Sommet St. Sauveur - November 12, 2017

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 decent base. The crowd was not large at the start but got larger as the morning progressed. The wait in line for the lift was 2 minutes tops. There was snowmaking going on in many different locations, at the top of the Atomic Express, and the Nordique. If mother nature cooperates this week, the Nordique should be next to open.

 Snowmaking on the Nordique:

After the crowd started to get larger on the 70 West, a few icy patches began to appear but not to the point where you couldn't avoid them. The trail was covered wide enough so there was plenty of space to go around. A couple of modules were set up in a designated area off to the side with plenty of space for everyone to enjoy. 

Prepping a couple modules:

After a few hours and 7 runs, taking them easy and not pushing on the first day out, it was time to call it. Overall it was a good start to the season. It felt really great to be back on the boards again. Glad to have made the trip. This would mark the second earliest start to the season for me.

Here are some other scenes of the morning: