MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Fall 2020

30 Then came the rain. “La pluie battante!” said Phoenix. We were at Bromont, looking at the beautifully spaced glades and steeps and imagining how incredible the place would be if it were a couple degrees colder. But the boys were thrilled with the terrain park, the amenities of the resort and the incredible night skiing (the largest lit ski area in North America). An amazing dinner at the world-class restaurant Les 4 Canards also helped. On the second day of rain, however, our optimism got a little soggy, buoyed only by the envious and mean-spirited reprieve we received when we learned that one of our buddies back home got his snowmobile stuck in deep snow on the road so he didn’t actually ski. Life is only as good as you make it, though—and humans who adapt, survive. We soon found ourselves at Bromont’s local climbing gym, Backbone, with its cozy clutch of friendly locals, cool tunes, rich and healthy food at the in-house café, and an array of craft beer and local teas. We watched as the rain outside turned to snow and by the time our buddy had freed his snowmobile back home, we were headed an hour down the highway to Owl’s Head, feeling a lot better. Owl’s Head was in the midst of a $25 million upgrade, including new lodging, groomers and a new chairlift. The glade skiing at Owl’s Head is very intriguing: beautifully spaced giant hardwoods, massive granite boulders, In the Eastern Townships, four excellent resorts lie within an hour of each other: Bromont, Orford, Owl’s Head and Sutton.