SKI BESIDE THE SEASIDE
COLIN NICHOLSON EXPLORES A TOPSY-TURVY SKI RESORT IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES
LE MASSIF DE CHARLEVOIX, located north-east of Quebec City, Canada, is one of the most curious resorts you’ll visit. As you approach, you can’t help feeling something’s missing. Hmm, let’s see: sunnies, sun cream… ah yes: mountains. Le Massif has the greatest vertical drop in Canada east of the Rockies – a whopping 2,526ft – but you wouldn’t know it until you pass the ski hire shop and see its convex pistes appearing like springboards, ready to throw you into the mighty Gulf of St Lawrence below.
I do run after run down these wonderful pistes, which are full of intrigue. At times they curl round, immersing you deep in the woods. One even has a ‘slow: squirrels crossing’ sign – and, sure enough, a couple
pass in front of me. At other times the pistes unexpectedly open out to reveal spectacular views of the estuary. The specks you see below are tankers, picking their way through a maze of ice on their way to the Great Lakes. And, yes, you do finish by the seaside.
From December 2020, you’ll be able to stay right here at the new Club Med Village, currently being constructed. For now, the nearest hotels to this upside-down affair are in the pretty village of Baie-St-Paul, some 12 miles downstream, where Cirque du Soleil’s founders, Daniel Gauthier and Guy Laliberté, met while working as street performers. And if the resort of Le Massif (as it’s known) sounds a bit fantastical, that’s because it’s pure circus too. Gauthier bought it when he sold his half of Cirque to Laliberté.
Many other artists have been drawn to Baie-St-Paul, most of them painters inspired by its light, unique landscape. Before dinner my partner and I window-shop from the wooden porticoes of the many art galleries, before following the fairy lights to wonderful restaurants such as the Mouton Noir, serving local specialities (moutonnoirresto.com), Bistro La Muse for haute cuisine (lamuse.com) and the hip Orange Bistro (orangebistro.com).
Fully fortified, the next xt day I feel up for tackling one e of Le Massif’s seven ‘glades’ s’ – thinned-out coppices of birch and beech that will test any skier’s skills to the limit. From this season even first-timers can explore this area above the former fishing village of Petite-Rivière-SaintFrançois. That’s because pistes have been created d in the woods to make a beginners’ area above Club Med. For now, they can do the third longest sled run in the world at 4.7 miles, which should prove adrenaline rush enough. And recently the resort introduced dog-sledding and
. A rush: Le Massif. . has the world’s.
. longest sled run. helicopter he rides too. Off-piste O aficionados nee needn’t fear. New areas are du due to be opened up for back backcountry skiers. The resort recently re teamed up with specialist adventure company Whisjack (whisjack. com) to offer off-piste days so I book in with them before rejoining my longsuffering partner for lunch. Afterwards, we don skinny skis to explore the cross-country trails at the top of the mountain, which have been gaining popularity since they were included on the piste map. The joy of cross-country skiing is that even in Canadian temperatures you soon warm up. During the half-hour climb to the top of Le Mont à Liguori, we’re soon stripping off layers, sheltered from the wind in the depths of the forest. We feel we’re in the great Canadian wilderness, save for the bright, shimmering light glinting off the sea. It guides us to a little refuge where we watch the sun set over the St Lawrence, bathing these ancient, rounded mountains in pink. And that evening, we bathe ourselves pink in the hot tub and spa of our hotel.
My hopes of exploring more of Le Massif’s backcountry are dashed the next day by the lack of powder. But the Whisjack group are great fun and excellent skiers. Heartened, I daftly agree to try a mogul run with them right under a chairlift. Needless to say, all the spectators marvel at their effortless style. But who is that clown trying to emulate them? I just count my lucky stars I didn’t finish with a drop straight into the drink. Now, that would have been an ending fit for the Cirque du Soleil.
Flights from London to Quebec City from Montreal cost from £496 return, aircanada.com. Rooms at Auberge La Grande Maison from £53.50pn (grandemaison.com). Visit lemassif.com and tourisme-charlevoix.com