(, ), known as just Le Massif, is a

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, northeast of

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

and directly overlooking the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

Description

ski area is located in

Petite-Rivière-Saint-François Petite-Rivière-Saint-François is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, along the Saint Lawrence River. It is considered the gateway to the Charlevoix region. It is named after the Petite rivière Saint-François, and home to Le Massif ski resort. ...

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...

, a 50-minute drive from

. Its vertical drop is , the highest in

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

and east of the

Rockies The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Can ...

. It is one of the few ski areas that is accessible from both the base and summit. Skiing season usually lasts from early December to late April. 's has an above average annual snowfall compared to other ski areas in Eastern Canada with a five-year average of . While the snow pack at the summit can exceed in a typical winter, the base is near

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

and can quickly begin to melt by April. La Charlevoix, the steepest trail with a pitch of 64%, is home to the only alpine training center east of the Rockies for Canada's athletes. The resort stretches from the top of the escarpment (actually a half-

graben In geology, a graben () is a depressed block of the crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German, meaning 'ditch' or 'trench'. The word was first used in the geologic contex ...

) to the bottom, where the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

flows past.

History

Skiing at started at the end of the 1970s, with

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

s towing groups of skiers from the main road at the top and a van serving as the lift. In the early 1980s, commercial operations started with la Société de développement du Massif. Starting in 1983–1984, school buses were used to drive skiers from the base to the top after each run. In the summer of 1992, two

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

s were installed: a high-speed quad and a fixed-grip double. The year of 2001 saw significant change for . A new road was built from Route 138 to the top of the mountain. The distance between Quebec City and summit was then reduced to instead of the previously needed to reach the base via the village of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François. At the same time, the

Cap Maillard A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal s ...

was raised by to create La Charlevoix, an

International Ski Federation The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...

standard downhill trail mapped by alpine course designer (and champion)

Bernhard Russi Bernhard Russi (born 20 August 1948) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. Born in Andermatt in the canton of Uri, he is an Olympic, World Cup, and World champion in the downhill event.Junior World Championships, with technical events at

Mont-Sainte-Anne Mont-Sainte-Anne is a ski resort in eastern Canada, located in the town of Beaupré, Quebec, about northeast of Quebec City. The mountain is part of the Laurentian mountain chain and has a summit elevation of above sea level with a vertical dr ...

. However, La Charlevoix was deemed unsuitable for hosting an Olympic downhill men’s event, hurting Quebec City's chances at hosting a

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

. The Junior Worlds returned in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. Daniel Gauthier, co-founder of , bought in 2002. Gauthier is no longer a co-owner of , and has used part of the proceeds of the sale of his participation in that venture to purchase Le Massif. In 2005,

Jean-Luc Brassard Jean-Luc Brassard (born August 24, 1972) is a Canadian freestyle skier, winning the gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Brassard has been credited with popularizing the wearing of bright knee pads to show off absorption and leg position fo ...

, the 1994 Olympic champion in freestyle mogul skiing, became a spokesman for . In 2009, after a record snowfall of , added of backcountry skiing on Mount A Liguori. Beginning in September 2011, a new tourist train service from Quebec City began operation, making a stop in the winter at . Though the ski area carried out substantial new development in coordination with the train, such as a hotel in

Baie-Saint-Paul Baie-Saint-Paul ( 2011 Population 7,332; UA population 4,535) is a city in the Province of Quebec, Canada, on the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Baie-Saint-Paul is the seat of Charlevoix Regional County Municipality. The city is ...

with a private rail spur for shuttle service, and a pulse gondola shuttle from the lower mountain to the rail station in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, the winter trains failed to attract enough passengers to prove economical and were terminated after the 2014-2015 season. Train service now operates from June to October. LeMassifLargePano

Development

is about to undertake a major development known as Territoire Le Massif. This will open up the third peak to skiing, but mostly transform the mountain and surrounding area into a distinctive four-seasons resort, while respecting environmental values. The project has a budget of about C$180 million in new investments, in addition to the $50 million already spent, and comprises three parts: * La Ferme (The Farm): Hotel, services and activities in Baie-Saint-Paul, on the site of a burned-out farm. Opening in June 2012, it was awarded first prize in the Hotel and Service Retail Category of the Retail and Leisure Interior awards in March 2013. * La Base (The Base): Services, lodging and activities at the base of , west of the village of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François. * Les Crêtes (The Ridges): Services, lodging and activities at the summit of .

References

External links

* '
Article at First Tracks!! Online Ski Magazine
{{Ski areas and resorts in Quebec Ski areas and resorts in Quebec Landforms of Capitale-Nationale Tourist attractions in Capitale-Nationale

Description

History

Development

See also

References

External links