New member from Eastern Canada

[crazycanuck]

Just realized that I started here but never introduced myself. I guess I was too pumped to stumble across this place and jump right in! Definitely the best ski forum I have found on the web! Congrats Phil & Tricia!

I live in the Maritime provinces in Canada, and started skiing with my dad when I was 2. Recently showed my son a photo of me skiing in the mid-70s with no helmet and no release bindings, and he complained as to why I got to ski without a helmet! haha

My son and I are the two hardcore skiers of the family, but my wife has gone from reluctant "I guess I'll try it so I don't get left out" to "hey this is fun and I'm really starting to enjoy myself!". My 8 year old son has been on the local race club team for a few years, and frankly is probably already a technically better skier than I am. He sometimes sees me skiing from the chairlift and will offer me advice on how to improve. Jeez. Kids.

Aside from skiing at our local, admittedly small, hill we also own a chalet at Mont Sainte-Anne in Quebec (which we rent out as well, so write if you need a place! haha). It's a great place with good snow (for the east!), and we are also only half an hour from Le Massif de Charlevoix which is where my son's race team does their pre-season training camps.

 

[Jilly]

Welcome from the center of the universe, as Ontario is called. Ski Marmot or Wentworth?

 

[graham418]

I live in the Maritime provinces in Canada,

Whereabouts in the Maritimes? I am in PEI frequently, and have been wondering where the closest skiing is. Do you ever go to Maine or NH?

 

[Uncle-A]

Welcome to the community, it is good because of the leadership and the membership. We enjoy sharing the fun stuff and the technical side. A lot to be learned so don't be a stranger.

 

[crazycanuck]

I am in Nova Scotia. Mainland NS has a couple of small hills (Martock & Wentworth), and there is a hill in Cape Breton that has a new owner and is going to be reopened in a year or so with a gondola. PEI also has a small little hill, and New Brunswick has a few hills, notably Crabbe and Poley. The latter two, while obviously not big mountains, are actually surprisingly fun with a half decent amount of variety of runs and some challenging (but short) runs. My son's team races on all those hills. We also have gone to Marble Mountain in NFLD. It's tough to get there, but it is a surprisingly great hill (1700 vert) without a ton of people. (my avatar pic is actually of my then 7 year old skiing at Marble).

Many people in NS do go to Maine to ski, in particular to Sunday River or Sugarloaf. We do really enjoy Sunday River etc, and have been there obviously, but with everything going on in the US combined with the challenges of foreign property ownership we bought at MSA instead. Although Sunday River is much closer as the crow flys, MSA is actually equidistant in terms of driving time. All that taken together is why we decided to buy at MSA instead, combined with also then having Massif only 1/2 an hour away.

 

[crazycanuck]

Welcome from the center of the universe, as Ontario is called. Ski Marmot or Wentworth?

Ski Martock. Small hill obviously, but the coaching is really quite good and they have produced some good skiers. At last year's Canada Games one of the team members won the gold in the Ski-X. The obviously only train in S and GS, given the size of the hill, but I think that they do well teaching the kids how to find speed using what you've got!

 

[Jilly]

I took a CSIA L3 course with an instructor from one of them. He'd nevered skied anything as tall as Tremblant!! Nor bumps. He did learn a lot!! Ran a sailing school.

 

[crazycanuck]

Should mention as well that for 3 years I lived in New Mexico when I was doing a fellowship for work, which was really my first introduction to true alpine skiing!

 

[graham418]

We used to have a condo at MSA at the bottom of the gondola when I was a young man. I spent much time there and have many memories. We used to take side trips to Massif if there was a dumping because they always had better snow. Back then there was no lift, just a school bus to take you back up

 

[DanoT]

The first time that I ever skied was at MSA as part of a 8th grade school trip from Hamilton to Montreal (went to a Habs game at the old, old Forum), Quebec City and an overnight at MSA. It was Spring and the beginner run was closed so I had to go down a blue run. This was the 1960s with 200cm solid wood skis and lace up leather boots.

