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By Lloyd Langlois, April 11, 2011 8:06 pm

Easter weekend.  The last hurrah of the Québec ski season. The time when festivals are winding down, and resorts (those that are still kicking) are rarely more than a week from shut-down.  Many folks will have already given up on skiing for the year – but I say wait!  Why, you ask? Well, although the fabulous powder we had in February is long gone, there’s still snow out there if you know where to go, and Easter weekend is actually a great time of year for a weekend ski getaway, en famille.

Le Massif de Charlevoix, for example, is doing a big Easter brunch on Sunday morning (reservations required), with croissants, omelettes, maple-smoked pork… the list goes on.  Typical fare for this time of year in Québec – almost verging on Cabane à Sucre style, but with some healthier, less sugar soaked options thrown in for good measure.  They’re also offering face-painting for the little ones, and a petting zoo.  Good family fun, all of it, but with food good enough for grown up taste buds, as the chefs at Le Massif can always be relied on to prepare.

Mont-Sainte-Anne is getting in on the Easter action too, and if you’re there on Easter weekend, you may just be lucky enough to spot the Big Bunny himself speeding down the slopes. That’s right, this is not a drill: the Easter bunny has made plans to ski Mont-Sainte-Anne.

As usual, the bunny is going to be busy this year – in addition to his cameo at Mont-Sainte-Anne, he was kind enough to agree to set up an egg hunt at Mont Sutton, right on the trails.  Sutton will also bring in a slew of inflatable games  for kids, to celebrate the holiday in a bouncy way.

Skiing, chocolate and fairy tale creatures… Yup, I’ll be there.

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By Lloyd Langlois, March 13, 2011 10:13 pm

Most ski hills in Québec offer a pretty well-rounded experience, from T-bar right up to single and double diamond runs. Not all diamonds are created equal though, and if you are an expert skier, some mountains will naturally have far more to challenge you than others. Here are my 5 picks for the hills that offer the toughest, most diverse and interesting terrain in the province.

1. Le Massif de Charlevoix
Le Massif has long had the reputation for being a true skiers mountain. The terrain is pretty hardcore, the hill has the highest vertical drop in the East, and they get more snow than anywhere else in the province. Until just recently the peak wasn’t even accessible by chairlift; the devoted few who skied Le Massif would have to ride a yellow school bus to the summit – and they would gladly forgo chairlifts in exchange for the pleasure of skiing Massif. These days the hill is a lot more developed, but the terrain is the same, and for anyone who yearns for the days of skiing in the wilds, Massif has left one peak, the Mont à Liguori sector, open for off-piste enthusiasts.

2. Mont Tremblant
Tremblant is the obvious choice. When you think about great skiing in Québec, this is most likely the first hill that comes to mind. With a huge resort and tons of ancillary services and activities, Tremblant tends to be the number one stopping point for out-of-towners looking for a superior ski experience in Québec. It bears remembering though, that before all the shops, condos and luxury resorts sprung up at the base of Tremblant 15 years ago or so, Tremblant too was a purists hill, that attracted the best skiers in the area with its size and the level of difficulty offered. Today the hill is a lot more developed, but if you choose your runs wisely you can still find that steep, ungroomed goodness that made Tremblant such an exciting hill to ski in the first place.

3. Mont Sainte Anne
In the area around Québec City, a few hours north east of Montreal, Mont Sainte Anne is the destination to head for. They have three peaks, each offering a different level of difficulty. The toughest terrain, by far, can be found on the South Side, where you’ll find tons of moguls, steep drops and the infamous “Black Forest Glades” – 20 acres of single and double diamond glades that cover three intersecting runs. Mont Sainte Anne also boasts night skiing, a rarity for a mountain of its size; in fact there is no other mountain in Canada that offers a higher vertical drop for night skiing.

4. Mont Orford
The fourth highest ski hill in Québec, Orford has three peaks and 61 trails, almost half of which are classified as “Extremely Difficult”. For experts, Mont Orford and Mont Giroux are the places to be; looking at a trail map, these two peaks are almost completely covered in black. My personal favourite, of course, is the Lloyd Langlois.

