Quick update on conditions at Camp Fortune. Saturday was grim, cold rain all day but as the sun went down we had a switch over. The snow started around 6pm in Chelsea and 8pm in Ottawa. The result 12cms at Camp Fortune! Instant winter wonderland with the sticky stuff clinging to trees and chair lifts. Note to self I need better ski pants. Anyways, Fortune had 5 runs open in the Valley on Sunday. The conditions were good on Marshall and Clifford, hard-packed groomers with some fresh on top. Pineault had lots of park rails and jumps setup but the wind was blowing unpleasantly uphill. Now that the cold weather is back Slalom and Skyline should be open by the weekend. Slalom has loads of snow whales all over it. Skyline is pretty much ready with Canadian, Sparks and Bud Clark already groomed. A couple more snowfalls and the place should be hopping for Christmas break. Enjoy. 

Opening day at Camp Fortune was a crisp (-12c) bluebird day. This is the 100th season! and people are pumped. Two runs, Pineault and Allen's Ally were open and the conditions were great. The trails are covered in perfect machine made corduroy with about 20cms of natural snow along the edges. There are also a few rails and small jumps setup for the park kids. I arrived a little after 9 missing first chair. I stayed for a few hours and got a bunch of runs in before the place started to get busy. People are very eager. A great first day to a very early start. Snowmaking has moved to Clifford and hopefully by next weekend both Clifford and Marshall may be open.   I bought some swag!  

Yes Camp Fortune is closed for the season but there is still loads of snow on the hills even after the rainfest of the last couple days.  Since I missed the last official weekend I figured I better get my fix. Taking my snowshoe skis which have a built in skin under foot I climbed Sparks on the Skyline line side.  The main runs still have plenty of snow and even the north facing glades are skiable. I skinned to the top of Pineault then went down Paradis on the Meech side.  A quarter of the way down I ducked into the new but unnamed glade that feeds down under the lift and onto North American.  The trees were skiable and the snow was soft though there was loads of debris.  I then climbed up North American back up to Sparks via the Meech Crossing.  The final run was a quick blast down...

Wow bonus powder day. I went up to Fortune right after work and it was snowing a little. By 4pm though it was a white out and would snow heavy for over three hours dropping 10cms. Every run was refreshed. We may be at peak snow pack.  This may have been my best night ski in a long while.  Conditions we perfect, everything was open and zero crowds. Hero snow, enough said. You better have googles. Hegg was open till 7pm Tree paths/runs between Sparks and Bud Clark Top of Heggtveit This may have been a mistake. Chilly Poutine! Killer night

Another beautiful day at Camp Fortune.  Full sun, zero wind and a temperature around -5c. Conditions are loose granular over a hard base. Fortune has done a great job of dealing with the rain then flash freeze of last Sunday.  The groomers are fast and smooth. By the afternoon some on the steeper runs on Skyline were getting scrapped down to the base but the Valley and the Meech trails were still very natural and softish.  The non-groomed runs and glades are still closed and the snow is cement like.  We either need a warm up or more snow, lets hope for both.  The next two weeks will be perfect for March break though as the snow pack is still impressive.  Ski on!

Well, all the snow from the storm last Tuesday/Wednesday has held up great at Camp Fortune. The conditions are killer with nicely groomed snow, perfect for high angle carving at high speed.  We arrived in time to get a bunch of runs on Heggtviet and Duffy before the sun went down just before 6.  The bumps and cliff drops on Duffy were super fun. Hegg you could just rail on.  Swan Dive was a little more of a technical ski as the bumps were huge and rather unforgiving. Pretty much all the other groomed trails were in excellent shape with the exception Bud Clark which was getting a little scrapped down to the base at the top section.  Overall another great night of skiing with a full moon adding to the ambiance.  Oh and the Boreale IPA du Nord-Est at the bar is super tasty. Swan Dive. Duffy in the sun.

