Quebec Eastern Townships

[deadheadskier]

Who's skied up there? What has been your experience? I just took a non-skiing trip to Quebec City with my wife and on the way home found myself looking at Owl's Head and I believe Sutton and Orford.....all in the region around Sherbrooke near the VT border and Jay Peak. Smaller areas, but looked like some fun terrain.

I absolutely LOVED my time in Quebec.....truly felt like an 'international' vacation. There's obviously Mt. St. Anne and Le Massif to check out up near the city, but I'm intrigued by the Eastern Township areas as they're doable for a weekend from where I live.

Is there a particular town in the area that would be good for a home base, ie. reasonably priced accommodations and a good restaurant and bar scene? I wouldn't need to stay slope side. In beneral my preference is to stay bar side over slope side. :beer:

also, anyone got a Rossetta Stone French editions they're not using? :lol:

 

[2Planker]

Quebec is awesome ! Especially for the Winter Carnival in February. We used to go every summer, so my mom (a french teacher) could research / plan her winter school field trip w/ 100+ 6th graders.

For skiing, Mt Saint Anne is 40 mins from downtown, and it ROCKS ! Both Sutton and Orford are very good also, but Mt Tremblant is by far the best. It's like the Whistler of the East

 

[jaytrem]

I stayed at this place in Magog about 5 years ago...

http://www.bbcanada.com/2701.html

Was real nice and the breakfasts were great. Also, the owner and other quests were very friendly. At the time the exchange rate was quite good. I remember skiing Owl's head for about $12 USD. Staying in Magog was pretty easy access to a bunch of places, even Jay wasn't too far. We hit Mont Glen on the way up and Burke on the way down. Not sure what the status of Mont Glen is, but is made for a nice 1/2 day. Was also plesently surprised by Bromont, wasn't expecting too much, but they had just put in some new terrain that was real nice, they also expanded a lot more since then. Hope this helps. I'm also thinking about a Quebec trip this year, maybe catch a Continental (United?) Special up to Quebec City and get to those areas.

 

[deadheadskier]

thanks

Magog looks like the 'town' to be in. I think next winter I'll try for a weekend and ski Orford on Saturday and then Owl's Head on Sunday on the way back home.

Would like to check out Bromont and Sutton in that area as well. Stoneham, Mt. St. Anne and Le Massif by Quebec City.

Any decent areas outside of Tremblat northwest of Montreal?

 

[PomfretPlunge]

I did Orford in late Feb and liked it a lot. It varied from Arctic conditions at the peak to spring corn at the bottom. Lots of cruisers and a decent bump run too.

 

[Talisman]

The Eastern Townships make a fun change from New England skiing. I like Owl's Head, Sutton and Orford particulalry after a charge of fresh snow. These areas tend to share the "Jay Cloud". Great food in the region too.

 

[BigJay]

Eastern townships are great. Sutton is my favorite. Lots of snow and great tree skiing.

Owl's head is fun... i learned to ski there when i was 3 y.o. We moved to Jay when i was 5 y.o. We use to go back to Owl's head once a year. Skiers there are totally different than at Jay... They stay on trails... so normally, the woods are all yours!

Lift tickets are only 15$ on Tue.-Wed... even with it dumps... It's about a 20min drive from Jay, so when it's too crowded, we make a switch!

Orford and Bromont are fun... but we rarely go. Bromont is a family resort with the biggest night skiing in the province. Every side of that mountain is skiable... but they get no snow... so stick to the trails. Orford is rocky but has great terrain. When it snows, it's great. When it doesn't, it's dangerous for your equipment and yourself!

 

[Quebecgirl]

Sutton gets my vote!

Of the Eastern Townships mountains Sutton has by far the most skiable terrain and generally gets good snow. There are only a few lodgings slope side but quite a few on Maple Street that runs from the village to the hill. Regular day tickets can be pricy so call into the Tourist Office on Main Street for a Carte Blanche that gives 10% discount but best value is a White or a Snow package offered by quite a few lodgings eg Vert Le Mont B&B, Auberge des Appalaches which is $75 per person for a midweek day and a half ski ticket, a nights accommodation and breakfast - the Mt Sutton web site has all the details. Sutton has excellent restaurants: Bisto Beaux Lieux, Tartinizza, Il Duetto but isnt so strong on bars though the Tucker at the ski hill can be fun as can the Pub Mocador.
You should also bring swim suits and try one of the Nordic spas in the area eg Spa Balnea or Spa Chutes de Bolton.
Its 30 to 40 minutes to Jay or Bromont for good night skiing or Owls Head for the lake view and the $15 midweek ticket but there is plenty of skiing to keep you occupied at Sutton for at least 3 days. Avoid the Quebec Spring Break week "semaine de relache" when all the hills will be jammed.

 

[deadheadskier]

thanks quebec girl and welcome to the forums

 

[nycskier]

I skied there. Staying ski in and ski out at Owl's Head is insanely cheap. Also lift tickets there are VERY inexpensive compared to US resorts.

The views from Owl's Head are insane. It looks like you can even ski into the Lake below.

I would recommend doing Sutton on the Weekdays and Owl's Head on the weekends since it gets WAY less crowded than the other places.

