Cold temperatures, a promise of sun and bluebird skies... all the ingredients were in place for the perfect day on the slopes. I woke up to a light dusting of snow that arrived overnight, which left a much-needed coat of white on the rooftops and the grass. I gathered my bags, tossed them in the back of the car and headed up to Mont Ste Marie. This...
I last skiied Whiteface Mountain in December 2019. Due to Covid, I hadn’t returned since then. However, my sister and I decided to bring our equipment along on our family trip to Lake Placid, in the Adirondacks, and ski the largest vertical (3166’) East of the Rockies! Whiteface has always been a special resort to me, as it was the site o...
After what was arguably the worst Christmas and Holiday week for skiing in the region, which featured a perfect cocktail of warm mild weather and endless rain, the cold weather is back. Camp Fortune today had 6 trails open, which included Sparks, Marshall, Pineault and Allen's Alley. There were no lines at the lifts from opening until lunch and whe...
With another forecast of rain in the next day or two, Lukas and I headed off to our community ski hill Mont Bellevue for a couple of hours to scratch the itch. We've had two (not so) decent rain events over the last few weeks that haven't been helpful whatsoever. Booked our tickets this morning just before leaving home, and...
After a busy period of exams, I hadn't been on skis for over three weeks, and was eager to return! My mother and I planned a little day trip to the Calabogie area, where I decided I would take advantage of the last day of early season pricing (30$ instead of 50$), and ski for a few hours at Calabogie Peaks Resort. We arrived at 1pm, and I hopped on...
It's the start of the 2023-24 at last, so off it was to Mont Orford for the morning. The kids tagged along for the ride. We arrived at a little after 8 to get ready for the day. It was a beautiful sunny day with the temperature at around -11 degrees. We got dressed, and headed outside. There were 16 trails available with two lifts. The Giroux ...
Opening day at Camp Fortune marked an exciting beginning for the winter season. With both Pineault and Allen's Alley trails available right from the start, the day saw a strong debut, a refreshing change from past instances when only Pineault was accessible. The snow coverage was exceptional, and the trails were open at their full width, impeccably...
Mont Ste Marie opened their ski season today with 1 route from top to bottom, composed of 3 trails (Serenade Haut/Bas and Caroline Calvé). Great conditions on the highest vertical drop in the region. Enjoy the snapshot from this visit.
Last weekend, a few friends and I made the early morning drive from Ottawa to Mont Tremblant for our first day of the 2023-24 ski season! The weather was forecasted to be partly cloudy, with increasing sun in the afternoon. Temps would be on the colder side (-10C) in the morning, before warming to reach -2 later in the day. Despite the ...
On Saturday May 15, 2023, my sister and so joined a group of friends for one last use of our night ski passes on Camp Fortune’s closing weekend. The weather was sunny, with the day’s warmest temp being a peachy 23C! Every run off the Skyline quad was open. To honour their passholders, the resort offered free skiing to all types of season passes, so...
For what might be the closer to the 2022-23 season, Lukas and I headed off to Owl's Head today for his first visit there. He's heard of the stories of my working there way back when, so it was his time to experience the mountain for himself. We left early, and arrived just before 8. There were a few cars already in the lot when we got there. It was...
Today was parent volunteer day for my son Lukas' ski outing for school, and of course I couldn't pass on this opportunity to go with them. We met at his school for us to board the bus to head out. We arrived at Orford just a little after 9:30 to a bluebird sky, and mild temperatures. There was a good group of students that came along for the trip w...
Back to skiing it was, since the trip to New Hampshire (Black Mountain) earlier in the month. Took a bit of a break. Today was at Mont Bellevue for what is to be their last weekend of the 2022-23 season. Tomorrow is supposed the last day. We arrived at the hill at 8:30 to a few cars in the parking lot, and were the first skis on the rack. The morni...
On the last Saturday of March, my friend and I decided to ski Tremblant for our last ‘big mountain’ ski day of the season, in addition to it being his first time at the resort. Conditions were extremely windy, cold for spring (-5 to 1C without windchill), and snow conditions started alright and ended poor. That being said, we had a great time, and ...
With night skiing slated to end on March 22, I decided to take my sister on a birthday ski trip for our last night ski of the season. We arrived at 3pm, and immediately headed to Heggtveit to improve our confidence on steep runs, as we had both finally conquered Ottawa’s steepest trail this year! We then headed to the Valley sector, skiing the ...
In the Pontiac region of Western Quebec is a ski hill called Mont Chilly. It had been a couple years since I've skied the 430ft vertical hill near Fort-Coulonge. Not much has changed, in fact not much has changed since the 1960's. The hill is accessed via a single T-bar. There are roughly 5 trails with alternate branches. A mix of groomers, glades...
With school break in full swing, we spent a few days in North Conway, NH with the kids. The last time below the border for me skiing was February of 2019, or anyone in the family for that matter since we had gone down to the USA. I had thought of a few places that I would maybe ski, and ended up choosing Black Mountain. I had been here in March 201...
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 ...
On our 4th and final day of skiing in Banff, we enjoyed one last Rocky Mountain ski experience at Sunshine Village Resort. We awoke at 7am, seeing some beautiful sunrise views from our hotel room window: We then got dressed and boarder our 8am shuttle to the resort. Temperatures were expected to range from -15 to -20C, fortunately (and unfortunatel...
On our third day of skiing in Banff, we headed to Lake Louise for what was likely my favourite day of the trip. The previous night, we welcomed our 4th and final trip member, who would be joining us for the last two days of skiing. We woke up to a cold, but bluebird day in Banff, and boarded our 8am SkiBig3 shuttle to Lake Louise, a 45 minute ride....
On our second day in Banff, we planned to head to Lake Louise, which boasts 3250 vertical feet, 9 lifts, and Canada’s second-largest area! While temperatures that day would be similar to the (brutal) previous day, it was worth noting the effect caused by elevation. Lake Louise’s upper mountain is at a similar elevation to Sunshine Village’s base ar...
Over my university break week, a few friends and I headed to Banff, Alberta; our first time being and skiing out west! Three of us arrived on a Tuesday, with the other friend arriving on Thursday, before we all departed that Sunday. After having wanted to visit the Canadian Rockies since I was 9 (one decade ago!), this trip was a ‘bucket list’ type...
Off with the kids again to Mont Bellevue. Seems like this is getting to be a weekly outing now. I don't mind as skiing here is quite affordable. It's also a great activity to get them out of the house for some exercise, and fresh air. We arrived at the hill just after 8:30 just before everyone arrived, to get a decent spot to get ready in the chale...
Two Saturdays ago, I headed up to camp fortune for a fun evening of night skiing. Conditions were on the icier side, with the long cruisers on Meech being opened-which are some of my favourite runs on the hill!After 4 years of chickening-out, I finally decided to ski Heggtveit with my friend. While extremely icy and much steeper than I imagined, th...