Mont st Anne questions and answers

[dcrofty]

Hi all,

I'm going to be in Quebec in about a week and am planning to head up to Mont st Anne for a days riding and have a few questions.

1. How do I get there from downtown Quebec? There is a ski bus in winter and lonely planet says there is a MTB based shuttle bus in summer but my google fu has failed me.

2. Who to hire from? I know the mountain does rentals and I can get a Scott Gambler plus all the gear I need from them but was just wondering if there were any shops that do the same thing? If not I'll just rent from the mountain.

3. Any suggestions of what trails to hit up? I'm an intermediate rider but have spent a bit of time at whistler so black diamond trails don't stress me too much, I just dont like big gaps or large drops. Or better yet is anyone planning on being there on the 24th August who can show me around? Would be nice to meet any Farkers who might be there.

I'm also keen to hear any other tips about riding there.

ta

Crofty

EDIT-answered most of my questions in post 14.

 

[Mail Man]

dcrofty,

Welcome to the east side of Canada, I have been living in Quebec now for 5 years now and have ridden MSA once and walked the mountain twice watching races. I can't give you too much info about getting there from QC city cause I always took my car, I am not sure if there is a shuttle bus. I do know of a crew that is heading up there from Montreal on the 30th, 31st and 1st. If you give me dates I could hook you up with a ride. They usually camp just north of the mountain, let me know and I can hook you up, they are fun guys to ride with and know the mountain well.

About the mountain itself it is rather technical and rocky if you thought Slayer and Joyride were tech be ready for an ass whooping. there is a trail called 1837 it is straight shot down the mountain with killer rocks and trees with laser beams. For a Whistler style do Vietnam, there is a really crappy pedal in the middle but all the rest is fun. The world cup trail is not hard to ride but hard to ride fast.

Every one is really nice there and relaxed and used to tourists that don't speak french.

As for renting be aware the brakes will be reversed and pre order if you can and ask them to switch them.

If you are here for a while another fun mountain is Bromont - that is my local near Montreal. They are a little more fashion aware with full blown TLD pajama parades. Let me know how long you are here and where you will be exactly and maybe I hook up a fellow burner.

 

[dcrofty]

Hey thanks heaps Mail Man, things were looking a bit light on there but it looks like farkers have come through again with the info.

I get to Quebec city late this coming Thursday and have Friday or Saturday to ride. Then im heading to Montreal on Sunday for a couple of days. Seems that getting to Mont st Anne is going to be my problem. Dont think there is a bus or train. And annoyingly I think Bromont is only open weekends now? I did check it out.

I dont mind techy would still like to have a go if I can get there somehow.

 

[Mail Man]

Before I make this next offer, I want to know if you are the same guy who was building trails in North Van or was that Dozer?

Where do you land and how are getting to QC city?

 

[dcrofty]

Yeah I used to trail build around Vancouver. Few years ago now but I worked for a small company there and vollied a bit with the NSMBA too.

We fly into Montreal tomorrow and are bussing up to Quebec city late tomorrow night and im going to try and make it up to the mountain on Saturday. The resort got back to me with details of a couple of local bus companies that might get me up there.

 

[Mail Man]

I thought it was you, I was in Whistler the same time as you were in North Van, you actually hung out with a friend of mine, which was why I was thinking you could take my car up to Quebec, but then I was reminded I need it this weekend to move some stuff around.

I will place a shout out to a frind I have in QC City that might be riding this weekend.

His name is Jerome and his facebook is https://www.facebook.com/jayroam?fref=ts&ref=br_tf

He might be able to hook you up with a small tour or ride to the hill.

 

[Mail Man]

PM'd you his number

 

[Mail Man]

Do you have the facebook?

 

[24alpha]

Mailman, I can vouch for DCrofty being an all round top bloke! He hooked me up in Vancouver and showed me around the North Shore.

Have fun over there Dave!

 

[Mail Man]

Mailman, I can vouch for DCrofty being an all round top bloke! He hooked me up in Vancouver and showed me around the North Shore.

Have fun over there Dave!

Thanks 24, I as quite sure it was who I thought it was, It is a shame I can't hook him up better than I have, I am just too busy this weekend.

 

[dcrofty]

Ta for the kind words fellas. Mail Man you have done heaps, really appreciate it.

