I got in a quick morning ski at Mont Cascades which is about 20mins from downtown Ottawa on the east side of the Gatineau River.  The weather was perfect with a high around zero and the sun coming out around 10am.  All the main trails were perfectly groomed with soft snow under your skis.  Fun Run, Crazy Creek, Detour and the Facade were left natural with loose snow and moguls.  Cascades was busy, its a top to bottom park trail with jumps, rails and a twisty ski cross like section.  Exhibition had race training on it but there was still space to blast down the middle under the old triple chair. Exhibition, Promenade, Gratton, Fun Run, Facade and the Cascades were my picks of the day. Today was the day to be out skiing with the perfect combo of conditions and weather.  The top of Hogan with Camp Fortune in the background.  The Gatineau river  Facade Exhibition

Well, all the snow from the storm last Tuesday/Wednesday has held up great at Camp Fortune. The conditions are killer with nicely groomed snow, perfect for high angle carving at high speed.  We arrived in time to get a bunch of runs on Heggtviet and Duffy before the sun went down just before 6.  The bumps and cliff drops on Duffy were super fun. Hegg you could just rail on.  Swan Dive was a little more of a technical ski as the bumps were huge and rather unforgiving. Pretty much all the other groomed trails were in excellent shape with the exception Bud Clark which was getting a little scrapped down to the base at the top section.  Overall another great night of skiing with a full moon adding to the ambiance.  Oh and the Boreale IPA du Nord-Est at the bar is super tasty. Swan Dive. Duffy in the sun.

Welcome to the white room. 35cms of fresh light powder had fallen over night and it was still snowing when we arrived at Mont Ste Marie.  Only a single run was groomed everything else was left as virgin powder.  Total nirvana.  The temperatures were mild at around -5c and hardly anyone had made the hour drive up from Ottawa. In fact the lifts started a little late because there was so much snow to shovel out from the entrances and exits of the quads.  The new glades are killer and add so much to the terrain. Deep Purple and Vertigo fall through a steep pine forest before exiting at the bottom of Crescendo.  You enter the three runs (also the old Klotz trail) from the left of Formidable. I'll let the photos tell the rest of the tale. My legs were jello by last chair.  The best day of the year so...

While sitting at my desk in the office today looking out the window, and watching all this white powder fall from the sky I knew a tough decision had to be made. Shovel the driveway when I got home or go skiing. Well you know what that decision was........and here is the report. I arrived at Bellevue at opening, 6pm, and the parking lot was already filling up quickly. Looked like a lot of other people had the same thought on their mind. To ski the 30 some centimetres of snow that fell last night and during the day today. The temperature was a comfortable -2 degrees upon arrival. Getting my lift ticket was quick and easy, as it is ladies night tonight, and It usually gets pretty busy. A long line up is the norm, but arriving early certainly helped out. Only the Quad chair and the beginner's Magic Carpet were in operation tonight....

After the Edelweiss ice skating experience the previous evening and following the day's snow and rain, I was looking forward to hitting the hill with a bit more success on this evening. I packed up the car and headed out to Edelweiss. Once I got to the end of the 50 it took me a few moments to realize how dark it seemed. I mean, it's pretty desolate out there but this was dark, and the traffic lights were blinking. Sure enough I got to Edelweiss to discover the Hydro Quebec outage affecting Cantley, including Edelweiss, Vorlage and probably Cascades (I couldn't get through to them on the phone). One of the school trip chaperones told me the power went out about 7:30 and people were stuck on the lift, but the generator kicked in, getting them to the top of the mountain, and they were all escorted down by ski...

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, I'm told, he put in thousands of dollars out of his own pocket to make this event happen. Over time, the word has spread, bringing skiers and...

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...

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 width, top to bottom, while Nordique was open until the final pitch at the bottom, where you then had to cross over to 70 Ouest to finish.  Arriving for shortly after...

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 cables! I am told that there was still plenty of great skiing to be had if you...

The forecast was originally +16 and full sun, but of course things shift. I worried as I drove up that the sprinkles of rain would mean they'd close early, but I was pleased to arrive in the parking lot around 2:30 to one of the busiest afternoons I've seen in about a month! I fact it is the first day in about as long that I had to wait in a line to get on the lift. As everything near the Atomic lift had melted, lift service was via Etoile. I always enjoy the lazy spring rides on the Etoile to the sound of melting water underneath. Conditions were both slush bumps and ice, take your pick, scrape or get stuck. A fresh wax would have been of help that day, for sure. While most of Sauveur was open the previous week (well, all eight remaining runs), this week featured only...

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). Unlike last week which was quite sticky and/or icy, the cool air and rain this...

