Everything looks so easy when it’s done by an expert. But when you try it yourself, you realize just how much harder it is than it looks. The twenty or so groomer operators who work on the mountain every night are experts.

Comfortably installed in their powerful, track-fitted “bisons”, which seem unstoppable, the trail groomers have very little room to manoeuvre. Deep knowledge of the terrain is required to avoid the hazards on the various runs. Their knowledge of the mountain is equalled only by their skill in managing, with precision, these mechanical monsters which create, night after night, a perfect, safe, sliding surface.

“Being comfortable takes a number of years of practice,” admits Benoit Alary, a Tremblant groomer operator for 16 years. “It is also critically important to know your grooming machine and its limits really well, as well as your own limits, so as not to find yourself in a bad spot. It can happen easily,” says he, as he works. “Even after 16 years, there’s a bit of stress, but let’s say it’s managed better today.” 

The “whales”

You might think, perhaps naively, that the snow guns cover the mountain’s runs with an even layer of the white stuff. Not so. Under the guns, the drifts – called “whales” — can reach 15 feet in height, awaiting the groomers who smooth them out to a manageable depth.

They have to be nibbled down, one pass at a time, to spread the snow and move adequate quantities of it to key places such as steep slopes, deep cuts and other problem areas. Once the snow has been placed, it has to be allowed to rest; the objective is to allow it to drain excess water. Next the groomers make passes to even the run and leave the surface in a smooth corduroy.

Exciting starts to the season

“I absolutely love the beginning of the season,” Benoit confides, working away at the controls. “My preference is to arrive at a run where there are a number of whales of artificial snow that have to be placed. The important thing is not to find yourself wedged between two of the whales,” he explains.

Flat light and vertigo

As they move forwards and backwards, and the snow guns feverishly blast out their white gold, the operators can lose their bearings and not know where they are. “There are even times when you don’t even know if you’re going forwards or backwards,” says Benoit, laughing.

Mr. Alary also mentions that at the summit of the mountain, where the steep slopes make skiers and boarders happy every winter, the groomer has to be attached by a winch. This is particularly true on the Taschereau, where a kilometre-long cable attached to the back of the vehicle provides a pressure of 500 pounds to allow it to climb back up. Quite a run!

The season is far from over and will present the groomers with numerous challenges. But remember, skiing and boarding friends, that conscientious professionals work every night to provide us with the best possible conditions. Let’s give them a thought when the conditions are astonishingly good.