Mont Lac-Vert, QC 01/03 to 01/06 & Valinouët, QC 01

[Max]

I went up North to Saguenay-Lac St-Jean to complete a week-long ski instructor course. Though classes lasted for most of the day, I was able to discover and enjoy these two mountains that I'd never skied before. <BR> <BR>Mont Lac Vert is a small hill located on the escarpment of the Réserve Faunique des Laurentides. Though its vertical drop is only 800 feet, it has relatively steep trails without too many flat parts. The mountain, however, is definetly not a destination resort: there are not many trails (only 19 / 13 were open), advanced skiers won't find any real challenge and the mountain closes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mont Lac Vert (isn't funny to name a mountain after a lake?) is rather a local ski hill for the 3 big cities of the region, Alma, Jonquière and Chicoutimi. <BR> <BR>What surprised me the most about Mont Lac Vert was the astonishingly large proportion of retired people who are skiing, both during the weekend and the week: I was explained that snowmobile was the "sport" (!!!) prefered by younger people during winter, and that anyway, the region was loosing all its youths because of unemployment. The older clientele certainly affects the way trails are designed and maintained. Almost all are been buldozed to present a flat surface from left to right, top to bottom, and grooming ensures that no bump will get in the way of skiers.Though boring in the long run, the trails remain enjoyable due to the cold (very cold) temperature, which helps maintain a smooth surface all day long. Though it hadn't snowed significantly for a week when we left, conditions were still as nice as the first day. <BR> <BR>In order to ski some bumps during the course, and also mostly because Mont Lac Vert was closed on Tuesday, we headed to the Northeast of Chicoutimi to discover Valinouët, a wonderful mountain claiming 100% natural snow. Though only one of the 2 sides of the mountain was open, I really appreciated my experience over there. It has lots of snow, nicely cut trails that follow the natural contour of the mountain, crazy glades and a scarce resource in the East: soft bumps. The view is also wonderful: there were no clouds in the sky and we skied all day in front of an illuminated sea of mountains. Except for when F-18 planes pass right over our head (there is a nearby military base), skiing Valinouët really gives a feeling of inner peacefulness, something we rarely get down South. I will definetly go back to Valinouët to enjoy it on my own, and will probably make a stop at Mont Édouard, which, from what I've heard seems to be really nice and challenging.