Who doesn’t love skiing on warm late March days? Blues skies, sunshine, soft snow, warm temps. It’s what we dream of all winter.
On this particular Spring day, I’m sure I’d have enjoyed the spectacle of warm spring sunshine gently coaxing winter to relax its grip on the beautiful countryside of the Eastern Townships of Quebec. I’d have enjoyed it if I could have seen it through all the snow that was coming in sidewise on a 19-degree northwest wind . . .
Welcome to Mont Orford in March! This was pure winter skiing–face masks, handwarmers and perfect midwinter snow!
I have to tell you that it was MUCH more pleasant than the first time I’d skied Mont Orford. THAT time, it was mid February, 10 below zero and the wind was REALLY blowing. I had the mountain to myself that day. I couldn’t wait to get back. Mont Orford can be addictive.
Mont Orford is famous for its long, steep slopes (lots of diamonds and double diamonds here) and its exposure to the cold wind. If you love Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire, you are also going to love Orford. They are definitely two of a kind. Orford has that same edge-of-the-known-world feel if you want to head for the top, and that same wonderful-but-neglected intermediate terrain hidden below the summit.
There aren’t any luxury condos crowding the base of Orford. When the weather isn’t cooperating, it takes some mental toughness to get yourself to the mountain and out onto the hill. But the rewards are surely worth it. This is every inch a mountain for skiers and riders who like a bit of challenge.
This particular morning, we’d driven up from the Comfort Inn in St. Johnsbury Vermont, a very convenient midway point (which also happens to have great ski-and-stay packages with Burke, Bretton Woods and Cannon). An hour and a half from the hotel and we were in the base lodge at Orford, getting ready to ski. That’s with the border crossing (usually, a 2-minute process if you have your passport ready). It’s amazing how close the Eastern Townships are. And how cheap it is to ski here: an all-day adult weekend lift ticket at Mont Orford is $47.
When we arrived at Orford,we found they’d groomed a number of trails the night before, and then had gotten 4 inches of fresh snow on top of the corduroy. Epic conditions!
Early in the morning, the snow was still drifting down lazily on a gentle breeze. It was cold, but not unreasonably so, about normal for late February. You’d notice the cold more later in the day as the wind picked up. All of the northeast was experiencing unseasonable cold—the winter of 2010/11 seems in no hurry to let go.
A trail map showed us that this area encompasses three separate peaks, Mont Orford in the center, Mont Giroux to the left as you look up, and Mont Alfred Desrochers hidden away almost unnoticed on the right. Mont Giroux has two separate faces, east and north, each with its own quad chairlift. This is a big mountain and could easily spread out a crowd–if they ever have one.
Properly suited and booted with handwarmers in our mittens and Boot Gloves keeping our toes warm, my sweetheart Marilyn and I hit the main lift, a “Hybride” or Chondola with both chairs and gondola cabins on the same cable, up Mont Orford. There was a short line for the gondolas, no line at all for the chairs, so that’s what we chose. We rode up the mountain with Camille, an Orford mountain ambassador (look for the big white question marks on the back of their jackets.) Camille spoke excellent English (our French is minimal at best) and he graciously took a few runs to show us “his” mountain.
He led us down Grand Coulee, the only blue square intermediate trail descending from the summit of Mont Orford. This is a great cruising trail, just challenging enough to make a perfect warmup–though if you want an easier start, there’s “4KM” a long green circle that winds down from the Orford summit onto the flanks of neighboring Mont Giroux.
The real find (which we would have missed if Camille hadn’t showed it to us) was Mont Alfred-Desrochers, serviced only by an old double, with all blue-square, all natural snow trails. The trails on Mont Alfred-Desrochers were empty and the snow was pure delight. Marilyn loved it so much, she decided to spend her morning there cruising the soft, soft snow on Cascade and Descente.
The wind was picking up and it was snowing harder as I followed Camille back to the Chondola up Mont Orford. The lines for the gondola cabins were longer, so again we just rode the chair. If you are dressed for the cold, why not enjoy the fresh air?
Most of the trails off this summit are rated black and double black and deserve their ratings. The single diamonds had been groomed and were in perfect conditions for high-speed cruising. Maxi and Trois Russeaux were particularly fine and fun. The double blacks (there are many) were not groomed. With the heavy cloud cover the light was very flat making it hard to see the hard bumps hiding beneath the coating of powder. So, we saved those trails for another day.
Instead, Camille and I drifted over to more single blacks and blues on Mont Giroux. Sherbrooke and Slalom on the east face of Giroux were in particularly good shape as were Magnum and Magog off the north quad.
After 8 or 10 runs, Camille had to go help other people enjoy the mountain and I left to meet Marilyn for lunch at the Slalom Pub. The specials of the day included a filet of trout served with fresh spring greens, and a smoky ham and cheese sandwich on a crusty French roll. In the Eastern Townships, even ski area food is better than you’d ever expect.
By early afternoon, the wind had picked up and blowing powder produced near white-out conditions on Orford and the north face of Giroux. So Marilyn and I snuck back into the wind shadowed trails of Mont Alfred-Desrochers, where she cruised the groomers some more and I played in the soft natural-snow bumps on Oopic. Perfect way to finish.
About 10 minutes after leaving the mountain we were settling into our room for the night at the beautiful Manoir des Sables in Orford, which offers a panoramic view of the mountain from some of its rooms. They also have a wonderful spa with steamroom, sauna, salt tubs, hot tubs and cold plunge pools. What a way to relax at the end of a perfect ski day! The excellent restaurant in the hotel offered a three-course Table d’Hote menu (soup, entree, dessert) for $29. Marilyn had an exquisite fish entree featuring fresh walleye with lobster sauce, while I had a superb steak with mango chutney.
I can’t emphasize enough how different the whole ski experience is in the Eastern Townships. Though virtually everyone you meet speaks English, the entire feel is very European. Mont Orford is easy to get to. Just follow I-91 to the border and continue north. The mountain is 10 minutes off Autoroute 10, the major east-west route in southern Quebec, and only 45 minutes north of the border. Mont Orford in March: Don’t miss it!