Sommet Edelweiss - March 11, 2024 (Snapshot)


Thank you Edelweiss for a short but fantastic season. The hill was completely dead this evening... 10 people total, myself and my friend included. Got to practice lots of stuff I wouldn't dare on a normal day, like skiing backwards.

Sommet Edelweiss - January 21, 2024


What a beautiful day on the slopes. The weather was cold but perfectly reasonable, thanks to the bright sun and the bluebird skies (that always warms one's spirit). Today's visit was to Sommet Edelweiss. The mountain had all terrain from Chemin des Bois to Zoomer open, served by two quads, namely the Edelbahn Express and the Meister 4000, as well as the magic carpet. As one would expect, the great weather and snow conditions, was all that was needed to get people off their couches and come ski, and that is exactly what happened. Upon my arrival at 10 am, the parking was already quite full (rough guess about 75% filled), but the number of people on the slopes was quite moderate by comparison. Lift lines moved very quickly at the Meister, while at the Edelbahn they were generally a few minutes at most. A competition was taking place on the some of the slopes and that helped bring in more people. Conditions overall were fantastic, a nicely groomed base with a bit of loose s...

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Sommet Edelweiss - March 20, 2022


With night skiing coming to a close in the region, a few friends and I decided to go night skiing one last time. We went to Sommet Edelweiss, as I had not been in 2 years, and always loved the Swiss Vibe, long runs, and fast chairlift of the hill. That Sunday night was set to be the last night of night skiing at the mountain. I initially was expecting a large crowd, due primarily because of it being a weekend, as well as it being the last day of night skiing. However, the fact the rain led to a last minute cancellation of the prior night’s night skiing, coupled with the warm and rainy weather in the Ottawa valley, led to the hill being almost eerily quiet.  The conditions were extremely slow and slushy. Snow coverage was pretty decent, with all trails off the Edelbahn Express lift open. The black trails were the only ones with some dirt patches. We started with skiing Streif, then Shotgun, two of the hill’s steepest black runs. While one side of Streif had excellent cove...

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Sommet Edelweiss - March 2, 2022


What a fantastic day out on the slopes at Sommet Edelweiss. Horray! It is the Quebec March Break and the weather couldn't be more perfect. Bluebird skies and all slopes are open with full complete snow coverage. On this day, there were many U-12 competition teams from Quebec ski areas present at the mountain. They were doing some training and exercises at Edelweiss. This likely contributed to there being more people on the mountain than likely would have been otherwise, but with two of the three quad chairlifts running, the wait times were fairly short and reasonable. At the detachable Edelbahn Express, the wait varied from less than 1 minute to no more than 5 minutes. At the Meister 4000, it was always less than 1 minute. The Streif quad was not operating and seems to only run on the weekends when it is busiest. Conditions were fantastic, all trails were perfectly groomed. If you didn't know it had rained a week ago, you would have never known by skiing the slopes. Any effects from th...

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Sommet Edelweiss - March 31, 2019

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Well this weekend was almost a mirror of last weekend.  Ottawa got mostly rain while the hills north of Gatineau got mostly snow.  Camp Fortune got only 5cms but Mont Ste Marie got 25cms over two days! On Sunday, I made it as far Edelweiss as the roads were not great.  They got 10cms of fresh snow overnight  with only a couple trails groomed in the morning.  I arrived at 9 to find out there would be a delay on the start.  The high-speed quad could not run because of ice build up on the wires. They were trying to get the Streif quad going.  I guess they hadn’t run the Streif in a few days as the seats were covered in a thick layer of snow and ice. This meant they had to slowly clean off each seat which took almost an hour!  Inside they had the café open for...

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Sommet Edelweiss - February 5, 2019

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Tonight I had to travel from Montreal to Ottawa and was determined to get some quick skiing in along the way. I'd been to Saint-Sauveur the night before and it was decent "early spring" following all the rain and sleet this past week, but as the rain continued last night they closed at 5pm and weren't an option for my trip plan (Montreal - > Saint-Sauveur -> Orleans via Lachute). Fortunately, Edelweiss, at the end of the line, had my back and planned to stay open til 10. I called around 5:30 to ask if they anticipated an early closing and the guy on the line forwarned me, "we're open but it's not the best conditions, I'd recommend expert level only or not at all". Challenge accepted. I headed out from Montreal at 7 for the 2 hour 21 minute drive, knowing I'd only get in a handful of runs arriving...

