Dec 18, 2007

24 Hours of Tremblant


I'd been daydreaming about a trip to Mont Tremblant and I knew the snow was falling in the Laurentians with a decent base of 120cm already awaiting me. So, when a friend visiting from the UK said he hadn't yet seen Montreal or Quebec we knew it was time to hit the road. Time was limited. We'd have one night and day at Tremblant - 24 hours - before heading to Montreal for a bit of boozing and back to Toronto.

I'd planned a quick stop over in Saint-Adele for a drink before we had to hit the sack, it would be a bit of a treat too, as DJ Champion would be playing in the small French town. The first time I'd seen him was at a surprise party in the village lodge at Blue Mountain and he was incredible. Before that I'd never really seen a DJ conducting things before, but it worked really well for him and his vocalist, as well as his 4-man guitar band. Arriving at the Bourbon Street Bar I was a bit surprised to see the crowd. They were all super cute and having a great time, but all looked like they were ordering drinks for the first time in their lives. We stayed for a couple bottles of red wine - the bar offers pocket-sized bottles instead of the usual glass - and then headed further into the Laurentians to find our lodgings.



I was excited about the place we'd be staying at, the Cap Wyndham Tremblant. It was supposed to be the highest-altitude resort close to Tremblant so we'd have unparalleled views. I'd been given the accomodation tip from a friend at work. For $220 for the night we scored a beautiful 2-bedroom apartment with full kitchen. We may've stayed up later than we should enjoying the comforts of the toasty stone fireplace and spicy red wine.

I awoke to near blizzard conditions the next morning which made me as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning. I made coffee and tried to get my friends up. Slowly they rose and the sun broke to reveal a stunning view of Tremblant awash in gold glow. I'll never forget that view. It couldn't have been better if we were right in Tremblant village.



Things were busy when we reached the mountain. A charity event called 24 hours of Tremblant had taken over part of the hill and the village was bursting with the buzz of racers and organizers alike. For us, it just meant longer line-ups to get our stuff together and longer waits at the cafes.



By about noon we were on the hill and ready to get some runs under our belt. Our top man from the UK showed us that sometimes beginners can surprise you, as he and Craig made their speedy way down a southside green run.



When it was time to warm up we took the gondola to the top for a look around and grabbed more mini-bottles of wine. Form the lodge at the mountain top the view was never-ending, it just made me want to get back out on the runs.



The wind was furious. It was enough sometimes to simply turn my torso toward the wind the get some drag, otherwise Craig and I were flying down every run. We were hoping to get in as many as possible. At about 4 the gates begain to close and there were no more rides for us to catch.



We sat side stage and heard David Usher play before taking in the action in the village. There were some fantastic acrobats showing off their trampoline tricks in the main square.



While I was there, I bumped into an old friend who was taking part in the race. 8 people per team race 24hours long, getting in as many runs as possible. Millions are raised from the event for a childrens charity in Quebec. While I've never done anything quite like it Craig and I agreed it would be a great way to start the season next year.

All photos by 416style and videos by sookiyaki.