Snow is snow once you’re on the slopes – Boston Herald

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Once upon a time, there were those who looked up at the mere mention of skiing on artificial snow.

“This is so wrong,” they would lament.

“I’ll wait for the real stuff,” they said.

All of that has changed. Modern snowmaking creates surfaces that are hardly different from the real groomed surface. Even at the start of the season, the resorts can deposit a quite wonderful blanket of snow.

Can you have so much fun on a day of artificial snow? Let me tell you about a race I did at Le Massif on December 2nd.

The snowfall had been – as it was in most of North America at that time – barely to mention. But Le Massif had worked hard to make snow, focusing on a few fun cruisers on the top half of the mountain.

I was skiing with a guide from the brand new Club Med Quebec Charlevoix named Pierre (French, of course) and a few real estate investors from New York.

We were skiing in line on a completely artificial snow slope. There was snow in the trees – a small storm the day before had frosted them – and the St. Lawrence River sparkled below us.

It was a perfect 25 degree sunny day, and I just felt free.

You see, I hadn’t really skied in a few years – an illness and then a snowmobile accident put me on the sidelines for a few seasons. It was one of my first runs on my brand new knee. And it worked.

Second in the line behind Pierre, I suddenly felt the need to raise my arms as in flight and make big, wide and arched turns. It was like flying.

I kept going all the way, realizing that at some point the guys from New York started doing the same. Then Pierre did it.

We arrived at the bottom, red cheeks and laughing, me a skier grandmother, the two businessmen and Pierre.

We all started to clap and hoot. Something special had happened. And we all shared it.

Any surface of snow is ripe for perfect moments. Go out and find one.


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