I have booked a local bus to somewhere near Mont st Anne and been to MEC for some riding gear and im heading out tomorrow. Have camera so ill post up the results when I get back

 

[dcrofty]

Well I made it here. Just done a few runs and really enjoying it. Terribly unfit after not riding for a few months but its all good fun. Will post some info and directions here in a bit

 

[dolphinman]

Came too late it seems.
I caught the bus out there from town for some riding a few years back. Ended up riding back to town after - was pretty wrecked. Great trails though - ended up posting on a east coast mtb site (cant remember name - but I think mailman might have directed me to it) and someone met me out there. Get some poutin before you ride back!.

Also, I caught the city bus from outside MEC in town (bike goes on racks at the front), to some trails on the north side of town a couple of times. Was probably another 0.5hr ride from the closest stop to this small XC skiiing park and campground - Sentier Du Moulin, from memory. Might have been a small fee to ride there. Loads of really fun trails there and they seemed to be doing a lot of trail work and building. The ride back to town is mostly down - or you could catch the bus back. That is an easier option for riding from town than MSA. Also got taken to some trails around the reservoir, but don't ask me for directions!

Would have loved to have stayed longer as people were super friendly and the beer was epic - but I was tagging along with the wife on some conference, so was only there for about a week.

 

[dcrofty]

So I did manage to get up and ride for a day, had a great time although I was sore for about a week afterwards. Too much beer and poutine and not enough training. But anyway I thought I should share the story and info in case anyone else wants to do this.

First, the most simple way to get from Quebec to Mont Sainte Anne is to drive so score a lift or hire a car if you can, its a pretty simple drive and quite scenic.

Otherwise there is no direct bus from Quebec to Mont Sainte Anne. A company called Intercar run buses that kind of go past it. Intercar; 1-888-861-4592 website www.intercar.ca
If you go up to the main train/bus station in Quebec and go to the ticket counter (which is run by another bus company called Orleans Express) you can pre purchase your tickets or just get them on the day. My return ticket cost $16 Canadian which is pretty good. Buses leave from bay 6 at the station and I went for the one that left at 9:45 in the morning. There is a much earlier one but the resort doesn't open till 10 (I think) so I didn't bother going early. Another thing to watch is that they put the people going furthest on the bus first and then the next furthest etc etc. Given that I got off at the first spot I only just squeezed on. Dunno what would have happened if the bus was full, glad I didn't have to find out.

The Intercar bus then drops you outside the front of a small museum in a town called Sainte-Anne-De-Beaupre. From there its a $20 cab fare to the resort (tip included) which is near the town of Beaupre-its confusing. The people there don't speak a lot of english so perhaps make sure you write down where you want to go or print a map or something. Local Cab company is Taxi Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre 418-827-5521.

Once I got to the resort it was all good. The local staff speak english and are super helpful. I got lucky and scored the last DH rental bike although it was a small frame so my big tip of the day is to call ahead next time and book a bike. I'm so glad that after making a fair bit of effort to get there I got the last DH bike.

You can also rent helmets gear etc and they have a cool system of a barcode on the front of the rental bike so you pay for your lift pass at the same time and the lifties just scan the bike from then on. I think bike, ticket and gear rental was about $180- I just chucked it on a credit card but I think it was about that.

After getting sorted I headed up the gondola and did a green run which was pretty much just bombing down a ski run. After that I tried a few of the other runs and discoverd that one called La Vietnam was pretty much my favourite being a machine made one kind of like crank it up in Whistler although with not as many jumps.

After lunch I rode the world cup course (very slowly) and then a couple more exploring runs. Trails are for the most part steep and technical with lots of rocks and roots although I should say that they also have a heap of XC and all mountain trails and is it possible to get down the mountain on some easier trails so don't be too put off if you havent done a lot of DH or resort riding, there is something for everyone. I would advise keeping a trail map on you though and a bit of a sense of direction, the trails are a bit of a maze towards the bottom of the hill in a couple of spots-or perhaps its just me.

Anyway after a few afternoon runs I was pretty wrecked having not done this kind of riding for a few years so I handed the gear back, called the cab company an spent another $20 getting back to Sainte Anne De Beaupre and got the evening bus back to Quebec.

All in all I had a great time, no lift lines to speak of, pump track and other facilities for families etc down the bottom and fun trails. Glad I went to the effort.

Couple of pics
View on the way there


Bottom of the hill


Rental fleet are Scotts, not bad. Most trails start from the one spot except for the world cup track and a couple of other double black diamonds that start from the other side of the gondola station


World cup track from the gondola


I did take some gopro footage but was trying out a chest mount for the first time and had the camera angled down a bit too much so I won't bother posting that. Lots of top tube, probably not helped by me being over 6 feet and riding a small bike.

All in all a top day. Thanks to Mail Man and dolphinman for the suggestions too, hopefully someone else finds this info useful.

Crofty