Mont Habitant

Mont Habitant is without question the work of Mickey and Joan Stein.

Back in 1957, Mickey Stein was staying in the Pagé family's old farmhouse not far from Saint-Sauveur. He looked at the mountain across the way and realized it had the potential to be a skiers' paradise.

With associates Stephen and Stanley Vineberg, Mickey Stein explored the mountain to get an idea of what could be done. They entrusted Sel Hannah, the well known ski centre designer, with the task of laying out and preparing the runs and terrain.

Mont Habitant officially opened for the winter of 1958-59. I am proud to say I was one of the first to ski down its slopes.

Thanks to Mickey's friendliness and hard work, Mont Habitant soon became a popular place where families and friends gathered. But Joan also played a major role and was instrumental in the getting the ski school up and running. Under her guidance the school became known for quality of teaching and personalized service and over the years gave lessons to more than 300,000 skiers.

Mont Habitant enjoyed another "first" when in 1964 it was the first centre in North America to light up the night so people could ski after dark. Night skiing was born, with many other areas soon to follow Mont Habitant's example.

Today Dean Booth runs Mont Habitant and, following in his predecessors' footsteps, still puts the focus on maintaining its reputation as a friendly, fun, family centre.

Mont Avila

In 1957, the Wilfrid Forget family sold their land to Messrs. Schwartz and Duchesneck who went on to develop Mont Avila - both the ski area and the residential portion - including laying out the runs and building a chalet..

At the beginning of the 1960s they sold their properties, including the ski centre, to an Italian consortium led by luge champion Sergio Zardini. The consortium continued the ski centre development and put in a luge run. However after Zardini's accidental death in 1967 his successor, Mr. Castellani, did not maintain the luge track.

At the beginning of the 1970s, the chalet burned and was rebuilt in concrete. In the mid-1990s, the consortium sold the ski area to Mont Saint-Sauveur International Inc.

La Marquise

In 1924 the Marquis d'Albizzi - who was administrator of the assets for a Russian family that owned property in the region - settled in Saint-Sauveur. In 1924 he bought the schoolhouse, which had been sold by to the school board by the Filles de la Sagesse when they left Saint-Sauveur. The Marquis then proceeded to turn this house into a luxurious pension for foreign clients.

At the age of 50 the Marquis married Miss Makarov, a rich heiress. A ski enthusiast, he bought lots 427 and 428 (located in the north of the parish) from Bruno and Hector Chartier. He cleared trees from the hillside and called the new area Côte de la Marquise, most likely in honour of his wife.

In 1939, at the beginning of World War II, the Marquis left Canada. His cousin, Duke Dimitri of Leuchtenberg, then a ski instructor, became owner of the pension, now to be known as the Pension Leuchtenberg.

In 1946, Mont Royal Ski Tow Inc. rented space to operate its lifts.

La Marquise ski centre had various owners until 1982 when the land, which boasted a beautiful view of the Saint-Sauveur valley, was divided into building lots.

Mont Christie

John Elder, who was born in 1984, made his home at Mont Christie. In 1945 - as skiing was becoming more and more popular - he rented the slopes to Ernie Axford who installed a rope tow. Three years later John Elder and his sons took over the ski operation.

By 1963 Mont Christie had five T-bars, and in 1967 invented a lift called the Snow-Tram. This was essentially a sled pulled by a cable powered by a diesel motor and equipped with a speed control, brake and steering mechanism. The unusual lift could carry 12 people up the hill at a time and operated until 1970.

Mont Christie closed in the early 1990s and is now being developed as a residential area.