2017-2018
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It's a story every Canadian has heard through their lifetime: An American family plans their summer vacation in Canada, looking forward to getting away from the sweltering heat. They pack up their skis and boards on their roof rack and head to the border. As they cross, they tell the border guy that the purpose of their trip is to go skiing/riding. The border guy laughs and laughs, but waves them through anyways, wishing them a great trip It turns out this isn't a myth. Skiing in July is real! AKAMP is a special sort of unicorn, born 11 years ago by some guy in Saint-Sauveur who thought it would be a great idea to run a summer ski/ride camp. The first few years,…
Last reply by Ocean, -
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All good things must come to an end, and so it was with Jay Peak, or what was left of it. Apparently there were 26 "trails" open but this is probably the sum of many sections. When I woke up Sunday morning, I decided I'd have enough time to get down and ski for a few hours, which was just fine with me because I was aching from the previous day's hike. A friend had graciously gifted me a ticket at guest services, so all I had to do was show up and I was off and running! Stateside is the only side of Jay open, while it is normal for them to close out their season on Stateside, they'd had to close the Tramside earlier following a vicious windstorm that entangled the tram cab…
Last reply by Ocean, -
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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 e…
Last reply by Ocean, -
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Finally some real spring skiing. With the sun out and blue skies in abundance, I set out to end my ski season in style at the one and only Sommet Saint-Sauveur, known for being the first to open and last to close in Quebec. Sommet Saint-Sauveur and Killington down in Vermont are the only two mountains still operating lift-serviced skiing, so the experience is without a doubt special and unforgettable. After nearly a month of not seeing any snow in the city, it is definitely refreshing to arrive at the ski mountain and see plenty of white gold remaining on the slopes. Two trails were open today, the legendary 70 Ouest and the Nordique trails. 70 Ouest was open full w…
Last reply by Gordo, -
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I checked my messages first thing when I woke up this morning at 11:30 to discover one from my snowboarding buddy telling me she was stuck at work but that Sauveur was open! I had a few things on my plate today but aimed to get up by 2:30. Of course the work day dragged on with one thing after another, but finally I made it out the door!! After a slow drive up the 15, I pulled into the parking lot, just before 4pm. Already a short day on the mountain, today's strategy: bomb all the runs!!! At this point, only 70 Ouest and part of the very bottom of 70 Est are open along with the top of Nordique, which is doing great with a few sketchy areas (imo it'll be done by Sunday). …
Last reply by Ocean, -
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Three trip reports rolled into one! Pics to follow since I have yet to download from my phone, but I didn't want this trip report to sit too long! I was delighted to learn that Sommet Sauveur planned to open last Friday, given the weather was supposed to be full sun and +16 or so. I made it up to the mountain by 2:30pm, and met up with some friends around 3 - they had arrived a bit earlier and we eventually synced up. We skied every open run accessible by the Atomic lift, so, Epervier, Tom Barbeau, Red Bird, Jay, Cote 70 Est, Cote 70 Ouest, and Nordic. The Cote 71 lift wasn't running and the highest access point to La Plagne was closed, but truly you could take the t…
Last reply by Ocean, -
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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 ea…
Last reply by Shane, -
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Woke up Sunday morning and decided I had time to head down to Jay Peak and catch a couple of afternoon runs. This was my first trip to Jay Peak and I loved the drive through winding roads and quaint villages on both sides of the border! I picked up a ticket at the base (when you go to Jay, you can pay in CAD at par for your ticket! Alas, I had forgotten to bring cash, oh well). Although there was a wait for the tram, and it was already going to be a short day for me, I hopped in the line and waited about 10 minutes to get on the next tram. Once at the top, I hiked up to the peak to snap the view before choosing a direction. I hadn't actually looked at a Jay Peak trail map…
Last reply by Ocean, -
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Not being an early bird type, I made it up to the hill just before 2. It turns out that at Tremblant there is a full day rate, a half day rate, and a why are you so late getting here rate of $27 that starts at 2pm. I got my warm up in by walking uphill to the Flying Mile lift as both the Cabriolet and main gondola were closed for the season. It's ok though, I really need to improve my cardio for all the spring hiking I plan to be doing! I headed immediately for the north side, and was not disappointed. I started out easy on Beauchemin and then switched over to Lowell Thomas and Duncan. I got a lot of great runs in on Saute Mouton, Jasey-Jay Anderson, Superior and Dev…
Last reply by Ocean, -
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The Spring Season began exactly one month ago, and yet today was the first day of skiing for me that actually felt very much like spring. While people may be disappointed with the late start, it has also permitted ski mountains to stretch their season even longer than average. Camp Fortune is usually first to open and last to close in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, but this year all the main trails on Skyline are open, with full snow coverage. The biggest contrast I can make to past years is that by now they would have already been closed, so very exciting turn of events indeed. Being an early bird and personally preferring firmer snow conditions, I arrived to ski for o…
Last reply by Ocean, -
