Le Massif

[Mark Brown]

Going to Le Massif in a couple of weeks (21st-25th) - any Canucks have recommendations for the best runs? Derf?

Today's picture of the day looks great...

[ARCrider]

my favourite run from my Dec. trip was La Petite Riviere. Wide like a boulevard, excellent grooming, constant fall line and magnificent view of the fleuve all the way down.
lots of other good runs too. check daily with a mountain guide. there's always one standing by the trail map beside the upper chalet when you get off the chair

Just went back to a trail map to check some names and edit this.
other carving runs include LaBouchard, LaLavoie, LaSimard, LaMartine, LaPrairie, L'Ancrage but check with information for the daily grooming report.

have fun, We sure did!!

[CarvCanada]

It's so great there. It definately has some of the best views probably in the entire East. Painters used to flock to Charlevoix because they thought the light was awesome.
It's a steep, challenging mountain, but when it's snowed and groomed it's soooo good. I like taking La Petite Riviere and switching to La Martine or La Batture. La Bouchard is also great. Everything on the skier's right peak is either really steep, narrow and "sous-bois" or is really flat and heads for the middle peak, so I avoid that.

If for some reason Massif is too crowded or iced up (shouldn't be now), head to Mont Grands-Fonds, 45 minutes N-E. There will be about 40 people on the mountain mid-week and even some weekends, and it has really great terrain for carving. Even a carver-friendly semi-sous-bois, which when I was there had snow accumulation around the trees for small jumps. The trees are spaced out perfectly to carve around.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by CarvCanada
It's a steep, challenging mountain
How steep?

[CarvCanada]

The whole mountain has a very continous vertical drop, there is no winding cruiser on this mountain. La Petite Riviere starts out not so steep, but then drops continuously, I'd guess 20 degrees? That's really a guess though. I was carving with a FCII 171, and you really had to use quick cross throughs, get up on edge really early and leave the transition for just after you're pointing up the fall line on all of the carving terrain.

The only green "cruisers" on this mountain are the ones near the bottom that sweep across and merge with all the other trails to bring you to the skier's right lift. They're pretty narrow.

If La Charlevoix is open, go to it... for the experience. It's ridiculous!

[ARCrider]

"la 42" is 42degrees and 2k long all bumps
beside it is "la Charlevoix" an FIS approved World Cup Downhill run. seldom open to the public. used for training and racing. I think steeper in places than the 42 and longer. winch grooming is necessary.

l'Ancrage is a new run this year worth checking out on skiers right if it is groomed.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by ARCrider
"la 42" is 42degrees and 2k long all bumps.
Le Massif only has 770 m of vertical. If "la 42" is 2 km long and uses the whole drop that makes it a little under 20 degrees. If it's really 42 degrees for the whole vertical of the hill then it's about 1.15 km long. If it's actually 42% rather than degrees, then the length would be quite close to 2 km and it would be 21 degrees.

ETA that this got me curious, and a little googling shows that "la 42" got it's name not from how steep it is, but because it was originally going to be #42 of 50 (http://www.snowcountry.com/snowclient/displayinfox.php?permcode=418889&group_id=Web_NA_Alpine&beta=main) planned trails. Also in previous years it was left natural and was a lot tougher (http://www.firsttracksonline.com/welcome2.htm). In recent years it has been groomed to be much easier.

[Derf]

I don't know the trails enought to recommend any, but the view on top of the lwide one on top is breathtaking (literally). I am not an advanced carver and I find it a little steep for my liking, but some runs are not too steep. Last time I went there, it was icy like hell. Mont-Ste-Anne has better grooming though.

[Mark Brown]

Most excellent - thanks!

Yep, this trip will be a challenge for my intermediate skills! My Canuck wife really wanted to go to Le Massif, so that's where we're going ;) Looks like Le Saint-Pub in Charlevoix could be a nice place to recover after riding...

Thanks again for the pointers.

[skategoat]

Mark:

Have you ever been to Quebec City? If you're coming all that way, you shouldn't miss it. Spend a night there, wander the Old City, have dinner at any of the fantastic restaurants. It's like a little slice of Europe.

Henry

[CarvCanada]

La Charlevoix is quite insane. Looking at it creeps me out... when they groom it, the bombardier's look like they're about to fall off backwards, but they are attached by wires and pulleys or something, I don't know what they do.
They have built a permanent mound at the top of it with tonnes of dirt for the starts of races. You have to hike to it to go down, and it is scary!

[Neil Gendzwill]

OK, a little more research turns up this link (http://www.skiingmag.com/skiing/resort_guide/top5/highspeed/0,19107,,00.html). According to it La Charlevoix has an overall pitch of 17 degrees and the steepest pitch is 33 degrees. That probably makes an excellent racecourse, but as far as butt-puckering steepness, not so much. For a western comparison, Whitehorn 1 at Louise is the same steepness and is rated single black. OTOH you don't have to deal with any ice there, conditions can sure make a big difference.

[skategoat]

I was at Lake Louise last Saturday and there was ice-o-plenty. The locals were laughing and telling me I could've had the same conditions in Ontario. Same line-ups too. It was ugly.

[Mark Brown]

Bad dog!

The run will be open to the public the week we're there, but you won't be seeing this old fart on it! I could probably make it down, but it would be really ugly -- scraping the whole way ;(

The wife says I haven't taken out enough insurance on her for her to try it - hmmm

Yep, Quebec City is very cool - spent a week there on buisiness (actually Sainte Foy) a few years ago. This trip is all about snow - skiing for the wife, carving for me, and some chiens de traineau midweek for a break...

[CarvCanada]

When I was there there was a foot of powder on Charlevoix, since it had been closed for quite some time, and it takes ages for them to groom it.

Oh yeah, and a cool place to head at the end of the day, right at the end, especially if you are parked at the summit parking station, is to take the skier's left quad up over Bouchard, then skate over to La Grande Pointe to ride down to the parking lot. There is fresh cord there at closing time even on weekends there since nobody takes it except to go in for lunch.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by skategoat
I was at Lake Louise last Saturday and there was ice-o-plenty. The locals were laughing and telling me I could've had the same conditions in Ontario. Same line-ups too. It was ugly.
I'm sure you saw lots of ice on the main runs, but I doubt you'd see any on Whitehorn 1. It's probably closed with the poor conditions.