MONTREAL -- There’s a distinct lack of snow on Montreal’s streets given the time of year but the area’s ski hills are doing their best to provide a White Christmas.
The last few weeks have seen unseasonably high temperatures and bouts of freezing rain in southern Quebec but skiers were still on the slopes of Mount St-Bruno on Saturday. Ski school assistant director Penny Paris compared conditions to spring skiing, despite it being late December.
“It’s a hard base with a nice soft slushiness on top,” she said. “It’s not too wet because it’s still cool in the morning.”
The hill has managed to keep all its trails open because of a backup plan.
“We’ve been making snow since November, so we have a good hard pack underneath,” said Paris.
Snowmaking machines require sub-zero conditions and temperatures have topped freezing over the past few days but Paris said nighttime’s lower temperatures have helped.
“They also create what they call snow reserves so some of the sections look really, really flat but there’s six feet of snow underneath,” she said. “They’ll work with that snow and bring it onto the sections that aren’t so nice.”
According to skicentral.com 96 per cent of Quebec’s hills are open. Mont Tremblant is operating 75 per cent of its runs but some hills in the Eastern Townships aren’t so fortunate. That number dropped to 18 per cent at Mont Sutton and 21 per cent at Mont Orford.
There is relief on the way – while this Christmas wasn’t white, that’ll change for New Year’s with snow on the horizon on Monday and Tuesday, according to Environment Canada.
