Anyone who has never skied in the mountains has no idea what lies behind Mont Edouard. Eight ski areas, four refuges, 20 km of slopes on a huge area of more than 80 hectares: the “back” of the Mont Edouard Resort is the largest structured off-piste ski area in all of eastern North America.
Published yesterday at 11:30am.
Counter-intuitive? Access to Mont Edouard’s off-piste area is via the resort’s chairlift – energetic purists can scale the mountain via a snowshoe trail. We took the easy way out just to stay fit for the future.
Our guide Antoine Provost had thought about taking us to the Géants sector, but the reports from his patrol colleagues made him change his mind and instead opt for the La Grive sector, reserved for experts. “Due to the mild temperatures of the last few days, a crust has formed on the snow, so it is better to climb higher,” he says, making his way to the summit of Mont Laure-Gaudreault, which is at an altitude of more than 100 meters peaks at 800 m.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Eight ski areas are accessible in the Mont Edouard hinterland.
You can access this type of information if you hire the services of a guide, which is offered for $115 per person.
The advantage of having a guide is that you will have the best descent of the day because the guides know all the little, hidden descent lines.
Antoine Provost, guide
“But most people go there without a guide; It is very well signposted and we have organized security. There are patrol officers in all sectors. They also take care of the emergency shelters, light fires in the ovens and advise people on the descent lines,” emphasizes Antoine Provost.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
La Grive is one of the most beautiful off-piste areas of Mont Edouard and offers breathtaking views of Lake Moreau from the start.
The presence of a warm shelter at the end of our climb to the summit of La Grive is welcome for a trifle, as the last 770 meters of the climb are extremely steep. The shelters are open to all hikers during the day, but are intended for campers who have reserved overnight stays. Because yes, it is possible to stay in the sector for a few days just to take advantage of the total of around 1600 meters of altitude that the eight main road sections offer.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The access roads to the peaks in the hinterland of Mont Edouard are over 20 km long in total. The section leading to the La Grive and Grand Pic sectors is steep but worth the detour.
With our boots on and in descent mode, we stomp our feet at the thought of rushing down the 302 meters of altitude in the forest of the La Grive sector, which unfolds before us in all its splendor. “Like the Grand Pic sector, La Grive is reserved for experts, we cannot send a beginner there,” warns Antoine Provost. Our most accessible area would be Sacré-Cœur, which leads back to the ski area and a few lines of the Giants as it is not very steep. But it’s still off-piste, so there are trees, bumps and powder. »
When people look for information, we always ask them about their ski level. You must have skied moguls and some clearings at the resort.
Antoine Provost, guide
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
You can hire the services of a guide to explore the off-piste areas of Mont Edouard, ensuring you reach the most beautiful spots and the most beautiful slopes of this vast winter paradise.
Oddly enough, the best kept secret of Mont Edward’s main street areas is also the most accessible. Zones 600 and 490 are on the east side of the ski area – access is via the La Sauvage and Le Passage pistes respectively. “We get away from the crowds for an hour and explore a less traveled area, which is really fun, before coming back – it’s less than 15 minutes with skins to get back into the undergrowth areas of the station,” says Antoine Provost. These areas are slightly less busy but still more accessible. But they are becoming more and more popular. »
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Skiers can stop at four huts in the hinterland of Mont Edouard and reserve them for overnight stays.
What all these sectors have in common, however, is that they are carefully maintained every summer by a specialized team. “Our head lumberjack is also a patrolman, he is a rider; When he comes forward and sees something beautiful, he manages to improve the descent, says Antoine Provost. Each sector is cleared every two years in rotation by a team of six loggers who work 40 hours per week for five weeks. »
In short, we take care of the “back side” like we take care of the ski center’s slopes, making Mont Edouard a destination of choice for the serious skier. “When I arrived here almost 10 years ago, Mont Edouard was a purely regional resort,” recalls our 31-year-old guide. With the development of the road transport sector, which began in 2013, we now have a clientele, half of which comes from abroad, particularly from Quebec, but also from Ontario and the United States. People from Montreal or Quebec say to themselves: “Okay, do I drive 12 hours to Gaspésie or half as much to drive to Saguenay?” » The answer is yours!