Thursday

We left Toronto in the middle of rush hour, destined for Ottawa. The plan called for us to stay the night in Ottawa courtesy of a friend, then finish the drive to Tremblant Friday morning. Tremblant is a good 7-8 hours from Toronto, so travelling via Ottawa let us get some sleep (we often take an overnight bus, which sucks). We got to Ottawa in about five hour, and hit the hay shortly thereafter.

Friday

We were back on the road for Tremblant around nine, which wasn’t the ideal scenario to me but I didn’t have much of a choice (I am always the early riser in the group, the guy who gets pissy waiting for everyone to hurry up, get their gear on and get on the mountain). After many wrong turns we arrived at the Lodge de la Montagne, a reliable hotel  in the middle of the village (we cover this hotel and others in the Tremblant guide, located here). We were geared up and on the hill by noon.

By the time we got on the mountain, we realized that whether we got up the hill at nine or noon was rather inconsequential; it was going to be impossible to stay outside all day. Any exposed skin froze in a matter of seconds; the windchill hovered around -30c. This marked the first time I had to ride with absolutely every inch of my skin covered, so I took a picture to commemorate the occasion:

It sure was cold.

We generally avoided the south side of the mountain, as it is far and away the most popular and attracts the most learners. Instead we stuck to the north side and rode black diamond runs like Geant. The riding was pretty icy and cold, and so while it was good to get some turns in on a real mountain we only lasted about three hours.

Saturday

Saturday was an amazing day. The temperature rose considerably, the sun was out, and the resort wasn’t too busy at all. Tremblant opened The Edge for Saturday, which excited us a lot; The Edge has several extremely challenging but fun glades. We rode The Edge most of the day, ducking branches, dodging trees and gapping small creeks. Tremblant was also blowing snow into the glades all day, so although it was pretty cut up in many places the conditions still weren’t too bad. It became apparent Saturday that Tremblant wasn’t going to be opening the Soleil side all weekend, which had more glades, so we knew we were lucky to have at least some.

We rode hard pretty much the entire day before taking the last gondola up to the south side to cap it off. A word about the south side: there are many flats along the green runs. So while they may be long and enjoyable, many require you to strap out and some point and skate.

Sunday

Sunday was jackpot day. A huge storm moved into Quebec, dumping loads of snow by the hour on Tremblant. Although the snow didn’t start until 10am, most runs were covered in fresh almost immediately. The Edge turned into a soft powder paradise. We rode it all day, hooting and hollering on every run.

A stupid policy

One thing that drove me nuts about Sunday though was the fact that despite driving snow and limited visibility, Tremblant continued making snow. This made it impossible to see, and created some of the most dangerous skiing conditions I have ever seen in my life. There were many areas near the mountain’s summit that were simply impossible to navigate due to the fact the resort had guns running. While I can appreciate the effort to create the best snowbase possible, do snowguns really need to be running during a snowstorm?

The real fun started on the way home. Once we realized the storm wasn’t going to let up, we packed up and headed for Ottawa. But an hour into the drive, conditions became so treacherous it was apparent we weren’t going to make Ottawa. So we stayed on the major highways, drove into Montreal and spent the night in a Radisson off the highway. Highlight of the night was my exposure to La Cage aux Sports during a Canadiens game… ET LE BUT!

Ahem.

I’ve updated the Tremblant Guide with some more facts and thoughts.

Anyway, it was a great trip all around. Next up: Whistler, January 18. I can’t wait.

The details: buses run until March, picking up both in downtown and uptown New York City. The bus is $25, and lift tickets can be purchased at a discount for $25. So you get a whole road trip for $50. Burton, if you ever want to do this in Ontario, I’d be all over it.

For more info, visit www.urbansherpa.biz.

The reply, published in today’s Burlington Free Press, is titled, “My Turn: Snowboard Protests Do No Credit to Vermont.” In the editorial, Jake points out that the protests and policies emerging from the controversy make the state of Vermont look backwater and ultra-conservative. “It’s interesting to note that in Europe, the only press coverage these graphics have received focuses on the extreme reaction in Vermont to this issue,” Burton writes. “The coverage is not flattering to our state, and includes quotes such as, ‘As the USA tries to make the world believe that they want to turn the page on ultra-conservatism, we’re laughing at the ridiculous attitude in which the country of freedom is still sinking.’”

He also addresses the issue of the boards themselves, stating:

“We also make boards for 18-year-old guys. This age group is the foundation of snowboarding, and we wouldn’t be here today without them. Thirty years ago, they were the ones who were willing to buy our boards out of a box, hike up the mountain and teach themselves how to ride it, and I owe everything to them. A very important factor to this crew is that what they are riding and wearing is something their parents would never be caught dead in. It was like that when I was 18, and it’s like that now. That’s why we turn to our young pro riders and let them drive the product development process at Burton – because they get it.”

The whole column is worth reading. Check it out here. While I personally wouldn’t buy one, I thought Jake’s response was sincere and well-written. Some of the commenters below the piece, though, don’t seem to think so.

You can view the supplement online here.

I haven’t read through the whole thing but at first glance it looks pretty good for a free magazine. Highlights include:

• A look at the highest ski resort in the world (it’s in India) and the influence of Canadians there;
• Profiles of many Canadian olympic hopefuls, including some members of the Canadian snowboard cross team and Canadian para-alpine ski team;
• A really handy guide that provides an overview of all the major ski resorts in each region of Canada, including facts like vertical drop, average snowfall and number of runs.

Even the ads are pretty good. Sporting Life has a pretty extensive catalog of gear in their ads, and Canada Post published a large profile of the story and people behind the Canadian freestyle ski team.

