, but to me it was actually not bad because of the mild temperature. Better than the -18 degrees and winds that were blowing a few weeks ago. Getting there early paid off for some decent parking behind the ticket building, and a good wind down from the trip. Cars were rolling in one by one and the lot was filling at a steady pace. Line up for the...

It had been about 3 weeks since my last visit to Mont Bellevue, and at the time it was -15 degrees plus a breeze and 4 trails open. This night everything was available. I arrived at the mountain at 6:45 to a full parking lot. Not a space to be had, so street parking was in order. Actually it wasn't too bad. Parked down near where the Quad is and it was just a short little hike to get to the chalet. When I got to the chalet to pick up a lift ticket, there was a line up from the ticket windows to about 2 thirds of the way to the Pomalift. The wait was about 15 minutes. I had never seen this in the times that I have been to Bellevue, but being that it was Ladies Night everyone decided to come out and enjoy their mountain. Good business was...

Currently, the largest ski resort in New Hampshire, Bretton Woods is about a 3 ¼ hour drive from Montreal, with the majority of the drive via autoroute to Magog and then South to the U.S. border where you will continue on Interstates 91 and 93 into New Hampshire. The mountain is located just a few minutes past the village of Twin Mountain on Route 302. At Bretton Woods you will find 62 trails with 35 glades for your enjoyment served by 10 lifts, 4 High Speed Quad Chairlifts, 1 fixed grip Quad in the Learning Zone along with 2 Wonder Carpets, 1 Triple Chair, Gondola, and T-Bar. Snowmaking covers 92% of the available terrain on a 1500 foot vertical. 5 trails and 2 lifts are open for night skiing on most Fridays, Saturdays, and Holiday Period during the season. There is also a variety of other winter activities here such as Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, tubing, dog sledding, skating just to name a few. There is lodging on-site at the Bretton Arms Inn, the Lodge, the Town Homes at Bretton Wo...

After the Siberian like deep freeze we just experienced this past week and a bit, and with the announced temperature of -10 or so today, a trip to Mont Orford was the selected destination............. like everyone else had the same idea! I arrived at the mountain at 8:20 in hopes of finding a decent parking spot. There were cars from both directions rolling in and it wasn't about to slow down anytime soon. I did manage to find decent parking before the mad rush. Temperature on arrival was -11. A lot more bearable than the -20 or so with the last outing. 30/44 trails were open along with 8/17 glade trails were open along with the Hybride six seater/gondola combo lift and the Giroux North Quad. The Alfred-Desrochers double chair and sector was not open. The first runs were up the Hybride to ski the 4km trail and then the Grande Coulée. There...

With a planned road trip to visit friends near Burlington Vermont over the holiday weekend to ring in the New Year, I threw my gear in the truck to take the opportunity to ski for a couple of hours while there.The destination was originally supposed to have been a larger ski area but with the temperatures hovering around the -20 to -25 degree mark, plan B was put into motion and a smaller hill in a protected valley and surface lifts only was the choice. The option today was Cochran's Ski Area in Richmond, VT. I arrived there at 9 am, as they they were operating on a Holiday schedule on New Year's Eve from 9 till noon. The temperature was a balmy -21. The parking lot was not full but there were still cars rolling in, parents dropping their children off and hauling their gear to the chalet. I bought...

A visit to our community ski area, Mont Bellevue, was in order this evening for a few runs. I got to the hill just after 6 pm to a fairly small crowd and a temperature of -15 degrees and a small breeze blowing which made it feel colder than that. There were 4 of 10 trails, the Quad Chair, and the Magic Carpet on the menu for the evening. The conditions were as always excellent, with a great coverage of man made snow, and the snow received from the previous dump of a couple of weeks ago and the small amount received from the Christmas snowfall over a firm base. The Pomalift was unfortunately not in service tonight.Trails 1, 2, 3, and 4 were opened. The first runs were down underneath the Quad on Trail 3 with a crossover on 4. Something that was done on the off season was the blasting and the leveling...

Friday morning started pretty early, and pretty chilly. I left Sherbrooke at a little after 6 in the morning with a chilly -20 degrees and clear skies. Destination today was Bretton Woods, NH where I had been a couple of times before but during very early season last year and closed out their season the year before that. With the border crossing, the voyage was just a touch over 2 hours. I arrived at the mountain at 8:30. The parking lot was pretty empty to start so it was great to be able to park up front close to the chalet. It was starting to fill up afterwards once I got ready to go pick up my lift ticket. No line up at the desk and was nice and quick. Plenty of time to wind down from the drive and to take time to get ready to go as the lifts opened at...