Mont Tremblant (12th-20th December 2018)

On our way to our next destination, Mont Tremblant, we make two stops. The first one is at Boucanerie Chelsea Smokehouse to stock up on smoked salmon, and the second one is in Montebello. There stands the probably largest round log building in the world, the Fairmont Hotel. With a view of the lake, we enjoy a light lunch and make the shopping list for the next few days. Once we arrive in Saint Jovite, we first visit the local Metro market, then the bakery, and finally the SAQ branch (Société des alcools du Québec). With full shopping bags, we arrive at the Rue Saint Roche, where our next Airbnb is located.

Long before the first European settlers invaded Canada, the Weskarini Algonquin Indians lived in the Rivière du Diable area. They called the summit of the mountain where skiing is now done "Manitonga Soutana Trembling". According to their belief, "Gitche Manitou", a spirit that made the mountain tremble when something in nature was not right, lived on its summit. The resort is located at 875 masl.

Despite a thin snow cover, we want to indulge in cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the next few days. One of the cross-country skiing centers, Domaine de Saint Bernard, is located just behind Lac Ouimet. We will go there the next morning to get oriented. It's pre-season, and the office is busy training staff. There are still closed boxes on the floor with merchandise for the season. The small restaurant is also still closed, but there is a lively fire in the iron stove. Fortunately, we manage to have a cross-country skiing lesson the next morning. More than expected, there are wild turkeys, squirrels, tits, a woodpecker, and other feathered creatures enjoying the grains in the two birdhouses. Today, we will tackle the two open hiking trails M1 and M2. The M2 passes by the charming Lac Chevreuil. Squirrels and tits follow us! The tits have gone mad! They are so deranged that they even look at the camera as if it were a monstrous bird feeder and land on heads, arms, hands, or even fingers in groups of four or five, pecking at this giant feast. We hikers need a hashtag to combat this bird harassment. The official hiking trails are already quite flat and short. That's why we add the R4/Les Manics to the mix. Originally intended for snowshoeing and not authorized, the trail is much more varied and longer. Because there is not much snow, it works fine without snowshoes. At the refuge, approximately in the middle of the trail, we encounter a female deer and her calf. They are not really shy either. Curiously, they observe us to see if we have any food for them. They almost eat kernels from two ladies' hands when offered. Due to the snow conditions, the open cross-country ski trails are only prepared for skating. That will challenge us a bit during our refresher tomorrow.

The next day it snows, the perfect day for a cross-country skiing lesson. With Francois, we practice skiing with and without poles, "comme en trottinette", and with double poling technique around the training circuit. The lack of tracks makes it challenging to guide the skis, but overall, it goes quite well. Naturally, Francois thinks we are fantastic, but ski instructors are all hypocrites anyway.

When I ask him which major muscles are needed for double poling when the six-pack is a bit difficult, he just laughs. Instead, he shows us a nice exercise that ensures that only the abdominal and core muscles are used for double poling, and no strength comes from the arms. Up and down the hills we go, over and over again. The stem turn on cross-country skis is completely new territory. We've never had that crazy idea before. Nina falls right on her bottom. Brave, she perseveres through the rest of the lesson, but it hurt. In the evening, we go to the new resort village to enjoy a cheese fondue (food for the major muscles!) at Savoie. The restaurant is packed, just like the caquelon. It's fun to watch how the Canucks struggle with the raclette grill. One person burns the cheese, another spills it from the loaf onto the plate, and the third smears Bourguignonne meat sauces on the melted cheese, interesting. The fondue actually tastes good, but it is too thick and eventually separates despite vigorous stirring.

Yes, yes, the Savoyards. On the night of December 11th to 12th, 1602, they failed in their attack on the city of Geneva, and on the evening of December 13th, 2018, they failed with the fondue in Mont Tremblant. If courageous 'Mère Royaume' had poured our fondue over one of the Savoyards' heads instead of a pot of hot soup during the fierce battle, the guy would have suffered not only burns but also a skull-brain injury.

The next morning, our trip to the toilet is a bit stiff. Therefore, after breakfast, we head out again for a walk on our own to consolidate what we have learned. The lack of tracks, a layer of fresh snow, and the relatively warm temperatures making the snow soft pose a high demand on balance. Gracefully, we "fly" along the Rivière du Diable over the "A1/Grande Allée" and the "A7/Renard". Drenched, we do two extra rounds on the training track to perfect the double poling technique with the major muscles.

We will keep silent about the events of the next day (shitty weather, completely unmotivated, etc.). At least we make progress in sorting our photos, googling for "cool stuff to do" for the next few weeks, and the second volume of the epic photographic documentation of our journey is making great strides.

Since there is no snow, we explore the snowshoe trails at Domaine de Saint Bernard and march north on the old Pti'Train railway to an intermediate stop in Champlain near Trois Rivières, where we will spend the holidays deep in the forest.
We wish our readers peaceful holidays.