After the Edelweiss ice skating experience the previous evening and following the day's snow and rain, I was looking forward to hitting the hill with a bit more success on this evening. I packed up the car and headed out to Edelweiss. Once I got to the end of the 50 it took me a few moments to realize how dark it seemed. I mean, it's pretty desolate out there but this was dark, and the traffic lights were blinking. Sure enough I got to Edelweiss to discover the Hydro Quebec outage affecting Cantley, including Edelweiss, Vorlage and probably Cascades (I couldn't get through to them on the phone). One of the school trip chaperones told me the power went out about 7:30 and people were stuck on the lift, but the generator kicked in, getting them to the top of the mountain, and they were all escorted down by ski...

Boom! I woke to 15cm and it was still coming down hard.  Yes it was cold (-20c) but when it snows its a good day.  I managed to make it up to Fortune around 10am. Late maybe but I was hungover and got stuck behind a fleet of snow plows.  There was still lots of powder to go around.  First stop was Heggtveit.  After some fun on Skyline including Swan Dive I went over to the valley. The T-bar was running so I gave McDonald and Alexander a try.  If you wanted pristine powder in the valley, then those were the runs.  By noon we had topped 20cm! The wind was a little fierce and lots of snow was drifting or getting blown into the woods but still what a killer morning.  More snow is on the way later in the week and temperatures will rise.  So get it while its good! Swan Dive McDonald...

I rolled into the valley at Camp Fortune around 3pm. The parking lot was pretty full. I guess even though it was around -15c the sun and low wind had brought everyone out.  Bluebird days help a lot and everyone was enjoying the wintery Saturday on the hill. The conditions were a mix of packed snow on the valley side to hard packed base on Skyline. The mogul run on Clifford was hard ice though and my edges were not sharp enough for it....or skills.  Of note, Heggtveit is now open. I found it a little icy probably because of high traffic during the day and the fact that it had just opened on Wednesday. Hegg is not lit but it stayed open till around 5pm which shows that our sun is coming back.  Also in the valley Fortune was blowing snow onto McDonald and Alexander! This is great news as last year the runs...

Pulled into Fortune Valley around 4 for my first night ski of the season.  The hill had gotten about 4cm over night and it was still lightly snowing.  The conditions in the valley were great with a soft layer over a hard base.  You could carve railroad tracks with ease.  Skyline on the other hand was a little crusty.  First there had been a NorAm Men's Slalom event during the day and Canadian/Chute were closed off. This left Sparks and Bud Clark open.  The conditions on Sparks were good but Bud had been well skied all day and was down to crusty base in spots.  Around 5ish the light snow started to turn into light freezing drizzle which stuck to your googles.  We went into the lodge in the valley to dry off and eat.  The bar has new beers on tap, gone are the marco brews and they now have Beau's and some...

Happy New Year! and 2019 comes in with a roar. While Ottawa got a mix of snow (maybe 4cms), freezing rain and rain Camp Fortune got about 10-15cms! Anyway the best way to kill a hangover is to ski. I arrived around 9:30 with my sister in tow and almost got stuck in the Skyline parking lot which had not been plowed.  The place was a bit of a ghost town.  The temperature was a little below zero with some wind. The conditions were perfect with the new wet snow gluing to the hard pack which made for a great base for carving fast.  The ice was gone and we even ducked into some gladed areas which had just enough coverage to hide the rocks and logs.  All the main trails on Skyline were open with the exception of Heggtveit.  Hegg should open in a day or so though as it's covered in machine made snow mounds.  We caught the ribbon drop for...

It's the final day of 2018 and wanting to end it in true skiing style, a ski double-header was on the menu. Mont Ste Marie in the morning and Camp Fortune in the afternoon. (Be sure to check out the other report here). I arrived at Camp Fortune around 1pm on the Valley Side. Saddling up my ski boots once for the second time today, I was off to the trails. Betting big, I decided I would just focus on the Meech sector of the mountain this visit. It did not disappoint the slightest. Wow, Paradis and North American are in excellent shape. Other than my final run out through Allen's Alley, the rest of the time was spent on these two trails. Paradis is the longest trail at Camp Fortune at approximately a mile in length. All along the way, you can catch glimpses of Meech Lake in the distance...

