Mont Sainte Anne

[Bluethroatedone]

Has anyone been there? My wife are looking for a place to go for a 9 day vacation next month and are looking for a place to: XC ski, Ice Climb, Down hill ski and potentially hike....

Someone suggested driving up to the Mont Sainte Anne, near Quebec city. Any thoughts, experiences etc.?

 

[KayakDan]

Haven't been to ski at Mont St Anne,but you will be close to some awsome climbing at Montmorency Falls
Montmorency Ice
Also,see the thread here for Carnaval de Quebec for some intown fun.

 

[Bluethroatedone]

Wow what a photo!

Thanks for the info, I'll check that out...

 

[TenPeaks]

I skied Mt. St. Anne back in the early 90's. From what I remember, It was a great mountain to ski and reminded me of loon. There were trails for all skill levels, it wasn't very crowded, and it's easy to get to. It's also about 30 minutes from Quebec City which is a great place to explore.

There is (was?) a winter carnival in Quebec every February. Supposed to be a great time. Check it out if you're in the area.

 

[Umsaskis]

I was there for a conference last October. The Chateau de Mont Ste. Anne is quite nice, although a bit ritzy. It sits right at the bottom of the ski area. I haven't skied it, but I hiked it twice - once going up the ski slopes (steep!) in the evening, and the following morning taking a more round-about loop on a bike trail. I think it rises about 2000 feet from the Chateau in a very short distance. And OH WOW! The sunset AND the sunrise from the summit are something else! Looking north at the other mountains away out there in the sunset makes you want to GO THERE!!!

There is a really cool trail immediately across the street that goes down a very steep waterfall which is equally spectacular - not what you'd expect to find adjacent to the St. Lawrence. Of course there are other waterfalls and really great natural sights in the area, but this one is perfect for a morning walk or run.

I didn't get to do a whole lot else while I was there - going up the mountain and down the waterfall were all I could fit in on either side of talks and poster presentations. I do want to go back, though.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Has anyone been there? My wife are looking for a place to go for a 9 day vacation next month and are looking for a place to: XC ski, Ice Climb, Down hill ski and potentially hike....

Someone suggested driving up to the Mont Sainte Anne, near Quebec city. Any thoughts, experiences etc.?

You can do all those things within 20 miles of Lake Placid, NY as well.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Haven't been to ski at Mont St Anne,but you will be close to some awsome climbing at Montmorency Falls
Montmorency Ice

IMO, the photo does not do justice to those falls. They are impressive AND LOUD!!!!!!!

 

[KayakDan]

Pete is right,the falls are amazing. There is a huge "ice bubble"that builds in front of the falls and it's a quick downhill ride on anything! There is also a snow field on the right side of the falls wheree you can practice climbing. I met a guy there 2 years ago who was training for an Everest climb-turns out he was a friend of our friend Doug who runs NEIce.com-small world!
And keep in mind that FestiGlace Quebec is next month. That's some serious climbing!

 

[Halite]

I have skied Mont Sainte Anne many times over the past decade. The downhill skiing is quite solid in all grades, including some recently opened glade runs. The cross country skiing is as good as I could possibly imagine: many, many kilometers of well-designed trails at all grades. The trails flow nicely through the terrain and stay true to their difficulty grades. Even the wickedly difficult hardest grade trails are laid out so well that descending from a hard climb does not entail dangerous maneuvering to stay on the track.

On past trips, I've skied full days of downhill alternating with full days of cross country. I've also skied the morning at cross country facility and then the afternoon at the downhill. There's even a beautiful trail connecting the two areas.

You may find areas that are better in either pure downhill or pure cross country skiing. But I doubt you would find a better area combining both. As for hiking, I've been too busy skiing my brains out to try hiking there. The falls look like they would make for some awesome ice climbing.

 

[Mad Townie]

I agree with Halite--the downhill skiing at Mt. Ste. Anne is fine!

 

[Lawn Sale]

My brother and I are heading to Festiglace next month and met Doug there last year with some of the crew, nice group.

We're also planning on climbing part of the falls, but nothing too extreme.

Can't help with a place to stay, we always tent. But, it's an easy city to drive around and places on the outskirts are much cheaper.

 

[Danielle]

Ryan and I have been going to Mont Sainte Anne for a xc skiing trip with friends the past few years. It is a great xc ski system, especially as most of the loops are one-way and there is a wide variety of terrain. The grooming is great, and there always seems to be great snow when we're up there. Ryan in particular recommends #24 (a big long classic-only loop (22km)).

We always stay at Chalets Mont Morency, which has a bunch of condo-type rooms on and around the base of the downhill ski area. The xc ski lodge is only a few minutes away, and you can even get on the xc system from one of the nearby parking lots. It isn't bad price-wise either, and the rooms have kitchens so you can cook in. I think it's about a half-hour ride to Old Quebec, which is always fun for a night out

Anyway, we would highly recommend Mont Sainte Anne for xc skiing! (Ryan says "it's jacked!" )
Have fun!
-Sparkplug

 

[Mac]

I've stayed at the Chalets Montmorency. They are about 1 mile from the mountain (with shuttle service). Prices were reasonable.

Their website is www.chaletsmontmorency.com

Mac

 

[el-bagr]

My brother and I are heading to Festiglace next month and met Doug there last year with some of the crew, nice group.

We're also planning on climbing part of the falls, but nothing too extreme.

Can't help with a place to stay, we always tent. But, it's an easy city to drive around and places on the outskirts are much cheaper.

LawnSale, where do you tent in winter near Montmorency?

 

[Lawn Sale]

We are combining the trip with the Festiglace' festival, which is in Pont Rouge, about 1/2 hour west of Quebec city. The tenting is at the top of the river, just in the woods.

 

[TCD]

My wife and I skied Mont Ste. Anne a couple years ago, for a week vacation. We had a great time. It's about a 6-7 hour drive from Albany.

We stayed in a ski area condo right on the Mont Ste. Anne access road.

Review:

Downhill skiing: Very nice, very moderate. Think Stratton. Soft grades, pretty glades, great views. Also make it a point to take in Le Massif, about an hour further North. Skiing is about the same, maybe a little gnarlier. The resort is cool, coming right down to the St. Lawrence. Newly purchased by a wealthy owner, Le Massif is luxurious with first class everything.

Food: Great, of course. But get used to indoor smoking. They smoke a lot, and if you're spoiled by a "no indoor smoking" law, you have to adjust.

Travel: Fairly easy, if you know a little French for the road signs.

People: Very nice!

Even though everything there is moderate, and available nearer home, we wanted a "foreign vacation," so that is why we chose Mont Ste. Anne. Brush up on your French. The area is VERY French speaking, much more so than Montreal. Many shopkeepers do not understand English (of course they have no obligation to!), unlike areas closer to the border. In quite a few instances, my rudimentary French was a better communication tool than English.

(We had wanted to climb at the Falls, too, and it looks great, but partway through our week my wife picked up a nasty cold, and lift served sliding was all she could manage.)

If you want to coordinate with Festiglace, which is the Quaebec Ice Climbing festival, it's on 2/17-19. Here's a link: www.festiglace.com/

Have fun!

TCD

 

[Bluethroatedone]

Thanks everyone for all the great info....Sounds like it's going to be a blast. Fortunately I speak fluent french...though with the wrong accent for up there...

I'll let you all know how it goes!

 

[KayakDan]

And don't forget
"On peut dire que le carnaval aura lieu de 27 janvier à 12 fevrier (1/27-2/12/06)."

We're off to Carnaval at 1:00am Saturday