MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Fall 2020

29 BROMONT BRO-DOWN A fathers-and-sons trip to Quebec’s Eastern Townships words :: David Loopstra // photos :: Glen Harris It was one of those storms that locals talk about for the rest of the year. February 2020. COVID-19 not really on the radar yet. Everything was normal. And normal means we got walloped with a 48-hour snow-mageddon. It was the type of storm that closes roads and businesses. The type where guys lucky enough to have snowmobiles are the only guys lucky enough to make it to local ski resorts. The only problem? The storm hit Ontario and we were in Quebec. And here it was raining. Radar showed that the snow was headed our way, but the front end of it carried rain, as winter storms often do. This was supposed to be the ski trip we’d finally nailed. Our wives had granted permission for us Mountain Lifers to take our 11-year-old boys out of school for a week to ski Quebec’s Eastern Townships, an area rich in all the things we love: cool people, culture, craft beer, super-rad terrain and amazing restaurants—all within an eight-hour drive of Collingwood. Our sons Mav, Leo and Phoenix were now of the age they could keep up with us—a golden period of time before they start leaving us in the snow dust. We love Quebec, and are new enough to the province that it’s still mysterious and exciting. And this trip the language barrier had also been solved: Phoenix is enrolled in French Immersion. So he was our official communicator. MONT ORFORD SKI BROMONT SUTTON OWL'S HEAD