Tourist Office

Mont-Sainte-Anne
Case Postale 400, 2000 Boulevard Beau Pré
Beaupré
Québec
Canada
G0A 1E0

Telephone: (418) 8274561
Email: info@mont-sainte-anne.com
Website: www.mont-sainte-anne.com

Description

The biggest night-skiing vertical in Canada ( 625 M ), located thirty minutes ( 25 miles ) from historic Québec City with it’s rich range of facilities. Mont – Sainte – Anne also boasts the largest cross-country ski centre in Canada and a wonderful backdrop of the St Lawrence River. The resort is host to many international competitions in Alpine skiing, snowboarding and mountain biking.

Review

Québec has three main skiing areas; the Laurentians, the Eastern townships and the Greater Québec area which is where Mont-Sainte-Anne is located along with nearby Stoneham Mountain Resort. Both are only 30 minutes from downtown Québec. The average snowfall is 400cm/160in and from mid-November to late April each year the entire surrounding area turns into a vast winter wonderland for all sorts of outdoor activities.

Mont-Sainte-Anne’s development as a ski resort began in 1943 when a group of pioneer skiers began the initial steps. The exceptional situation of the mountain, overlooking the majestic St Lawrence River and just 40km/25
miles from historic old Québec City marked it as a major attraction point for skiers as well as visitors. These local pioneers undertook, on their own, the development of an alpine skiing trail on the mountain and, in April 1944, the first skiers took to the slopes. Hosting the Canadian Downhill Championship in 1947 marked the beginning of major competitions at the mountain.

The access to the summit was not easy at the time and racers as well as officials climbed on foot packing down the snow on the way up. No question of a “rerun” as the journey up took about 3 hours! Some 200 skiers took part in this Canadian Championships and some of the winners have since become legends of the Canadian skiing history; Pierre Jalbert, Rhoda and Rhona Wurtele, Hector Sutherland, Lucille Wheeler. For almost 20 years Mont Sainte Anne became a sleeping beauty, awakening only once or twice a year to play host to a downhill race.

In 1963 the town of Beaupré, in co-operation with the Provincial Government, set up the Commission du Parc du St Mont Anne to begin the development of the mountain and the surrounding area. These combined efforts
resulted in the official opening of Park du Mont St Anne as a modern ski resort in 1966.

The area opened with 10 trails and four lifts, including the only gondola in Eastern Canada. A 90km network of cross-country trails was added to the increasingly popular alpine centre for the presentation of the Junior World Nordic Championships in 1972, thus creating a major cross-country centre complementing the alpine facilities. At the end of the 1970′s, these facilities included 27 alpine trails on two faces and 14 lifts with an hourly capacity of 10,750 skiers.

The resort plays host to many international competitions from downhill skiing to mountain biking and snowmobiling. Indeed, Québec is the home of the snowmobile and its inventor Joseph Armand Bombardier was a local of the city. The snowmobile, or Ski-Doo as it was originally known, is an essential means of winter travel for many in this area as well as a funmobile par excellence. Big snowmobile events and major competitions attract the best amateurs and professionals in North America as well as thousands of spectators.

The winter of 1982/83 was the shortest on record for the resort and disastrous for all Eastern Canadian and US resorts due to lack of snow. At this point it was decided to invest a massive $13 million on a state-of- the-art computerised snow-making system covering 80% of the skiing terrain. This move put Mont St Anne firmly in the major league easily competing with top American ski areas due to its exceptional location and especially long ski season. This investment and commitment to snowmaking has continued through subsequent decades with nearly 300 new guns added in the 2004-5 season which use much less energy than coinventional guns.

keywords

Mount Mont Sainte Anne, Mount Mont Ste Anne, Beaupré, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, Québec, Canada, Greater Québec City Area, Laurentians, Laurentides

Tourist Office

Mont-Sainte-Anne and Stoneham Mountain Resort
PO Box 400
Beaupré
Québec
Canada
Beaupré

Telephone: (418) 8482411
Email: info@ski-stoneham.com
Website: www.ski-stoneham.com/

Description

Year round destination resort with comprehensive snow-making, night-skiing, ski-in accommodation and a ski school employing over 150 instructors. The big city facilities of Québec are only 20 minutes drive away.

