When the snow runs out

The start of the cross-country ski season was difficult: in the south of the province, in particular, the snow appeared briefly before disappearing. For several weeks, cross-country skiers stared sadly at the turf, dreaming of sparkling whiteness.

“We have identified the lack of snow, climatic disturbances, as being the number one risk for our activity, affirms Claude Alexandre Carpentier, general manager of Ski de fond Québec. It has been in our strategic plan since 2019.”

The phenomenon affects certain regions more. Thus, at the beginning of January, there was no snow south of the St. Lawrence River, while in the north, we could find good conditions for practicing sports.

“The Ouranos organization predicts that if the climatic disturbances continue like this, there will only be four skiable weekends left per year in Montérégie by 2030, notes Mr. Carpentier. It really is tomorrow morning. We are looking for solutions. »

Among these are the making of snow and its storage. Obviously, these solutions primarily target sites where competitions can take place. “That’s where we start, but so-called recreational cross-country skiers will benefit from it, sports cross-country skiers who don’t necessarily compete,” says Mr. Carpentier.

Ski de fond Québec has targeted three regions where artificial snowmaking systems should be implemented: Outaouais, Montréal-Laurentides and Québec.

Depending on the year, the Nakkertrak circuit may open in mid-November and close on the 1^er april.

In the Laurentians, Sommets Morin-Heights and Ski de fond Morin-Heights are teaming up to snow a 2.5 km circuit at the start of the season. This allowed the Fondeurs Laurentides cross-country ski club to organize its First Snow Invitational race at the beginning of December.

“The missing link is Mont Sainte-Anne,” laments Mr. Carpentier.

In fact, the situation has actually regressed in the greater Quebec City region. “Before, we could fall back on the Montmorency forest, which used to store snow,” says Mr. Carpentier. Laval University stopped this practice two years ago and this year, the practice of cross-country skiing is simply no longer possible there. »

The institution blocked access to the territory because “the Montmorency forest is a research and teaching laboratory”. It was a very popular sector. Cross-country skiers from Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and the New England states traveled there in large numbers to start their season earlier.

Mr. Carpentier believes that artificial snowmaking is a good strategy to counter the lack of snow. “The snow cannons are now good enough to make snow up to 8°C. It’s still interesting. »

But it’s expensive: we’re talking about $85,000 to $100,000 for a snow cannon, and you need at least two per site.

Snow storage is another solution: it involves protecting large mounds of snow during the warm season to redistribute it on the trails at the end of fall.

A young Quebec company, Glacies, has developed membranes made of recycled material (polystyrene and polyurethane) to protect snow mounds against the sun and heat. The whole process of production and storage, however, can be costly.

“In Europe, companies like Snowsecure have comparable technologies, it works well,” says Maxim Bergeron, President and CEO of Glacies. But skiing, in some European countries, is a tradition. People are willing to pay dearly to start their national sport early. Here, the market is not ready for that. »

At the Montmorency forest, we simply used wood chips to protect the snow. “It insulates really well and it’s quite ecological,” points out Mr. Carpentier.

The shortening of the cross-country ski season will perhaps encourage other ski centers to examine these solutions. “It’s just a matter of time,” believes Maxim Bergeron.