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By Lloyd Langlois, April 5, 2011 10:34 am

If you’ve done spring skiing at Tremblant before, you might remember the TELUS Spin event.  Well, this year, they’ve regrouped and rebranded, and the event has been transformed from a competition-heavy ten-day marathon, to a more diversified family-friendly event spread over the last four weekends of the season.  The long and short of it is, they pulled the plug on some of the traditional ski and snowboard comps (Boardercross, for example, is gone), infused a few new ones (notably Red Bull 1976), and added a culinary element.  The changes are significant enough that they tossed out the original name for their spring festival, and brought in “SÏKWÂM” – an Algonquin word for spring.

What’s already done?

The first three weeks of SÏKWÂM saw four of the six big comps of the festival.  First up was the T4 Coca-Cola in collaboration with K2 Skis, a big air competition where teams of four people – two skiers and two riders – complete a course of jumps and rails together, and ideally in synch.  The results are in, and first place went to team PRFO, made up of Antoine Truchon, Vincent Prévost, Sébastion Chartrand and Zach Aller.

Next up was the Local Hero competition.  The name is pretty self-explanatory…  Local skiers and riders do jumps and rails, and the best man, woman and junior take home the title.

One of the most highly anticipated events of the festival was the Billabong Flaunt It competition, a girls-only snowboard comp.  Flaunt It tours five or six of the biggest resorts in North America, and luckily for us, Tremblant is on the list.  This is a great event, and one that gives women a chance to show that they can hold their own in the park, and draw a crowd every bit as big as the men’s comps draw.  Natalie Allport was the winner, and scored herself a place in the finals at Lake Tahoe.

This past weekend was the Caribou Cup, a longstanding Tremblant tradition that fits somewhere between a race and an obstacle course.  To give you a better idea of the flavour of this event, they award prizes (at the bar) for Best Suit, Most Beautiful Bail, and Slowest Participant, among others.

On the culinary side, they’ve been doing everything from wine tasting, to coffee tasting (are you bold, or are you smooth?) to sausage workshops, and there’s more of the same to come.  If you’re thinking of partaking in the food side of the festivities, I’d suggest taking a glance at the program – many of the culinary events, and especially the gastronomic dinners, are by reservation only with limited places.

What’s to come?

With one weekend left, the biggest draw will no doubt be Red Bull 1976.  It’s an event that re-imagines the 1976 Olympic Winter Games, and harkens back to a time when moustaches were thick and spandex was tight.  Should be fun to see how the denizens of Tremblant interpret the theme, and what types of crazy outfits are spotted around the mountain on Saturday.  My expectations are high.

Double daffys aside, this weekend will hold a full range of multi-course meals at all the restaurants around the resort, a Moosehead Happy Hour at the P’tit Caribou on Saturday night, helmet cam workshops, and outdoor shows by well-known local artists.

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By Lloyd Langlois, March 22, 2011 9:50 am

Although it pains me to say it, it’s becoming clear that the season is winding down.  Snow is melting, rain is falling and temperatures are rising.  There are only a few precious weeks of skiing left before it’s time to pack those skis up and pull out the golf clubs.

The news is not all bad though.  The flip side is, these last few weeks are pretty much the best weeks of the year.  The sun will be shining, music will be blaring, snow will be soft, and t-shirts will be worn by all.  Clearly, this is something to celebrate.

Most, if not all, of the mountains in the province embrace the spring skiing spirit, and hold events to close out the season with a bang.  Some last only a day, and others are full-blown festivals.  I’ve listed my top prospects here…

TELUS Sïkwâm at Tremblant

There is more going on at Tremblant over the next month than I could possibly list in this one little article.  For all the details you’ll have to head over to their site to check out the schedule for yourself – the gist of it though, is that they will be holding an all-out spring fest for four solid weekends, with outdoor concerts, ski comps, parties and even cooking workshops.  They seem to have figured out that sometimes skiers arrive in the company of non-skiers, and they’ve definitely covered all their bases.

