An event company wants to bring back downhill skiing to a landmark mountain despite protests from a heritage group that says the move would reduce accessibility.
Montreal’s Mount Royal was home to the sport until 1979, but was stopped because of its harm to the mountain’s natural environment.
Now event management company Gestev wants to bring it back to the Outremont summit.
“We believe the project makes sense, it was there before, bringing back a piece of the legacy,” Patrice Drouin, the president of Gestev, told CTV Montreal.
Gestev said that the mountain’s dimensions fit the International Ski Federation’s requirements and that the summit could host its first World Cup event in 2020. The company believes skiing would benefit the public, the sport and the university.
Dinu Bumbaru of Heritage Montreal says current efforts are to make the mountain more accessible to everyone, rather than to make it a sports venue.
“It’s been taking a lot of time to arrange an agreement between the university, the city, and the cemetery,” he said. “We’ve enjoyed doing bicycle but if we do it too much or if it becomes privatized it becomes wrong and anti-Mount Royal and the same thing applies with ski.”
The ‘Friends of the Mountain,’ an organization that protects and supports the sustainability of Mount Royal, says downhill skiing is prohibited because it is harmful to the mountain.
The city has met with the Gestev, but has yet to decide on its pitch.
Hikers at the summit were split over the plans to bring skiing back. Regular walker Suzanne Miller called the move ‘absurd’.
“As far as I knew I thought the mountain was very concerned about conservation,” she said.
“This seems to be in opposition of what is already in motion, which is conservation towards preserving, planting, protecting biodiversity.”
But others were excited by the prospect.
“The mountain is really big so I think some space can be preserved and some space can be used for skiing and walking,” said Jeanne Morin.
“I think that’s a great idea to do it here.”
