Frigid temperatures were the bane of Quebec ski resorts this winter, but with March break in full swing, they hope Quebecers will hit the slopes instead of flying south.
From spring like conditions during Christmas to the arctic cold for many resorts, it’s been up and down – but mostly down.
“We've had a tough holiday period,” said Christian Dufour, spokesperson for Mont-Saint Sauveur. “The month of January was quite good, we were picking up but then the month of February with that cold snap created lower attendance.”
Of course the first week of March means studentsare off and the hills are booming.
“Since spring break started on Saturday, we've seen numbers that are higher than average,” said Dufour.
Officials hope that the next few weeks will continue to bring up the numbers.
“We have three weeks of the school breaks in Quebec and Ontario and overall it's one quarter of the season for us. So it's over 1.5 million visitors over those three weeks,” explained Yves Juneau of the Association des stations de ski du Quebec.
Environment Canada warns that March is going to be colder than usual, but for ski resorts, a longer winter is good news.
“That means the conditions are going to be really good and people will be willing to go outside. At -8 (Celsius), -10, it's a nice winter day,” said Juneau.
The province's ski hills will stay open until Easter, and some of the major ones until May.
