The things they don't tell you about Mont Tremblant

These are some of my least favourite things about living in Tremblant and some of the things I didn't realise before I got here.

1. The heat

Before I came here I looked online at temperatures recorded in previous years. I don't know what site I looked at but I came away with the idea that it went up to about 26°C in July/August and could drop to around 10°C at night. In reality the temperature has been closer to 30°C for a lot of the summer. I also didn't realise how humid it often gets here and that makes it feel even hotter. It took some getting used to but I have now somewhat acclimatised. On the rare days where it goes down to 20°C it feels pretty cold.

2. The bugs

Turns out June is serious bug season in Tremblant. First there were mosquitos and they were bad. Then came the black flies and they were worse. Finally the horse flies and the deer flies emerged to bring the bug situation to its pinnacle.

The black flies were awful - not because they bite the most or because their bites are the worst - just because of the sheer quantity of them and the fact that they like to form swarms around you and follow you persistently. Actually I find they don't bite nearly as often as mosquitoes - mostly just when they get trapped by some clothing or something: I ended up with a lot of bites on my ankles, neck, ears and wrists. The worst is when they go behind your sunglasses and you end up with bites around your eyes causing your eyelid to swell up. This happened on multiple occasions.

The horse flies/deer flies are a pain because they're very big (can be over an inch long) and adapted to move out of the way quickly. Mosquitoes and black flies don't move very fast so, if you notice one on you, you can usually manage to squish it. No chance with the deer and horse flies.

It goes without saying that the bites from all these insects are very unpleasant and very itchy. I was woken up in the middle of the night many a time by some part of my body itching unbearably.

Apparently this year was particularly bad for mosquitoes. Having initially been told that bug season lasted a few weeks only, it ended up going on for at least seven weeks. Around five weeks in I admitted defeat and bought myself a bug hat. They finally diminished a few weeks ago but are certainly not gone completely yet.

3. The layout

The layout of Tremblant can be a little confusing if you haven't been there before. Tremblant is split into three main areas: the resort, the old village and St Jovite.

The resort is the main tourist hub at the base of the mountain. It's where most people work and there are lots of restaurants and bars. The old village is half way between the resort and St Jovite. It's where I live. There's a beach, a pub, a corner shop and a Saturday market. St Jovite is the main town where you can find five big supermarkets, pharmacies, the town hall, library, banks, restaurants and shops such as Canadian Tyre, Dollarama and Giant Tiger. It's where many people who work on the mountain live and where most people go for shopping because it's much cheaper than the resort and the village.

The bus runs between these three places every 40 minutes or so and as of this year it is free of charge. By bus it's about 10 minutes between the resort and the village and another 15 to the town centre.

What I didn't realise before I got here: getting between these places is very easy; many people who work on the mountain live in St Jovite; even if you're not living in St Jovite you will go there at least once a week for food shopping.

Before arriving I looked on google maps and misunderstood that the "village" was the resort. Though it is a village, if locals talk about the village they mean the Old Village not the resort. On Google maps it also looked like St Jovite was miles away and not somewhere I was likely to venture to often. I thought that if I took accommodation there I would be really far away from everything and the commute to work would be super long. In fact many of my colleagues live there so in addition to the buses it would be easier to get a lift in and to visit friends than it is from where I am living in the old village.

4. The dirt

This isn't exactly a comment on Mont Tremblant so much as a factor of working for the Luge. Every evening when I come home from work my legs are black, my hands are black, my arms are grey and my face is marked. Basically I look like I've just tunnelled out of a coal mine. This dirt doesn't come off easily either. Other people end the summer with tan lines but it looks like I will come home with luge dirt lines.

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