After a handful of ski/snowbaord trips to the southern Appalachians we decided to check out something a bit larger in New England.   On Christmas Eve we headed up to Gore MT in the Adirondacks.  While conditions were fair the lack of lines all day was amazing.  This was Kate’s first visit to a more respected ski slope and after the first few runs I think she may be spoiled for NC/WV skiing.  One of these days we need to make it to the Rockies or the Tahoe area.

The day after Christmas we headed up to Montreal since Kate had never been to Canada and it was just over three hours from mom’s home outside Albany.  Montreal is beautiful and frigid.  We had planned on a two day trip but ended up cutting it down to a day.  During our visit it was a brisk -10C which made walking around less than enjoyable.  In addition to being cold the forecast (which turned out to be accurate) for our second day called for 2 feet of snow.  Lastly Boxing Day in Montreal Old Town meant there was very little open.  Fortunately we did end up finding the magnificent Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal.  In summation Montreal is great, freezing, and snowy.  Kate had a good enough time she has started to tentatively plan a return trip during the summer.

Lessons learned:  Skiing on Christmas Eve is great if you do not like waiting in lines, Montreal on Boxing Day is quiet and uncomfortably cold.