Mention of Tremblant brings back fond memories, and not wanting to kidnap someone else's thread I'll start this one. My parents didn't ski but thought it was a great healthy sport and seeing my interest in it got me the complete outfit for Christmas at age 12. It consisted of 6 foot solid wood skis with no plastic base and no steel edges, 'bear trap' cable bindings and low cut leather boots. It cost about $20, a small fortune for my parents. I had 3 good friends who were also into skiing and winters were very snowy in Massachusetts in the early 50s. We'd come home from school, grab our skis, walk a mile to the local golf course, herringbone up the hills and ski down until dark. Seeing my passion for the sport, my dad got me a book, "Learn to Ski", by Ernie McCullogh, ski school director at Mt. Tremblant and "skier of the half century". I treasured that book and read it over and over. Here is a link.
http://skimuseum.ca/biodata.php?lang=en&id=101
be sure to open the pdf for the full story.
Tremblant has obviously had an impact on skiing over it's history.
Found a good introduction from an unexpected source. There is a ski club in the UK that regularly sets up group trips to Tremblant. Apparently Tremblant has over 1000 snowguns.
https://www.skiclub.co.uk/canada/resorts/tremblant
" . . .
Although it can be bitterly cold in midwinter, if you wrap up warm or get lucky with the weather, you’ll have a great time exploring the slopes on the north and south sides of Mont Tremblant. There are some excellent long cruisey runs on the Versant Sud (South Side), whilst recent upgrades ”“ including a lot of additional glading of the trees ”“ on the Versant Nord (North Side) have made this a great place for more advanced skiers and snowboarders.
The purpose built village is attractive and has been designed to be in keeping with old Quebec-style architecture. It is lively, especially at weekends when locals from Montreal come up to ski, and there is a good collection of bars and restaurants to choose from.
. . .
The beginner’s area on the edge of the village is excellent, with great facilities to help keep kids warm on those bitterly cold Quebec days. Progression on to longer greens served by the Flying Mile fast quad is excellent, whilst even on the steeper Versant Nord there is a summit to base green. Intermediates will enjoy the blues under the Lowell Thomas quad or the long sunny blue down to the base of the Le Soleil quad.
Advanced skiers and riders have a great selection of terrain parks to choose from, as well as a number of steep groomed blacks. The best runs lie directly down under the gondola on the Versant Sud or to skiers right of the Duncan Express on the Versant Nord. Extensive thinning of previously dense forest on this side of the mountain has really upped the available ungroomed terrain ”“ head here after fresh snowfall for some of the East Coast’s best glade skiing.
. . ."
Denis wrote:
Mention of Tremblant brings back fond memories, and not wanting to kidnap someone else's thread I'll start this one. My parents didn't ski but thought it was a great healthy sport and seeing my interest in it got me the complete outfit for Christmas at age 12. It consisted of 6 foot solid wood skis with no plastic base and no steel edges, 'bear trap' cable bindings and low cut leather boots. It cost about $20, a small fortune for my parents. I had 3 good friends who were also into skiing and winters were very snowy in Massachusetts in the early 50s. We'd come home from school, grab our skis, walk a mile to the local golf course, herringbone up the hills and ski down until dark. Seeing my passion for the sport, my dad got me a book, "Learn to Ski", by Ernie McCullogh, ski school director at Mt. Tremblant and "skier of the half century". I treasured that book and read it over and over. Here is a link.
http://skimuseum.ca/biodata.php?lang=en&id=101
be sure to open the pdf for the full story.
Did you get to ski Tremblant before moving out west?
I've never skied Tremblant, a great irony. I have skied Sutton, st. Anne, Stoneham, and leMassif. It was a year where the freeze thaw line stayed south of the Canadian border all winter and skiing was great. Other places in the 'eastern townships' are highly regarded, Bromont, Orford, Owls Head. It is possible to have great skiing in Quebec without paying Tremblant prices.
Denis, Thanks for reminding me of these ski areas. I also have skied the "Ski DasEast"/ Eastern Townships mountains, primarily Mont Sutton, a joy to ski (and eat remarkable pastries). It's been years since I spent two, very enjoyable albeit ridiculously cold ski weeks there. While there the first time I stayed at ESCO (Eastern Ski COOP), and the temperature actually reached minus 42F degrees (not wind chill, no wind thankfully) on two consecutive nights; it was minus 21F for the ski day in between! I actually had to have my dead car pushed/bumped down the mountain to a garage where it thawed out and they installed an engine block heater. That is the coldest I have ever experienced. The engine block heater with the cord sticking out through the grill was another story in itself as long as I had the car. Once, remember this is in the seventies, when getting gas back in Virginia, the station attendant noticed the cord while checking the oil, looked perplexed and finally asked me, "mister, is this an electric car?"!
And let me add, every skier should experience the foreign France like location of Quebec City, staying in the city especially during Winter Carnival, and skiing the wonderful ski areas just outside the city, Mont St. Anne, etc.
MorganB aka The Colonel
Great story, Colonel! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Colonel. Wonderful story. I wonder if you had the pleasure of staying in an Auberge (B&B, also dinner). They are wonderful. French cooking skill and pride are alive and well in Quebec.
