Spring Skiing

Karen prepares to shred the slopes as Lac Tremblant
thaws in the distance

My wife and I booked a trip to Tremblant for the last weekend in March 2012, anticipating spring skiing.  However, through the middle of March we saw daily highs of about 20 degrees for a week and a half in Toronto (that's over 70 degrees F for our friends on the imperial system).  It wasn't much cooler in Tremblant, so we really didn't know what we'd find when we got there at month end.

No lineups during spring skiing!

Well, temperatures did moderate, and most importantly, overnight lows fell below freezing for about a week prior to arrival.  This meant the nice folks at Tremblant were able to make snow, groom it, and prepare lovely spring skiing conditions for our late-March arrival.  Only the major runs were open, with both the Versant Soleil and The Edge closed for the season.  The north side was open only via the Lowell Thomas lift, meaning you could ski about half way down the north side.  This lift, as a three-seater and the only option on the north side, was quite busy.  So thereafter we focused on the south side which was serviced by both the Flying Mile and Gondola.  Even by late morning when the slopes are normally crowded, we basically skied right back onto the lifts each time.

Skiers and boarders tempt fate as they
hydroplane across the mini-lake

By afternoon the temperature climbed to about seven degrees (about 45 F) and the village was teeming...patios were open, a band was playing in the main square, people seated about the log fires.  All the shops had sales to clear out the remaining winter gear and were making room for spring and summer fashions.  This is the Sikwam season in its prime, the annual spring skiing festival at Tremblant, and we loved it.  The highlight of the afternoon (other than our great skiing) was a ski competition...skiers and boarders in outrageous costumes skied a small course punctuated by a 20-foot pool of water.  If they got enough speed, they could hydroplane across the surface.  Others sunk like stones.  There was a huge crowd surrounding this very entertaining event.

Overall, a terrific day of spring skiing!