Ski Mont Rigaud

Ski Mont Rigaud

Ski Mont Rigaud is an alpine ski facility on the slopes of Rigaud Mountain, in the municipality of Rigaud, Quebec. It is in the suburbs of Montreal, near the Ontario border, one of two alpine ski hills that still operate in the suburbs of Montreal, the other being Ski Mont Saint Bruno. The hill is located only 30 minutes off Montreal island, about 25 km (16 mi) to the west. It is the only ski hill in westernmost Quebec south of the Ottawa River.[1][2][3] Nearby is the Nordic skiing centre, "The Escapade".[4]

Ski Mont Rigaud bills itself as the "Ski Kindergarten of Quebec" (and in French: "la maternelle du ski au Québec"), and offers ski lessons for alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding. Its facilities include a snowpark, and lit pistes for evening skiing.[2][5] It was founded in 1986.[1][6] The facilities are able to function with 100% artificial snow cover.[1] As of 2007, the hill only has one ski lift.[6] It is a family run business.[3][7]

The ski centre also offers tandemskis and dualskis, for disabled skiers. The tandemski is similar to a wheelchair on skis, and requires an accompanier behind to help with the skiing. The dualski is a type of sitski similar to monoskis used in paralympic competition, and is controlled using guidepoles (ski poles with skis attached to their bottoms instead of picks).[8]

In the off-season, the area is open as the Parc Aventure Mont Rigaud, with the ski lift usable. There are zip-lines, obstacle courses, bungee jumping, and rock climbing offered, among other activities.[9][10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 (French) Le Soleil de Valleyfield, "Plusieurs améliorations apportées au Centre de ski Mont Rigaud", Mario Pitre, 25 December 2004 (accessed 27 March 2010)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Gazette (Montreal), "It's time to take to the hills", Rene Bruemmer, 27 February 2010 (accessed 27 March 2010)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 CanWest MediaWorks, "Winter tourism down across Quebec", The Gazette (Montreal), 13 January 2007 (accessed 27 March 2010)
  4. ↑ CanWest MediaWorks, "A gem for cross-country skiers", The Gazette (Montreal), 1 March 2008 (accessed 27 March 2010)
  5. ↑ (French) Montreal Plus, "Mont Rigaud" (accessed 27 March 2010)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 CanWest MediaWorks, "For the second time this winter, skiers at Mont Rigaud had to be rescued yesterday when the chairlift malfunctioned", The Gazette (Montreal), 5 March 2007 (accessed 27 March 2010)
  7. ↑ (French) Montreal Plus, "Sentiers de l'Escapade - Mont Rigaud" (accessed 27 March 2010)
  8. ↑ (French) Le Soleil de Valleyfield, "Les personnes handicapées peuvent skier au Mont Rigaud", Normand Morand, 21 January 2006 (accessed 27 March 2010)
  9. ↑ CanWest MediaWorks, "High spot for fun", The Gazette (Montreal), 4 October 2007 (accessed 27 March 2010)
  10. ↑ CBC News, "View from the top", Tim Duboyce, 11 October 2008 (accessed 27 March 2010)

External links

Coordinates: 45°28′00″N 74°20′10″W / 45.46667°N 74.33611°W