Review

Stoneham Mountain Resort is the closest of three ski areas local to Quebec City, only 20 minutes from the city centre. It is the ski hill that many Quebec locals call home.

Along with Mont-Sainte-Anne, it participates in a joint lift ticket so it is easy to stay in central Quebec and enjoy the shopping, nightlife and facilities of the historic city then head out for your day on the slopes. Alternatively you can do it the other way round and stay close to the slopes and enjoy the après-ski scene there, then head in to the city whenever you like.

Apart from a reputation for a happy, lively après-ski scene; Stoneham has built notoriety as a snowboarding centre and for operating the largest network for night skiing in Canada, with 16 trails illuminated covering nearly 10 miles (16km) of piste.

The 2004 season was a memorable one in Stoneham’s history. The resort celebrated 40 years of existence and one of the highlights of the celebrations was, without a doubt, the naming of the resort’s 32 trails. Visitors were asked to contribute by sharing their favourite memories of Stoneham, and over 700 suggestions were received. Among those to remember is trail #1, which was named after Walter Moisan, the founder of the resort in 1964. Other trails were named after the resort’s pioneers and figures representing Stoneham’s local heritage.

Subsequently the resort has spent $6m on a new snowmaking system which helps the resort to open early and sustain operations through the winter.

keywords

Stoneham Ski and Summer Resort, Québec, Canada, Laurentians, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, Laurentides, Carte Blanche

Tourist Office

Mont Saint-Sauveur
350 rue Saint Denis
Saint – Sauveur – des – Monts
Québec
Canada
J0R 1R3

Telephone: (450) 2274671
Email: webmaster@mssi.ca
Website: www.montsaintsauveur.com

Description

A year-round resort spreading over five mountains and the popular village of Saint Sauveur at its base,offering a wide range of off-slope activities and many practical incentives, including free day-care for 2-5 year-old children when their parents stay in the resort-owned condominimums. 80% of the trails are illuminated at night with 500,000 watts of lighting to create an incredible spectacle. For 2000 the ski area boosted its snowmaking capacity – it now takes only 12 minutes to produce enough snow to cover the entire Molson Centre skating rink with one metre of snow. Thanks to this sophisticated snowmaking system, Sauveur has traditionally offered the longest ski season in Quebec. Skiers can often ski at the area from November to the beginning of June. The village of Sainte – Sauveur – des – Monts is within walking distance.

keywords

Mont Saint – Sauveur – des – Monts Mont Avila, Québec, Saint – Sauveur, Canada, Laurentians, Laurentides

Tourist Office

Morin Heights Ski Area
PO Box 360
Morin Heights
Québec
Canada
J0R 1H0

Telephone: (450) 2272020
Email: webmaster@montsaintsauveur.com
Website: www.skimorinheights.com

Description

With 100% snow-making, Morin Heights participates in a combination pass with five neighbouring ski centres..

keywords

Ski Morin Heights, Québec, Saint – Sauveur, Mont Saint Sauveur International, Canada, Laurentians, Laurentides

Tourist Office

Owl’s Head Development Inc.
C.P. 35
Masonville
Québec
Canada
J0E 1X0

Telephone: (450) 2923342
Email: info@owlshead.com
Website: www.owlshead.com

Description

Well established centre offering top to bottom runs for all standards. The ski experience is enhanced by state of the art technology and superb views of Lake Memphremagog. Third biggest vertical in Québec and added a new detachable quad in 1999 – 2000 purchased from Breckenridge in Colorado – the world’s original detachable quad!

keywords

Owl’s Head, Mansonville, Ski the Eastern Townships, Québec, Monteregie, Canada

Tourist Office

Tremblant Resort
1000 Chemin des Voyageurs
Mont Tremblant ( Québec )
Québec
Canada
J8E 1TL

Telephone: (819) 681-2000
Email: info_tremblant@intrawest.com
Website: www.tremblant.ca

Description

One of Canada’s best known ski areas located in one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges and within the world’s densest network of night skiing, althouigh it does not offer any itself. Tremblant has recently undergone massive and ongoing redevelopment thanks to huge investment by owners Intrawest, who also own Whistler in the west. Rated number one in Eastern North America by readers of Ski magazine.

