Mont Orford - February 27, 2023

Paul Giddings

School Break in Quebec is now upon us. Abby, Lukas, and I headed off to Mont Orford for a special day of skiing today to start off the week. Certainly a change of scenery from Mont Bellevue these past few weekends. We arrived at the mountain just before 8am to sunny skies. This trip would be Abby & Lukas' second visit at Orford to ski. Once we got dressed, and got their RFID cards it was go time. The Hybrid, Giroux North & East along with the Alfred Desrochers Quad were in operation. The Rapido Triple was not.

There was a line up before opening to get first tracks at the Hybrid, which thinned out by the time we were ready to go.

The first runs were for the Magic Carpet for Abby & Lukas with a warm up, then over to the Hybrid on the 4km, an Easy trail as the kids are beginners. We had one ride on the chair, and one ride with the Gondola car. The conditions were excellent. Packed machine groomed powder on a firm base. We have had some snow these past few evenings which has helped out. After the 2 runs on the 4km, Abby was ready for a break. They're not used to skiing at such a large mountain yet like Orford. They have been "cutting their teeth" at a much smaller Bellevue.

The 4km:

After break Abby wanted to stick with the Magic Carpet to practice her turns, so Lukas and I headed of to the Giroux North Quad for a few runs on the Familiale, and the Pente Douce. Conditions were very consistent where ever we went. The line up at the Giroux got to maybe 5 - 7 minutes, but moved smoothly. We met Abby at the fire pit outside to see how she was doing.

The Top of the Familiale & the Pente Douce:

After check up, she wanted to hang out by the fire pit so Lukas & I headed over to the Alfred Desrochers Quad for a quick ride up and ski the Toussiski. When we were heading over Lukas asked why the station of the lift looked like a barn. I explained to him the was the design that Dopplemayr uses to fit all the components of what makes the lift run like the motor and the hydraulics. There wasn't a line up an access was quick.

Up the Alfred Desrochers Quad & Lukas on the Toussiski:

We called it at 12:30 to head on home. Overall we had a great day, and great initiation for the kids to Orford. Conditions were great all around where ever we skied. It made for an easy day for me skiing with them, but still the legs felt it by the time we were done. Until next time.

A Few More Scenes of the Day: