Tremblant360.com

We think that the Winter Alpine Ski/Board Season at Tremblant is set to make a Historical “First” for all records since 1939/1948(**).

That “First” would be the simultaneous opening from Summit to Base on both the South, Versant Sud, Resort Base side, as well as the North Side, Versant Nord. If we understand the Tremblant.ca Blog entry correctly(*), this historic event is compensation due to the accidental fire and consequent temporary loss of use of the South Side Mid-Level “TGV” detachable high speed quad chair.((*)Quotation from Tremblant.ca Blog 10.30.14 “To provide such a ski area the snow making plan will be adapted, making the Duncan Express lift operational right from the opening of the season.”)     So, to the great, good fortune of early season Tremblant Ski/Board enthusiasts, this remarkable access to Versant Nord, the North Side, Summit to Base for the First Time on Opening Day is a bold and very worthy substitute.

There is no doubt that the heavy Snowmaking artillery has been deployed at the North Base and has every appearance of being “Fired Up” to level 10/Max! (all the pic’s in this post are clickable for expanded views. Use your browsers “back” button to return)

Night Shot, Expo Quad Base Loading Zone, Snowmaking. Web Cam Snap Shots Courtesy of Tremblant.ca

From what we know over some 40 odd seasons of Tremblant experience within the Tremblant360 Team, plus all that we’ve read, studied or heard of since the Resort opened, (**)Summit to Base operations on the North have never occurred before on Season’s Opening Day in the 66 some-odd year history of the North Side’s Opening in 1948. Of course, we stand to be corrected, we even dare to be corrected, but certainly in the modern Intrawest Era of the Resorts history, nor in our personal experience prior to that, can we recall any previous Seasons Opening that has offered Open Base Operation on both principle South and North sides.

We took the lead photo in this article at mid-Beauvallon(full size version above), while hiking the Mountain on November 3rd, so snowmaking has now been actively under way for two weeks. There has been one or two thermal hick-ups from Mother Nature, but since the ground itself has been largely frozen solid from the Summit all the way down to within a couple of hundred vertical feet of the Base levels since November 1st, retention has been very good and Mountain Crews have enjoyed Natures support on snowmaking temperatures since then, and more recently, natural snowfall as well.

To be sure, it’s only the middle of November, so no one expects full winter coverages, however by comparison to the memories and records of previous opening days, it seems very likely that this one will eclipse those of the past by quite a bit. We are not privy to the list of trails that may be –open for Day 1, so we need to say right up front here that even educated guessing is speculation only.

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Editors Late Night 11.19.14 Insert Note:

This Blog was written 11.18.14, prior to preliminary Official Snow Report data showing 13 Open Trails.

We will have a Seasons Preview in our regular Mountain Conditions… Look for that starting 11.20.14

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For starters though, the acreage apparently under snowmaking, represented by South Side Beauvallon and North Side Beauchemin, added together would be greater than many smaller regional Ski Hills have in their total inventory! On top of that, it is very likely that P’tit Bonheur, in its usual state of Opening Day Excellence will be there either as the main decent path from the Summit to the lower Lowell Thomas mid point of Beauchemin, or as additional Open terrain. The Park Terrain may also be located at the Lowell Thomas base zone, as it has been before, but that is just a guess. Any other runs would be bonus icing on the cake and with the below normal day and night temps that have been around for a few days now, it is possible that there may be some additional like other Lowell Thomas sector trails.

Attached here is a composite Versant Nord, North Side Base Level, Web Cam Panoramic(Web Cam Snap Shots Courtesy of Tremblant.ca). What you see that’s important is not only the Snowmaking that is going on at full blast coming off of Beauchemin Bas, Lower, but the abundance of natural snow that can be observed as far as the eye, or camera, can see extending up Expo. The combination of cool sub-zero temps and natural snow is just about ideal for reaching the targeted Opening Day, this Friday, November 21, 2014.

A quick run through the Tremblant360 Daily Mountain Conditions Archives(Link provided below), will show that the typical Versant Nord Base Level opening is usually right around the end of the first week in December, give or take, and is often coordinated with the Tremblant.ca 24 Hour Children’s Charity  Fundraiser Event, so with this fabulous early start, we’re basically a little over two weeks ahead of the normal open terrain development right from the beginning!

What might this early and highly productive Snowmaking mean for the up-coming season?

Long Term: Every early day of better than average winter type conditions allows Mountain Crews to gain a tangible advantage in square surface coverage and base depth. The truth is of course, temps are not yet end-of-January, it’s November and there will be the odd up/down fluctuation, but that’s exactly where the advantage pays back because the more square surface coverage there is, the more base depth there is, the more resilient the Open Terrain is to Mother Natures little thermal episodes.

Short Term: you are going to be able to go to Tremblant THIS FRIDAY MORNING… and you should be able to find a big bunch of this:

We don’t have any crystal ball guarantee’s it’ll be sunny, although current Weather models are forecasting “Sunny Breaks” for Friday, but regardless, the Skiing and Boarding are going to be great no matter what, so…

Merci Tremblant Mountain Crews for all this fabulous work! This is a huge logistical undertaking and we are absolutely thrilled to be able to have such a unique, and historical privilege. We have smiles a mile wide, just thinking about all the variety that this Opening day will have and we want to encourage all loyal Tremblant Fans to make every effort possible to not only get out and support this commitment by Mountain Management and Crews, but to be part of the history themselves.

GoTo: Archive, Search Daily Conditions Reports by sequential date: Index:

http://tinyurl.com/yktelmu

#Tremblant

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