Brrr Cold Weather

Brrr

You may have heard that it can get a bit cold up here in Mont Tremblant.  It's true...we've certainly experienced a few days each winter where the daytime highs are minus 15 or even minus 20 degrees Celsius (that's about 5 to minus 5 Fahrenheit), before windchill!  Our neighbours who have been here for decades regale us with epic stories of even colder weather, and how they skied those days anyway.  But those bitter days are the exception, not the rule.

Of course, cold is a good thing for a ski resort.  There have been a few days this winter alone when it's raining in Montreal and Ottawa, but snowing in Tremblant.  We'd fly into Montreal, rent a car and head north, watching the temperature gauge drop by 5 degrees Celsius by the time we reached Tremblant.  That's why there's so much snow up here and consistently good ski conditions.  But what to do on those unbearably cold winter days?  Our advice:

1. Cross-country skiing.  The constant motion of cross-country keeps you warm, and many of the trails are in the woods, keeping you out of the wind.  And if you use the trails at Domaine St. Bernard, there are warming huts (they call them "refuges") throughout.  Odds are if it's cold, you'll have crystalline blue skies so you'll enjoy the views.
2. Snowshoeing.  Ditto as for cross-country skiing.  Except there's less gear involved.  If you haven't snowshoed before, try it.  It's an amazing way to get into the woods, and you'll get to places you can't reach during the summer.  Our article on snowshoeing shows our experience on an advanced trail at the Domaine, which afforded panoramic views.
3. Try your luck at the casino.
4. Go shopping.  The pedestrian village is lined with shops, as is the main street in St. Jovite.