I received a text Monday from my friend Adam wondering what I was up to on Tuesday. Normally I'd be in the office however it had been quiet on the phone. So I asked for Tuesday away, and it was no problem for a ski day. Thank you for my colleague Brady for covering the phones on this day. So Owl's Head was the choix du jour for the day. I picked Ad...
Mont Bellevue - some scenes from last night February 2, 2023. Great little community hill in the heart of Sherbrooke, QC
Last Tuesday, two friends and I made a last minute decision to skip class and head to Mont Ste Marie, as they had never been and I was hoping to return! While initially forecasted to be a cold day, the sunny skies, low wind, and gradual increase in temperature (from -17 to -8C) made the day feel much warmer. We arrived at 10am, and after purchasing...
Last Thursday, last minute family plans were made for a quick afternoon/evening ski at Camp Fortune. A storm had passed over the region the night before, dumping 25cm of fresh powder, and the hill had announced that the Meech glades (La Cache) would be open for their first day of the 2023 season! The meech glades are my favourite run at fortune, an...
Taking the day off work, Mont Orford was the "office" of choice for the morning. I arrived at about 8:15 and the parking lot was already filling up. The temperature was a fresh -18 degrees under partly sunny skies which cleared out during the morning. 26 of 43 trails were open with the Hybride, Giroux North, and Alfred Desrochers Quad in operation....
Back at Bellevue with the kids! They had been wanting to go again, and asking multiple times this past week so off we went. I had booked another 2-hour block online last night along with rentals for my son. We had gone last night to a shop in Sherbrooke that I get my skis done, and they were having a moving sale so we went to check it out. We walke...
It is mid-week, and wanting to enjoy the slopes with lots of vertical drop but without the lift lines, the choice was clear, a visit to Mont Ste Marie was in order. After checking the trail status online the night before, I woke up early and planned to be out the door at 7:45am. As luck would have it, I ended up leaving a bit later than planned but...
After wanting to ski at Mont Ste Marie for the past three seasons, the opportunity finally came 2 days ago! I headed to the hill and arrived at 10am, and picked up my student day pass for only 49$! Both the Vanier and Cheval Blanc high speed lifts were running, with most terrain open on the Vanier side, and Dustin Cook and Frank Pouliotte on Cheval...
Last Sunday, I headed to Tremblant with the Carleton University Ski Club, making use of the 50$ lift tickets and inexpensive bus transportation for my last ski day of the Christmas break. With the warm temperatures and amazing snowfall brought by December, I had done most of my skiing in +0 Celsius weather-however, this day at Tremblant would be an...
Today's visit was to Mont Bellevue, our local ski hill in the heart of the city of Sherbrooke. The weather has been absolutely horrible as of late with very little snow, and what snow that has fallen, has since melted with warm temperatures and rain. We are in desperate need of a good old fashioned dump of snow. 4 of the 10 trails at Bellevue were ...
Last Friday, some friends and I decided to head to Camp Fortune one last time before the Christmas break was over, and school and work made life busier! We arrived at 3pm, and after getting dressed in the lodge, we headed to the Skyline lift. Temperatures were hovering at around 0 C, but surprisingly, the snow was not as soft and mogulled as our pr...
After looking at the long range forecast for New Year's weekend being wet, or supposed to be wet, I took the chance in heading off to Mont Gleason today. Last night was clear with the stars out. This morning I woke up to flurries and about 5 centimetres on the car. I had booked my lift ticket online via the maneige.com site using my Passe Partout d...
Last Wednesday, a seemingly unannounced storm dumped 15cm of snow in the day’s early hours. With legs still sore from the night before, a smaller group of the crowd from the previous night decided to drive up and enjoy the fresh snow, in addition to a new black diamond run being open on Skyline (Bud Clark to Canadian). We arrived at 3:30, parking t...
After months of anticipation since buying my Camp Fortune night ski pass in July, I was finally able to use it! Tuesday, December 27th was set to be the first night of night skiing, and a group of friends and I decided to hit the slopes. In addition to having three green runs off the Pineault and Clifford chairs, a blue trail (Sparks to Skyway) had...
Two weeks ago, a few friends and I made a last-minute decision to ski Mount Pakenham on their opening night of night skiing. A large storm has come through the region the day before, dumping 25cm of fresh snow-making for some amazing early season conditions! 3 runs off the Mika Chairlift were open, including a mini park. The snow conditions were pa...
The 2022-23 season has finally begun. I arrived just before 8:30, and the temperature was already just above 0 degrees with a mostly cloudy sky. Four trails were available today, along the Giroux North quad, and the Magic Carpet. The Familliale, Magog, Jean d'Avignon, Mitaine were the choice of runs. Mother Nature hasn't been great to us to start o...
After months of anticipation, my 2022-23 ski season had an amazing start at Tremblant! This season, I bought new equipment through my favourite local ski shop, Kunstadt Sports. Additionally, I joined my university ski club, which provided a discount on equipment, as well as half-price lift tickets and transportation to Tremblant! After not skiing a...
What a perfect day on the slopes! The temperature was just right, and the sun was shining. Today I visited Sommet Saint-Sauveur, a ski mountain that holds a special place in my heart. There is just something magical about every visit, and this time was no different. With an early departure at 8am from Gatineau, I arrived at the mountain at 10am. Th...
For what would most likely be my last day of the 2021-22 ski season, I felt that it was appropriate to end it at my home mountain. With the forecast for the next few days of rain and warm temperatures, it was time to take advantage and not wait. I arrived at the mountain early at 8 under a beautiful blue sky and temps already above 0. First ride wa...
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 expect...
With the long range forecast anouncing warm, and wet weather for the next few days I made it out to Orford today before it gets messy. I arrived at the mountain for 8:15 and the parking lot was filling up fast. The temperature was mild already at just about freezing under partly cloudy skies. Booted up at the car, headed off to the Hybride for firs...
After what likely was the last powder dump of the season (10cms), we spontaneously decided on a quick 4 hour trip to Camp Fortune, before leaving on a little March break trip to the Laurentians the following day. For a Saturday, the resort was surprisingly quiet upon arrival. We booted up in the car, and immediately headed to my favourite area...
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 exerc...
After 20 centimeters of fresh powder fell upon us, some friends and I decided to spend an evening night skiing at Mount Pakenham. Though the temperature was -20, the phenomenal snow conditions made for some amazing glade skiing. Due to my friends' ability to push me out of my comfort zone, I began skiing gladed runs much more frequently, and a...
Today with the day off I got out to Mont Orford for visit number 2 of the season. I arrived at the mountain at 8:15 and the parking lot P2 was filling up quickly! On a Wednesday! I still managed to get a decent spot so the walk wasn't too bad. It was a fresh -14 degrees under a cloudy sky. While I was booting up at the car, you could hear the wind ...