Consider the romantic 45-minute drive from Quebec City to the 350-year-old fishing village of Baie-Saint-Paul, where the twisted architecture looks lifted right off a Normandy postcard, as the ideal entrée into the world of rural French-Canadian skiing. On the edge of this ski town, the sun shimmers off ice floes that drift along the St. Lawrence River, Canada's equivalent of the Mississippi. And behind town, a sweep of dark forest leaps up above the valley. The place exudes an intoxicating air of culture, history, and wild beauty.

But what's here for a skier? Above the ice-clogged river and way off the radar of most skiers and snowboarders is an extraordinary ski area called Le Massif. Its three summits yield the highest vertical drop east of the Canadian Rockies. In length, the heroic, snowbound runs sizzle down more than two thigh-burning country miles.

For the most part, the slopes are a French translation of joy, with snow riders cleaving to the mountain and drinking in the panorama of this raw corner of Quebec resting at the northern end of the Appalachians. The area is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, and at first blush the untouched loveliness of the scenery may impress you more than the piste.

The resort itself is arranged from top down, with the parking lot at the top; you ski down to the lifts. Every run boasts a grand view of the St. Lawrence River, and when you get to the bottom, there are seldom lift lines.

Magnificent Le Massif is the site of Canada's National Alpine Skiing Downhill Training Center, where the best racers in the country come to face their fears, gain hard-won competence, and, in the end, see if

Consider the romantic 45-minute drive from Quebec City to the 350-year-old fishing village of Baie-Saint-Paul, where the twisted architecture looks lifted right off a Normandy postcard, as the ideal entrée into the world of rural French-Canadian skiing. On the edge of this ski town, the sun shimmers off ice floes that drift along the St. Lawrence River, Canada's equivalent of the Mississippi. And behind town, a sweep of dark forest leaps up above the valley. The place exudes an intoxicating air of culture, history, and wild beauty.

But what's here for a skier? Above the ice-clogged river and way off the radar of most skiers and snowboarders is an extraordinary ski area called Le Massif. Its three summits yield the highest vertical drop east of the Canadian Rockies. In length, the heroic, snowbound runs sizzle down more than two thigh-burning country miles.

For the most part, the slopes are a French translation of joy, with snow riders cleaving to the mountain and drinking in the panorama of this raw corner of Quebec resting at the northern end of the Appalachians. The area is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, and at first blush the untouched loveliness of the scenery may impress you more than the piste.

The resort itself is arranged from top down, with the parking lot at the top; you ski down to the lifts. Every run boasts a grand view of the St. Lawrence River, and when you get to the bottom, there are seldom lift lines.

Magnificent Le Massif is the site of Canada's National Alpine Skiing Downhill Training Center, where the best racers in the country come to face their fears, gain hard-won competence, and, in the end, see if they have the stuff of champions. But don't worry if you're not quite competition-ready yet; there are more than enough groomed cruisers where you can put the iPod on shuffle and wile away the day snow dancing. Some of the best runs include the seemingly endless groomers off the Grande-Pointe Express lift and the iconic tree-skiing accessible from the Camp-Boule Express.

Le Massif also offers a terrific ski program for kids. For X-Games wannabes, there's a terrain park customized for pint-sized tricksters, and a gung-ho, big-air, big-thrills park for big sister.

As one would expect of this small ski treasure, Le Massif began life with a whimper. In 1982, local ski enthusiasts morphed an old school bus into a weekend ski lift. Saturday skiing began on the week's accumulation of powder, and the mountain quickly acquired a cult following. In 1992, the first lift was constructed. But the real birth of this up-and-coming ski legend happened in 2002, when Daniel Gauthier, one of the founders and former president of Cirque du Soleil (which began as street theater in Baie-Saint-Paul), bought the resort and pumped $25 million into new lifts, trails, and snowmaking.

The on-mountain restaurants are a testament to the Quebec logic that food is the best comfort from the cold. Lunchtime specialties at the lodge include lamb and goat cheese lasagna and tatin of duck confit. There's also a spirited apres-ski pub. Other than that, you won't find any wallet-draining excesses. Prime real estate is nowhere to be found; there are no ski-in/ski-out accommodations. Baie-Saint-Paul, however, is just 11 miles away, and offers a wide-range of lodgings.

What's New: For the 2010-11 season, Le Massif added a 7.5-kilometer run for a unique sledding experience known as rodeling.