Camp Fortune - January 31, 2018

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Thank Ullr we have snow again! After a drought of several weeks we finally got the good stuff. The snow started light and fine in the Ottawa area around 1:30 but by 3 it was coming down heavy.  I made it to Fortune around 4ish and there was already close to 10cm on the ground.  The skiing was great! light champagne over the hard pack making for great turns. The place was pretty quiet and the wind was minimal with a temperature of around - 15c.  Word of warning, don't leave you ski boots in the car all day! Man they were hard to get on. Never again. All the main night skiing trails were open. I was hoping to get a few runs on Heggtveit before dark but it was closed. They had just had extra snow on the trail and still needed to push it around. I suspect it will be open on...

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Mont Ste Marie - January 22, 2018

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I arrived at Mont Ste Marie at 9am just as it was opening. The temperature was about -5C. The day before was like + 5C with spring like conditions and looked pretty busy from the webcam shots. Today was almost the opposite.   Very quiet, pretty much zero lines with fast hard packed conditions. I also discovered a fair amount of crusty icy spots.  Not the best, we need snow, we need lots of snow. The fields below the mountain now have zero snow cover and were full of deer eating the exposed grass.  Mont Ste Marie did manage to have 18 out of their 20 main runs open so they must have been making a lot of snow over the past few weeks. The best runs were Tornade Bas, Serenade, Dustin Cook and Formidable.  Besty was pretty icy and I'm glad my edges were in decent shape.  Overall though you really can't complain, we got a tonne of runs in...

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Camp Fortune - January 16, 2018

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The big melt last Thursday and Friday was a real bummer. Then everything flash froze.  I think we lost like 75% of our snow pack but Camp Fortune managed to survive in decent shape. Night skiing was good on fast hard pack with 2-3cms of light fresh snow on top.  Skyline is starting to get a little crusty in spots and the thaw has set back the opening of Swan Dive and the glade runs.  Best runs of the night were Slalom, Sparks and the lower section of Canadian.  A beautiful night with a temperature around -12C and light snow falling. Lower Canadian My sister on Slalom pointing at the lights of Vorlage in the distance. The terrain park is currently closed but should open on Saturday.

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Camp Fortune - January 8, 2018

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Powder Day = Sick Day.  My first plan was to drive up to Mont Ste-Marie for an epic day.  Take note Mont Ste-Marie advertised on their website that they didn't groom all the runs, leaving the snow free. More hills should do this! whats with all the grooming on a epic powder day.  Anyway by the time I dug out of my driveway and got out of Ottawa it was already 8:30 and I needed to be back in town by 2. So Camp Fortune it was.  Made it to Skyline by 8:45, got first chair. Though most runs had been groomed there was lots of fresh powder was on top, in fact the snow was picking up and it would snow heavy throughout the day. Free refills. First tracks were on Heggtveit which opened the day before.  Swan Dive is not yet open but with more snow in the forecast for Saturday it should be soon.  Sparks had...

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Camp Fortune - January 1, 2018

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Took in a few afternoon hours at Camp Fortune. January 1st has always been a good day for skiing as its generally pretty quiet. Today it was really quiet since the high was like -20c! The skiing was good though with well groomed runs of hard packed snow.  Fortune has been busy making snow all week. Tomorrow Slalom opens. Upper Canadian and Chute will open later this week. Best runs of the day were Bud Clark and Sparks.  Happy New Year!   

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Camp Fortune - December 22-23rd, 2017

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I skied a double header at Camp Fortune to check on conditions and catch the opening of the Skyline side.  Friday I skied in the afternoon and Saturday in the morning. Marshall opened on Friday. Bud Clark, Lower Canadian and Sparks opened on Saturday.  Snow was being blown on Allen's Alley on Friday and on Saturday the guns were moved to Slalom. Expect them both to open soon.  Clifford, Paradis and Sparks had the best snow conditions.  Bud Clark and Marshall were a little choppy from the man-made snow gravel.  Lower Canadian on Skyline was decent though. The right side of Clifford was being used for racing so its iced up a bit.  Crowds were small for the beginning of the Christmas break and heavy snow began to fall on Saturday. I think we ended up getting like 7-10cms! so Sunday should be great.  Happy Holidays, ski on!  Marshall with Alexander and MacDonald in the background.  The last few...

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Mont Tremblant - December 15, 2017

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Got in some great early season skiing on Friday at Mont Tremblant. Some buddies were staying slope side for the weekend which made things extra awesome. The day started cold like -20C cold but there was little or no wind except at the top. Over the day things warmed up to about -10c and the sun came out a bit.  The groomers were fast hard pack with some cake on top.  Also, several runs on the north side were not groomed yet half blasted with snow mounds but still open (Jasey-Jay).  Those were interesting bump runs! The best condition steeps were Ryan, Tashereau, and Mcculloch. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay for skiing on Saturday. Overnight we got 7cm plus The Edge and Soleil opened up for the first time. I'm sure I'll hear about how much powder I missed! Regardless this season is off to a great start. Ski on! Beauvallon Haut with the lake below.  My buddies Demon snowboard by Libtech.  Top of the...

