Preparing a mountain for summer is quite a challenge when it is the highest elevation east of the Canadian Rockies. The snowmelt period is an important issue, it dictates all spring operations in the mountains.
As the seasons shift, our mountain teams remain tireless. In harmony with nature, they join forces to open hiking and mountain biking trails as soon as conditions allow, thus offering everyone the opportunity to fully enjoy the outdoor mountain experience.
Water management on the mountain
After spending a winter under the snow, the trails condition is a real surprise. You never know what you'll find. After walking the trails and seeing the work that needs to be done, crews are busy unblocking culverts as needed, cleaning up sediment, re-digging some of the ditches, blowing out leaves, creating passages or dikes to better direct the water, and so on. The goal is to dry out the ground as quickly as possible.
Following major repars, we're landscaping the trails
Once everything is in place to better channel the flow of water, crews begin trail development. Obviously, water remains a constant challenge as it often happens that after rainy days, the teams must reshape the soil and create new channels to dry out the trails again.
At the end of the thaw period, the fragility of the trails is considerable, leaving the ground as impermeable as it will be during the season. It may appear to be thawed at first glance, but in depth, it is not yet the case. The water table is therefore unable to absorb all the rainfall received. It is for these reasons that it is important to follow access prohibition measures on the trails when nature has not yet signaled that it is safe to enjoy them.
Working on the immense territory of Le Massif de Charlevoix means working on a magical playground and better understanding the particularities of mountain ecosystems. The beauty of our work is to live in symbiosis with nature, to adapt to its rhythm.
For all these reasons, it is important to follow the measures of prohibition of access to the trails when nature has not yet given us its go.
