Mont Tremblant Resort

"Mont Tremblant" redirects here. For other uses, see Mont Tremblant (disambiguation).

Mont Tremblant Ski Resort
Mont Tremblant resort and pedestrian village
Location	Mont-Tremblant, Quebec
Nearest city	Montreal
Coordinates	46°12′44.0″N 74°35′17.0″W / 46.21222°N 74.58806°W / 46.21222; -74.58806 (Mont Tremblant Ski Resort)
Vertical	645 m (2,116 ft)
Top elevation	875 m (2,871 ft)
Base elevation	230 m (750 ft)
Skiable area	2.53 square kilometres (0.98 sq mi)
Runs	95 Total 17% Easy 33% Intermediate 50% Difficult
Longest run	6 km (4 mi) (Nansen)
Lift system	2 gondola, 9 chairlifts, 3 magic carpet
Lift capacity	27,230 skiers/hr
Snowfall	395 cm (156 in) per year
Snowmaking	71%
Web site	Tremblant.ca

Mont Tremblant Ski Resort is a year-round resort in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, about 130 km northwest of Montreal. It is best known as a ski destination, but also features a lake suitable for swimming and two golf courses in the summer months. The name of the mountain, Mont Tremblant, was derived from the local Algonquin natives, who called it the "trembling mountain".^{[citation needed]} The summit is at an elevation of 875 metres (2,871 ft), which makes it one of the tallest peaks in the Laurentians.

The mountain and resort are part of the Mont-Tremblant National Park and are located near the village of Mont-Tremblant.

History

Development

In 1938 an explorer from Philadelphia named Jo Ryan came to the region prospecting gold. Accompanied by Harry Wheeler and by Lowell Thomas, an American journalist, they climbed to the summit. It is documented^[where?] that Jo Ryan had vowed to transform the landscape into a world-class alpine village. It was only one year later than his dream was realized. In February 1939, Jo Ryan opened the Mont Tremblant Lodge, which remains part of the Pedestrian Village today. With architecture reminiscent of traditional Quebec, the mountain hosted visitors from around the world.

In its early years, Lowell Thomas, the American radio broadcaster, was an avid skier who helped popularize the resort by broadcasting shows from the site. The resort named a ski lift and trails after him and after other early devotees.

The resort operated independently until 1991, when it was purchased by Intrawest, which immediately expanded the pedestrian resort village and built new ski lifts, including a gondola. Other changes included building the Grand Manitou summit lodge.

In 2009 a casino located at the base of the soleil trails was opened. The casino is serviced by a new 8 passenger gondola that runs from the main resort to the casino.

December 2005 labour disruption

On December 15, 2005, the union representing most resort staff staged a temporary work stoppage, starting at 10:00 am and ending at 11:30 am.

Two days later the union staged a general strike, workers setting up a picket line between the gondola and the pedestrian village. A small number of lifts remained in operation.

While the strike was only supposed to last 24 hours, it did not end until January 2, 2006.

Controversy

On 16 March 2009, actress Natasha Richardson sustained a head injury when she fell while taking a beginner skiing lesson at the resort. The injury was followed by a lucid interval, when Richardson seemed to be fine and was able to talk and act normally. Paramedics and an ambulance which initially responded to the accident were told they were not needed and left. Refusing medical attention twice, she returned to her hotel room and about three hours later was taken to a local hospital in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts after complaining of a headache..^[1] She was transferred from there by ambulance to Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur, Montreal, in critical condition and was admitted about seven hours after the fall. The following day she was flown to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where she died on 18 March. An autopsy conducted by the New York City Medical Examiners Office on 19 March revealed the cause of death was an "epidural hematoma due to blunt impact to the head", and her death was ruled an accident..^[1]

Resort facilities

Clock tower at Mont-Tremblant Resort.