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Camp Fortune - April 9, 2017

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Wow what a great ski day!. 15c by midday, loads of snow coverage and killer spring skiing.  Skyline and the Valley were both open with a dual slalom race on slalom. Even Swan Dive was still skiable with all natural coverage. Snow was corn but not slush, fast and fun. 

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Mont Chilly - April 1, 2017

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I have to say Mont Chilly is a hidden gem. Yes its rather far from Ottawa and it only has a T-bar for hill access but its a got a great vibe, friendly locals and some great terrain.  I got to the hill around 10:30am after a scenic drive down 148. Watch for deer there were lots out in the farmer fields.  Anyway the t-bar was just starting after purchasing the $20 lift ticket.   Condition wise the snow was sticky from a couple cm's of fresh snow but as the day progressed the conditions got faster becoming typical spring skiing like.  Now for the cool news, there is a new run at Chilly, #5. Its on the far side of #4. You have to traverse a trail at the top marked with pink flagging tap till it opens up to a steep glade run with a natural canyon.  This will be killer tree...

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Camp Fortune - March 26, 2017

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We raced up to Fortune in the hope of getting a bunch of runs in before the freezing rain hit.  We were rewarded with perfect grooming and no lines.  Though a little colder then the gorgeous day on Saturday I suspect the snow was better today. Heggtveit was our number one pick and we GS styled down it half a dozen times to get the blood flowing.  The rest of the runs were in great shape with only Swan Dive closed on the Skyline side.  I'm hoping Fortune can extend the season to the Easter weekend, fingers crossed.  Heggtveit in all its groomed glory   The Valley Lower section of Clifford The park We almost got first tracks!  The Chute and Canadian were is everyone. Don't pack up your skis yet.  Skyline Lift Craigsmarc tree run next to Heggtveit Lower Canadian 

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Camp Fortune - March 14th, 2017

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Nothing like night skiing in a blizzard! Wow was it windy at the top of Skyline but the skiing was great.  I arrived around 7pm and we had about 6cm of fresh snow on top of hard pack.  Just enough snow to the crust.  I stuck to Skyline and I have to say I have never seen Bud, Canadian and the Chute so well groomed. Not a single bump or mogul anywhere so smooth and flat. This must be because of the Ontario Provincial U14 races this Wednesday and Thursday. Anyway the skiing was wicked and I'm glad we got that storm, this morning Camp Fortune is saying close to 20cm fell and its still snowing.  I didn't take many pictures as my hands froze pretty quick out of the gloves.  BTW the snow is light and fast not your typical wet March snow at all.  Enjoy the fresh!

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Calabogie Peaks - March 5th, 2017

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I finally made it out to Calabogie Peaks for the first timer this year.  We had a bluebird Sunday with almost no wind.  The mountain has a lot less snow then Mont Ste-Marie but the machine groomed granular was holding out well enough.  You had to pretty much stick to the groomers though as anything else was pretty much glare ice or exposed rock! The area needs snow and it looks like they have been making some but no snow guns were running on Sunday.  Finnegan, Whistlin Paddy and Black Donald were in the best shape, great long cruisers with nice fall lines.  The extra vertical on the runs does make a difference.  Overall a totally sun filled enjoyable day. Also of note Calabogie Peaks is offering an open house deal. If you have a season pass from another local resort you get a free one time lift ticket for the day.   Face of the Tiger looking a little bare.  

Mont Ste Marie - March 3rd 2017

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I pulled into Mont Ste Marie around 9:30 expecting lots of cars and the place to be busy.  Not so even though its Quebec March Break.  The conditions were surprisingly good as the mountain got 12cms of fresh snow after the rain on Wednesday, if fact it was snowing a little when we arrived. No lift lines and great conditions resulted in a great day of skiing. The temperature was around -12 with a little wind so you had to bundle up but I've skied in far colder conditions. Formidable and a section of Tornado with 12cm of ungroomed snow were our favs of the day.   After we drove over the top (Trans-Outaouais Road) to a cottage on Lac Sam.  Fun Times!  

Camp Fortune - February 22, 2017

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Last week we had almost 50cm of fresh snow on the ground.  Since Saturday its been a total meltdown.  We've lost over 20cm of snow pack and the worse is yet to come.  Regardless the snow base is holding out at Camp Fortune.  I went up night skiing to check on the conditions.  The snow is soft and fast but not slushy and there is no ice.  I was getting depressed at the winter meltdown but Fortune helped kill my blues.  All the light runs were open and it was a beautiful night for skiing with a temperature of about 4 C.  I'm crossing my fingers that it will get cold next week and snow!

