Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • Skiing
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Snowboarding

Entre glace et bordées : Les ceintures de neige / Snow Belts

  • February 4, 2021
  • Ned Morgan
Total
19
Shares
19
0
0
0
0
0
Total
19
Shares
Share 19
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

mots :: Dominique Caron // photo :: Alain Denis.

Samedi, 9 h tapant. Fraîchement éjectés de la remontée mécanique, tes skis touchent le sol et glissent sur un tapis de… glace. Encore. « Y’me semble que c’est tout le temps glacé cette mausus de montagne là ! », te dis-tu. Encore.

Tu te rappelles ce terme, entendu d’un ami ou lu dans un journal : snow belt ou ceinture de neige en bon français. « Entre Val-David et Val-Morin, dans la ceinture de neige », titrait le journaliste Alain Demers. Pourrait-il expliquer pourquoi certaines stations de ski soient vouées à se servir constamment de canons à neige, alors que d’autres sont bénies des dieux, couronnées d’impressionnantes bordées ? Ou s’agit-il d’une expression purement séductrice à laquelle ces dernières ont recours ?

Une ceinture de neige est d’abord et avant tout due à un phénomène météorologique. Lorsque l’air froid survole une grande surface d’eau non gelée ou dont la glace est brisée, il se gorge d’humidité avec l’évaporation de l’eau. Puisque la température du plan d’eau est plus élevée que celle de l’air, cela crée une instabilité déclenchée une fois la côte atteinte. Résultat : une importante averse de neige dans un secteur précis. C’est ce qu’on appelle « l’effet de lac », précise Simon Legault, météorologue chez Environnement Canada. En Amérique du Nord, c’est ce qui explique qu’on observe plusieurs ceintures de neige près des Grands Lacs.

Au Québec, le phénomène ne semble pas être répertorié aussi clairement. Si le lac Saint-Jean et certaines portions du fleuve Saint-Laurent ont une dimension assez importante pour recréer un « effet de lac » dans les monts Valin ou les Chic-Chocs – où l’on enregistre chaque année des quantités de neige supérieures à d’autres régions du Québec – ces cours d’eau sont trop éloignés pour reproduire le phénomène tel qu’on le retrouve près des Grands Lacs.

Legault souligne que des facteurs topographiques – relatif au relief général d’un terrain – sont favorables aux accumulations de neige dans ces secteurs. « Dans la réserve faunique des Laurentides [près des monts Valin], la précipitation est favorisée puisque l’air doit s’élever pour avancer parmi les montagnes. Lors du soulèvement de l’air, il y a une combinaison d’effets qui font en sorte que les chutes de neige sont plus favorables par rapport à d’autres endroits. Ce sont essentiellement des phénomènes régionaux. »

Quelles frontières / What Limit? Winter-Spring ’21 Vie en Montagne Out Now

C’est indéniable, certaines stations du Québec reçoivent plus de neige que d’autres. C’est le cas des stations de la Gaspésie, du Bas-Saint-Laurent, du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean et de Charlevoix, selon les chiffres de l’Association des stations de ski du Québec (ASSQ). Certaines d’entre elles carburent même entièrement à la neige naturelle, confirme Camille Chapdeleine, coordonnatrice aux communications à l’ASSQ.

Dans tous les cas, le terme ceinture de neige vise plutôt à attirer l’attention des amateurs de plein air qu’à offrir une description fidèle d’un phénomène météorologique, qui finalement, repose lui-même sur plusieurs phénomènes complexes. On est tout de même prêts à lui donner le bénéfice du doute – surtout s’il peut nous mettre sur la piste de belles bordées plutôt que sur des flancs glacés.

f9e1b8152313

*      *      *

Saturday, 9 a.m. sharp. You push off the chairlift, your skis touch the ground and glide across a blanket of … ice. Not again. You say to yourself, “this darned mountain is always icy!”

You then remember a term you heard from a friend or maybe you read about in the newspaper: Snow belt. “Between Val-David and Val-Morin sits the snow belt,” claimed an article by journalist Alain Demers. Could that explain why some ski resorts are forced to use snow cannons every year without fail, whereas others are blessed by the snow gods with heaps of fluffy snow? Or is it simply an expression that helps resorts reel in customers?

A snow belt is in fact a meteorological phenomenon. In a nutshell, it all starts when coastal winds push cold air over unfrozen or half-frozen bodies of water.

Entre-glace-et-bordees-Les-ceintures-de-neige-Snow-Belts-photo-by-Alain-Denis
Jean-Philippe Pelletier making his way to the Mur des Patrouilleurs in Gaspésie. Photo: ALAIN DENIS

Since the body of water is relatively warm compared to the air, the difference in temperature creates a recipe for chaos. As the air collects moisture, it moves over land and then releases all its energy. The result? A deluge of snow in a very specific area. That’s what we call the “lake-effect snow”, points out Simon Legault, meteorologist with Environment Canada. In North America, that explains how snow belts are created in and around the Great Lakes.

In Quebec, this meteorological phenomenon underlying snow belts is not documented as clearly. Lake Saint-Jean and certain parts of the St. Lawrence River are hypothetically large enough to create lake-effect snowfall. However, Monts-Valin National Park and the Chic-Chocs Mountains—which experience heavier snowfall than other parts of Quebec—are too far away from these bodies of water to be linked to this phenomenon.

So then how do you explain the endless amounts of snow? “It’s the topography—the general shape of a land—of these areas that makes all the difference,” explains Legault. The Laurentian Wildlife Reserve [near Monts-Valin National Park] is a prime spot for convergence activity. When the wind picks up, it creates a combination of effects that cause the snow to pile up in some areas and not in others. These phenomena are very regional.”