Someone showed me how to snow plow and then just said: "Stopping is the same as in hockey". I never made it down once without crashing and twisted both my ankles. I was hooked, as I remember thinking, how could I be this rotten at skiing and yet still have an absolute ball?

Decades later I found out that my dad, who was from Montreal and my mom, who was from Toronto, met at MSA.

 

[Jilly]

I joined a ski club that made a trip every year, just as carnival ended to MSA. Then it went to an April weekend to celebrate someone birthday.

Last trip was last fall for a conference. Changed a lot in 15 years. But still got a deal on a jacket at the Avalanche store!!

 

[scott43]

The Hammer!! I didn't think they knew about Quebec in the Hammer..

 

[Jilly]

Can you imagine Ham to MSA in a school bus and NO 401! Did it take a day to get to Montreal??

 

[Tony S]

Just realized that I started here but never introduced myself. I guess I was too pumped to stumble across this place and jump right in! Definitely the best ski forum I have found on the web! Congrats Phil & Tricia!

I live in the Maritime provinces in Canada, and started skiing with my dad when I was 2. Recently showed my son a photo of me skiing in the mid-70s with no helmet and no release bindings, and he complained as to why I got to ski without a helmet! haha

My son and I are the two hardcore skiers of the family, but my wife has gone from reluctant "I guess I'll try it so I don't get left out" to "hey this is fun and I'm really starting to enjoy myself!". My 8 year old son has been on the local race club team for a few years, and frankly is probably already a technically better skier than I am. He sometimes sees me skiing from the chairlift and will offer me advice on how to improve. Jeez. Kids.

Aside from skiing at our local, admittedly small, hill we also own a chalet at Mont Sainte-Anne in Quebec (which we rent out as well, so write if you need a place! haha). It's a great place with good snow (for the east!), and we are also only half an hour from Le Massif de Charlevoix which is where my son's race team does their pre-season training camps.

I adore Le Massif. MSA I enjoy for alpine, but the xc there is awesome. Great stuff. Welcome.

 

[DanoT]

Can you imagine Ham to MSA in a school bus and NO 401! Did it take a day to get to Montreal??

It was 1961. We traveled by train.

 

[scott43]

It was 1961. We traveled by train.

Man..that's pretty cool..imagine seeing Beliveau or Frank Mahovlich or Tim Horton or my dad's favourite, Allan "Snowshoes" Stanley on the train..those were the days.

 

[DanoT]

Man..that's pretty cool..imagine seeing Beliveau or Frank Mahovlich or Tim Horton or my dad's favourite, Allan "Snowshoes" Stanley on the train..those were the days.

In Montreal we went to a NHL game Habs vs Blackhawks. Our seats were so high up in the old Forum that we had to descend a flight of stairs to see the scoreboard that was hanging from the ceiling.

Earlier that evening, at supper we had these crusty rolls, the size of softballs but not very soft. A bunch of us stole the dinner rolls and at the appropriate time we launched those biscuits at the ice in outrage at the ref's bad call!!! Only we were so far up in the stands that none of the biscuits made it to the ice.

 

[crazycanuck]

I took a CSIA L3 course with an instructor from one of them. He'd nevered skied anything as tall as Tremblant!! Nor bumps. He did learn a lot!! Ran a sailing school.

Ha! Too funny. Martock has CSIA L4 instructor, which frankly is surprising given the smallness of the hill. Easy to pick him out though.

 

[crazycanuck]

We used to have a condo at MSA at the bottom of the gondola when I was a young man. I spent much time there and have many memories. We used to take side trips to Massif if there was a dumping because they always had better snow. Back then there was no lift, just a school bus to take you back up

Our place is about 2 minutes away (although the shuttle to MSA stops right at the end of our street, which is great), in a new section of town that has been developed over the last decade. There is a surprising amount of growth in that section of Beaupré with lots of new chalets/condos being built.

 

[crazycanuck]

It was 1961. We traveled by train.

My wife and I love taking the overnight train to QC from Halifax for Winter Carnival. This winter I think my son and I will load the skis on and take the train up together as a boys trip, just for fun, rather than the drive. Much more expensive but will be fun memories.