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Sommet Edelweiss - December 24, 2018

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What an amazing day out on the slopes at Sommet Edelweiss this Christmas Eve. 7 trails were open, which included Easy Street, Chemin des Bois, Rockstar SnoPrk and Zoomer, as well as the Edelbahn Express quad detachable. After reading yesterday's report from Gordo, I knew that despite the rain, the conditions were very good, but it still didn't completely prepare me for the reality. Phenomenal ski conditions were the special of the day. No ice anywhere, and perfectly groomed slopes. There was a light snowfall in the morning so the trails had a fresh dusting of snow on top. Add to this some heavy snowmaking taking place on Zoomer and very few people out on the slopes (thank you to all those last minute shoppers) and you have a winning combination. Edelweiss offering the highest vertical drop of the main 4 mountains nearest Ottawa/Gatineau, the trails are long and varied in...

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"Spring" at Edelweiss 2/27

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I arrived at about 4:15pm, to a nearly empty parking lot, and no lift lines. The previous night had iced up a bit in the evening, I figured an afternoon of + temps would mellow things out a bit, and I wasn't disappointed! Only the Edelbahn lift was running, and Poma, West Coat and Shotgun were closed by the time I arrived. Conditions are slick early spring but still pretty thin cover following last week's incredibly disappointing rain. I skied every run that was open, for about two hours, until dusk (unfortunately having to leave early tonight). By the time I left there was a "line" at the lift....of maybe 3-4 people in front of me. I didn't think to get any photos tonight except for one, documenting my expression as I recall how steep the bottom section of Strief is. Would have loved to stay a bit longer if I didn't have...

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Sommet Edelweiss - February 18, 2018

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Got up to Edelweiss for some night skiing just before 3pm.  The sun was out, it was about -2c and the place was packed.  The parking lot was pretty much full and the lineup for tickets was slow. For some reason on one of the busiest weekends of the ski season they only had one ticket booth open. Anyway I finally traded in my online ticket for a real one and got on the lift.  Night skiing tickets on Sunday that are bought 24hrs in advance online are only $20.  All three quads were running. The high speed quad was the only lift with a line so I jumped on the slow Strief quad so I could ski the non-light runs while the sun was still out.  Everything was open with the exception of West Coast.  I powered down the Eastern Bowl, the twisty Shotgun and Descent Telesiege under the lift.  The snow was hard packed...

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Sommet Edelweiss - January 26, 2018

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It was a Friday night and there's nothing better than leaving the office with a stop at the mountain to start the weekend on the right ski. Destination was Sommet Edelweiss. Offering the highest vertical drop for night skiing in the region, all the trails except two (Easter Bowl and Descente Telesiege) were open. A decent amount of people were present but the lineup at the Edelbahn Express, the only lift open aside from the Magic Carpet, was non-existant the entire night. Just ski up and go. Conditions were quite good, full snow coverage, firm base with little to no ice anywhere. Meeting up with my good friend René, and his pals Pat and Jay, we conquered the slopes. The weather was hovering around -5 to -10'c however the winds at the summit were surprisingly strong and I wouldn't have been surprised if the temperature at the top felt a good 10 degrees cooler...

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Sommet Edelweiss


Sommet Edelweiss is located in beautiful Wakefield, Quebec, and is a 30 minute drive from Ottawa, once you have crossed the bridge into Quebec. Edelweiss presents the second highest vertical drop in the Gatineau region. The mountain features 20 trails, served by 3 quad chairlifts, one of which, the Edelbahn Express is a high speed detachable. A magic carpet is set up in the beginner area. The Mountain and the Ski Trails The mountain has a unique form to it, shaped like an amphitheater, with all the trails ending in front of the main chalet. This is perfect for families, as you can always count on everyone ending up in the same general area after each run. Easy beginner trails are found to the left and become intermediate and expert trails as you move further to the right of the mountain, making it easy to know where you should and shouldn't be based on your skill level. For beginners just starting, there is a separate area at the base of the mountain, served by a magic carpet lift, all...

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Sommet Edelweiss - February 5, 2017

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What a day. What a season. There really hasn't been a low point all winter. Today the ski conditions were once again amazing. Being a Sunday, I would have expected a lot more people to be present, but since it's the SuperBowl tonight... well that's still no excuse. In any case, I won't complain. Short line ups at the lifts and first tracks on several trails well past lunch. The weather was also perfect, not too cold, and a steady snowfall lasting into the afternoon, kept the slopes in top shape. All the trails are open, except for Shotgun. From the steeps of Strief (or as I call it, Strief Mountain), to the glades of Chemin des Bois, to the classics Zoomer and Easy Street, Sommet Edelweiss does not disappoint. I started my visit on Strief, noticing plenty of untouched snow for first tracks. The main pitch of this slope is steepest...

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