(, ), known as just Le Massif, is a ski area in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, northeast of

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

and directly overlooking the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

Description

ski area is located in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François,

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...

, 90 km northeast of

. Its vertical drop is , the highest in

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (, also the Eastern provinces, Canadian East or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of Hudson Bay/ Hudson Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newf ...

and east of the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

. It is one of the few ski areas that is accessible from both the base and summit. Skiing season usually lasts from early December to late April. 's has an above average annual snowfall compared to other ski areas in Eastern Canada with a five-year average of . While the

snowpack Snowpack is an accumulation of snow that compresses with time and melts seasonally, often at high elevation or high latitude. Snowpacks are an important water resource that feed streams and rivers as they melt, sometimes leading to flooding. Snow ...

at the summit can exceed in a typical winter, the base is near

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

and can quickly begin to melt by April. La Charlevoix, the steepest trail with a pitch of 64%, is home to the only alpine training center east of the Rockies for Canada's athletes. The resort stretches from the top of the escarpment (actually a half-

graben In geology, a graben () is a depression (geology), depressed block of the Crust (geology), crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German language, German, meaning 'ditch' or 't ...

) to the bottom, where the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

flows past.

History

Skiing at started at the end of the 1970s, with

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

s towing groups of skiers from the main road at the top and a van serving as the lift. In the early 1980s, commercial operations started with la Société de développement du Massif. Starting in 1983–1984, school buses were used to drive skiers from the base to the top after each run. In the summer of 1992, two

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

s were installed: a high-speed quad and a fixed-grip double. The year of 2001 saw significant change for . A new road was built from Route 138 to the top of the mountain. The distance between Quebec City and summit was then reduced to instead of the previously needed to reach the base via the village of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François. At the same time, the Cap Maillard was raised by to create La Charlevoix, an

International Ski Federation The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS (), is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. It was previously known as the International Ski Federation () until 26 May 2022 when the name was cha ...

standard downhill trail mapped by alpine course designer (and champion) Bernhard Russi. It hosted the speed events of the 2006 Junior World Championships, with technical events at

Mont-Sainte-Anne Mont-Sainte-Anne is a ski resort in eastern Canada, located in the town of Beaupré, Quebec, about northeast of Quebec City. The mountain is part of the Laurentian mountain chain and has a summit elevation of above sea level with a vertical ...

. However, La Charlevoix was deemed unsuitable for hosting an Olympic downhill men’s event, hurting Quebec City's chances at hosting a

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

. The Junior Worlds returned in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. Daniel Gauthier, co-founder of , bought in 2002. Gauthier is no longer a co-owner of , and has used part of the proceeds of the sale of his participation in that venture to purchase Le Massif. In 2005, Jean-Luc Brassard, the 1994 Olympic champion in freestyle mogul skiing, became a spokesman for . In 2009, after a record snowfall of , added of backcountry skiing on Mount A Liguori. From 2011 to 2024, a tourist train service from Quebec City stopped in the winter at . LeMassifLargePano

Development

is about to undertake a major development known as Territoire Le Massif. This will open up the third peak to skiing, but mostly transform the mountain and surrounding area into a distinctive four-seasons resort, while respecting environmental values. The project has a budget of about C$180 million in new investments, in addition to the $50 million already spent, and comprises three parts: * La Ferme (The Farm): Hotel, services and activities in Baie-Saint-Paul, on the site of a burned-out farm. Opening in June 2012, it was awarded first prize in the Hotel and Service Retail Category of the Retail and Leisure Interior awards in March 2013. * La Base (The Base): Services, lodging and activities at the base of , west of the village of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François. * Les Crêtes (The Ridges): Services, lodging and activities at the summit of .

Climate

There is a weather station near the summit of Le Massif de Charlevoix, situated at an elevation of . Charlevoix (MRC) has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb''), closely bordering on a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

''Dfc'').

References

External links