My family has been skiing at Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec, since the early 1970s, and it has become our second home ever since. Located just 40 minutes up the St. Lawrence River from Quebec City, Mont Sainte Anne sits perched on the eastern wall of the Laurentian Mountains. With a peak altitude of 2,625 feet (800 meters), and a 360 degree skiable footprint, Mont Sainte supplies panoramic views of the St. Lawrence Valley and surrounding peaks.
Mont Sainte Anne boasts a respectable east coast vertical drop of 2,050 feet (625 meters) and a skiable footprint of 547 acres. The southern facing front side comprises most of the resort and includes the expert section to the skiers’ right. This section of the mountain is my favorite, as it features numerous technical black runs that overlook the St. Lawrence Valley below. This expert terrain is serviced by the high-speed Panorama Express quad, which was installed in 2013 to replace the old triple chair. This lift allows for fast and long laps, as it services almost the entire vertical drop of the mountain. My favorite run, La Crete, is located in this section of the resort and provides a great view of Quebec city from the top. As you make your way down La Crete, it straddles the ridge of the mountain and provides breathtaking views of the St. Lawrence Valley before it dives down the side of the ridge, allowing for some great steep turns.
The north side is serviced by a high-speed quad and features numerous beginner and intermediate cruisers, making it ideal for young families as this area is tucked away from most of the advanced and expert traffic. In contrast, the backside tends to retain snow much better than the front side, as it faces north and receives less sunlight. Because of these reliable conditions, I often find myself lapping the backside during the early and late season, particularly when snow on the south side becomes more variable.
What makes Mont Sainte Anne unique is its night skiing scene. With its proximity to Quebec City, Mont Sainte Anne is a great place to blow off steam after work for the lucky locals who call the Quebec City area home. Mont Sainte Anne boasts the biggest night skiing vertical drop in North America, with the full 2,050 feet (625 meter) of vertical accessible off the gondola. In addition to the gondola, the Express du Sud high-speed bubble quad also services night skiing operations, making the night skiing lift fleet ideal for those cold and windy nights. The mountain also regrooms their trails before night skiing, so you can get first tracks under the lights. Some of my fondest memories growing up were getting dropped off by my parents and skiing endless laps under the lights with my siblings and cousins. The experience of carving down slopes at night, overlooking the twinkling lights of the St. Lawrence Valley and Quebec City area, is like no other.
Mont Sainte Anne has a killer expert section, along with great beginner and intermediate terrain. Pair that with, in my opinion, the best night skiing in North America, and you get one of the most well-rounded resorts in the east. The future of the mountain also looks bright as a $100 million CAD ($72.5 million USD) investment has been agreed upon to upgrade lifts and infrastructure over the next 5 years, half coming from the government of Quebec and half coming from the owner of the resort, RCR. This much needed investment will hopefully bring Mont Sainte Anne back to its former glory as a premier east coast ski destination.
