The Versant Nord is the skiable side of Mont-Tremblant opposite the resort village. There are three lifts serving this side of the mountain; all of them detachable quadruple chairlifts. The Duncan Express lift takes skiers from base to summit, the Expo chair serves the bottom half of the mountain, and the Lowell Thomas lift (new for the 2019 season) serves the top half of the mountain.
There are a variety of runs on the Versant Nord. There are some longer advanced runs which stretch from the summit to the base (such as those by Jasey-Jay Anderson, Superier and Devil’s River), but most runs take you either down the top or bottom half of the mountain. Runs like Fuddle Duddle, La Griffe, Expo and Dynamite (the steepest run on the mountain) can only be accessed from the Expo chair, and cannot be included as an extension of a run from the top half of the mountain.
The Gagnon trail is a short connector trail to transfer from the top of the Expo chairlift to the bottom of the Lowell Thomas chairlift. At times when the Duncan chairlift is not operating, you will need to ski this run to reach the summit of the mountain from the base of Versant Nord.
Video Date: March 23, 2019
The top of Sissy Schuss trail to the bottom of Gagnon, is the easiest way to get to the Lowell Thomas chairlift from the top of the Expo chairlift. At times when the Duncan chairlift is not operating, or lineups at Duncan are not favourable, you can ski this run combination to reach the summit of the mountain from the base of Versant Nord, and stay on easy runs the entire time.
Video Date: January 20, 2021
Conditions: Soft snow conditions but reduced visibility due to active snowmaking
The Jasey-Jay Anderson trail takes you from summit to base. Unlike most other trails on the mountain, once on this trail, there is no exit to any other trail and the only option is skiing to the base. It is rated as difficult, and the run is fairly steady and steep for the first half, before getting a little easier toward the bottom. There are some nice twists, ups and downs, to keep it interesting.
Video Date: January 25, 2020
The Supérieur trail runs parallel to the Jasey-Jay Anderson trail, before merging with Jasey-Jay Anderson and continuing to the base of the Versant Nord. It is rated as difficult, and the run is fairly steady and steep for the first half, before getting a little easier toward the bottom. If wanting to ski Jasey-Jay Anderson but finding it closed for training or a race, Supérieur would normally be open and the two trails are very similar.
Video Date: January 17, 2023
Beginning from the top of the Duncan Express chairlift, Saute-Moutons begins parallel to the Duncan Haut trail, and for all intents and purposes, they are the same trail. A short way down, the Devil’s River trail veers off to the right, and it is a narrower trail that eventually ends up on the bottom half of Jasey-Jay Anderson. This is a nice advanced trail, similar in difficulty to Duncan and Jasey-Jay.
Video Date: January 24, 2020
The Duncan trails take you from summit to base, with the upper section rated as difficult and the lower section rated as intermediate. You can ski just the top half, Duncan Haut, and cut across to the Lowell Thomas chair instead of continuing on Duncan Bas to the base. This is a great run, starting out gentle, and then opening up into a long and steep section after passing below the chairlift which shares its name. The very top section of Duncan Haut is frequently facing some stiff headwinds, but those winds normally subside once away from the section near the summit. The lower Duncan Bas section is a nice intermediate trail which should be enjoyable for most skiers, although not overly challenging.
Video Date: March 18, 2019
Conditions: Very icy on the upper sections
The Vanier run is a short connector trail which takes you from the top of the Expo chair to connect with Duncan Bas, and then onward down to the base. This is fairly gentle for an intermediate run, compared to other blue runs on the mountain. It’s generally less crowded than most of the runs that begin from the summit of the mountain, so for a newer skier progressing to intermediate runs, this might be a good option. Otherwise, intermediate skiers can find better options around Tremblant.
Video Date: March 21, 2019
The Expo run is very steep and very difficult, and I haven’t skied it since my younger days. However, the bottom section, Expo Bas, is a nice intermediate run. I also find that it doesn’t get a ton of traffic, and even later in the day, you can often find patches of fresh groomed terrain. To get to Expo Bas without having to kill yourself skiing Expo, you can follow the connector trail, Vanier to Duncan Bas, and then turn left on a short traverse through the trees to come out at Expo Bas, just below the steep section.
Video Date: January 21, 2020
La Griffe is probably on the easier end of black runs at Tremblant. It’s not particularly long, and it terminates by connecting with the easy section at the bottom of Fuddle Duddle to return you to the base. I’m not a big fan of the hills that begin from the Expo chair, because there are some easy runs and a few expert runs (including the steepest runs found anywhere on the mountain), but there is not too much to choose from in between. La Griffe is about the only non-expert run from the Expo chair that has some challenge to it, but it’s fairly short. Intermediate and advanced skiers will probably enjoy themselves more in other areas.
