Mont Orford - April 15, 2017

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 Ruisseaux - Top, Middle, and Bottom:

The Grand Coulée:

The groomers had been out the night before to fix up some areas as the top of the Jean-Davignon was just wide enough to pass by to get to the main pitch were coverage was complete. The Magnum, which is a single black diamond trail to the left side of the Giroux North Quad heading up, was pretty tricky at the beginning not being groomed and with rocks pushing through but once you got past that section the coverage was decent. The bumps that started to appear during the morning were so soft that you could practically ski through them that's how nice and forgiving the snow was.

The Magnum:

The Jean-Davignon:

The line up for either lift was pretty much non-existent but later on in the morning around 10:30 or so, the Hybride experienced some troubles with the synchronization with the spacing of the chairs and gondolas that they had to close it to the public and have them ski the Giroux North Quad, which increased the wait time to no more that five minutes or so, with the assistance of one operator directing traffic and the other watching the loading of the chairs. The line moved very efficiently and loading was a breeze. Well organized with the Hybride off line.

By 12:30 and after 10 runs, my knees were saying that's enough. I would normally ski longer but I listened to them and didn't push them any harder, risking any serious injury.

This is most likely my last report of the season. I am glad that I found SlopeEdge albeit mid-season this year, and I am planning on being back with you for 2017-18 for a full season of reports and discoveries like this year's Mount Abram and Whaleback outings. All the best for the summer and Peace Out!

Paul