Globe and Mail Travel: Follow the Snow

The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper, is running a special travel section this weekend on skiing and snowboarding. Among the highlights:

A look at what’s up at Whistler Blackcomb (a given, due to the Olympics).
A closer look at Telluride.
How to find and ski/ride a World Cup run in Canada.
Rescue at Chamonix, a first-person overview [...]

Blue Mountain Will Open This Weekend

Attention Ontario locals: Just got an e-mail from Blue Mountain stating it will open starting Friday. No word yet on what “open” means (one run? three? ten?).
Regardless, it’s a far cry from last year, when most resorts were still closed in January.
Weather is funny like that. I remember visiting Whistler in the middle of their [...]

Horseshoe Valley Opens After Snowstorm

Well, at least one resort in Ontario is open following a big snowstorm. Horseshoe Resort has one lift and one run open on a 30cm base. Not much, but it’s a start. Horeshoe tends to stay open well into the spring as well.
Although I am happy to see that snow has finally arrived, I also [...]

Whistler Is Booked!

Although our “big trip” this year is to Banff, we’ve decided to spend some Aeroplan Miles on a quick trip to Whistler in January. We’re going for four nights and five days, but taking a red eye back so we can get an extra day of riding. Now that’s Highly Obsessed!
I’m particularly [...]

Ski Area Openings in North America

It’s getting cold, and there’s a bit of snow up north around Barrie; otherwise, however, the weather outlook for ski resorts in Ontario isn’t great thus far.
Of course, around North America — hell, even down the highway — this isn’t the case. Check out all these anticipated openings:

Mont Tremblant: November 21
Sunshine Village: November 15
Lake Louise: [...]

More on Mt. St. Louis Moonstone’s Improvements

I recently mentioned that Mt. St. Louis Moonstone, a popular ski area here in Ontario, had added a new lift. I recently received some additional details courtesy of Ski and Snowboard Canada’s newsletter:
“Their most recent projects will amaze everyone who visits the day ticket facility with the erection of a new high-speed six-person chair which [...]

Mount St. Louis Moonstone Has A New Lift

Local news for the Ontario riders: Mount St. Louis Moonstone has made some big improvements for the 2007-2008 season. Gone are the creaky Timberline and Stretcher chairs, replaced with a high-speed “Summit Six Express” lift. The Stretcher run has also been widened and re-graded, and they now have the “largest beginner terrain in the area” [...]

UPDATED: Blue Mountain Scales Down Mountain Biking

Poking through the Blue Mountain website today I found a slightly cryptic letter about the resort canceling a mountain bike event and ‘de-tuning’ certain trails/areas.
“We have been experiencing difficulties in influencing the appropriate risk taking behavior,” the letter says, adding it is making the transition into a “more controlled access facility”. The letter mentioned several [...]

Local News: Mount St. Louis Moonstone Prepares for New Lift

Moonstone’s website is short on details, but it now reports:
“Mount St Louis Moonstone continues to make improvements with the removal of the Timberline double & Stretcher triple chair lifts. Preparation is under way for the arrival of anotherSix-Person Express Chair Lift!!!”
This is good news. The Timberline and Stretcher chairs were pretty slow. To be honest, [...]

Riding in Ontario: There’s Still Time

Looks like this is your last weekend to ride in Ontario:
- Blue Mountain will close April 9. Currently, there are 14 runs open.- Hoseshoe will close April 8. Currently, there are 8 runs open. And amazingly, they are reporting 15cm of new snow (it just got reeeally cold here in Ontario).
Go, go, go!!