Mont-Tremblant, TELUS Sïkwâm

Spring Madness Festival at Mont-Sainte-Anne

Mont-Sainte-Anne is already famous for having the best spring conditions in the area – they seem to always have more sun, softer snow and the most beautiful bumps of any hill.  If you need any extra incentive to head over there though, the Spring Madness Festival will do it.  For the next five weekends they will be revelling in the springtime, with live music, BBQs at the summit, a sugar shack and more. The full event list, weekend by weekend, is listed on their site.

Spring Spirit at Le Massif

Le Massif Reggae Bash

At Le Massif the next three weekends, from March 26 until April 10, are packed with activities to make you dance, race or stuff your face.  First up is the Reggae Bash and Splash, with over 12 hours of continuous live reggae played all over the mountain.  The following weekend they are holding a 10-course gastronomic picnic at the summit over lunch.  Finally the festivities close off on April 10 with the Red Bull Playoffs, where the spirit of the Habs/Nordiques rivalry is revived as pro-rider teams from Québec and Montréal face off in three competitive “periods”.  All the activities at Massif have a live-music component, and as usual this hill scores bonus points for creativity – somehow they always seem to come up with events so interesting that you wonder why no one else ever thought of them before.

Beach Party at Bromont

Mont Bromont is kicking off the spring season on March 26 with one of their legendary “Nuits Blanches” celebrations.  The theme is “Beach Party”, and you’ll be dancing the limbo, riding a mechanical surfboard, and grooving to the rhythm of the drums.  All in your best Hawaiian shirt, of course.

The big SPLASH

It seems that, masochistic as it may be, one of the favourite activities at nearly every hill is the water competition.  Flash or Splash, Slush Cup, Snow on the Beach, the Big Splash…  Call it what you will, the end result is the same – strap on your skis or board, go as fast as you can, and try to cross to the other side of a giant, freezing pond without getting soaked.  A few of the ski resorts holding this kind of silliness include Owl’s Head, Le Massif, Bromont and Sutton.  In case you still aren’t sure what I’m talking about, here’s a video.

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By Lloyd Langlois, February 14, 2011 1:23 pm

This is worth a quick mention for any ladies available for skiing mid-week… For the whole month of February, Mont-Sainte-Anne is offering all kinds of great stuff for women every Tuesday. Tickets are two for one, instructors from the hill are giving free lessons (if you book ahead of time), and Rossignol will be there with demos – also free. At the end of the day, a troupe of massage therapists from ZoneSpa will be offering free massages, and you can top that off by heading over to the bar for live music from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Men’s Day is coming soon, right guys?

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By Lloyd Langlois, January 24, 2011 9:40 pm

It’s January, so yes, it’s pretty cold. This weekend especially was the kind that makes you look at the forecast in the morning, and pull the covers up over your head in despair. Skiers and riders are tougher than the weather though, so I have full faith that in spite of the bitter, miserable cold, you have been dragging yourself out of bed, tucking your neck warmer into your goggles, and getting on that windy chairlift with a smile on your face (no one can see it, but we know it’s there).

Tough as we are though, I will admit that on days like today, with a wind chill of minus a million, it can sometimes take a little extra push to get out there. Lucky for us, there is plenty of motivation around. A bunch of Québec resorts are hosting events over the coming weeks that should be super fun, inexpensive (or free), and the best part – they focus heavily on the warm and cozy après-ski. After a well-earned beer or two, you won’t even remember the colour of your toes after that third run.

First on the must-do list, is the Show-Z-Après-Ski series running at Le Massif de Charlevoix. Every Saturday night, a free show will be held at the Summit Pub – rated one of the top 5 liveliest bars in Québec. Over 18 weeks, the hill will play host to such renowned artists as Karkwa, Misstress Barbara, Radio Radio, Les Respectables, Antoine Gratton and Jah Cutta. Check the schedule and pick your weekend – and know that whenever you go, the music will be blasting, the crowd will be dancing and the energy will be through the roof.

