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.

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.

The lift lines on a big Saturday combined with the fact that some areas have become lost within the past few years is enough to cause cognitive dissonance.

Still, even in a lucky culture as normalized to skiing as is Quebec, it is still a big deal when new slopes open, whether a pod at an existing hill or at a whole new mountain altogether. What I experienced was somehow neither, the resurrection of a dream for a ski hill on Mont Catherine, with epic glade lines cut over a few weeks in the summer months to serve the many people who increasingly want to earn their turns. This, more than any other segment has fueled new growth — uphill skiers with powder-fever dreams.

The catalyst for the project is a collaboration between the FQME, who serve a distinct role in Quebec to advance recreation and educational opportunities in the mountains, and the Tyroparc, who have a similar vision to bring people outside for unique experiences. Whatever the recipe, it is hard to argue with the results. From the road one can see that the generous glades follow the contours of the mountain to create a natural canvas.

Mont Catherine is not the first area to dedicate itself to human powered skiing — Mont Alta is just down the road — but it’s likely to set itself apart for a few reasons. The biggest reason for most people will be the layout. The chalet which serves as a warmup hut and ticket booth sits in the middle of a horseshoe bowl. There is no getting lost here as all tracks lead to the same place.

Similarly, from the trailhead there are a few trails that wind their way up the mountain to the summit at various grades depending on which risers you’d like to use. Then, once at the summit, there are three descents possible at various difficulties in a way that you would never be far away from someone skiing at a different level from you. Not everyone is looking for a 30k hike into the forest every day out, and at Mont Catherine though you’re in the woods immediately you’re also never far from civilization. This should make the hill in itself extremely popular, but it doesn’t end there.

It could be the day I caught it with loosely cut up powder under a beautiful provincial flag blue sky, or maybe the perfectly thick yellow birches that dot the run, or perhaps that the parking lot is about half a mile from the highway (making it a much easier trip than heading to Tremblant to tour).

It might have been the charming staff who informed me about the yurts available to rent next to a stand of sapins, or that they proudly referred to the mountain as the chic chocs of the Laurentians. Or just possibly in my case, the fact that climbing on the cliffs will be back in the summer (in addition to the via ferratas which Tyroparc pioneered in the area).

But, like a delicious potage from nearby Val David’s C’est la Vie Cafe, there’s not simply one ingredient. As our tracks wound down, I chatted with Philipe who had moved to Quebec some time ago to chase his dreams from across the sea. I asked him what brought him and he replied “Will you look at how beautiful this forest is? That I get to enjoy it when it looks like this in our winter and then so completely different in summer makes my life feel twice as long” — as if that was an obvious answer — let me know that when I was skiing here, I was in good company.

I’m already dreaming about another day at Mont Catherine. If you ever go past it on a nice powdery day, don’t hesitate to think about the few lucky people that are probably taking advantage, because it could be you!

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Tickets to ski at the Tyroparc’s Mont Catherine are 15$ for FQME members, otherwise a day pass for the FQME and the ski hill are required. FQME memberships pay for improvements to many recreational areas of Quebec on public and private land and come with emergency insurance and access privileges.