Video Date: March 21, 2019
Fuddle Duddle, while rated blue at the top, is not much more difficult than the bottom section that is rated green. It is a relatively uncrowded run that might be a good option for beginner skiers progressing to an easy intermediate run, when it has been groomed. Be sure to pay attention to the daily run report. The upper section of Fuddle Duddle is sometimes left to develop moguls. If you’re not comfortable skiing moguls and you’ve already started toward the top of the run, your only other options to divert are all trails rated as difficult or expert.
Video Date: March 21, 2019
The Sissy Schuss trail is a nice beginner run, accessed from the top of the Expo chairlift, and runs to the bottom of the Versant Nord. This run includes a beginner snow park, with jumps and other features, but it is also a great run to ski beside the snowpark features.
On the bottom section of the run, be careful where you choose to stop and rest. As there are a number of small jumps along this section, there could be skiers coming down behind you, who are unable to see you if you happen to be stopped just below one of the jumps. Don’t do that!
Video Date: January 20, 2021
Conditions: Beautiful soft snow conditions with some reduced visibility at the very top due to active snowmaking
Rope Tow is a nice intermediate run, beginning at the summit, that follows along the path of the Lowell Thomas chair. Rope Tow ends at a fork where you can join the Lowell Thomas trail to the right, or veer slightly left to take Rigodon down to the base of the Lowell Thomas lift. Rigodon is the slightly more challenging and direct path down to the base of the lift than Lowell Thomas. This is a nice combination of trails that intermediate skiers will find enjoyable, and with enough variety in the area to alternate across other similar runs in the vicinity.
Video Date: January 19, 2021
Conditions: Thin layer of soft snow on top of hard groomed base
Video Date: March 19, 2019
This run begins the same as the previous video, but instead of continuing along Rigodon to the base of the Lowell Thomas lift, we veer right to the Lowell Thomas run, crossing beneath the Lowell Thomas lift. While perhaps slightly easier than Rigodon, this section of Lowell Thomas offers a bit more interest, with some twists and small hills as it scenically cuts a narrower path through the trees, before meeting up with the Gagnon connector run back to the base of the lift.
Video Date: March 19, 2019
This combination of trails is nearly identical to the previous video, except it finishes via Short Cut, with a short and steep final pitch directly down to the base of the Lowell Thomas lift. This is a more challenging and fun way down than continuing along to Gagnon.
Video Date: January 26, 2019
Beauchemin Haut is a fun intermediate trail, with fairly consistent pitch most of the way down, and wide enough to allow many skiers to practise some great turns all the way down. Beauchemin Haut finishes by the base of the Lowell Thomas lift, and skiers can seamlessly continue down to the base of the mountain by following Beauchemin Bas. Intermediate and advanced skiers will probably prefer to stay on the top half of the mountain, and take the Lowell Thomas lift back up to repeat the run, rather than continuing along the bottom section of the run, which is the easiest route down to the base on the Versant Nord.
This first video is Beauchemin Haut, ending at the bottom of the Lowell Thomas chairlift:
Video Date: January 19, 2021
Conditions: Thin layer of soft snow on top of hard groomed base
This second video is Beauchemin Haut followed by Beauchemin Bas, ending at the bottom of the Versant Nord:
Video Date: March 18, 2019
The combination of trails in this video, is likely not anything most people would ski. They are a series of connector trails, which I strung together into a single video, just to be able to show what they look like. Andy Moe is a narrow trail, but slightly less steep, that takes you back to the top of Beauchemin Haut. Axel is a short access trail through the trees, which primarily serves as a way to access some of the gladed runs in this area of the mountain. Axel is rated blue, but feels more like a green.
La Traverse is a fun option that connects Rope Tow with Beauchemin Haut. It’s a fairly steep pitch along a gentle curve, before levelling once on Beauchemin. This is a nice way to mix things up for interest, adding another finishing option to the Rope Tow run.
Video Date: March 20, 2019
P’Tit Bonheur is the easiest trail down the Versant Nord from the summit of the mountain, and is a great run for beginners. It finishes where it connects to Beauchemin, and skiers can take the Lowell Thomas lift back to the top, or continue skiing the easiest run to the base along Beauchemin Bas.
Video Date: March 20, 2019
The Letendre trail is a connector trail to transfer from the Versant Nord to The Edge, and continues from The Edge back to the Versant Nord. It runs right past the base of the chairlift serving The Edge.
Video Date: January 19, 2023