The Quebec Blog

Sutton on a Sunny Afternoon

Posted on by ml242

I tossed the hiking shoes in my trunk as an afterthought while heading to Quebec, but then quickly considered it to be the right decision. Unlike skiing or hiking, climbing is not the best way to familiarize yourself with a new place, so it made sense to fall back on the classic activity while in the Sutton region of Quebec.

Sutton-prive

This charming area, known as the Canton l’Est to the Quebecois (aka the Eastern Townships to us), is like a French speaking mirror of the Green Mountains on the other side of the border, though the mountains are not as tall as the US section of the spine, and they don’t stretch out in the same north-south orientation.

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Tagged: Hiking, Quebec, Sutton1 Comment

Allez Up Montreal Climbing Review

Posted on by ml242

Not everyone wants to rule the world, but people sure do like to travel. I’ve often lamented the lack of places I’ve seen, but perhaps more important to me now is the way I experience them.

Climbing-Wall-Closeup

To really understand a place, you probably have to live there. A walking tour with celebratory beers after is fine, but I want more.

One way I’ve found to gain a deeper understanding of new places is to bring my climbing shoes. Even if time won’t allow a visit to the local crag, rolling solo into the gym can illuminate the culture. With this is mind, I knew that on my recent visit to Montreal, that I’d end up in their premiere gym, Allez Up, at least once.

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Tagged: Climbing, Quebec2 Comments

The Rebirth of Mont Alta Ski Area

Posted on by James Michaud

Over the past few years, we’ve published several features in the Magazine about the most underutilized arrow in the northeastern skier’s quiver: Québec.

Mont-Alta-Nov-2008
Mont Alta November Dump

From the Eastern Townships and Laurentians in the south to Charlevoix and the Gaspé Peninsula in the north, the province offers a number of great mountains, but its special sauce is the many interesting small areas similar to Hickory in the Adirondacks or Plattekill in the Catskills.

With the 2013-14 season inching closer, we learned over the past week that one of the most beloved of these locals’ hills, Mont Alta — located an hour northwest of Montréal in the Laurentian snowbelt — is going to reopen after being closed last season, with the goal of transforming it into a co-op.

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Tagged: Quebec9 Comments