Help! I am going to Québec with Mrs.Phlosphr in two weeks. We are visiting her reletives in St Jérôme. We are looking for good skiing near Montréal. Her cousin is suggesting we go to Mont Tremblant, or Mont Blanc. I have never skied Québec, the closest I have come to skiing up there is Jay Peak in Vermont. We are experienced skiers and are not afraid of tough trails.
Does anyone know where we can go that will be challenging and not too far away from St Jérôme? maybe 2 hours max car drive? We are flying into Montréal and driving to my wifes cousins house.
If anyone can suggest fun things to do in Montréal that will be helpful as well! Thanks all!
Ok don’t know what the sking is like as we(100+ Irish training with IBM) were there during the summer but there is a ski resort in Bromont whhich is only approx 1.5 hr drive from Quebec. It’s a small town but nice enough. I stayed at the Chateau Bromont which was very nice and had a very good spa aswell.
Some Canadians will be here shortly to give you a better answer.
Day skied Tremblant last year. I was fairly impressed, given the fact that alot of the surrounding area is very flat. You’re not going to find any double diamonds, but there are some decent ungroomed steeps through the trees that’ll get your attention. We were there over New Years and the snow coverage was spotty in areas, so check the condition reports. Might be a good place to bang up some rentals rather than your own skiis. The village is very nice and cozy with lots of restaurants/ bars. Lifts close somewhat early due to the the northern lattitude and early nightfall. Have fun!
I skied at Tremblant about 3 years ago. It is by far taller than any nearby ski resort… from the mid-mountain chair you can see the top of Grey Rocks ski area. It is a great place to take lessons – I think Skiing Magazine named them the best ski school on the east coast. Tremblant has extensive snowmaking and “intermediate” glade skiing which is rather unusual. The newest section called Versant Soliel (“Sun face,” more or less) opened up a lot of more challenging terrain. On the North face they have a black diamond run that they actually groom… by winching a machine down the mountain!
Staying in the village is fun. Intrawest really knows how to run a ski resort! We stayed in the Lodge de la Montagne and it has great amenities for the price (way better than the condos in the Place de… Bernard? for the same price). I think the Lodge is the least expensive ski-in hotel (although they were planning a new property at that time, it’s probably built by now).
Tremblant is an extremely easy drive from Montreal, I believe it took 1 hr 15 minutes.
Tremblant is a good place (though I didn’t ski there, there is a lot of other stuff to do too, which we did instead to save money since we were only there for a day anyways). If you go to Tremblant, go out to a restaraunt…I HIGHLY recommend La Fourchette Folle, located just on the edge of Mont Tremblant Village (not the mountain-base town, but the one on the lake…still, only about 5 minutes away). It is a FANTASTIC restraunt. Try the goat cheese entree, its AMAZING!
Bromont isn’t too far, but it isn’t the best mountain, either. It’s a little bit small, and IIRC, the trails aren’t that tough. Orford is better, though a bit further away (still only about 1.5hrs or less). Given the choice, I say do the Laurentians (Tremblant, Blanc, etc) rather than the Appalachians (Orford, Bromont, etc).
And remember…La Fourchette Folle! [sub]I am not affiliated with this restarant. I was there last week, and LOVED it, so I am merely recommending it![/sub]
Eonwe I love Jay Peak, but we want to stay in Canada. Also, on the way back we are going to stop at Sugarbush and stay with friends, we’re just going to ski our heads off. And have a few pints while we’re at it.
Speaking of pints, I hope the restaurant mnemosyne recommended has Unibroue on tap. My favorite Beer is La Fin Du Mond…
Jay, Orford, Owls Head, Bromant, Sutten are all excellent areas and less crowded then the Lorenchens. If you want great skiing, views and lack of crowds go to Owl’s Head.
I did this trip several years ago (maybe 7) so it’s a little blurry with other areas but each area did have very nice and chalenging terran.
I think they probably do have some Unibroue products - msot restaurants seem to in Quebec. I don’t know what they have on tap, though…we only had wine. You might be more likely to find the U or U2, as well as Blanche de Chamblis and Maudite before a Fin du Monde, simply because the latter is a bit “harsh” for many people, and I don’t think it sells as much as some of the “easier” beers. I might be wrong, though. Personally, I like the Blanche.
[sub]I am not affiliated with this restarant. I was there last week, and LOVED it, so I am merely recommending it![/sub]