Sundogs and Shot-skis

Surprisingly, ski club bus trips can be more than just an efficient way to get to a mountain—the comradery on the bus can be fun—especially on the way home.  Knowing that a pro will be at the wheel at day’s end means a stop at the base lodge bar does not carry the guilt of irresponsibility.  But on this day in Quebec, it was the early morning bus ride that brought the bonus.

Riding high off the road, about half an hour outside of Quebec City, New Haven Ski Club passengers were graced with AMAZING sundogs which led the bus all the way to Le Massif!  The seats full of (mostly) senior skiers exploded with childlike wonder at these atmospheric phenomena which lasted into the afternoon, albeit eventually reduced to a single “dog.” Formally called parhelia, sundogs are concentrated patches of light that appear about 22 degrees to the left and/or right of the sun (sometimes there is only one) and are caused by the refraction of sunlight off tiny crystals of ice suspended in the atmosphere.  They can be seen anywhere, during any season, but are most common when the sun is near the horizon and the air is cold. They can be like white mock suns, but sometimes they appear as pieces of a rainbow—red toward the sun and blue on the outside.

What a way to start a day! Club members had endured an 8-hour bus ride from New Haven, CT and then a frozen shut bus and white-out conditions that closed most lifts at Mont St. Anne’s the day before. They boarded the bus that morning chomping at the bit, anxious to ski!  Conditions turned out to be fabulous, and though negative temps made a chilly day, they warmed up with rounds of maple whiskey from the shot-ski and north country beers at the most welcoming of resort pubs!

For  sundogs, sunny slopes and shot-skis; Merci, LeMassif!

(with thanks to Jozzi Pizzo)