As of 2005, Mont Tremblant had been recognized by Ski Magazine as the #1 ski resort in Eastern North America for 8 consecutive years.^{[citation needed]} The main resort has more than 600 acres (2.4 km²) of ski and snowboarding trails in four distinct areas: North Side (Versant Nord), South Side (Versant Sud), Sunny Side (Versant Soleil) and The Edge (Versant Edge).

As of the 2005 winter season, the resort had 94 marked downhill trails, the longest 6 km (3.7 mi), 16 designated easy, 31 intermediate, 37 difficult and 10 expert.

The resort features 13 ski lifts, including 1 gondola, 5 detachable chairlifts, 3 regular chairlifts and 3 magic carpets. Total lift capacity is 27,230 skiers per hour.

The top of the mountain has a chalet and restaurant, Le Grand Manitou, open winter and summer.

Pedestrian Village

Mont-Tremblant's Pedestrian village.

There is an open gondola-style lift called The Cabriolet which connects the upper and lower parts of the village. From the top of this lift, the main gondola is available to take skiers to the summit of the mountain. There is also a ski trail running through the village for skiers to access the lower level of the village and transportation.

It is important to note that Mont Tremblant Resort and the municipal village of Mont-Tremblant are separate entities.

Activities

Mont Tremblant has year-round activities which take advantage of the surrounding environment (mountains, forest, lakes and rivers); most are set up on daily schedules and usually take the form of tours in small groups and are accessible to families; most are run by independent operators or specialized guides.

Summer activities include airplane tours, all-terrain vehicle tours, croisieres, boating, caleche rides, canoeing trips, cycling, dune buggy tours, fishing tours, golf, helicopter tours, hiking, horse back riding, lake cruises, mountain biking, paintball games, rafting, rock climbing school, spas, via-ferratta, waterskiing and wakeboarding, white-water rafting, and zip-lines.

Skier with village in background.

Winter activities include cross-country skiing, dogsledding, downhill skiing and ski schools, helicopter tours, horseback riding, ice-climbing, paintball, sleigh rides, snomobiling, snowshoeing, and spas.

Lodging

Mont Tremblant has a wide variety of hotel and condo accommodations, many of which are situated in the pedestrian village at the foot of the mountain.

There are additional condo and chalet accommodations located adjacent to the pedestrian village which are managed by the resort's rental agency or other private rental agencies. These accommodations feature shuttle bus service which provides guests some of the same convenience afforded to people staying in the pedestrian village.

Most condo accommodations at the resort area are privately owned. The resort or rental agencies act as a rental broker for these properties by handling maintenance, reservations and other guest-related tasks on behalf of owners.

There are also many privately owned chalets of all levels (from budget to luxury) in the immediate area.

Mont Tremblant hotel accommodations

Surrounding area

View of the surrounding area from the top of Mont-Tremblant

The surrounding hills and valleys are filled with trails for cross-country skiing and hiking. The ski trails connect with other ski trails in neighboring towns, making it possible for nature lovers to undertake ski excursions lasting several days going (or coming from) as far south as Blainville, Quebec on the outskirts of Montreal. The network of cross-country ski trails consists of over 100 km of terrain, much of which follows the Diable river and its adjacent coniferous forest.

The surrounding valleys of the Mont-Tremblant National Park have small lakes, dense boreal forests and thousands of vacation cottages. There are also world-class golf courses, hiking trails and small rivers suitable for canoeing and swimming.

There are many trails for mountain bikes and a special "route verte" rail trail paved for road bicycle use. The cycling/multifunctional path was built on an abandoned right-of-way of the Montreal-Mont Laurier railway; so cyclists do not have to share a path with motorized vehicles.

See also

• Mont-Tremblant public transit
• List of ski areas and resorts in Canada

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Weber, Bruce (19 March 2009). "Natasha Richardson, Actress, Dies at 45". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/us/19richardson.html. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 

External links

• Mont Tremblant Resort Official Website
• Hotel Hilton Tremblant