Hello From Quebec (magog) - 1
By Susanne Pacher, Thu Dec 8th

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

So I am sitting here at the Club Vacances Magog with the windhowling outside at 45+ km per hour and temperatures of about -15to -20 degrees Celsius, windchill factor not included.

We drove up from Toronto last Saturday and it only took us about6 hours to get to the town of Magog in Quebec's EasternTownships. This area, l'Estrie, is located about 1 hoursoutheast of Montreal and very close to the Quebec - Vermontborder. There are several fairly large lakes in the area: LakeMemphremagog being the largest, there is Lake Magog and there isalso Lake Massawippi.

We had a pretty nice dinner Saturday night at a local restaurantin Magog called Jacko's. Sunday we took a nice drive around toplaces like North Hatley (a picturesque pioneer village),Lennoxville and we took a quick drive through the major city ofthe area, Sherbrooke.

Monday we went at Mount Orford which is just outside thetown of Magog. It is the largest one of the ski mountains in thearea with an altitude of 986 meters and a vertical drop of 1770feet. It was quite a nice mountain to ski on, but the top wascovered in fog the whole day and it was very windy.

Savoie / Val D Isere Face Du Charvet

Savoie / Val D Isere Tour Du Charvet

Hautes-Alpes / Serre Chevalier Off Piste

Isere-Drome / Dome De Pravouta

Isere-Drome / Col De La Lavey North

Isere-Drome / Grand Replomb by the br?e Ouest

Isere-Drome / Rochers Du Midi Via Sources Du Guiers

Isere-Drome / La Combe Du Giclas

Isere-Drome / les Illettes by the col de l'Aigleton

Isere-Drome / Dents De Bedina East Face

Isere-Drome / Cime De La Jasse

Hautes-Alpes / La Rouya North Couloir

Haute-Savoie / Pointe Du Midi South west Couloir

Isere-Drome / Grands Moulins South Face

Isere-Drome / Pic De Barlet North West Bowl

Jura / La Dole Figure Of Eight From La Cergue

Haute-Savoie / Point Du Midi Tour Of The Cu Deri

Jura / Pointe De Poele Chaud East Couloir

Haute-Savoie / Le Mole Normal Route

Haute-Savoie / Sur Cou South Face

We had toretreat mid-afternoonish because it got too cold.

Yesterday we went at Owl's Head, towards the southern endof Lake Mephremagog. It also has a vertical of 1770 feet.Actually we enjoyed Owl's Head better than Orford and onTuesdays and Wednesdays they offer incredible deals: $15(Canadian!) for a whole day of skiing, apparently the best valuefor in Eastern North America.

No today though. It is simply too darn cold. The wind ishowling and snow occasionally blows horizontally across thelandscape. I had romantic notions of driving into Montrealtoday, but the cold weather would have ruined such an outing.

So we hope to catch a bit more and maybe some sightseeingin the next 3 days. Winter arrived late here in the EasternTownships of Quebec this year, but it arrived with a vengeance.

About the author:Susanne Pacher is the publisher ofhttp://www.travelandtransitions.com. It deals with travel toforeign countries and is chock full of advice, tips, real lifetravel experiences, interviews with travellers, insights,cross-cultural issues, and many other features. Participate inour travel story contesthttp://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm and win greatprizes, a fabulous cruise to the Amazon. Life is a Journey -Explore New Horizons.