What an awesome weekend with such good friends. The weather was perfect as well as all the snow left by Maya’s passage thru the Eastern Townships this past week. After a great day of skiing at Mont Sutton Saturday, I headed over to Mont-Orford on Sunday for some alpine touring with my friend Marie-Andrée.
The sun was out, leaving a beautiful bluebird sky for our girls outdoor adventure.
We parked at the base of Mont Giroux, as we opted to ski up Le Renard which is a beautiful 2.7km trail with an elevation of +161m. The trail is beautiful with a few winding turns and the breathtaking views of Lake Memphremagog as well as Owl’s Head.
At the first intersection, we had the option of turning right towards the summit of Mont Giroux (630m) or continue straight towards the summit of Mont Orford (850m) The vibes were good and the pace was just perfect, that we decided to continue straight on La Tortue trail.
We simply could not resist stopping many times along the way to soak up the sun and beautiful scenery. It truly was the perfect day!
The second intersection, we turned right which was the exit of the alpine touring trail onto the 4km ski trail. If one chooses to continue straight onto Le Lièvre trail, it’s an ascent of 1.5km with an elevation of +171m to the summit of Mont Orford.
After an easy ski run down the 4km, we stopped at the chalet for lunch. We took advantage of the gorgeous weather by having lunch outside around the fire.
After a quick bite to eat, skins back on our skis as we had to go up the Adams alpine touring trail, to then reach Passe-Montagne ski trail which lead us back to the parking lot at the base of Mont Giroux.
Important information:
Some sections of the alpine touring trails are located in the Mont-Orford National Park. If you wish to access these trails, you must also pay the Sépaq access fees. For more information on these particular trails, visit the list of trails and alpine touring trails. If you’re already a Sépaq member, you only have to pay the daily access fees of the ski hill station territory. To purchase you access fees, one must stop by the Mont-Orford ski chalet.
Ski hill territory $8 + taxes
Sépaq territory $7.48 + taxes
Mont Orford is proud to offer alpine touring initiations which include the following:
- Access to alpine touring trails
- Complete equipment rentals
- Lesson on the techniques and how to properly use your gear
- Accompanied on the trails
- A well deserved beer at the Slalom Pub
Dates: February 23 and March 2
Departure: 15h30
Duration: less then 3hrs
Cost: $98 + taxes
