Mont Tremblant - January 8, 2024

It's a late start for me strapping on my plank this season, due to a variety of factors in December. However, I am glad to report that I finally kicked it off yesterday on Mont Tremblant.

Given the rain and snow drought in December, I expected not more than half of the mountain to be open, and I was right. Most of the main face on the South Side was closed–including McCulloch and Kandahar–for snowmaking. Much of the north side was open though. I was also expecting a lot of ice, which there was, but the weekend snow did help and the snow ops team I think did a pretty great job given the challenging conditions they had to work with. There were even some ungroomed sides of the trails that were very ride-able.

My usual pattern at Tremblant is to ride the North Side and sometimes Versant Edge in the morning before switching to laps on the South Side until my legs give out. Given that it's still early season legs for me, I figured it would be a relatively short day and I wouldn't be doing anything too crazy.

Rope Tow, Lowell Thomas, Rigodon and La Traverse had quite good coverage, while Beauveallon-Haut was icier than I expected, although still quite enjoyable for cruising.

Getting to the bottom of the North Side, I was surprised to see people riding down Expo so I went up on the chair to take a look.

Looked pretty icy but worth a shot. The edge of rider's right had a nice ribbon of snow most of the way down which was very enjoyable. Duncan and Devil's River were both very fast and enjoyable, although the fog made spotting ice a bit difficult. My favourite runs on that side–Saute-Mouton and Les Rapides–were closed, which was to be expected, although I did spot quite a few rope duckers. I didn't follow though, as coverage was quite bare and there was quite a bit of exposed rocks and shrubbery.

After a coffee break, I went back to Expo for another, this time starting on rider's left, where the ice seemed to be much more camouflaged and I ended up sliding out spectacularly for about 20 meters.  I guess that's why they call it Expo, you're putting on a show one way or another!

Action on Versant Edge was really quite icy, so picking your line was key, but at least here, there wasn't much fog so it was easier to spot where the snow was. Reaction actually had very decent coverage, while Sensation-Bas still had some roots and rocks showing. Since I was riding alone this time, I didn't go into any of the higher woods, although I think they were also technically closed.

After midday, the fog was starting to get thick, and my legs were starting to feel it, so I went for a cruise down l'Algonquin on Versant Soleil, which ended up being the only peak of sunshine I got all day on the slopes.

Finally, did one last one down Erik Guay-Beauvallon Haut-Johanssen. The junction of Erik Guay and Beauvallon Haut–just under the lower terminal of the TGV–was a bit of an icy catastrophe, with lots of beginner wipeouts and people sliding down slowly on their butts. Anyway, all of this is definitely going to change with the incoming midweek storm. I am unfortunately out of town this weekend so I won't be able to take full advantage but it will hopefully repair the snow base for the rest of the season.

I ended my day with my traditional season-opening cheeseburger and poutine at Le P'tit Stop aka 100% Boeuf. Always a classic.