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By Lloyd Langlois, April 20, 2011 9:34 am

Well, maybe not literally, but as one of Québec’s most popular ski hills, it’s nice to see that there is some development in the works for Bromont. The development in question is not, this time around, happening on the slopes – this improvement is to the level of accommodation you can expect when you travel to Bromont for more than just the day.

The hill opened in 1964, and for the first couple of decades of the mountain’s existence as a ski destination, it must be said that it was fairly unremarkable. Not that big and without a ton of runs, Bromont’s main claim to fame (still one of its strongest selling points) was the fact that it’s so incredibly close to downtown Montreal.

It’s tough to thrive on accessibility alone though, and in recent years, Bromont has finally been exploited to its full potential. Today, Bromont is the largest illuminated ski hill in Eastern North America with 77 runs open after dark. Even during the day, the skiing and riding is a whole lot better than it once was, with 144 runs open over 7 faces of the mountain.

One thing Bromont has always lacked though, was a proper resort-hotel to go along with it. The mountain is huge with Bromont locals and Montrealers alike, but it’s not easy to attract any real ski tourism without a single ski-in-ski-out hotel, and barely any high-end accommodations anywhere in the area.

Well, it looks like that’s changing for the 2012 season. A new resort hotel, Le Club des Cantons, is going up at Bromont, and my guess is that, for better or for worse, this will be something of a game changer for the hill, opening the doors to a different sort of ski crowd.

Word has it that Le Club will be both a hotel and a condo development, and that eventually it will encompass everything from a spa, to a top notch restaurant, to a conference centre. According to the Montreal Gazette, “Phase I of Le Club des Cantons will be a $48 million venture that will encompass l’Auberge, a luxurious 48-room hotel with a bar, a gourmet dining room and a swimming pool. Phase I also will include 28 condominiums and townhouses. The spa, a conference centre and other condos will be part of Phase II.”

It should be fun to see this go up – from the sounds of it this construction will be major, and will bring major and interesting change to the hill and to the area, year-round. We’ll be watching…

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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, February 21, 2011 11:48 pm

When you grow up in a place, you see it in a different way than someone who is visiting for the first time. I grew up in the Eastern Townships, so even though I spent much of my adult life travelling outside of Québec for ski competitions, when I look at Knowlton, or Sutton and especially Magog (where I’m from), I don’t necessarily see all the beauty and charm that an outsider would see. I see home.

For that reason, I thought it was kind of cool to read an article on the Townships, written by a guy from central New York. I know all the landmarks he mentions, and his comments mostly resonate with me, but hearing him describe my all-too-familiar surroundings from a completely fresh perspective made me appreciate my home town in a whole new way. He calls the area “absurdly picturesque”, and when I look around me, I realize he’s right. What an amazing place is this – and how lucky am I to wake up here every morning?

Check out the original post here. It’s a great description of the area, the history and of course, the skiing (mostly the skiing!). Finally, thanks to Harv at Harvey Road, for pointing it out. Much appreciated!

The Eastern Townships

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By Lloyd Langlois, February 18, 2011 1:30 pm

Although spring may not be upon us just yet, it’s still fun to think about all the good stuff that’s coming up a couple of short months from now… We’ll be eating lunch slope side in the sunshine, working on our goggle tans, skiing and riding in t-shirts, and partying it up to mark the passing of another fabulous season.

Of course some hills do the celebrating seriously, and Owl’s Head is most definitely one of these. It may not be the size of Le Massif, or have the abundant tourism that Tremblant does, but the tight-knit, die-hard community of skiers at Owl’s Head sure know how to see the year out with a bang.

Their end of year party is called the Owl’s Head “Hoot” and after 38 solid years, it’s pretty much an institution in the area. The activity line-up is very family-friendly and includes things like sumo-wrestling, a scavenger hunt, a Border Cross competition, live music by Jah Cuttah, fireworks, and… wait for it… the Slush Cup.

The Slush Cup is the most ridiculous activity of the ski season, and is beloved by generations of children who make their parents take part, then cheer them on as they race down the hill and fly off a jump into a giant dirty puddle. What could be better? I like to think that in the Slush Cup, everyone comes out a winner – and to be honest, what I’d really like to see is for more Québec hills to adopt this hilarious and hypothermic tradition.

This year, the Hoot’s happening on March 26. It’s a great time, and if you can get there, I highly suggest you check it out!