Ski Garceau is a beautiful hill in the Lanaudiere region, only 45 minutes east of Tremblant, in the village of Saint-Donat, Quebec. We were fortunate to spend a couple of nights in Saint-Donat and ski the great slopes in this area.
The base of the ski hill is just 2km from downtown and boasts over 100 acres of skiable terrain and spectacular views of Lac Archambault from every run. When we arrived, we stopped at customer service to get our passes and met Virginie, who was amazing, and gave us pointers on where to ski. If you are visiting for the first time, it’s worth your while to see Virginie first!
We started our warm-up on skiers right, taking Fouine but we quickly heated up on Chiquita 2 and 3. Of course, we stopped several times on the way down to take pictures of the lake and mountains, as the light was perfect.
The grooming crews are careful to leave lots of room on the sides of most slopes for loose powder and naturally formed moguls so there is something for everyone. Even 3 days since the last dump of 15 cm we still found pockets of untracked powder.
Some of the best skiing was under the the two chairlifts: Casse-Gueule and Marcel-Gauthier. These runs are wide and have variable pitches that alternate between intermediate and advanced (blue to black). The edges are thick with soft snow and bumps which we sampled regularly!
Near the end of the day, Togo was re-opened after the Ski Garceau race club finished their practice, so we were able to rip some high speed turns on the remaining corduroy. So much fun!
We ran out of time to explore the “Zone XP”, which has a couple of double-black runs and plenty of steep glades. This area requires touring gear to access the top, but the runs all bring tired skiers back to the base. We will definitely bring our touring gear next time and try the full rando route (only $10.50 for the day) from the base.
Overall, we were very impressed with the variety and challenge on this hill. It was a very quiet day with no more than 2-3 groups ahead of us at any time. They have a great set up for on-hill eating, with a food truck and a large sheltered tent with picnic tables safely spaced for Covid. The main chalet is open for warming up, and is offering the boutique, rental and repair services.
Merci Ski Garceau for the beautiful day!
Janick Robidoux & Dale Witty – Ski Media Reporters
