January 3rd, 2017

Mont Tremblant is a mountain and ski resort about 130km northwest of Montreal opened in 1939, and one of the most visited in the region. At 875m it is tall 45m taller than the Burj Khalifa. Though its base is 230m above sea level, giving it a vertical drop of 645m. For Quebec ski resorts, this is quite impressive, though the highest summit is Mont Sutton at 968m, and the highest vertical drop is Le Massif at 770m (though this is a half-graben, and not a mountain). Outside of ski resorts, other mountains in Quebec dwarf these. The highest point in Quebec is 1651m, and is interestingly not a mountain peak. This is because of curious border placement: the Quebec/Labrador border passes 10m southwest of the peak of Mount Caubvick (known as Mont D'Iberville in Quebec). Therefore, the peak in Labrador is at 1652m, beating Quebec's highest point by one metre. Few have climbed the peak, and two were killed in an attempt in 2003.

Bonus:

Mont Tremblant, and almost all of Quebec's ski resorts fall into an area known as the Laurentian Mountains (Laurentides in French). It was here that modern alpine skiing was born. The Montreal Ski Club opened in 1904 and brought Swiss skier Emile Cochand to Quebec to teach in 1911. He opened the first ski resort in North America in 1914 (initially it was simply his home) which become known as Chalet Cochand.

Bonus 2:

One visitor to the Chalet Cochard was Lowell Thomas, an american journalist and adventurer who helped popularize the region and also played a part in the establishment of Mont Tremblant. Outside of skiing, he also introduced the world to T. E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence was an enigmatic figure who played a large part in the history of the Arab world. Lawrence never took a partner, a fact that has aroused much speculation. Even more mysterious is a dedication in one of his books to a lover, referred to only as 'S.A.'.

Bonus 3:

Rather contrary to his lifestyle, Lawrence died of a simple motorbike mishap at the age of 46. His surgeon was greatly affected by the loss, and went on to develop the motorcycle helmet. To come full circle, 74 years later, actress Natasha Richardson died in 2009 of a head injury while skiing at Mont Tremblant. This event played a large part in popularizing helmets in the region.

-E