Wow, what a great weekend! It was our third year in a row holding the Mont Tremblant Weekend at the Hotel du Lac. And it’s only getting more popular — we had 52 people take part this year, a new record.
Just five days before the Tremblant Weekend, we had pelting rain followed by a quick return to freezing weather, making most of the trails an icy mess. But that’s the beauty of cross-country skiing. It only takes a few cm of fresh snow and some skilled grooming to make the trails excellent again. As a result, we were able to enjoy three days of great skiing and snowshoeing.
Indeed, after sharing messages on the website’s forum page, about 14 members who had the day off on Friday drove up north midday and got in some good skiing at three different locations — the P’tit Train du Nord, Parc des Campeurs (Ste Agathe), and Domaine St Bernard. I was among five skiers at Parc des 
Campeurs who met at 1 pm. It was overcast and -12 C, no wind. Not all the trails were open, but the trails we skied on were in fine condition, not icy and with enough snow to have control on the descents.
People arrived at the Hotel du Lac throughout the afternoon and evening. Some people had dinner in the hotel dining room or local restaurants. Several others took advantage of the full kitchens in their condos to bring food and have a nice home-style dinner.
The next morning, we woke up to a perfect forecast — light snow falling with a temperature steady at -4 C. At breakfast in the dining room, which overlooks the lake and the downhill ski centre, everyone was planning their day. One quartet opted to go snowshoeing at Domaine St-Bernard. Most of the others decided to make the 45-minute drive to the far side of Mont Tremblant to the Parc National and go skiing. After a few minutes of milling about in the swish new “centre de découverte”, we spread out over the trail network and everyone reported 
splendid mid-winter conditions. Our adventure group of skiers tackled Le Malard trail, which features a 2-km climb and then a 2-km descent. Some returned to have soup by the fireplace and then drove back to the hotel, while others couldn’t help themselves and went out for more skiing.
After freshening up and perhaps a brief lie-down, it was off for the evening program. First stop, the wine & cheese in the condo of our weekend organizers, Cheryl & Helene. Yes, all 52 of us were in one condo, snacking and drinking and sharing tales of a great day on the trails. Then it was off to the hotel dining room for a gourmet dinner. Finally, many drifted over to the bar for a night cap and a game of pool.
The next morning we had a great blast of sunlight during breakfast. But the clouds rolled back in and it was -12 C. For the last day, people did a variety of activities. Many went for another day of skiing or snowshoeing at Domaine St Bernard. Others went for a walk to the ski centre village or drove to St Jovite and visited the shops there. Then after lunch the drive back to the city. There were no traffic delays on Aut 15 in the mid-afternoon when I drove home.
A big thanks to Cheryl and Hélène for again organizing this very successful weekend! Two years ago, they were the ones who found the Hotel du Lac and proposed doing our first weekend there. Once again this year, they took care of all the details, including getting all the food and drink for the wine & cheese party.
I have a feeling we will back at Tremblant next year, by popular demand!