Here’s a little preview:

Next up… On Saturday, February 5, Bromont is holding another of their bi-weekly Nuit Blanches – an all night party on the mountain where the line between the ski and the après-ski gets blurred (read an earlier post about Nuit Blanches here). This time around, the theme is Ski Chicks. It’s a night honouring the women of our sports, but I am assured that boys are welcome too, as long as we behave.

February 12, the You Look Good Rider’s Cup is coming to Tremblant. This is a chance for local and not-so-local riders to strut their stuff on a custom-built course. And I guarantee that after a day of working hard at the hill, the seasoned riders who come out for the comp will be ready to play at the P’tit Caribou – by far the hottest bar in the Tremblant Village.

Last but definitely not least, is the Snowboard Jamboree at Stoneham from February 14 – 20. It’s a week-long party on mountain and off, and everyone’s invited. During the day, riders are encouraged to join in amateur activities and comps – like the Kinky Rail Jam (girls only) and the Halfpipe Jamboree. When the sun sets on Friday night, the Party Jamboree at the bar 4-Foyers gets started, where the party people will be doing their thing until the very wee hours of the night. On Saturday evening, it’s Fashion Jam, the biggest urban fashion show in Canada. And throughout the week, riders of an international calibre will be competing for top honours in the LG/FIS World Cup. Most of the pro events will be held at Stoneham, with the exception of the Big Air World Cup (my favourite!), which will be held right in downtown Québec City.

Feeling warmer yet? I know I am. See you out there!

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By Lloyd Langlois, January 4, 2011 9:05 pm

Night skiing.  For anyone who does their best work after dark, night skiing is the ideal way to enjoy a sport that otherwise requires getting up at an unholy hour in order to squeeze every last turn, bump and breath of mountain air out of a day on the slopes – not to mention to get your money’s worth out of your lift ticket.

Night skiing is great because there are way fewer people on the hill (if they only knew what they were missing). It tends to draw a younger crowd, and with music blaring and drinks flowing at the base of the mountain, the atmosphere is a lot more festive than it is during the day.  It’s like the ski and the après-ski all bundled into one, and there is almost nowhere in the world that has embraced it more, or that does night skiing better, than in Québec.

Driving through ski country at night, visitors are amazed when they see the sheer number of brightly lit trails rising up from the dark skyline.  According to a great article that appeared in the Montreal Gazette last week, Québec has more than 45 mountains that stay open after the sun goes down, and whether you’re in the Laurentians, the Eastern Townships, or farther north in Québec City and Charlevoix you will be greeted along the road by these brightly lit behemoths, peppered with the tiny figures of the thousands of people who live to ski and ride by night.

There’s no question that night skiing has caught on here, like wildfire.  But if you want to see where night skiing is going, the pioneers lighting the way to the future of night skiing are unquestionably at Mont Bromont in the Eastern Townships.  Mont Bromont does more than simply make night skiing available.  They embrace it, they nurture it, and they carry it to the extreme.  “You want night skiing? We’ll give you night skiing.”  To begin with, they have more skiable after-dark terrain than anywhere in North America.  And to sweeten the pot, every second Saturday, they bring us Nuits Blanches – a late night utopia that draws night owls from across the north east.  The lights go on at 7:00 p.m., and the party on the slopes doesn’t stop until 2:00 a.m.

Nuits Blanches (it translates literally to White Nights) are all about having a good time – the hill is open until 2:00am, the bar at the foot of the mountain is open until 3:00am and the people who come, come for the party.  At $30 a ticket, it’s not a bad deal – and as the concept grows in popularity, the party keeps getting bigger and better.

The next one is happening this Saturday, January 8.  This Nuit Blanche is themed – it’s a casino night, so throw some rhinestones on those snow pants, we’ll be expecting you in your Vegas best.

For more information or directions to the hill, visit the Mont Bromont website.  And if you go, please come back and tell us about it.  We expect a full report.