QC Ski Trip - Le Massif for two more days

From 2010 Winter

We enjoyed Le Massif so much on Tuesday, that we ended up back there both Thursday and again today (Friday).

Thursday was without a doubt the cream day. The weather was perfect, no crowds to speak of, and bright-bright sunshine - perfect!

From 2010 Winter

Got on the mountain fairly early and had a couple of great runs before we stopped for coffee. After coffee, Kate feel hard enough that she hurt her right shoulder. But she sat out one run, and then skied the rest of the day - way to tough it out honey!

From 2010 Winter

Friday, we woke up with a couple of inches of fresh snow on the ground and a forecast that said to expect more snow through the day. That made the call to go to Le Massif again really easy - we had thought about Ste-Anne for a 2nd day, but the possibility of more new snow at Le Massif was to much to resist! So, off we went for a 3rd day at Le Massif. Today, Feb 19th, is the fourth anniversary of the day I shattered my leg at Fernie, and that thought was with me off and on through the morning. In fact, after really screwing up one run, I said to Kate, "Coffee time", and declared a break. After that, I settled down and skied well. We skied a few short blacks both Thursday and Friday, but we were content with the blues and the greens for the most part.

From 2010 Winter

A great trip, I am sure we will be back, and the next time, I think we will plan the trip with the view of spending most of the time at Le Massif. We talked to a couple of people who mentioned that Baie-Saint-Paulis a great place to stay, close to the moutain, and some good package deals!

From 2010 Winter

QC Ski Trip - Stoneham

We had a nice quiet morning, I posted about yesterday, and we punched out for the short drive to Stoneham around 1015, and were on the hill by about 1130.


I clearly felt this was the third place mountain, and after thinking about it, Kate agrees. We were staying off of stuff posted black, and that might have been a mistake here. I think this was mostly "Ontario Black", which we are both comfortable on, and if we had tried some of the black earlier in the day, we might have opened up part of the mountain, and been a little less bored at the end of the day.

All in all, a very pretty mountain, and worth a look if you have time. But Massif is where we are headed back to tomorrow, and I doubt we will see Stoneham again this trip.

From 2010 Winter

QC Ski Trip - Le Massif

Tuesday morning started a little slow. We were both tired after the first day at Mont Ste-Anne. So, we left the hotel a little late, and the drive to Le massif was a little longer than expected. Light snow falling for most of the drive - I bet that the scenery would have been amazing with better light.

From 2010 Winter

We arrived at the mountain around 1015, and were skiing before 1100. It was covered with really nice snow. We both commented that it was the best snow we had seen all winter. The mountain is advertised as having four tows - but one of those is just a short t-bar at the summit between two of the chairs. The chair on the west end was serving all blacks, and neither of us was up for that, so we skied the other two chairs.

From 2010 Winter

We had a really great time. Some really great long blues and even some greens that were OK to finish the run on, or coast down on for a change of pace, or a bit of a break. All in all, just a great day. I think we will hit that mountain again before the end of the week.

From 2010 Winter

After we got back to the hotel, we rested up a bit, and then went downtown to the old city for awhile. Very pretty. It is nearly 30 years since I was in QC, and I enjoyed wandering around - although the drive in was a PIA - we were not really sure where we were going, and for sure a tough city to drive in if you do not know where you are going. We had a great dinner at a little pub where we could watch the Olympics while we ate, so that was nice as well.

Wednesday morning, we are both stiff. So, we are going to rest this morning, and then head to Stoneham to get there for noon - and ski a half day!

QC Ski Trip - Mont Saint Anne

Sunday 2010-02-14 was a travel day. Kate and I hopped in Sally, and away we went - off to Quebec City for a weeks skiing. The drive went smoothly, and we make the trip in about 9 hours - good weather, good traffic, and not many stops.

Just past Montreal, we went past Monte Saint-Hiliare, which is a neat looking mountain in the middle of a plain. Besides, that not much to report about the drive.

We checked in to the hotel I had booked in QC, had a quiet evening, and we were up and at this morning and off to Mont Saint Anne! We were on the mountain about 0915, which is a good early start for us. Based on the weather forecast, we had been expecting fairly warm, and maybe a bit mushy! But - what we got was pretty much perfect - I would say about -10° C, and nice and crisp!

From 2010 Winter

So, off we went. We started on the south chair, and had a really great morning. All blue, and really nice. Then, over on to the north side for a few runs. Some nice terrain, but it was icy - so we really did not stay there for long. Then back to the south side, and over to the gondola at the west end of the south side. Some nice stuff over there, and we skied that for a fairly long time - in particular, we really liked Le Gross Vallon - a really nice blue 2327 meters long, with 625 meters of vertical
As we started to get tired in the mid-afternoon, we moved back to the south-east end where we had started, and did one last tough run right down the chair line on La Tourmente, then switched out to some of the easy green and blue off of that chair.
Last run of the day was about 1430. Kate ended up on her butt a couple of times, and I was also fading. So, we called it a day and headed for the barn! That was a great mountain. I expect we will need to get back before the end of the week!
Lots more photos at:

2010 Winter