Mont-Édouard brings back-country skiing to Quebec, finally

The appeal of down-hill skiing would appear to be in the name: you ski down, the fun part, and take a chairlift for the hard part. 

But one ski hill in Quebec is banking on the growing number of skiers who are willing to "earn their turn" — they forego the chairlift to ski up the mountain. Only then to ski down again. 

• Listen: CBC's Marika Wheeler on the history of Mont-Édouard
• Listen: CBC's Marika Wheeler on back-country skiing at Mont-Édouard

For a mere $25, Mont-Édouard — about 250 kilometers northeast of Quebec City — will let skiers access parts of the mountain that are left ungroomed.

These areas are treasured by avid skiers because of the fluffier snow. They also offer a more rugged, more adventurous alternative to the usual ski-hill runs.

Back-country skiing has been popular in the Rockies for decades, but it appears to be finally making its way east. 

"People were coming and asking us if they could hike up on their skis and not use the lift," said Mont-Édouard's general manager, Claude Boudreault.

"So we decided last winter to run a pilot project and opened five hectares of back-country skiing."

The experiment proved so successful that the ski hill expanded its back-country offerings this year to 22 hectares over two different sectors.

It has allowed the municipally-owned skill hill to attract visitors farther afield. Boudreault estimates about 65 per cent of the people who buy back-country tickets are from outside the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, where Mont-Édouard is located.

A certain type of skier

Back-country skiing attracts a certain type of skier. 

First, you need the right equipment. In order to climb up the mountain, back-country types mount "skins" on their skis, which makes climbing easier. At Mont-Édouard, skiers face a two-kilometer hike up the mountain before the descent. 

Second, you should either have advanced skiing skills or be willing to hire a guide. These areas of the hill aren't patrolled, so it may take a while before help arrives. 

Third, you have to be safety conscious. Mont-Édouard advises skiers to be on the lookout for avalanches if more than 30 centimetres of snow falls in less than 24 hours.

"We haven't had to evacuate anyone off the hill because they were injured, but we have had to come get people because their equipment broke and they were stuck out there," said Yannick Néron, a Mont-Édouard guide.

Given the success the mountain has enjoyed with back-country skiing, there are plans to expand its operation. 

The municipality of L'Anse-Saint-Jean, which owns Mont-Édouard, wants to develop skiable areas on two other nearby mountains.

It's also seeking to built huts atop the mountains where skiers can spend the night. 

These further investments are seen as essential by many in L'Anse-Saint-Jean, a town of only 1,200 people that depends on skiing for its economic health. 

"It shows we're looking to play with the big boys," said town councillor Graham Park.

"We're literally going from a ski hill that most people have never heard of, in a village that most have never heard of, to potentially one of the future big hills in Quebec."