Quebec's Laurentians:great skiing with a foreign flavor

11-11-2001

MOUNT TREMBLANT, Quebec -- The knobby Laurentian Mountains of Quebec provide some of the best downhill skiing between the Alps and Rockies, with a particular French-Canadian flair.

As my family and I have discovered, some of the area's best winter attractions remain relatively undiscovered, at least by skiers from south of the border.

		If you go... Downhill skiing in Quebec TREMBLANT INFORMATION: www.tremblant.com or 800-567-6760. MONT SAINT SAVEUR INFORMATION: www.montsaintsaveur.com or 800-363-2426 GENERAL TOURIST INFORMATION: www.tourismegouv.qc.ca LIST OF QUEBEC CROSS-COUNTRY SKI CENTERS: www.skiquebec.qc.ca/skifond/ domaines/laur.shtml LAURENTIDES INFORMATION: For free copy of the excellent 2001-02 Laurentides Official Tourist Guide or details about Le Petit Train du Nord, visit www.laurentides.com or call 800-561-6673.

Ninety miles north of Montreal, the Laurentians get abundant snow from mid-December to April. If you take the well-plowed, four-lane Autoroute 15, the area is an easy two-hour drive from Dorval Airport, itself only a 90-minute nonstop U.S. Airways flight from Pittsburgh.

In addition to being less costly than Colorado resorts -- with the generally low air fares available these days, a favorable currency exchange rate and the GST tax refund offered by both the Canadian and Quebec Provincial governments -- a Laurentian ski trip is a relative bargain, especially if you're looking for a foreign feel.

Paramount among the Laurentian resorts is Mount Tremblant, which Ski Magazine consistently rates as eastern North America's best ski area.

Although the well-worn Laurentians lack the altitude and steepness of the Rockies, Tremblant offers some 2,100 feet of vertical drop. The four-faced mountain is laced with 92 trails that are serviced by 12 lifts, including an eight-passenger, bottom-to-top high-speed gondola.

Tremblant's menu of trails ranges from broad, open slopes to tight-turning glade skiing. There are several stretches that are steep, deep and bumpy, with 80 percent of the slopes rated intermediate or advanced. The longest run from top to bottom measures 3.75 miles. The whole area is also open to snowboarders, and for those who are into serious air, there's a "Gravity Park" with jumps, bumps, ramps and a half pipe.

Le Grand Manitou, Tremblant's summit lodge, is a clean, well-organized rest area, with a relaxed restaurant and a bustling, heartily provisioned cafeteria.

Although the mountain generally receives a healthy dose of natural snow, Tremblant is well-prepared if Mother Nature falters, with more than 700 snow guns providing coverage over 70 percent of the skiable terrain. The slopes are actively groomed, but sleet and icy patches can always be an issue, as evidenced by the thick, glassy casing on the summit's antenna mast array.

In general, the main runs were well-tended, and although Tremblant's sunny, south-facing slopes tended to be busy, plenty of solitude was available on the north slopes.

A fairly conservative skier, I avoided both the bumps and glades, but runs of both categories hosted a steady stream of downhill action.

Recent construction around Place St. Bernard at the base of the main lift has created a pseudo-Alpine ambiance reminiscent of manufactured resorts such as Vail, with all the services and amenities any skier, snowboarder or snowmobiler could ask for.

Along with a Marriott and a Westin, many less familiar but entirely suitable hotels are available. There's even a conference and convention center.

Several nearby residential villages, including Tremblant, Saint Jovite and Saint Faustin, provide a wide range of other hotels, inns, B&Bs, condos, chalets and rental homes, all within easy reach of the lifts, especially via the ever-circulating free shuttle buses.

During our long weekend visit in February, we also had a chance to sample the slopes of several other Laurentian resorts.

Somewhat smaller in stature than Tremblant and an hour closer to Montreal, the Saint Sauveur Valley has developed an extensive resort culture in recent decades. The valley is ringed by five ski areas, Mont Saint Sauveur, Mont Avila, Ski Morin Heights, Mont Olympia and Ski Mont Gabriel. All united with a common lift pass, they can provide days of ski exploration, with slopes and runs that reminded us of Seven Springs.

Other smaller downhill ski areas are along Route 15, including Stoneham, Valle du Parc, Mont Saint Bruno, Mount Rigaud, Va Saint Comte, Mont Garceau, Mont Habitant, Le Chanticleer, Belle Neige and Owl's Head.

It's enough to keep a downhill-skiing family happy for weeks.

But as we also discovered, the Laurentians offer enough Nordic ski possibilities to keep a cross-country-skiing family happy for weeks, too.

The Laurentians boast 20 different cross-country centers, or Centres de ski de fond, in the local language.

Getting the most attention these days is the Petit Train du Nord, a 160-mile Linear Park rail-to-trail trek that follows the route of Quebec's former ski train from the town of Saint Jerome to Mont Laurier. In the snowless seasons, this is a great recreational trail for biking and hiking, especially with a slew of inns and guest houses spaced along the way and baggage shuttle services between them.

The trail also gets plenty of cross-country use in winter as well, either by skiers who want to minimize changes in elevation or endurance types who are looking to collect some serious kilometers.

Of more interest to us was the extensive system of woodland trails that lace over and around the low mountains surrounding the village of Val David.

With its handful of craft shops and galleries, including one featuring Inuit Baffin sculptures and an annual "Santa's Village," Val David's main street is amply endowed with charms for tourists.

A small ski rental and outfitter provides access to the Val David ski de Fond system, with its 43 miles of trails. For daily weekend fees of $12 Canadian, 15 trails tracked for traditional Nordic skiing range from easy half-hour loops through the valley to extremely steep and challenging runs that thread through the low pine forests.

A small ski rental and outfitter provides access to the Val David ski de Fond system, with its 43 miles of trails. For weekend fees of $12 Canadian per day, 15 trails tracked for traditional Nordic skiing range from easy half-hour loops through the valley to extremely steep and challenging runs that thread through the low pine forests.

There's even a five-mile wilderness run that involves a steep climb to the ridge of Mount Cesare and considerable plunging through deep powder.

As extensive as Val David's system is, however, it also connects with several long Provincial trails that parallel the ridge, as well as with the Far Hills Ski Center, in nearby Val Morin, which adds another 57 miles of excellent trails, and a fully developed ski touring center.

Four days weren't enough time to do the Laurentians justice, which only means we'll have to try again sometime.

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