It’s impossible for anyone who has never done downhill skiing to know what is hidden behind Mont Edouard. Eight skiable areas, four refuges, 20 km of trails in a vast area of more than 80 hectares: the “backside” of the Mont Edouard resort is the largest structured off-piste ski area in all of Eastern North America.
Counter intuitive ? Access to the off-piste area of Mont Edouard is by riding the resort’s chairlift – energetic purists can climb the mountain using a snowshoe trail. We chose the easy way out, just to keep in shape for the future.
Our guide Antoine Provost had considered taking us to the Géants sector, but the reports from his fellow patrollers made him change his mind, opting instead for the La Grive sector, reserved for experts. “With the mild temperature of the last few days, a crust has formed on the snow, so it is preferable to go higher in altitude,” he says, heading towards the summit of Mont Laure-Gaudreault, which rises to over 800m above sea level.
This is the kind of information you have access to when you hire the services of a guide, offered at $115 per person.
“But the majority of people go without a guide; it is very well signposted and we have organized security. There are patrol officers in all sectors. They also take care of the shelters, light the fires in the stoves and advise people on the descent lines to take,” emphasizes Antoine Provost.
The presence of a warm refuge at the end of our climb to the summit of La Grive is welcome for a bite to eat, the last 770 meters of climb being steep as can be. The shelters are open to all hikers during the day, but they are intended for campers who have reserved their overnight stay. Because yes, it is possible to stay a few days in the sector, just to take advantage of some 1600 m of elevation gain offered by the eight high road sectors in total.
With our boots on in descent mode, we are excited at the idea of hurtling down the 302 m of altitude difference in the forest of the La Grive sector, which unfolds before us in all its splendor. “Like the Grand Pic sector, La Grive is reserved for experts, we cannot send a beginner there,” warns Antoine Provost. Our most accessible area would be the Sacré-Cœur, which leads back to the ski resort, and a few lines of the Giants because it is not very steep. But still, it’s still off-piste, so there are trees, bumps and powder. »
Strangely, the best kept secret of the high road areas of Mont Edward is also the most accessible. Zones 600 and 490 are located on the eastern side of the ski resort – access is via the La Sauvage and Le Passage slopes, respectively. “We get away from the crowds for an hour, and do a less skied area that’s really fun before coming back – it’s not even 15 minutes on skins to return to the glade areas of the station, says Antoine Provost. These areas are a little less busy, yet they are more accessible. But they are becoming more and more well-known. »
However, all of these sectors have in common that they are carefully maintained each summer by a specialized team. “Our chief lumberjack is also a station patrolman, he’s a rider; when he logs and sees something beautiful, he manages to make the descent better, says Antoine Provost. Each sector is cleared every two years in rotation by a team of six loggers working 40 hours per week for 5 weeks. »
In short, we take care of the “backside” as we take care of the slopes of the ski center, making Mont Edouard a destination of choice for the serious skier. “When I arrived here almost 10 years ago, Mont Edward was a purely regional resort,” our 31-year-old guide recalls. With the development of the high-road sector, which began in 2013, we now have a clientele that comes half from outside, especially from Quebec, but also from Ontario and the United States. People from Montreal or Quebec say to themselves: “OK, do I drive 12 hours to Gaspésie or half as much to go to Saguenay?” » The answer is yours!
