We started our 2023 holiday at 2:00 on Friday. We jumped in the loaded the car and started driving north. We didn’t know what to expect in terms of traffic so we were pleasantly surprised that there was basically nothing the whole way. We made one quick rest stop to use the bathroom then we hit the usual last exit for the border to get gas and a quick bite to eat.
The border had exactly one car ahead of us. The border guard was obviously going through the motions and really didn’t give us a hard time at all. 30 seconds and we were done. We stopped in Montreal to get Alexi and then we drove the rest of the way to the cottage which was an hour and 15 minutes. For a Friday night that’s unheard of. We made it in under eight hours – on a Friday night with a stop in Montreal. That’s hard to beat.
Of course there was food waiting for us. Even though it was 10 o’clock there was a full meal ready. It was a pulled lamb type thing which was fabulous. Then we had dessert immediately following that which Simon has been asking for. It was good.
Then we hit the sack and I slept like a brick.
This morning I grudgingly got out of bed and made myself a cup of coffee. I normally just drink what’s up here but this time I brought my own and it was a good choice. This cup of coffee was fabulous. I guess they pretty much always are. Especially when on the road.
We left the house before 10 o’clock and we got on the lift at 10:45. You could see from the north side that there really wasn’t a lot of snow but it is what it is. The first run we did was pretty much an ice sheet and that would be the worst run of the day until the last run of the day.
There wasn’t a lot of snow cover by any stretch. But this is similar to what I skied in the beginning of my career so I’m sort of used to this. I really don’t mind it. D was not a huge fan but we all survived. In the end some trails were better than others though it quickly became obvious that the blue trails were slightly better because the black trails were completely scraped of snow.
We met at the lodge at 1 o’clock for lunch. The lodge was pretty not at all crowded which is surprising. The slopes were pretty empty and the parking lots were pretty empty when we started. I guess the meager conditions caused a lot of people to stay at home. I’m not gonna complain.
We ate our lunch and headed back out for four more runs. Some of the runs were good but as I mentioned before the last run we did had pretty much some of the most ice in the entire day. It was kind of absurd to be honest. While it might not have seemed like it, this was the 4th most miles we’ve ever done in a single day.
The Strava link can be found here.
We went back to the cottage to drop off the boys and get changed. Then we went back out to do a little shopping for some Christmas stuff as well as some food. Back at the cottage I hopped in the hot tub while they made dinner then took a shower and it all felt glorious. Then we ate a good meal had more dessert and then we all sort of did our own thing for the rest of the night.
That wraps up day 1 of the holiday trip.
Traveling Normandy 