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Up on the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River, about an hour north of Quebec, sits the "mountain by the sea," Le Massif, where trails seem to drop directly into the tidal St. Lawrence river. And it"s quite a drop: 2,526 feet, thanks to a base elevation of 118 feet. It"s also a steep drop: almost 60% of the terrain is rated difficult or very difficult. The mountain consequently attracts serious racers, shredders, and free-heelers, who are also attracted by its wild beauty, relatively low level of development, and 260" of natural snow a year. That natural snow is augmented by 70% snowmaking coverage, since the lower part of the mountain especially can be affected by the moist, salty air rolling off the St. Lawrence, which is about 15 miles wide here. But the same micro-climate also produces lots of snow higher up. The meteorological tradeoff is worth it, and on a typically cold northern Quebec day - which is to say, for much of the winter - the snow remains remarkably consistent top to bottom. Le Massif began back in the 1970s with a few tough trails and a bus which took skiers to the top. Eventually the federal government decided to put some money into the place, but later reversed its policy. In stepped the provincial government and private investors, and after much back and forth, a conservative development plan was put in place. As a result, Le Massif has a modern infrastructure but little of the development that characterizes resorts of similar size. Two high speed quads, a double, and a surface lift serve 36 runs and glades. About 75% of the trails are on the grooming rotation, most of them easier or intermediate trails. Of the tougher stuff, a couple of standouts include La "42," one of Le Massif"s originally planned trails (it was to be number 42 of 50) which plunges with little deviation from summit to base; and La Charlevoix, the Canadian National Alpine Training Center"s downhill trail, which was instrumental in establishing Le Massif"s reputation as an alpine training facility. Two of the more notable intermediate trails include La Prairie and La Petite-Rivière. Beginners can also safely make their way down the mountain (in scenery every bit as breathtaking as from the steeper trails) on the likes of La Jean-Noël (named after Le Massif"s most senior employee and chief groomer), La Gagne, La Combe, and L"Ancienne, the last named part of the mountain"s early "bus days." Two cafeterias - which do not serve fried food of any sort - and a sit-down restaurant at the summit offer excellent regional cuisine. A couple of pubs at the mountain offer convivial après-ski plus jazz, rock, or blues. Serious backcountry adventure can be had at Sentier des Caps at the summit of Le Massif, which features almost 63 kilometers of trails beginning here and another 53 km running out to Sainte-Tite-des-Caps
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Ski Report
Quebec