60016a95b67a 1

It’s plain to see—some ski resorts in Quebec are snowier than others. Based on the stats released by the Quebec Ski Area Association (ASSQ), ski resorts like Gaspésie, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean and Charlevoix are among the lucky few. Some of these resorts even manage to get by without having to create any artificial snow at all, explains Camille Chapdeleine, Communications Coordinator at ASSQ.

In any case, the term “snow belt” is more of a buzzword than an actual scientific description of a meteorological phenomenon—which, at the end of the day, requires a very complex and precise set of conditions. But we’re willing to let it slide—especially if it has the power to bless us with powdery slopes instead of icy hard-packed pistes.

Throwback Quebec Style: Q&A with Paul Bride

Total
19
Shares
Share 19
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Quebec
  • snow
Ned Morgan

Previous Article
Arcteryx-Transformative-Power-of-Nature-Wyoming-LEBEAU-hero-shot
  • Ambassadors
  • The Great Outdoors

Outer Peace: Connecting All People to Nature

  • February 2, 2021
  • Ned Morgan
View Post
Next Article
Helly-Hansen-Mono-open
  • THE GEAR SHED
  • WINTER GEAR

The Future is Circular: Helly Hansen’s Mono Material

  • February 4, 2021
  • Ned Morgan
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

End of an Era: Another Double Chair Bites the Dust

  • Sarah Bulford
  • March 28, 2023
Skiing at Hudson Bay Mountain in Smithers
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

Where Eagles Dare

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 27, 2023
Mountain-Life-20th-showreel
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • On The Trail
  • Photography
  • Videos

20 Years of ML

  • Editor
  • March 24, 2023
Powder-Highway-BC-ski
View Post
  • Rockies
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

Powder Highway Revisited

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 21, 2023
natural-selection-Redbull
View Post
  • Snowboarding
  • Videos

Friday Flick: Natural Selection Tour Highlights

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 17, 2023
Bora-Boreal-Quebec-winter-cabin-stars
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Stay & Play

Bora Boréal: Frozen in Time and Ice

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 14, 2023
rope-tow-Vancouver-Island
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Trips & Expeditions

Poached Winter

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 7, 2023
Ryan-Osman-ontario-splitboarding
View Post
  • Ontario
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

Off-Piste ON

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 6, 2023

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Featured Posts
  • 1
    End of an Era: Another Double Chair Bites the Dust
    • March 28, 2023
  • Skiing at Hudson Bay Mountain in Smithers 2
    Where Eagles Dare
    • March 27, 2023
  • Mountain-Life-20th-showreel 3
    20 Years of ML
    • March 24, 2023
  • Mustang-Survival-WOMENS-HELIX-CCS 4
    Gear Shed: Our End-of-Winter Picks
    • March 23, 2023
  • natural-selection-Redbull 5
    Friday Flick: Natural Selection Tour Highlights
    • March 17, 2023
RECENT POSTS
  • Powder-Highway-BC-ski
    Powder Highway Revisited
    • March 21, 2023
  • AleTrailsSouthernInterior_Vernon_MikeGamble_LookoutTrail_BenHaggarPhoto
    Ale Trails: Southern Interior Part 1, Vernon + Shuswap
    • March 20, 2023
  • Elements-Outfitters-Filson-cabin
    Elements Outfitters Partners with SALTS to Protect Alberta’s Incredible Landscapes
    • March 16, 2023
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
No one called me Feet Banks back in 1987. In those days, most people called me by my given name—except for my ski buddies, to whom I was known by the most badass moniker to ever schuss the slopes: Twinkle Toes.
We’re celebrating 20 Years of Mountain Life!
From The Gear Shed: Last Monday was the official start of spring, but we know there’s still some winter to be shredded. So ML staff and partners have picked the latest jackets, lanterns, bindings, mugs and drysuits for winter-spring.
Exploring the sights around beautiful Sutton, Quebec with ML creator @adv_bird ❄️🫶
Back on the road with three generations, dancing lifties, best-on-planet pizza and elusive-but-exquisite pow days.
Live It Up EP 24 is out now!
The Southern Interior region of BC holds an ecological cross-section of the province with alpine meadows, arid Douglas fir grasslands, damp cedar and hemlock forests of the Columbia Mountains and the warm expanse of Shuswap Lake.
Do Not Disturb mode activated ✅ #mountainlifer
Conceived by superhuman snowboarder @travisrice, the @naturalselection Tour highlights earth’s premier riders, from big-mountain mavens to Olympians, all competing on the most stoketastic—and unpredictable—terrain known to humankind.
Built upon a shared desire to enjoy, respect, and advocate for Alberta’s incredible landscapes, it was a natural fit for @elementsoutfitters to work with a local conservation organization @saltslandtrust to highlight the province’s rugged beauty and outdoor apparel to match.
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

No one called me Feet Banks back in 1987. In those days, most people called me by my given name—except for my ski buddies, to whom I was known by the most badass moniker to ever schuss the slopes: Twinkle Toes.
We’re celebrating 20 Years of Mountain Life!
From The Gear Shed: Last Monday was the official start of spring, but we know there’s still some winter to be shredded. So ML staff and partners have picked the latest jackets, lanterns, bindings, mugs and drysuits for winter-spring.
Exploring the sights around beautiful Sutton, Quebec with ML creator @adv_bird ❄️🫶
Back on the road with three generations, dancing lifties, best-on-planet pizza and elusive-but-exquisite pow days.
Live It Up EP 24 is out now!
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.