Mount Orford - If only they would replace some lifts....
Written: Apr 06 '03 (Updated Apr 07 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of variety, No Lines
Cons: Antiquated lifts
The Bottom Line: If Orford would replace some of their antiquated and slow lifts, this resort, with it's great terrain, no lines, nice lodge would be excellent.
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| davidoikawa's Full Review: Mount Orford |
This year was my family’s second ski week in Quebec's Eastern Townships. Three of the major ski resorts in the area: Owl’s Head, Orford and Sutton, participate in an interchangeable lift ticket program. The resorts are generally within an hours drive of each other. This is one of the great benefits of a ski week in the Townships, because if you are willing to do a little driving, you will get enough variety not to get bored. We stayed in the town of Magog, which is a 5 minute drive away from the resort.
Orford has a vertical drop of 1,770 feet and provides skiing on 3 mountains. The main mountain is Mont Orford, which provides mostly expert terrain and fall line skiing. The exceptions are the intermediate “Grande Coulee”, which I enjoyed and the beginner trail (and aptly named) 4km”. The only problem with Mont Orford is that it is only accessible from top to bottom by a double chair. On one of the days that we skied at Orford, it was -15 degrees celcius at the bottom of the hill and -20 at the top, which made that long slow ride quite painful. The Le Rapido quad chair, does provide access to the top of Mont Orford, but starts about a quarter of the way up the mountain. It does provide access to a lot of the expert runs though. On Mont Orford, my favorite runs were the steep fall line “Maxi” and the winding “Contour”.
The second mountain at Orford is Mont A. Desrochers, which provide access to some very pleasant intermediate trails. Unfortunately, it is also serviced by a painfully slow double chair. However, the 2 intermediate trails, “Cascade” and “Descente” provide nice cruising runs, accentuated by a few turns and drop-offs. The run “Oakpic” is one of the few intermediate runs that has moguls, which is an excellent place to train for mogul skiing, without having to worry about gaining too much speed from a steep pitch. Last year, a mechanical failure on the chair left me stranded for 2 hours. I eventually had to be evacuated from the chair via rope and harness. I suppose that this could happen at any resort, but it does provide a great cocktail story.
Mont Giroux is the smallest of the three mountains at Orford, but offers two completely different faces. The north side offers mostly intermediate and beginner fall-line skiing. I enjoyed the wide trail “Jean-Davignon” on this face. The east side services mostly expert trails, including a number of glade or sous bois runs. Mont Giroux has the benefit of two quad chairs.
The base lodge at Orford is large for the size of the mountain, with seating on a number of different levels. Compared to many areas, there is lots of seating capacity. It also contains a great coffee bar, which we took advantage of, when it got too cold to ski.
On both of our mid march trips to Orford, we experienced no lift lines at all. Travelers might want to avoid the first 2 week of March, which are Quebec school holidays.
In summary, Orford is definitely worth a look. It has the advantage of the best trails of the Eastern Township resorts, offset by the antiquated lifts. It also is much easier to access than the other resorts, as it is only 5 minutes from the Eastern Township Autoroute highway.
Overall, I would recommend an Eastern Townships ski vacation to anyone who doesn’t mind doing a bit of driving during part of their ski week, as the availability of the interchangeable ski ticket makes the world of a difference in enjoyment.
Just The Facts:
Location: Quebec, Canada – Approximately 1 hour drive south of Montreal
Nearest Airport: Montreal Canada (Dorval Airport will be closer to the resort than Mirabel Airport)
Highway Access – The Eastern Townships Autoroute is a 4 lane highway – Orford is only 5 minutes off of the highway
Cost of 5 Day Interchangeable Lift Ticket: $160 Cdn (approx. $109 US)
Services At Resort: lessons, ski and board rentals,
Chairlifts Open: 9:00-4:00 p.m.
On Slope Accommodation: On-slope condos available - 1Bedroom plus mezzanine Condo $911 Cdn. per week ($617 US)
Where I stayed: 5 minutes away in Magog, Quebec.
Tips for American Travelers: If you are an American, don't let the $ cost of food and accommodation fool you. Values are excellent once you convert to Canadian $. (Current exchange rate (March 2003) is $1 Cdn = $0.68 US. Change your cash at a Canadian bank for the best rates. I have changed cash at US banks and received very poor exchange rates in the past.) Also don't worry about language problems. Although my wife and children speak French fluently, I don't speak it very well, but I got by fine using English. Everyone in the shops and restaurants were very friendly - there was no anti-anglo sentiment here.
Recommended:
Yes
Level of Experience Needed: All
Best Time to Visit: February
Best Suited For: Families
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Epinions.com ID:
davidoikawa
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Location: Oakville, ON, Canada
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
I really like to get value for my money.
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