Le Massif de Charlevoix 3-8-18

[Ride Delaware ?]

Today was the day to be at Le Massif. Since I had been lucky enough to hit Le Massif last year on a pow day, my expectations were skewed, and yet, today delivered on those expectations.

 

We were expecting a storm total of about 10”-12”, but we woke up disappointed to just more than an inch in the hotel parking lot. Despite the lack of snow, we still got on the road by 8:10 in case we hit some inclement weather. The further northeast we got, the heavier the snow became, and the colder it got. The wind was really whipping, but the road conditions weren’t poor enough to slow us down. The parking lot was a little more full than yesterday, but we were still able to get on the lift by 9:15.

 

We followed the same game plan as yesterday in terms of lift service, but I finally decided to dig into the trees in earnest. About 4” of snow had fallen, and it continued to dump. The wind was really whipping at the top, which also helped to refresh the trails. I did back to back glades, and the only bare spots were at the very top where it was steep. Lower down, the snow was soft, deep, and the coverage was full. My next run was down an open trail, but it was already starting to bump up with soft snow.

 

Following the third run, we decided to head down and do some t2b runs off one of the HSQs. We went to far skiers right where I hit some more trees. Being slightly steeper, they had some more bare spots than the previous runs, but once the pitch flattened out, those glades were also quite enjoyable. We also went over to the ungroomed expert only section and were met with mostly untracked powder and some huge drifts. The snow was starting to bump up on the well traveled runs, but it continued to dump. After a handful of runs off that lift, we grabbed our lunch and headed to the bottom to eat.

 

After a good lunch break, we went back to the first lift and repeated several runs we had started with. Since it was later in the day, the trail traffic was significantly less than before and the snow was piling up. The woods were absolutely phenomenal and starting to get deep. After two or three runs, patrol started shutting down some trails to funnel skiers back to the base area at the top of the mountain. I was able to sneak into the glades via an unmarked woods trail off an open trail, and was richly rewarded. We tried to sneak in an extra run, but unfortunately, we were a little too late.

 

Overall, we ended today with 13 runs, which was one less than yesterday. However, the powder was much tougher on the legs, and 2,500’ vertical t2b routes really rack up the vert. I would say that 8” had fallen by the time we left today. Our two days at Le Massif have been phenomenal. We are packing up tonight to head back to Vermont, but we are going to try to hit Le Massif du Sud on the way back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[toast21602]

WTGAI!!! Looking good. Nice report.


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[Shadows]

Mmm trees. Miss shredding pow trees

[Ride Delaware ?]

I have been thrilled both years I’ve gone to QC. I’ll try to write up Le Massif du Sud tonight. Busy travel day yesterday.