Chic Chocs Spring Fling

FasterSkier · May 1, 2004

About three years ago, members of the xcottawa.ca racing team made a trip to the Chic Choc Mountains, in the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec for some spring skiing. We piled 5 people and all our gear into a rusty old car and kept our fingers crossed for the 12 hr. drive from Ottawa.

Interestingly enough, the transmission that replaced the one we managed to ruin on that trip, belonging to my parents’ 1990 Mercury wagon, has kept the car going to this date. My dad says it will continue to do so for at least another three years. Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets!

In any case, when we planned our trip this year, we thought it was best to leave nothing to chance, so we rented a 15 passenger van. Very well equipped, except in terms of tires, which could be described as being about as bald as the scalp of Yule Brynner. Yes, even the road into the parking lot was too steep for the “quality all-season radials” of a nameless and shameless rental agency.

The purpose of our trip was certainly not serious training. In fact, it might be described as seriously the opposite. April is that rare month where a racer can take a well-deserved break from real training, and simply enjoy skiing.

Our lodgings were a modest, but well equipped chalet managed by the Gite du Mt- Albert. Each day we would wake up when we felt like it. We would then eat a leisurely breafast and drink endless cups of gourmet coffee ( met standards set forth by resident coffee expert, Arno Turk) until we felt like skiing. For about 5 days we followed this routine, each day bringing new adventures. On one day, our search for a skiable telemark hill wound up being an 8 hour tour through snow and fog, with just enough time to squeeze in about two runs on a beautiful powdery slope.