Road Trip: Quebec's Eastern Townships

 Light up! Bromont is only 45 minutes from Montreal and, in case you didn't get enough skiing or riding during the day, the lights stay on until 10 p.m. weeknights.

Sometimes, you hit it right.

It was a beautiful sunny day in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, just north of the Vermont border. The temperature was warmer than it had been for two or three weeks, almost nudging the freezing mark. The wind, which had been screaming for days had calmed. A couple of inches of fresh snow fell overnight, on top of the couple of feet they'd gotten from the Sweetheart Storm of 2007 and its aftermath.

Given the conditions, and the holiday weekend in the States, every ski resort in the Northeast was packed to the max. Pent up demand meets fresh powder snow. Several areas set all-time attendance records.

I can't speak of every resort first hand, but I can sure tell you that on Saturday after the storm, Ski Bromont in Bromont, which is right off Autoroute 10, only 45 minutes from downtown Montreal, had every parking lot filled to capacity, and long lift lines on the most popular lifts.

If you looked at the base area of the Versant du Village, you'd think you'd never get near the slopes.

But looks can be deceiving. The Village lifts were indeed crowded-as you'd expect on any nice Saturday. If you want to explore the steep black diamond trails on this face of the mountain, wait until mid-week. Or come at night-- Bromont runs its lifts until 10 p.m. weeknights and 10:45 p.m. weekends. On special occassions the slopes are lit until 2 a.m.

But even on an amazingly busy Saturday, you could go exploring on the the gentler slopes on the Versant du Midi or the Versant du Cote Ouest, find uncrowded trails and lifts with no lift line.

The next morning at Mont Sutton in the village of Sutton, about half an hour farther from the city, things were still hopping. But the layout of the mountain, with nine lifts spread across the face, helped dissipate crowds. The trails got progressively more difficult as you moved to skier's right on the mountain.

Marilyn stayed and played on the blue intermediate trails mid-mountain and had a wonderful time. She found a lift with no line and yo-yoed the network of trails it serviced.

Meanwhile I attempted to follow a local guide, Nadya Baron, through the maze of waist-high powder bumps on the trails and to hidden powder shots in the glades farther out on the mountain's flank. Wonderful conditions, wonderful mountain!

One day at Sutton wasn't enough. In fact, I'm not sure a full week would let you find all of the possible combinations of runs hidden here. If you are among the hard core of skiers and riders, put this one on your "must slide" list.

Cold blue sky. The temperature may have been off the scale at Mont Orford, but the sun was shining and thee was plenty of snow.  (Tim Jones photos)

Unfortunately, the bottom fell out of the thermometer and the wind started howling for our visit to Mont Orford the next day, making it hard to really explore a new. Orford reminded me most of Cannon Mountain  in Franconia, N.H. It's big, prone to being windy, with some beautiful winding trails for all ability levels. Unfortunately, I got the sense that the real heart of Orford is in the glades-where you don't ski alone on a sub-zero day. That'll just have to wait for an other visit.

Believe me, I will be going back. First of all, I still have one area, Owl's Head in Mansonville, left to explore. Second, the resorts in the Eastern Townships are within easy driving distance, yet they feel like a foreign country. Third, even with the Canadian dollar gaining strength against the U.S, skiing and lodging up here is a bargain.

Getting there: Crossing the Border

Crossing the border into Canada is getting slightly more complicated than it has been in the past. One more impact of 9-11.

If you have a passport, bring it. If not, get one because it's going to be required shortly. For now, make sure you have a picture ID (like a driver's license or school ID), a copy of your birth certificate, and a copy of your reservations and itinerary. You may not need anything but the photo ID, but it pays to be safe.

Where to Eat and Sleep

The skiing and riding are great in the Eastern Townships are great, but the eating is even better, and the hotels we stayed in have a very European flair, that's very different than most ski area lodging.

At Orford, we stayed right at the mountain at the brand-new Auberge Aux 4 Saisons d'Orford (1-877-768-1110). The weather outside was frightful, so we took a chance and dined in their Bistro. Good choice! The five-course "Valentines" menu was outstanding and the prices were reasonable compared to a similar dining experience in the States (if you could find food that good . . .).

We also stayed two nights at the Chateau Bromont, in a room with a fireplace and a wonderful view of the mountain. Shuttle service took us right to the slopes. It's also about half an hour from Sutton, less than an hour from Owl's Head, and very convenient to Montreal.

We found a local brew pub, Micro-Brasserie Le Brouemont (450-534-0001), which has excellent micro-brews and outstanding burgers for dinner one night, and enjoyed another lavish, 5-course feast at the Les Quatre Canards in the hotel another night.

Let's Talk!

All four ski resorts in the Eastern Townships are within an hour of each other. Make your plans to include visits to several -- or all four.

A lot of people are nervous about traveling to someplace where English isn't the primary language. Don't be! The Eastern Townships are a very mixed-language region; everyone you meet speaks French, English and fluent "snow."