Did a quick mission up to Fortune to see how the hill faired from the rainfest of Friday.  Pulled into Skyline around 9:30. Skyline had just opened for the season on Saturday and the base is looking great with Chute, Canadian, Bud Clark and Sparks open.  The conditions were fast hard pack granular with little or no ice.  Fortune did a great job of recovering from the rain. In fact, the base on Canadian seems the highest I've seen it, making the run steeper than normal.  Skied over to the valley without having to skate ski at all.  The snow was even better in the valley plus the sun was hitting that side.  Temperatures were hovering around -12C and snow making was happening on the Meech runs.  The resort was pretty quiet for the start of the holidays, some lessons were going on and race practices were happening on Slalom.  Overall another great morning of skiing.  Now lets get...

Hit the valley around 9:30 after passing a closed Skyline covered in whales of snow gun snow.  I'm sure it will open next weekend or sooner. Regardless it was a beautiful day with temperatures hovering around zero. The entire valley is now open with the exception of the T-bar runs.  Conditions were very decent for early season skiing with a good base of machine made snow. You could get a good carve on and zip down Slalom. The best snow was on Slalom, Pineault and Clifford.   Marshall had just opened and was a little rough with balls of groomer made crude. Clifford has a new line of moguls for those into that.  Overall a great day of skiing. 

What an exceptional start to the season this year at Camp Fortune. Thanks to an abundant supply of natural snow over the past couple weeks and very cold weather that allowed heavy snowmaking to occur, Camp Fortune launched its season this past Friday. Already on to Day 2, conditions are perfect, and you would be forgiven to think it was mid-February skiing because of how good it really is. Two trails are open, Pineault and Allen's Alley, served by the Pineault Quad lift. Snow coverage is complete and full width, with no ice, firm base, and plenty of white snow to carve up and enjoy. A small snowpark is also set up, complete with some rails, boxes, and modules. Camp Fortune isn't standing still, with snowmaking continuing across the mountain, you can see huge piles of snow on Clifford, Slalom, by the magic carpets, and down towards the Meech side of...

The Spring Season began exactly one month ago, and yet today was the first day of skiing for me that actually felt very much like spring. While people may be disappointed with the late start, it has also permitted ski mountains to stretch their season even longer than average. Camp Fortune is usually first to open and last to close in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, but this year all the main trails on Skyline are open, with full snow coverage. The biggest contrast I can make to past years is that by now they would have already been closed, so very exciting turn of events indeed. Being an early bird and personally preferring firmer snow conditions, I arrived to ski for opening at 9am. The parking already had more cars than I was expecting at that time... I guess the great news that spring skiing had arrived was heard loud and clear. Ski...

It is now the second weekend into April and thanks to recent snowfalls, the mountain couldn't have been in better shape this time of year. There is plenty of snow everywhere and the conditions are sublime. No ice, no bare patches, nothing that could ruin the experience, it was just another perfect day out on the slopes.  There are 4 lifts and 13 runs open. All except two trails were open in the Valley and Skyline (Swan Dive and Duffy are closed). This weekend marks the end of the ski season in the Valley at Camp Fortune... as of next weekend the skiing moves to Skyline.  For those lovers of the snowpark, you will be happy to know that it is in great shape with plenty of jumps, boxes and rails ready to jib. Tomorrow at Camp Fortune there are two events not to miss: the 24th Annual Fortune Cup Dual...

Made it up to Camp Fortune for a few hours after a fairly long absence. The spring skiing conditions are great. Loads of coverage, fast soft snow and almost all the runs are still open on both the Valley and Skyline. Justin Trudeau was even snowboarding for a few hours in the morning! Ignore the fact the most of the snow is gone in the city, up in the Gatineau hills there is still lots of snow. People are still even cross country skiing.  Get up here and enjoy the warm weather and great snow. 

