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Family Jewels - East
Saint-Sauveur, Quebec
Just north of Montreal and south of Tremblant is the quaint little town of Saint-Sauveur. The town itself is surrounded on the south side by the Manoir Saint-Sauveur resort, and an advantage of skiing there is you get to ski Mont-Avila as well. One of the biggest players in the resort world of the Canadian East, Mont Saint-Sauveur International (MSSI) has four other resorts under its belt: Ski Morin Heights, Mont-Olympia (Jean-Luc Brassard's home mountain), Ski Mont-Gabriel, Edelweiss and Jay Peak in Vermont. MSSI claims to have the longest season out of all the other resorts. It closed at the end of April last year, April 30, actually.
Saint-Sauveur offers some of the best night-skiing coverage around (79 per cent), with a fully lit park as an added bonus. There's just something about riding at night that rules.
The park, which can be found at Avila, is one of the best I've ridden (Canada-wise), with an array of rails to make any jibber drool. There's also a sick, big-ass booter line. It's no wonder everybody hangs out there, with the music blasting hip-hop, which is no surprise given the social status kids give themselves around here: thugs and gangsters on skis and snowboards. Definitely, a must-see.
In March, the Axis Slopestyle and many other comps go down. MSSI ups the ante every year by putting new modules, and thanks go out to the Axis boys. It rocks more and more each year.
As well as the groomers, the posh mogul runs are hard to miss. The mid-mountain Cote 70 has regional and provincial comps and the annual Pepsi Challenge, a mixture of big air and bumps. Le Pic-Bois is an interesting bump-sous-bois run on the list of spots to hit after some snow, as well as the sous-bois, which can be explored more than the runs lead you to believe.
As you may know, exploring is an "illegal" thing to do on the mountain, but it will get you some sweet powder stashes. The unmapped sous-bois are part of the scene as much as any other. Between the Jack Rabbit and the Laurentides, you just might find the famous cliff. As for booters, there's a condo development that fell through on the far right that's a good place for building them.
For aprés ski, the choices are vast, but Sushi Taxi is on the list. It has the best fish tartar and rolls to die for. Magicien d'Oz and Fifi Brin D'acier are also worth checking out. If you have a sweet tooth, go see Queue de Castor on Main Street. But the best place to go is a restaurant and lounge run by two very pretty local chicks: Gusto. It has the best sandwiches in town but also a unique, creative cuisine. Very chill and artsy ambience, definitely the "in" place, located on Chemin Avila.
Right next to Gusto is the newly renovated Axis that will have all your needs from clothes to gear. Axis is the top name for shops here in the Laurentians, with two other locations. If you're looking to tune up or sharpen those edges, because there's always at least a bit of ice here, Sports Denis Parent will help you out. All this can be followed or preceded by the Polar Bear Club, a very pimp spa and hot tub joint.
As far as nightlife goes, Bourbon Street is the club on Fridays and Mondays. If not, you have an array of pubs, bistros and little bars, or maybe check out your finest in the many local strip joints we have. Depending on the time of year, there are plenty of places to stay. Check out the ski-and-stay packages MSSI has to offer. Whatever your deal, you'll find it here. Saint-Sauveur is one of the nicest areas in the Laurentians. —Sebastian Persh
DNA
Saint Sauveur, Quebec
Summit elevation: 416 m
Vertical: 213 m
Terrain: One giant snow park, 38 trails, 4% beginner, 24% intermediate, 39% expert, 13% extreme difficulty
Snowfall: 100 cm
Lifts: One quadruple, one triple, one magic carpet
Adult day ticket: $39
Season: 0ctober-May
Info: mssi.ca, (450) 227-4671
