page_title: Le Massif
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Le Massif / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Large panorama taken from the top of Le Massif along the Saint-Lawrence Seaway
context_page_description: Le Massif de Charlevoix is a ski area in Quebec, Canada, northeast of Quebec City and directly overlooking the St. Lawrence River.
context_section_description: Skiing at Le Massif de Charlevoix started at the end of the 1970s, with snowmobiles towing groups of skiers from the main road at the top and a van serving as the lift. In the early 1980s, commercial operations started with la Société de développement du Massif.  Starting in 1983–1984, school buses were used to drive skiers from the base to the top after each run. In the summer of 1992, two chairlifts were installed: a high-speed quad and a fixed-grip double.
  The year of 2001 saw significant change for Le Massif de Charlevoix. A new road was built from Route 138 to the top of the mountain. The distance between Quebec City and Le Massif de Charlevoix summit was then reduced to 70 km (43 mi) instead of the 95 km (60 mi) previously needed to reach the base via the village of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François. At the same time, The Cap Maillard was raised by 35 m (115 ft) to create La Charlevoix, an FIS standard downhill trail mapped by alpine course designer (and champion) Bernhard Russi. It hosted the speed events of the 2006 Junior World Championships, with technical events at Mont-Sainte-Anne. However, La Charlevoix was deemed unsuitable for hosting an Olympic downhill men’s event hurting Quebec City's chances at hosting a Winter Olympics. The Junior Worlds returned in 2013.
  Daniel Gauthier, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, bought Le Massif de Charlevoix in 2002.  Daniel Gauthier is no longer a co-owner of Cirque du Soleil and has used part of the proceeds of the sale of his participation in that venture to purchase Le Massif.
  In 2005, Jean-Luc Brassard, the 1994 Olympic Champion in freestyle mogul skiing, became a spokesman for Le Massif de Charlevoix.
  In 2009, after a record snowfall of 915 cm (360 in), Le Massif de Charlevoix added 26 acres (11 ha) of backcountry skiing on Mount A Liguori.
  Beginning in September 2011, a new tourist train service from Quebec City began operation, making a stop in the winter at Le Massif de Charlevoix.
  Though the ski area carried out substantial new development in coordination with the train, such as a hotel in Baie-Saint-Paul with a private rail spur for shuttle service, and a gondola shuttle from the lower mountain to the rail station in Petite-Rivière-Saint François, the winter trains failed to attract enough passengers to prove economical and were terminated after the 2014-2015 season.  Train service now operates from June to October.
caption: Large panorama taken from the top of Le Massif along the Saint-Lawrence River
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