Mont Royal

Elevation: 233 m
Elevation Gain: 180 m
Mont Royal is a deep extension of a vastly eroded volcanic complex which was last active about 125 million years ago. Today, the “mountain” is little more than a hill. The first European to scale the hill was Jacques Cartier who named the peak in honour of his patron, the French king Francois. The name of the island of Montreal is derived from the name of the peak (Mont Real as it was spelled in Middle French). This name was unofficially applied to the city of Montreal (formerly Ville-Marie) in the 18th century.
My Ascents:
June 24 2013

Well this entry is a bit of a departure from my usual peak bagging efforts! While in Montreal to speak at a symposium, I (of course) decided to burn off some smoked meat and fine French craft ales by scaling the most impressive peak around. I even managed to convince my boss to join me. Perhaps a warmup for a real peak later this summer?

The view of the “peak” over Place Ville-Marie from my room at the beautiful Fairmont Queen Elizabeth hotel. Thank God for travelling with work; If I had been on my own dime, I’d be stuck in a divy Super 8 or something along those lines!

Exploring the McGill University campus on our way up.

The peak felt a lot less small after we decided to run up the stairs. It may only be 180 m elevation gain but these stairs effectively reduced my legs to jelly. That may have also had something to do with a series of late nights on Crescent Street, however…

Beautiful gardens at the Kondiaronk Belvedere near the Chalet de Mont Royal.

A beautiful view of downtown Montreal from the busy belvedere. Note the blue skies. They did not stay that way for long…

Making the best of a low elevation situation.

Downtown Montreal panorama. Click to see larger.

Although the view from Chalet de Mont Royal is fine, I insisted that we continue up the addition 15 m (over about a km distance) to the “summit”.

Shortly after reaching the top, the skies took a turn for the ominous. Amidst thunder and lightning, Peter and I ended up running down the mountain in a torrential downpour.

Looking like I just jumped in the hotel pool and ready for beer (and maybe even poutine)!