Mt. Tremblant - 03/04/24

Drove up to Montreal on Sunday to visit my daughter and we skied at Mt. Tremblant on Monday, March 4. It was strange driving up interstate 87 (the “Northway”) through the Adirondacks because there was no snow at the lower elevations, not even piles of snow on the side of the road, from plowing. There was (what looked to be) a minimal amount of snow on the highest peaks, There was also no snow in southern Quebec or in Montreal itself. Completely bare ground.

Mt. Tremblant is about 90 miles northwest of Montreal and there was about 5 to 10 inches of snow on the ground when we got up to the Laurentians. There was also about a half a foot of snow at the higher elevations at Mt. Tremblant in the woods and they had about 75% of their trails open, but no natural snow trails where there were significant bare spots and rocks showing through.

Somewhat of a strange day to ski. It was cloudy and warm (low 40’s) at the base but the upper one-third of the mountain was completely ensconced with a thick cloud (or fog) layer. And it was very windy at the top, with probably 20 to 30 MPH coldish winds blowing. The visibility skiing the top part of the mountain was virtually nil. You could maybe see 30 or 40 feet in front of you and couldn’t really make out what you were skiing on. Truly like braille skiing or “survival skiing”, as I call it. The snow conditions were actually not terrible. Loose granular and some mushy snow on a “firm” base but it was definitely edgeable. Finally cleared off by about noon and the early afternoon was beautiful on the mountain but warm and the lower part turned quite slushy.

I’ve never skied there before and it’s a nice ski mountain, by eastern standards. Has a fair amount of vertical (about 2,000 feet) and a variety of trails and terrain and exposures (north side and south side) with an extensive array of high-speed chairs and a gondola. Beautiful and extensive but somewhat ersatz base village. Obviously, a lot of money has been invested in the mountain over the years. I’d like to go back with better weather and conditions
 
I like Tremblant and it is about a 6 hour drive for me. I am thinking of trying to head there at the end of the month. Did the glades have enough snow to still be skiable when you were there?
 
No, the glades were not skiable and were roped off. Basically, the only terrain that was skiable was those trails that had snowmaking. Normally, they try to get to the middle of April, but, unless we get some substantial snowstorms, I doubt they'll make it that long. It really has been a horrible, terrible season in the Northeast, when resorts that far north have basically no natural snow in early March.
 
No, the glades were not skiable and were roped off. Basically, the only terrain that was skiable was those trails that had snowmaking. Normally, they try to get to the middle of April, but, unless we get some substantial snowstorms, I doubt they'll make it that long. It really has been a horrible, terrible season in the Northeast, when resorts that far north have basically no natural snow in early March.
Agreed. I live in Toronto. I feel like we missed winter. Normally the ice on my pool melts mid April and its already completely ice free. I was hoping Tremblant was in a little better shape, however it sounds like its not. I was there the prior 2 years in early Aprils and the natural snow areas had bases of 3-4 feet on the upper mountain at those times. Blue mtn north of me in Ontario already looks like its a month later as well. I may have to fly somewhere again to ski in late April. Maybe back to Abasin.
 
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