5. Mont Sutton
Mont Sutton is famous across the province for their glades. No other mountain offers as much wooded terrain, or as much variety. Eighty percent of the mountain is wooded, which automatically makes this kind of a magical place – and a paradise for anyone who loves to ski glades. The terrain is diverse, and they offer everything from tight, bumpy woods to more open runs. And of course, there’s still twenty percent groomed trails, for when your legs start to fail you at the end of the afternoon…

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By Lloyd Langlois, January 28, 2011 10:08 am

Guy Thibodeau at cyberpress.ca suggested last week that Mont-Grand-Fonds might just be the perfect mountain. He may be onto something.

With a vertical drop of 355 metres, it’s not winning any awards for the biggest hill in the province, but its size is not what makes this mountain so great. Mont-Grand-Fonds rocks because you’ve never heard of it – not many people have. That means that you will never have to wait in line for the lift, never worry about taking out a toddler on your way down an overcrowded trail, and never have to feel like an afternoon in Times Square would be more peaceful than your day on the slopes.

They average 650 cm of natural snow a year, and you will have it all to yourself. On an especially quiet day, people report getting first tracks after lunch.

Mont-Grand-Fonds is amazing because although it only has 14 runs, it has 14 full runs – most of which run from the top of the lift to the base of the mountain. And all of them get full sun all day long.

Moreover, this is a hill that genuinely caters to skiers of every level. On one side of the mountain, it’s green circles and blue squares as far as the eye can see – on the other though, you’ll find true double diamonds, with several mogul runs, and an eternally long trail through the woods (look for the Nagano).

If you’re more of a general winter sports fan than just a skier or snowboarder, you might be interested to know that Mont-Grand-Fonds has more than 160 km of cross-country ski trails, as well as snowshoe paths through the woods and up the mountain.

Although it’s tough to say that Mont-Grand-Fonds (or any mountain) is perfect, I do think that with its diverse terrain, tranquil environment, and wide selection of winter activities, you’ll find that it is a wonderful place for a family ski vacation.

Mont-Grand-Fonds, Québec

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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, December 30, 2010 7:54 am

With the highest vertical drop east of the Rockies, Le Massif has long been acknowledged as having some of the best skiing and riding in the east, especially for a more advanced skier.  The powder can be insane (yes, you read correctly – Le Massif boasts powder skiing, and lots of it), the views of the river from the summit are truly breathtaking, and it has uncommonly good backcountry skiing.

The only drawback, for some, was that the mountain wasn’t as well developed as some of the bigger ski resorts in the area.  Back in the day, skiing Le Massif meant a quick bus ride to the summit before taking on one of only a few barely groomed trails.  Charming, yes, but convenient, not so much.

The bus riding days ended in the early 90s, but still the mountain has the reputation of being kind of a purists’ hill – mainly because there was never much in the way of beginner trails, and of course because of the vertical drop and all the glorious backcountry stuff.

Well, this year, all that is changing.  With an investment of $16 million from the mountain’s owner, Cirque du Soleil co-founder Daniel Gauthier, major modernization is in the works at Le Massif.  Last year, The Globe and Mail published an article announcing that Le Massif was the next big thing in skiing and riding, and this season we are seeing that prediction come true.  Upgrades for this year include a brand new 8-person gondola that goes base to summit in ten minutes, as well as the opening of a new area for beginners.

Bottom line, what this means is all the awesomeness that always set Le Massif apart will stay (the crazy powder, the ungroomed trails, and terrain challenging enough to draw the pros), but now the mountain will actually be fully accessible from the base, and the new beginner area makes Le Massif a hill that you can take your kids to, without worrying that they will be racing down down a triple diamond from the summit.  Everybody wins.

Le Massif has all the details about the renovations, complete and projected, on their site.  Check it out to learn more.