Sutton (QC), Canada – Deep in the bucolic landscape of Quebec’s Eastern Townships, just a few miles north of the Vermont border, new owners are gearing up for their first winter at the helm of Mont Sutton.

After decades in the hands of the Boulanger family, this will be the ski resort’s first season under the ownership of Jean-Michel Ryan, Pierre Chesnay and Sylvain Gervais, and they promise many changes at Mont Sutton in the near future. This year will be one of transition, allowing for an in-depth analysis of potential diversification opportunities, of a real-estate development plan and of the resort’s future endeavors. For this winter, the new owners are investing half a million dollars in the improvement of Mont Sutton’s existing snowmaking infrastructure.

In total, 50 new energy-efficient snow guns are being added to Mont Sutton’s arsenal this winter to increase both the production rate and quality of snowmaking. Computers in the snowmaking machinery room have been updated, new pipes and valves installed, and new communications wiring strung.

Sutton’s Boutique Experience will be supplemented this year by new brands Völkl, Atomic, Briko, Alpina, Scarpa, Dale of Norway, Maloja and Reusch. The Bar Le Tucker, also in Sutton’s base lodge, will now host an open mic après-ski on Thursdays, in addition to the popular live music that plays on Fridays.

The new ownership group is investing another quarter million dollars in the creation of a master plan intended to turn the resort into a true four-season destination.

“We want to mobilize the active forces in Sutton in order to turn this destination into a high-quality living environment, and one of the most sought-after destinations in Quebec,” explains Ryan, Sutton’s president and general manager. “We want to ensure the resort’s future continuity, while respecting the community, the customers, the employees and the surrounding nature.”

Planners say that they’re looking at lodging, mountain biking and even more. They say that nothing’s off the table for discussion, other than keeping the mountain’s DNA true to its natural attributes. Several mature 15-foot trees will be planted in the ski resort’s Sous-Bois II sector to reforest the area this winter. Also, Nature Conservancy Canada has recently purchased a piece of land on the mountain, effectively increasing the size of the Réserve Naturelle des Montagnes-Vertes. This land, known as Dos d’Orignal (The Moose Back), is the natural habitat of many protected species.