Mont Catherine: On the Road, Past the Liftline

The famous ski corridor of the 15, north of Montreal, is spoiled for ski options. Skiing is a part of the culture, as evidenced by the billboards advertising ski manufacturers and fancy gore tex outerwear, all drawing the eyes of the millions in the city.

tree skiing

It would be hard to convince anyone that the sport is suffering when you can go to any hill and see an army of racer kids tearing down the slopes with matching jackets embroidered with the many sponsors, especially after a week like we’ve had with 40-50″ of new snow to bury any remaining memories of the summer.

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Sommet Olympia Reloaded

In the now-maligned 1999 film, The Matrix, the main character (Neo) is given a choice to swallow a pill that can continue his journey down a rabbit hole or another to return to his former life. Sometimes I feel a certain affinity to the tale. I too continue down towards the (mostly) unknown, visiting small ski areas that were off my radar a few years ago, in a country that is not my own.

Big Air

In the movie there’s a phenomenon known as “A Glitch” that takes on a special importance. If you were to notice something happening in a repeated way, you should take special notice of it since it could be important.

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Sommet Olympia: Powder Olympics

There was no podium at Sommet Olympia, the crowds were light, and it seemed the only camera there to document a perfect day was mine. The mountain boasts an Olympic spirit in its name and on the trail map, but the only race was for fresh tracks and it was game on.

Like the recent olympics, this storm had simply appeared in the background of most people’s minds. After a demoralizing rain and thaw, the temperature plummeted and we were left with a foot of right side up pow, a grippy wet base hugging the firm surface underneath and the light and dry where it’s supposed to be, on top. If that didn’t solidify a gold medal day, the sun started to come out at 9am.

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