Ready
to explore beyond New England’s ski areas with your family? But less
than enthused about putting your family on a plane? A visit to
Canada’s nearest province, Quebec, can satisfy your lust for
international ski adventure – without the expense or hassle of flying,
passports and baggage checks.
Here are two dreamy destinations in Quebec that have all the
accouterments of a European ski vacation (posh lodging, expansive
skiing, culinary treats and foreign language) accessible to your
family the American way – by car. These Quebec ski spots are just over
400 miles (a 7 hour drive) from the Boston area.
Tremblant is
hands-down the best slopeside ski village in Eastern North America.
This self-contained resort, 90-minutes northwest of Montreal, is an
extremely entertaining place to take the family for a ski holiday.
Your kids will approve of the Disney-like atmosphere, as parents you
will appreciate the tasteful Zermatt-esque village. Intrawest had
their thinking caps on, and their wallets open, when they designed
this resort. Everything from the pedestrian village brimming with
restaurants, inns and shops to the underground parking, is first
class.
From the delightful village, the gondola whisks you up to Mont
Tremblant’s summit, for 2,000’ vertical of skiing on 94 trails
covering four diverse mountain faces. The South side, facing the
village, has lots of cruisers, a park and a few steep ones off the
top. The North side and Edge both offer glades, steeps, and bumps.
Versant Soleil gets the midday sun on its tree runs and meandering
trails.
Tremblant’s
lifts are modern and the snowmaking is assured in this colder climate.
L’ecole de neige (ski school sounds better in French, n’est pas?) is
exceptional for anyone in the family needing basics to pointers.
Non-skiers in your genetic group? Tremblant’s village will keep them
amusé until you rendez-vous for lunch at a slopeside café. There is a
highly scenic cafeteria at the Grand Manitou summit lodge (walkers can
ride the Gondola), or you can ski to a cozy bistro in the village.
The après ski scene at Tremblant is as close to a Euro-Alpine village
as you are going to get in your mini-van. Skiers head to Le Shack for
bière, ladies don fur coats to browse chi-chi boutiques. Kids stuff
their rosy cheeks with Beaver Tails (Canadian fried dough) before
heading to La Source – the indoor aqua-club themed after a Laurentian
Lake with rocks, slides and a rope swing.
Closest to the slopes and most elegant, the
Fairmont Tremblant has a
“Family on Skis” package with 2 nights hotel lodging, lift tickets for
2 adults, and ski camp for 2 children, starting at $510 CDN per family
per night.
Tremblant also has an abundance of suites and condos – all within the
animated village and a stroll to the lifts.
For another slice of Canadian culture served with a heaping side of
skiing, take your family to Quebec City. With historic Quebec City as
your base, you can day trip to two major ski resorts in under an hour,
Mont-Sainte-Anne and Le Massif, and return to this fascinating city
each night to wine and dine.
Quebec
City is educational for the kids (with historic forts from the
1600’s), and romantic for Mom and Dad (ooh la la - horse drawn
carriage). Staying at the celebrated
Château Frontenac, you can walk
around the “old city,” watch the ice flow along the St. Lawrence
River, ride a wild toboggan chute, then rest up for skiing in your
four-star castle.
Mont-Sainte-Anne is twenty minutes from Quebec City. This
three-sided mountain has 2,050’ vertical of superb skiing.
Sainte-Anne’s 56 trails comprise gentle terrain for timid tikes,
exciting steeps for speed seekers, plus bumps and glades, all framed
by a beautiful backdrop of the St. Lawrence River below and Quebec
City in the distance.
The
children’s programs at Mont-Sainte-Anne are well choreographed (in
French or English versions), and conveniently placed by the gondola
base – making drop off and take off easy for parents.
As kid-pleasers, a sensation slobbering Saint Bernard is posted in her
summit doghouse at the top of Sainte-Anne’s gondi, and you can ski to
a traditional Sugar Shack for maple syrup on snow.
Since slopeside lodging reduces the heavy lifting in a family ski
trip, consider staying a few nights at the Château Mont-Sainte-Anne.
While not as grand as the Frontenac, there is a pool and enough bars,
shops and restaurants at the resort base to keep the gang smiling. The
hotel has prime viewing of Sainte Anne’s night skiing, if anyone has
energy overload come evening.
Le Massif is
twenty-minutes beyond Sainte-Anne (or 40-minutes from Quebec City) and
well worth a day trip, or two. This phenomenal ski area is just over a
decade old, the lifts and day lodges are an impressive display of new
wealth – and government subsidy.
Le Massif is an upside-down ski area, you drive to the summit lodge
and start your day headed downhill. Another novelty, the limited bunny
slope is located at the top.
The
terrain at Le Massif is more advanced than Sainte-Anne’s. Le Massif’s
2,526’ of spine-tingling vertical is punctuated with sensational views
of the St Lawrence – which gets frighteningly closer with every turn.
Skiing here is a thrill.
Le Massif is the training facility for the Canadian ski team – which
is exciting to watch on the Charlevoix trail. But the view from the
slopes, and the two lavish lodges on top and bottom, of the mighty
River is most remarkable.
The Carte Blanche is an interchangeable lift ticket valid at
Mont-Sainte-Anne, Le Massif and Stoneham ski resorts. Carte Blanche
lift and lodging packages start at $150 Canadian per person for two
nights in Quebec City, and $137 Canadian per person for two nights at
Mont-Sainte Anne.
A couple of Canadian cautions:
Whatever you do, don’t drag the family to Quebec for the weekend. The
seven-hour drive is simply too much, even if you cruise at 120 –
that’s kilometers silly. Go for the week, park your wheels, immerse
yourself in the joie de vivre Quebecoise.
Try to parlé a bit of français, but rest assured that English is
spoken and understood too. Your kids can tap into the foreign accents,
and should pick up a new expression or two – especially if they hang
at the Parc Gravité - that’s a terrain park.
Be warned that these resorts have been discovered - especially
weekends (when the Montréalers arrive in droves) and holidays,
including our US vacations. If you can squeeze in a midweek trip, your
experience will be considerably more relaxing.
Canadians are très serious about their winter sports, namely hockey
and skiing. Our skiing friends to the North are dressed in the latest
technical outerwear (Avalanche, Couloir and Descente), matching of
course. If you want to blend, leave your duct-taped woolies at home.
The Quebecois are a tad aggressive in the lift lines – tactics adopted
from their European cousins. Opening bell at the Gondola tends to be
frenzied.
The climate is indeed colder as you go further North– quel surprise!
Celsius even sounds colder than Fahrenheit. January can be especially
arctic. Pack your snuggliest stuff, or plan your travels for sunnier
March or early April.
If you go:
For Tremblant lodging and skiing information, go to
www.tremblant.ca or call 1 888 215 5322
For Quebec City, Mont-Sainte-Anne and Le Massif information, go to
www.fun2ski.com
or call 1.888.FUN.2SKI (1.888.386.2754)..
For lodging information at the Fairmont Tremblant or The Château Frontanec, go to
www.fairmont.com or call 1(800) 257-7544.