Review

Tremblant is Eastern Canada’s best known resort and has been since 1938. The first resort to open in Canada and the second in North America, it is located in the picturesque scenery of the Laurentian Mountains, an easy drive from Montreal. The resort has been developed to a world class standard by new owners in the 1990s and has subsequently won the title of ‘Best Resort in the East’ in North American ski magazine reader surveys, taking the title from US resorts to the south.

Since being purchased by Canadian ski and golf resort development company Intrawest in 1991 the resort has been virtually rebuilt from scratch and has benefited from a 10 year investment program totalling (almost) a breath taking 1 billion Canadian dollars (approx. 750 million US dollars). This has transformed the old ‘Mont Tremblant’ in to a ‘Four Season Destination Resort’ with a brilliantly well designed pedestrianised resort, successfully themed on traditional Quebec architectural style, including smoothly cobbled streets. Every part of the holiday experience has clearly been carefully considered and designed in to the new Tremblant so that, basically, everything you need is there, and more, and it’s all a short walk from your accommodation whether in the resort or on to the lifts and up the mountain. Add to the design the unique atmosphere of this part of North America, where French Canadian “Joie de vivre” meets North American service and value standards, and the result is one of the world’s best mountain resorts.

keywords

Mont Tremblant, Québec, Canada Laurentians, Laurentides

Tourist Office

Mont Sutton Inc.
79 rue Principale, CP 1580
Sutton
Québec
Canada
J0E 2KO

Telephone: (450) 5382339
Email: sutton@montsutton.com
Website: www.montsutton.com

Description

A family-owned resort, Mont Sutton offers skiing through some of the most beautiful glades ( Sous-Bois) in Eastern North America.

Review

Snuggling just on the Quebec side of the US/Canadian border, anyone arriving from the south will feel they’ve landed in a different world when the first roll in to the village of Sutton.

Located in the heart of the unspoilt Eastern Townships region of the predominantly French speaking Canadian province of Quebec, Sutton has the immediate charm that so many ski resorts claim, yet sadly so few actually deliver.

Guests from Europe who maybe familiar with French ski areas will perhaps find something here that’s too often missing in the Alps. Friendly locals, a relaxed atmosphere, good French food and fair prices are all, remarkably, rarely seen in top French resorts – yet Sutton has all in abundance.

The scenery is spectacular too, with some of the most impressive mountains in Quebec, part of the Appalachian chain and some of the most varied terrain in between. Vineyards, mountain lakes, woodland (70% deciduous compared to predominantly coniferous elsewhere in Quebec), fields and a wide variety of traditional architecture reflecting the numerous cultural influences on the area.

The resort’s history is one of the classic tales of ski holiday pioneers, with guests arriving by train and walking up the nearby hills to ski down. According to the local museum one of the biggest problems then was having your sandwiches freeze as you enjoyed the slopes.

What is now Mont Sutton ski resort, a few kilometres up the hill from the village centre, began on December 17th, 1960, when the Boulanger family opened the first lift. Harold Boulanger, his son Réal and family friend François Lévesque, a lawyer, were the main players in Mont Sutton’s development, seeing the ski resort as a perfect winter alternative to their busy summer dairy business. The Boulanger family have retained ownership and management ever since.

Indeed the heritage and the strength of family values shine through in Sutton. The village grew up in the eighteenth century with a mixture of British Loyalist, American and Irish immigrant inhabitants before the dominant French culture began to shape the area in the latter 19th century. It’s clear that through the twentieth century many of the locals more or less ‘grew up on skis’ and its still common to see grandparents on the slopes teaching their grandchildren to ski. This attitude, combined with Sutton’s community rather than ‘tourist resort’ feel, make it a unique ski destination.

keywords

Mont Sutton, Sutton, Québec, Canada, Appalachians, Ski the Eastern Townships, Appalachians