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 time to hike over as all of these hills were still fully covered last Friday. In fact most of Avila...

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...

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 Devil's River. Saute Mouton and Duncan lower section were more like slick groomers with few bumps,...

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 opening at 9am. The parking already had more cars than I was expecting at that time... I guess the great news that spring skiing had arrived was heard loud and clear. Ski...

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 and take our time down the 70 Ouest. Since the rain prevented them from...

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 its way. We got to Sommet Sauveur around 3:30 and I skied most of the runs around the Atomic lift, although the bottom of 70 Ouest was closed due to the...

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 Tremblant is a much more involved experience for them. So I planned to keep things easy Saturday, and then ski Expo on Sunday. I had promised my...

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, something I quite prefer. My day started when I arrived for 8:30am. Quickly getting ready, I hit the slopes by riding the Atomic Express. From here I immediately headed over to versant Avila. This area has an...

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 hour of the day. There was a steady flow of people heading up the lift, but never any lines. With limited...

Got in some great early season skiing on Friday at Mont Tremblant. Some buddies were staying slope side for the weekend which made things extra awesome. The day started cold like -20C cold but there was little or no wind except at the top. Over the day things warmed up to about -10c and the sun came out a bit.  The groomers were fast hard pack with some cake on top.  Also, several runs on the north side were not groomed yet half blasted with snow mounds but still open (Jasey-Jay).  Those were interesting bump runs! The best condition steeps were Ryan, Tashereau, and Mcculloch. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay for skiing on Saturday. Overnight we got 7cm plus The Edge and Soleil opened up for the first time. I'm sure I'll hear about how much powder I missed! Regardless this season is off to a great start. Ski on! Beauvallon Haut with the lake below.  My buddies Demon snowboard by Libtech.  Top of the...

When the weather starts getting colder and colder, most skiers start counting the days till their favorite mountain opens. Some start counting right from the last day of the previous season (spoiler... that's me). The wait is over, the countdown is at 0, today was my first day out on the slopes for the new season. While it may only be my first day out, it is the third day of the season at Camp Fortune and conditions are amazing. Like past years mother nature having up till now only provided cold weather and a fairly valueless snowstorm, the snowmaking experts at the mountain took up the challenge and now have Pineault open to the joy of skiers and snowboarders. The snow surface is firm with some loose snow on top (like icing on a cake). I couldn't have asked for more, as the snow allowed me to open things up with some...

Well the time has come. Day 1 of the new 2017-18 season for me is in the books. With an early departure from Sherbrooke at 6am this morning under cloudy skies, and -5 Celsius, destination was Sommet St. Sauveur. Travelling was great until I hit Montreal of course. A little detour made while work was being done on the Turcotte interchange. Nothing new there. Arrival at Sauveur was 8:30, parking was great as I was one of the early arrivals. I got there early so I could relax a bit and get ready to go when the lift opened for 9am. The Pente d'Ecole, and the 70 West, with the Etoile quad spinning today on Sauveur's Day 2. The temperature was about -3, cloudy, and no wind. The Etoile: The Pente d'Ecole Beginner's Area: The conditions were pretty decent for early season skiing. Coverage was nice with a good coat of artificial snow, groomed over a...

The choice today to pretty much end my 2016-17 ski season was Mont Orford. I have ended 3 of the past 4 seasons here and what a day to close out the year! Today had been announced that Orford would be closing for the season due to the weather for Easter Sunday and Monday not being great with rain in the forecast for the Townships. Beautiful bluebird sky to start, really mild, and true spring skiing at its best were to be had. 2 lifts were spinning, the Hybride, a 6 seater chair/gondola serving the Trois Ruisseaux and Grand Coulée trails on Mount Orford, and the Mont Giroux North Quad serving the Magnum, Jean-Davignon, Magog and Pente Douce trails. The conditions were fantastic, true spring skiing with corn snow on a soft base. The first runs were up the Hybride to the Trois Ruisseaux (3 Creeks Trail) and the Grande Coulée. Trois...

With the day off work today, and taking advantage of that, Mont Sutton was the choice of destination. I left Sherbrooke at a little after 7 under partly cloudy skies. When I arrived at Sutton for 8:30, it was cloudy and about 2 degrees above zero. The conditions were a bit more tricky that I was anticipating, as the mild temperatures from yesterday and the freeze from last night made for some hard surfaces. 57/60 trails were announced as open with 2 lifts, Chair 2 the main Quad and Chair 4, the fixed grip Quad were spinning today. The wait in line for either lift was non-existent. The day began on the Sutton iK and the Mohawk to warm up. The Sutton iK was groomed granular on a hard base. The Mohawk, was not groomed but was well covered with some loose granular with the temps being mild at the lower...