Also keep in mind that Jay Peak is a stone's throw away from Owl's Head. So you could even throw in a day at Jay on that trip.

 

[billski]

I'd like to know how the eastern townships fared snow-wise this year. Every stinking time I've gone there in the past ten years we've either had low snow, thaw-freeze cycles or rain. I think we spent more time eating than skiing. Frankly, I'm just not gonna drive that far either. Did they have the same weather crap-u-ola the NE states did?

I don't doubt some people would be entertained at Sutton for three days, but at 100 acres and 50 trails, I think I'd probably tire of it after a day or two tops.

BTW, the stats don't bear out that they are in the Jay Cloud
http://snowforecast.com/QuebecSkiResorts

 

[deadheadskier]

It's pretty amazing that Owl's Head averages 180 to Jays 330+

They can't be farther than 15, maybe 20 miles apart the way the crow flies.

 

[Johnskiismore]

It has been a real real long time but I've been to Orford and Saint Anne, and loved them both! Saint Anne has skiing on both sides of the mountain, lots of terrain.

 

[BigJay]

It's pretty amazing that Owl's Head averages 180 to Jays 330+

They can't be farther than 15, maybe 20 miles apart the way the crow flies.

My parent's house sits on the border on the canadian site... on a small hill... Well, i think we get more snow then Owl's Head! OH is right on the lake... somehow, it draws the moisture or something...

When in Mansonville (Potton), you can always see a white Jay Peak and a "touch of white" OH... Even now... still plenty of snow at Jay with the 17in that just fell on the mountain... OH will be all back to green on wed for sure! Jay will be skiable this weekend.

 

[Harvey]

My blogmate and Harvey Road author Jamesdeluxe spent significant time in Quebec this season. He loves the Eastern Townships for a variety of reasons including the culture, snow conditions and the tree skiing. His reports certainly got me interested in traveling to Quebec.

His pics and TRs here:

Jamesdeluxe in Quebec

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Haven't checked in on AZ lately. Thanks to Harv for putting that link to my TRs from Quebec this season.

As I mention there a few times, while none of the Eastern Townships areas get as much snow as Jay, they also don't get Jay's hideous storm winds or hordes of hardcores pillaging the off-piste on powder days.

 

[Bkroon9175]

We ski in Quebec every year for a week. We usually split the week between the Eastern Tornships and Tremblant. Sometimes we go towards Quebec City (Le Massif, Mont Ste Anne) and then Tremblant. the areas in the Eastern Townships that we have most grequently skied are Orford and Owl's Head. Orford can be great or very icy. It is currently owned and managed by the province and I don't think they blow a lot of snow. But it can be fabulous on a decent to good day. Owl's Head is always well groomed and is a tremendous $$ value especially the midweek deals at $15. You can't get a better deal. Tremblant is a completely different deal. It is large and can get quite crowded. The crowds are managable if you time your runs and start time appropriately. Early starts are mandatory at Tremblant plus the mountain has a bad practice of closing sections of the mountain very early(The Edge for example). There is also a lot to do at the Tremblant resort and surrounding areas.

In regards to the Eastern Townships, the accpommodation, food and skiing values are the best when compared to other areas of Quebec. The people are great and I have never had a bad meal. The B and Bs in Magog (at least the ones we have experienced are great). As stated earlier, if you stay in Magog, you can ski Owl's Head, Orford, Mont Joye, Sutton, Jay Peak and Bromont. I think the type of skiers in your group would dictate which Eastern Township mountain to ski. Either way, Quebec is a great ski excursion.

 

[BigJay]

In regards to the Eastern Townships, the accpommodation, food and skiing values are the best when compared to other areas of Quebec. The people are great and I have never had a bad meal. The B and Bs in Magog (at least the ones we have experienced are great). As stated earlier, if you stay in Magog, you can ski Owl's Head, Orford, Mont Joye, Sutton, Jay Peak and Bromont. I think the type of skiers in your group would dictate which Eastern Township mountain to ski. Either way, Quebec is a great ski excursion.

Yeah, that's right!

For groomers in the townships:
Bromont
Orford

For good snow
Sutton
Owl's Head

Le Massif is great IF they get snow... otherwise, it's top to bottom groomers... Not my cup of tea... Mont Saint-Anne is groomers no matter what! I remember them delaying opening a chair because trails weren't groomed!

And Magog is a nice small village with pubs and food... Of course, if you stay in Jay, you don't have as much options for food and drinks... but the snow will probably be a lot better!

I stay clear of Tremblant... too many puppets with fancy toys and money to blow... Snow is crappy up there after december... they probably get half the snow of every other resort. If you plan on traveling to the Laurentiens, there is ALTA, a VERY small hill but with no man made snow and no groomers (almost) and it's in the Laurentian snowbelts. They once stayed open into early may... with no man made snow!

 

[billski]

The best part of my ski trips to the Townships is always the food.

 

[jerryg]

I went on a college spring break trip to Orford for 4-5 days. This was back in 1995 and I really liked Orford and Magog. We stayed in condos on the lake and next to the village in Magog and were shuttled to the mountain each morning (perhaps mid-morning) and were then ferried to Sherbrook and Montreal for some nighttime fun.