Since our ski season finally started this season with the snowstorm on Dec 29, there have only been a couple of wet days where we could not ski. The skiing has been fine, but most days have been gray and overcast. This weekend the sun finally came out in all its glory and the skiing was all the more delightful!
When the two dozen Beaver Tail members met at 9:30 am at Mont St Bruno, it was -15 C. But there was little wind and the temperature was expected to rise quickly over the next few hours. We got our ski and gear organized and then 
started leaving in smaller groups. Mickey and Glen C, our two members who are training for this year’s Canadian Ski Marathon (Feb 20-21) were looking to do a lot of mileage so they, along with David I, left first. Our lone snow-shoer also set out. We had a couple of skiers who decided to stick to green trails. Then it was the rest of us who went out to tackle the blue trails at various speeds.
When I talked to some people at the ski clinic the day before, they had expressed skepticism as to how good the conditions could be at Mont St Bruno, especially given how the trails at the local on-island parks were beginning to look a bit tired. But Mont St Bruno had retained a lot of their snow and since it is a Parc 
national, it has the good grooming equipment to make the most of it. All the trails had well-formed tracks and there was plenty of snow to control the descents. One member said she was was quite surprised at how good the trail conditions were. She added that it was the best skiing she had had at Mont St Bruno in years!
The largest group of us followed the #1 blue trail, which is the largest continuous loop around the park. It starts off with a lot of steady climbing in the first 3 km, then settles in to a nice mix of ups and downs, followed by flat sections that follow the edge of a lake. As we headed back towards main chalet, we turned off onto the #3 and then #7 trails, and then looped back onto the northern part of of the #1. Most of us were back at the chalet by just before 12 pm. By then the temperature had already warmed up to -8 C. We ran into our ski marathon guys — they had just switched from green to blue wax and were setting out for their next loop!
We had a few newer members out on Sunday who were skiing at Mont St Bruno for the first time. They all remarked on how a pleasant place it was to ski. I’m sure that all the members of our group skiing and snowshoeing there on this day were in agreement!