Mont Tremblant

Mont Tremblant from the Edge Peak

Our efforts to find a walk in the Laurentians produced the discovery that you could reach the top of Mont Tremblant, Eastern Canada's highest peak (875m), by cable car and then walk along various trails. We were a little off-put however by the description in our guide book of the Mont Tremblant resort as being like a cross between Aspen and Disneyland.

We found our way to the Mont Tremblant resort, after being given directions and a map by an exceptionally helpfully hotelier in the nearby Mont Tremblant village. After parking, you walk to a reception area where there is a free sort of ski lift which takes you on a shallow climb above hotels and swimming pools to the main resort plaza. Here you can enjoy sundry amusements and get the "gondola" to the top.

You can't see the top as yet, because it is a relatively shallow climb. The ride to the top is however quite serene. When you get there it is really not too bad - just one cafe, a couple of other cable cars and a radio mast. We followed the signs and the map we collected earlier for our chosen walk to the next peak to the west, the Edge Peak.

The views over the hills to the north were very pleasing.



And as we headed along the ridge, the view south over Lake Tremblant was even more impressive. It was startlingly long!


We walked along a track then through a forest and then back on the track to reach the Edge Peak. From here there was a good view back to Mont Tremblant and a nice view forward over the Laurentians.



We went onwards for a while through very pleasant, but quite arduous, woodland in the direction of the Johansen Peak, another 3 km along the way.



After a while however we had to turn round as the deadline for returning our hire car was fast approaching. Once we reached the Edge Peak, the return route was via a further stretch of hilly, rocky woodland.

Conditions: warm, hazy sunshine.

Distance: about 4 miles.

Rating: four stars.


Sightings

Along the open track and by a sheltered clump of flowers at the end we spotted some lovely butterflies. There were a couple more of the Pearl-bordered Fritillaries we saw at St-Adolphe-d’Howard yesterday and another similar, but smaller, fritillary with a solid dark marking along the hind edges of its wings.

However, the highlight was this Eastern Comma. It is similar to our familiar English one, but with much more strongly marked wing margins.