But I would be crazy if I said the exprience was all bad. The weather was great, the prices were low, and c’mon; it’s November. We’d be nuts to expect the whole mountain to be open. Moreover, there’s nothing quite like flying down a hill on your snowboard, moving so fast that you can feel the wind resistance kicking in.

This trip will be for a few days in mid-December.

For more information on Tremblant, check out our Mont Tremblant resort guide.

• There is a ski resort in Ontario that’s taller than Blue Mountain and big enough to host an FIS-sanctioned Giant Slalom Race: The Georgian Peaks Ski Club. With a vertical of 820 feet, Georgian Peaks is Ontario’s highest and longest hill. The catch? Membership is $30k. Looks like I won’t be hitting that hill any time soon.
• According to Wikipedia, Blue Mountain actually owned Georgian Peas for a while in the 1980s.
• Also according to Wikipedia, Blue Mountain is Canada’s third-busiest ski resort after Whistler-Blackcomb and Mont Tremblant. Having spent a fair bit of time there over the past couple of years, I can honestly say I think that hill is at full capacity. They better look at opening The Orchard soon, or re-investigating a deal with Georgian Peaks; otherwise, the hills will soon become impossible to navigate.

Fast forward to the 2007-2008 winter season, though, and things picked up significantly. It started snowing early and often; so much, in fact, that most folks around here are grumbling that this winter was too long. (Truth be told, it probably just felt long because last winter was so easy.)

Anyway, I caught a pleasant note on Blue Mountain’s website pertaining to this year’s season that I thought I would share:

“Join us Saturday, April 12th for our 135th day on snow marking the highest number of days in operation throughout any ski and snowboard season in the mountain’s history.

Our amazing team of snowmakers, groomers and the rest of our operations team worked diligently this season to cover the hills with more than enough snow to provide excellent skiable terrain extending the 2007 / 08 season beyond our typical closing date.”

Sounds like Blue made a nice recovery this weekend. I can only assume other local hills like Moonstone had similar experiences. According to this article from last month, sounds like they did.

The location

Given the proximity to Toronto, I don’t know why people bother with Blue Mountain. Holiday Valley is a little over three hours by car via the Peace Bridge if the lines at the border are short (which they were both ways). If you’re familiar with Ontario or Western New York highways, the route looks something like this: 401 > QEW > Border > I-90 > 219. It’s a pretty easy drive (though we missed our hotel on the way in and had to double-back through town more than once).

The conditions

As I mentioned yesterday, day one featured warm temperatures and soft, slushy snow. Since it was mid-March, this was to be expected. We still had a great time, as our crew was just happy to be riding in March, and we were happy to pull off a last-minute trip.

On day two, things cooled down a bit, turned slightly icy, and some snow moved in. It made for a much speedier day than day one, but also meant we couldn’t pop into treed areas (of which there are many in Holiday Valley) because everything in the woods was frozen.

All in all, the conditions were good and the snow base was stable.

The resort

Holiday Valley features 750 feet or so of vertical rise, meaning it’s just a wee bit taller than some of the larger hills here in Ontario. Holiday Valley has places like Blue Mountain (and other resorts in Ontario) beat, though, in many many areas.

• Variety of runs: There are more than 50 runs at Holiday Valley, ranging from easy greens to truly double diamond (“The Wall” is a serious sheet of ice that is not to be taken lightly). There are few Ontario results with 50+ runs, if any. Moreover, there are several areas of the mountain that feel completely separate from the others, and each run ends at a relatively speedy lift. Bonus: no. lift. lines. at. all. There’s nothing like coming down a run at Blue Mountain to see a HUGE, 15-20 minute lineup for a lousy 700 feet. Never happened once this weekend.
• Ability to “wander”: As if 50+ runs wasn’t enough, most areas are separated by trees which are easy to explore. There are many glade runs as well.
• Excellent on-mountain facilities: There are plenty of areas to get food and beer, and the lodges have a warm, welcoming feeling (as opposed to the cafeterias that are predominant in major Ontario resorts).
• Five terrain parks: Need I say more?

Food and accommodations

We stayed at the local Wingate By Wyndham in Ellicottville which was reasonably priced, featured spacious rooms and were very clean. The staff can get a little ornery if you’re too loud at 2:30 in the morning, but we won’t get into that. While there is no bar or restaurant to speak of in the hotel, the location is great and the hotel offers a free hot breakfast every morning. The breakfast runs until 10am, and it’s outstanding.

The town of Ellicottville itself serves as an excellent ski resort village. There are several local bars and restaurants; we went to at least four. The Ellicottville Brewing Company has an excellent selection of beer and food, though it gets packed quick – go early. I recommend the Double Diamond for after-dinner/late-night drinking. I must say, I was extremely impressed with the Double Diamond, which apparently is a new-ish bar in the neighbourhood. When I walked in, there was a cool duo playing guitar and bongos while singing popular songs. In the back, a bunch of shredders had set up a rail and a box, carted in some snow, and were throwing themselves off a mini-ramp. Hopefully I’ll get some photos up of that experience.

Short but sweet

Okay, although I’m fawning over this place, the reality is that Holiday Valley features a mere 750 feet of vertical. As a result, the runs are still quick and you spend a lot of time on lifts. But for a resort in the east that’s nowhere near a real mountain, Holiday Valley is pretty darn good. In fact, check out their 2007 Ski Magazine rankings:

• Lifts – 2nd in the East, 9th in the Nation
• Dining – 4th in the East
• Grooming – 9th in the East
• Terrain Parks – 12th in the East

Not bad for 750 feet! I’m definitely going back.