Casino de Mont-Tremblant, Quebec

Gord and I had some time after lunch 'til we had to catch the shuttle to the airport.

There is a free gondola that takes you from the pedestrian village to the casino so we checked it out ... it takes about ten minutes each way.  You can also take a bus but we thought the gondola would be more fun ... and it was!

The view was amazing!

Here I am ... I was sooooo cold!

Here's Gord.

Pizzateria, Mont Tremblant QC

Gord and I had lunch today at Pizzateria.

It was quite busy ... we got there just before the rush.

Le Kandahar, Mont Tremblant, QC

Gord and I spent the last two days in Mont Tremblant at the Le Kandahar.

I chose it because it was one of two places in the pedestrian village that offered a free breakfast.  It wasn't cheap but it was one of the cheaper places in the village.  It's at the bottom the village near the clock tower.  It's a quick walk up the hill to catch the gondolas to head up the mountain, plus there are restaurants within walking distance.  The free stand-up gondola which takes you to the top of the village is nearby.

There was a mini kitchen as we entered.

There was a living room/dining room (alas the fireplace doesn't work).

Le Shack, Mont Tremblant, QC

Gord and I had supper tonight at Le Shack.

Snowshoeing on Mont Tremblant, QC

Gord and I brought our snowshoes with us and we headed up to the summit of Mont Tremblant about noon.

The temperature this morning was -15C in the pedestrian village and another five degrees colder at the 875 meter (2870 ft) summit of the mountain. With the wind chill, it was between -25C and -30C.  It was so cold that my camera broke ... the lens won't go in now :(  So I borrowed some of Gord's pictures of our day.

When we got there, there were quite a few people.  It was quite hazy and visibility was low.

It was really cold and windy so I bought some hand warmers in the store.  They helped a lot.

This is looking down at the village ... people were skiing and boarding down.

New Years Eve party at Café d’Époque, Mont Tremblant, QC

Last month Gord and I had bought tickets for the New Years Eve party at the Café d’Époque, Mont Tremblant's only nightclub.  The early bird prices started at $50 each, depending on when you bought them (we paid $60).  If you bought them today, they were $100!

Included were:

• Free souvenir mystical winter photo shoot with high-res download 
• Free hats, mask, noisemakers and other party favors for every guest 
• Largest balloon drop on the mountain!! 
• Champagne toast at midnight 
• Mystical Winter Sweets Station Raffle drawing with amazing prizes 
• A must see magical winter midnight countdown 
• Amazing resident DJ Xstream and special guest the legendary DJ Double J 
• Beer, shooters, champagne, and mixed drinks (non-premium) $3!!! 8pm to 1am

We got there about 11pm and were in a line-up outside (in a bit of a snowstorm) for about ten minutes, even though we had tickets.

When we got in, the place was jammed ... waaaaay overpacked for such a small venue.

It took a while but we grabbed some drinks and found a place to stand.

Fireworks, Mont Tremblant, QC

About 8ish, there were crowds of people heading up through the pedestrian village towards to the base of the mountain to watch the fireworks display.

It was spectacular!  Standing with the crowd with snow coming down was awesome!

There was a bandstand set up nearby and they were cranking the tunes!  A great way for a family to bring in the new year!

Microbrasserie La Diable, Mont Tremblant, QC

Gord loves to check out microbreweries so we had supper at Microbrasserie La Diable.

Gord tried a few of their draught and his favourite was the Real Ale

It was jammed and we were lucky to get a table.

Mont Tremblant, Quebec

When Gord and I arrived in Mont Tremblant this afteroon, our room wasn't ready so we took a walk.  It's a lot different than when Sister Sarah and I were here in May.

Sister Sarah and I had done the luge and climbed up this part of the mountain in May ... then it was 29C and sunny.  Today it was -15C.

Mont Tremblant Airport, Quebec

Gord and I are spending a couple days in Mont Tremblant to bring in the new year.

Porter flies from the Toronto Island Airport to the airport in Mont Tremblant in 70 minutes during ski season.  Sweet!

When we landed, we got off the airplane onto the runway.  Then we have to walk into the airport.  It looks like a log cabin ... how cute is that?!