I haven't got in a lot of snowshoeing this year, so this morning I checked out the snowshoe trails near Camp Fortune. What was going to be a quick trip of a few short loops turned into a Snowshoe/Ski adventure around the entire Camp Fortune ski area. I was using snowshoe skis. Short fat skis with telemark bindings and a built skin under the foot for climbing.  First the crude trail map: I started with the loop that that goes up and round the Alexander and McDonald. The start of the trail just behind the Ski Club building.  After going through the woods I skinned up the ski hill. The snow was crusty out of the woods.  An old skin trail Nice view of the valley Now to ski down through the crust!  The crust sucked so I went back in the woods. Near the bottom a jump is being created, plus an...

There is absolutely nothing better to do on a Friday night after work if you are a skier, than night skiing. This visit was at Camp Fortune, perfect for the variety and number of trails and terrain available to enjoy. The proximity to the city makes it even easier and quicker to get on the slopes as soon as the clock hits quitting time. Arriving around 5:30pm, the mountain is not busy, but it is very clear that the conditions are perfect. The recent snow of the past week and a half have brought the ski conditions to arguably the best they have been of the season... bar none. Just when it seemed like the end was quickly approaching, new snow arrived and arrived it did. The trails are perfectly groomed, absolutely no ice, and a pure joy to ride. Hats off to Camp Fortune for making the experience top notch...

With such killer weather and conditions I had to keep skiing, so a quick jaunt to Camp Fortune was in order.  Being a little sore from a powderfest yesterday I didn't roll into the parking lot at Skyline till 10am.  The sun was out and the place didn't look busy at all.  The trails still had a lot of perfectly groomed corduroy. I think Camp Fortune does some of the best grooming in Quebec, I just wish they would keep a couple more runs natural.  Anyway the conditions were fantastic, the snow was soft but not wet at all and having some sun was nice after a rather gloomy 2018. After almost 36cms of fresh now in the week the conditions are now mid-winter and Fortune should be well setup to get us into the middle of April.  Get out people this could be the best skiing of the season.  Skyline on March break The Skyline...

Well after yelling “Give me back my winter” for three weeks we are rewarded. 10cm of fresh snow  with more to come over night and into Friday.  Winter is back and Camp Fotune is skiing fine!  I arrived at Skyline just past 5pm. The trees were covered in new fallen snow, everything felt fresh, light snow was falling, it was a winter wonderland.  Conditions were great with a nice soft groomed base and fresh snow on top.  I took a couple runs on Hegg before it got dark then took in the rest of Skyline before crossing over to the valley to grab a bite to eat.  The custom made burritos are pretty good.  Lots of fresh powder in the Valley, plus a nice mogul run on Clifford.  Great skiing was had, the place was empty, no lift lines, and the trails were all mine. Kick ass! Don’t miss out, get up here.  Friday should be stellar. ...

Here is a quick report on conditions at Fortune.  Today was gorgeous, sunny and a high of 4. The runs were fast hard packed snow with a little bit of icing on top. The trails are in good shape and softened a tad by midday. Camp Fortune has managed to survive the freezing rain we had on Sunday very well.  I arrived at around 9:30 and was shocked by how busy it was. I guess everyone had the same idea. The lines were fast but I have to say the older crowd were acting like stoned teenagers. They couldn't line up well, they were falling getting on the lift, or standing to close to the chair as it turned around, it was like a bunch of retires who hadn't skied in like 5 years decided to go skiing today. Anyway I survived the mayhem and checked out Meech which is always quiet and the Valley. Slalom races were being held on Slalom and Canadian/Chute.  Overall a great day...

More snow, so I had to ski.  Went for a quick 4 hour mission with my sister to Fortune. With the new RFID system you can load 4 hours or a full day from home and skip any ticket line.  The  new gates also show you how long you have until your hours run out.  We arrived at Skyline around 8:30 just as the lifts started.  10cm had dropped already and the snow would continue for the rest of the day.  We blasted down Heggtveit for the first few runs then moved across the hill.  The new snow made the conditions great for the first couple hours before the soft snow got pushed around a bunch.  Hiding under the fresh was some spots of icy hard pack that showed up on Upper Canadian and Heggtviet. Skyline started to get a little busy by around 10 but the lines moved quick.  All in all, another great day...

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...