Mont-Tremblant: Day Three

I hardly know where to begin.

Let's start with this.




This morning, we went dogsledding. If you ever happen to find yourself seated next to me at a dinner party, making small talk, consider yourself trumped, unless you are an astronaut. I plan to work it into everyday conversation into perpetuity. If you are in front of me in the supermarket check out line, and you plop your bag of kibble on the conveyer belt, I will say, "Oh! Dog food! Why, that reminds me of the time I went dogsledding!" If we are standing side by side on the soccer field, cheering on our children, I will turn to you and say, "When I went dogsledding, the driver would cheer the dogs on in french."

"Allez! Allez!" I will shout at our children, as you slink away down the sideline.

I don't know that I will ever get over it. The only solution I can think of is for you to come to Mont-Tremblant and go dogsledding yourself. Seriously, add this to your bucket list. There are several dogsledding operations here. Ours was Adventures Banquise, about a 20 minute drive from the ski resort. Cathy met us at the camp, lit a fire in the yurt, and took us around to introduce us to all her beautiful dogs by name. I've spent enough time with dog and horse people to know that a working animal is a happy animal, but Cathy left no room to doubt that her teams are not just well-exercised, but well-loved. After all the sniffing and petting, we boarded two sleds and the dogs were hitched on. I went in one with the two youngest boys, and Patrick and our ten-year-old went in the other. The drivers called out, and we were off, racing through the woods, up and down hills, around trees, and across a lake. Patrick and our big boy each had a turn driving their sled, but my crew was content to stay bundled under our blanket, enjoying the ride. I have video to upload later (the fie transfer speed from our room is killing me softly with its slow— UPDATE: SEE VIDEO ABOVE & NEWEST POST), but I can't give you the cold air blowing on your cheeks, the sideways lurch of the sled as you carve around a spruce tree, or the 180 degree view of the snowy woods. So just go. And then we can talk.

I know, easy for me to say from here. All we have to pay for is about 10,000 dollars worth of incidental room charges. But I've done the math, and I'm pretty sure the cost of a vacation like this is comparable to a trip of the same duration to Disney World. If that happens to be within your reach, I have no hesitation encouraging you to come to Tremblant. And splurge on the dogsledding, even if you have to sacrifice a day of skiing. In three short days, we have had the time of our lives. And I haven't even told you about the spa or tubing or the maple syrup snow taffy.

We head back at lunch time, and I'll have plenty of layover time to wrap it all up. It's past one in the morning, and I've promised the kids we'll be up in time to play in the snow for a few more hours, so I'm going to turn in.

À demain.