Mont Sainte-Anne Ski Area Profile

Twenty years before the official opening of Mont Sainte-Anne as a resort, it hosted the Canadian Alpine Skiing Championships.

The event highlighted the mountain"s potential, and it simply seemed natural that a major resort would eventually come into being. Since officially opening, Mont Sainte-Anne has hosted seven World Cup Alpine events, eight World Cup or FIS snowboard events, and two major international cross-country championships. Ten of its trails are FIS-certified for slalom and/or giant slalom; one for downhill.

If this leaves you with the impression that there"s a lot of steep terrain at Mont Sainte-Anne, well, you"re about half right - as in the front half, the South Side (Versant Sud up here). And even this side features plenty of intermediate terrain. A triple and a double on the South Side serve a challenging collection of trails, from single blacks like La Crête, La Beuregard, L"Espoir, and La Pionnière to serious double blacks like La Brunelle, La Saint-Laurent, La "S", La Super "S", Les Sept Chutes, and Le Canyon. La Gondoleuse is also double black on the upper part before fading to blue. But nearly all the rest of the South Side is blue, and long cruising trails such as Le Gros Vallon, La Beupre to L"Alouette (or several other choices at a junction), and Le"Express are sure to please those who like to make big turns. It"s this pod of blue square trails that"s lighted at night.

Beginners have a complex of trails and lifts to themselves above the main base lodge, where never-evers can learn the basics. Once comfortable, head to the summit to ski or ride La Familiale, a long green trail that lets you experience the mountain"s full vertical. La Chemin du Roy, which rides the northern side of the ridgeline before crossing over to Versant Sud, is an even longer green circle run from the top. If you want to stay on the North and West Sides, bear left from this trail to La Pente Douce, or take La Ferreolaise from higher up the former. Also on this side find La Forêt Enchantee, a beginner glade. With only a couple of exceptions, the rest of the North and West Sides are devoted to blue square trails.

A dozen lifts serve the terrain, including an eight-passenger gondola and two high-speed quads, one with a bubble cover to protect you from cold winter winds.

The base area on the South Side is the most developed, with a chalet village, a conference center, restaurants, and shops. There"s also a summit lodge and nearby the Chalet de la Crête, jump-off point for paragliding adventures. At the base of the North Side visit Refuge du Nord.

Of course there"s a big terrain park and ½ pipe, accessible via a fixed-grip quad near the top of the South Side.

The mountain is located less than 30 minutes from the Quebec-Ste.Foy-Charlesbourg area, so between slopeside lodging and there you"ll find whatever accommodations you might want.