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I arrived at Sommet Sauveur around 3:30pm. It was warm enough to ski with my jacket open but not warm enough to switch to my spring hoodie. I managed to get runs in on Red Bird, Jay, 70 Est, 70 Ouest and Nordique, and I was surprised at how slushy conditions were for a day where it was still cool and not sunny. They must have gotten a lot of rain! Had it been a really busy day, there would have likely been a lot of soft bumps forming. Mostly the trails were slushy slow snow/corn, with just a few patchy spots starting to form on a few trails. I was delighted to have arrived just after a few friends and we managed to do a super quick run at the end to catch the last chair a…
Last reply by Ocean, -
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Being already mid-April, it is quite amazing that Sommet Saint-Sauveur has virtually the entire mountain still open for skiing. Even more impressive, very little to no ice all over, and no bare spots. Add to this, the main SnoPrk on versant Avila is open one last time this weekend. The ski conditions were a mix of mostly hard base but as the day progressed and the trails were skied, a light layer of shaved snow presented itself. I know alot of people prefer the soft mushy snow, famous for its bumps, but with the continuing cold weather, those days are still to come. Luckily the mountain is well groomed and the surface quality is consistent from top to bottom, somethi…
Last reply by Shane, -
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We arrived Friday evening to the Cap Tremblant, which is a fantastic condo/timeshare resort in the (actual) village, with most units offering a fantastic view of the south side of Tremblant. After a quick trip to the adults only hot tub, we took advantage of the condo kitchen to do make BBQ chicken with homemade Guinness BBQ sauce, and to prepare pizza sauce for Saturday's dinner. The Cap Tremblant units also offer BBQs, but it was far too cold to light one up this time around. This was to be a bit more of a low key trip, since on Saturday we'd be joined by my friend and her nine year old daughter, who are beginner to intermediate level. They ski Cascades frequently so Tr…
Last reply by Ocean, -
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Sunday morning we woke up at the Cap Tremblant. I'd stayed up late after a night of puzzling over a 500 piece puzzle with many similar looking pieces. I already didn't have high hopes for a good day at Tremblant given Saturday's conditions, and the exceptionally crisp air confirmed my idea that it might be a better day to ski at Sauveur. After a delicious brunch of mushroom, onion, yellow pepper and swiss cheese omelettes, we packed up and headed to Sommet Sauveur. I actually saw that Mont Blanc was open Sunday and people were skiing at it, but I didn't figure the conditions would be much different from Tremblant and besides which the freezing rain storm was already on it…
Last reply by Ocean, -
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The most notable thing about working from home is that you can be in your office anywhere. So it came to be that my home office for the afternoon was Sommet Sauveur (more accurately, the delightful lounge of the Manoir Saint-Sauveur). I didn't have a whole lot of time to duck out for my "coffee break", but I took advantage of this sunny, bluebird afternoon to get in some runs for the last few hours of the day. Conditions were fantastic, good cover, with just a touch of scrape underneath. By the time I got on the hill it was in the plus temps but still with a chilly breeze. I hit Red Bird, Epervier, Jay, Cote 70 Est, Cote 70 Ouest (top) and Nordique hard and fast over the …
Last reply by Ocean, -
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We made it up to Mont Ste Marie just after 9am to find beautiful mind-winter conditions in April! The temperature was around -2C and there was little or no wind and the sun was out. The skiing was so good that we stayed till last chair. The runs were nicely groomed fresh snow with no ice, that gave you the confidence to really rip. Pretty much everything was open with the best runs of the day being Dustin Cook, Formidable and Tornade Bas. I can't think of a year with conditions this good at MSM this late in the season. Usually by now only the Vanier side is open the conditions are slush. Hopefully they will stay open another weekend. Yes its been a cold April but make th…
Last reply by Gordo, -
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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…
Last reply by Paul, -
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It is now the second weekend into April and thanks to recent snowfalls, the mountain couldn't have been in better shape this time of year. There is plenty of snow everywhere and the conditions are sublime. No ice, no bare patches, nothing that could ruin the experience, it was just another perfect day out on the slopes. There are 4 lifts and 13 runs open. All except two trails were open in the Valley and Skyline (Swan Dive and Duffy are closed). This weekend marks the end of the ski season in the Valley at Camp Fortune... as of next weekend the skiing moves to Skyline. For those lovers of the snowpark, you will be happy to know that it is in great shape with p…
Last reply by Shane, -
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I haven't got in a lot of snowshoeing this year, so this morning I checked out the snowshoe trails near Camp Fortune. What was going to be a quick trip of a few short loops turned into a Snowshoe/Ski adventure around the entire Camp Fortune ski area. I was using snowshoe skis. Short fat skis with telemark bindings and a built skin under the foot for climbing. First the crude trail map: I started with the loop that that goes up and round the Alexander and McDonald. The start of the trail just behind the Ski Club building. After going through the woods I skinned up the ski hill. The snow was crusty out of the woods. An old…
Last reply by Ana, -
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Another perfect day for spring skiing, today at Mont Cascades. The weather was once again cool but without the strong winds from yesterday. I arrived ready to hit the slopes at 11am and already the snow had begun to soften. Nearly all trails were open with a few exceptions (Gratton and two of the cross-over trails between the East Quad and the main side). It honestly felt more like skiing in the winter than the spring. Standout trails this visit were Hogan (which I chose to enjoy over and over), as well as Alouette and Interlude. With no lines at the lifts, it was refreshing to run lap after lap, enjoying the fantastic snow. After lunch, there was actually …
Last reply by Shane,
