Mont Gleason

Mont Gleason is located in the community of Tingwick, Quebec, roughly a 2-hour drive from Montreal along Autoroute 20 heading towards Quebec City. There are several ways to get there, with the simplest route taking Autoroute 20 to Route 955 (Exit 210) to St Albert, and then down to Warwick. Mont Gleason offers a great variety of trails for the beginner right up to the expert skier. There are 21 trails and 10 glades available, served by 2 quadruple chairlifts, and 1 double chairlift. There is also a learning area that is served by a magic carpet lift. Snowmaking covers just over 90% of the mountain, adding to an average annual snowfall of 176 centimetres, making for great conditions. Night skiing is offered at Gleason. Gleason also has a ski/boardercross trail to go along with their snowpark with a variety of bumps and modules.

The mountain also contains a tubing park with a choice of 5 different lanes with varying degrees of steepness. You will also find just over 7 kilometres of marked snowshoeing trails heading up and around the mountain. There is an uphill policy for those who wish to skin up the mountain as well, with a couple of routes that you may take, specifically designated for this activity.

The Mountain and the Ski Trails

The trails at Mont Gleason are not all named. There are 7 Easy trails, 10 Intermediate, and 4 Difficult. The glade trails all have varying degrees of difficulty as well. There are 3 mogul areas, one located on the upper pitch of the Ling, the other on the Pierre Ling trail, and a third on the old t-bar lift line which is now a trail appropriately named the T-Bar. The snowparks and their modules can be found on trails 4 and 4b. There is a variety of different rails, boxes, and jumps to please the snowboard and ski acrobat. The ski/boardercross trail is found on the Victoriaville trail located under the Laurent-Lemire quad chairlift with banked curves and mounds.

The chalet houses the rental shop with a separate outside entrance, cafeteria, daycare, locker area, a separate seating area for those who bring their lunches with them, client services/ticket desk, and a recent extension to the chalet that is home to the Wiski Pub. 74 places are available to sit and enjoy a bite to eat or an apres-ski beverage. Breakfast is available as well from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm.

The entire mountain can be accessed from both quad chairs even when the double chair is not operating. When accessing the trails to the left of the quad chairs, they all lead back to the chalet with a connection pass sloped enough to get you back to the quads without too much effort. Trails to the right and underneath both the quad chairs lead directly back to the liftline. The uphill access at Gleason for those who wish to skin up would be via a designated trail. There is an area for the little ones, named the Gaudreau Enchanted Forest, an easy glade run that is accessible from the Gaudreau trail. The learning area for beginners can be found to the left of the double chair, separated from the main area, giving those learning how to ski a safe environment. All trails are groomed for optimal conditions.

Unique Features

There are a few unique features that can be found at Gleason. A nice feature here is two outdoor fire pit areas with seating. One located by the chalet, and the other by the bottom of the Laurent-Lemire quad lift. These are nice areas to relax after a few runs or to bask in the sun on a nice warm spring day. Also, there is the round Summit Log Cabin Chalet. Inside you will find enough place for 60, and in the middle of the chalet is a round open-pit fireplace by which to warm up. You can get light meals, drinks, and soups here as well.

Why visit Mont Gleason?

At Gleason, skiing is affordable. They offer a 4-hour ticket as well as full-day lift tickets. There is a nice variety of trails for all levels of skier. The learning area is away from the main trails for the beginner to practise their skills without being afraid to do so. There is something for everyone here from the tubing area for the family looking for a day out, to the avid snowshoe fan, and alpine skier. The environment that this area offers is very family-oriented whether you ski or not. All outdoor enthusiasts are welcomed here.

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