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Carlington Hill - February 19, 2017

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With spring like conditions and lots of snow you would have thought I'd be out on the ski hills this weekend. Well I wanted to go to Mont Chilly but got stuck in town. This was kinda a good thing after looking at the webcams at Camp fortune and Mont Ste-Marie, it was crazy busy up there.  Instead I checked out Carlington Hill and discovered Alpine skiing, back country skiing and powder filled glades in downtown Ottawa!   The Carlington Hill is a water reservoir but it was also a mini ski hill with a t-bar from 1965-1990. Some t-bar pillars and pulleys can be seen in the photos. The hill used to be called Anne Heggtviet Hill for a while.  Anyway I put on my snow shoe skis (short wide skis with telemark bindings) and climbed through the woods on the right side of the hill now used mostly for tobogganers.  The skis have a built...

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Camp Fortune - February 13, 2017

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Just got home from a fantastic morning at Camp Fortune. About 30cms dropped over Sunday afternoon into the night resulting in some beauty powder for Monday morning. I grabbed my fatties and made it to the hill for almost first chair.  Heggtveit, The Chute and Duffy were left un-groomed for the powder hounds.  Craigsmarc and Swan Dive were busy with "free riders" including Craig himself.  Got in a bunch of runs on Heggtveit and the Chute before they became chopfest.  The snow was light though so even the fresh made moguls were easy enough. Went over to the Valley later, it was a ghost town, but lots of powder was to be found on Duffy and in the trees between the runs. Killer morning, give me more 2017!

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Mont Ste Marie - February 4th, 2017

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Well I finally made it up to Mont Ste Marie. Last year I skied on the closing day and it was blast.  Conditions this time were hard packed with a little dust on crust, not bad but we need some new snow.  I really think Mont Ste Marie is your best bang for your buck, 1200ft vertical, only a hour from Ottawa, short or zero lineups, and high speed lifts.  Also if you buy passes during the summer you can get lift tickets for like $30.  Anyway it was a great day, myself and a buddy skied all day from about 9:30 still last chair.  Everything was open with the exceptions of Crescendo (which we skied anyway), some sections of Toronade, and the glade run Sous-bois( which looked fine).  The Dustin Cook run was busy with racing but we did get on it in the afternoon. Formidable and Betsy were fun...

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Camp Fortune - January 1st, 2017

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Well its the new year and I headed back to Camp Fortune with my sister and nephew. I was up night skiing on Dec. 29th after 10cms of snow and now I'm back after 15cms yesterday!.  The conditions of course were great, fresh corduroy made with packed powder in the valley and no lines. We were lucky enough to get first tracks on Paradis and North America which opened for the first time this year.  I didn't get a chance this time to hit Skyline which still only has Bud Clark, Sparks and Lower Canadian open.  Not sure what the delay is with opening up everything considering all the snow but Fortune must have some master plan.  Both N. America and Marshall had some nice un-groomed sections of powder.  Also a couple tree runs "Glades" were open and filled with fresh snow. Ski on and Happy New Year.

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Camp Fortune - December 24, 2016

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Well on a snowy Christmas Eve I drove up to Camp Fortune to get first tracks. The snow was coming down pretty hard and almost 10cm of fresh were on the ground. I brought my fat skis figuring they would work great in heavy wet snow. Skyline was open for the first time this year with Sparks, Bud Clark, and Lower Canadian open.  I started in the valley as I needed to pick up my night pass, then got the first chair on the Pineault lift and headed down to Skyline. The conditions were perfect. This would be one of the best days skiing at Fortune since that 50cm snow storm last year.  No lineups no crowds you could ski onto the lifts. After several snow filled runs down Bud and Sparks I headed back to the Valley. The cross over was sloooowww.... but I made it.   Had fun on Clifford...

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Jay Peak - December 17-19, 2016

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Well our 3 day ski trip to Jay Peak was an adventure.  Saturday was epic with a foot of new snow and the Flyer Quad running for the first time this year.  All the runs on the Tramside were ungroomed and powder filled.  The only bummer was the Tram was still down... and still is!  Earlier in the season the tram cables got covered in ice then all the ice fell off at once causing the wires to bounce and tangle. Because of this the full length of the cables need to be x-rayed for breaks and safetied. This is a major bummer as along with the Tram being down so is the Bonaventure Quad as it goes under the Tram at the top, also any trails that go under the tram are also closed.  Anyway the runs that were open on Saturday rocked and the snow in the glades was almost...

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