Akamp Recap
Words & Photos by Xavier Mayrand
For many freeskiers, summer skiing rhymes with Whistler Blackcomb’s Horstman Glacier or Mount Hood’s Palmer Glacier. For others, it’s a trip down south to Chile or Argentina. Or for those with the means to do so, across the Pacific to Australia or New Zealand.
Mont Avila
But little do some know that since 2007, there has been summer skiing nearly every year in Canada at Mont Avila in Piedmont, Québec, courtesy of Akamp.
Akamp
Akamp’s concept is both ingenious and quite simple. As soon as Avila’s terrain park closes around mid-April, a snowcat pushes a massive amount of the remaining snowfall into one big pile. The dedicated and hard working crew from Akamp then procures a hay shipment from the south shore of Montreal, and they cover the whole pile to isolate it and prevent it from melting. A handful of months later, they come back to uncover all of the hay.
The snowcat then returns to spread out the snow as widely as possible, while keeping a deep enough base to sustain the week of skiing that is about to go down. Finally, a digger crew of passionate local skiers arrives to put the finishing touches on the patch of snow while setting up a host of features.
Chris Bechtold
What ensues is typically the best week of the summer for everyone in attendance. Prime weather, top notch park features, a rope tow (or at times, a chairlift), and great vibes all around. Akamp has seen a resurgence over the past few years thanks to current owner Dave Brown, who has been involved in the Laurentian ski and snowboard community for ages. The passion and energy he’s put into the event has spread into the Québec freeskiing community, which has fostered a culture where people come from all corners of the province to assist in making Akamp a success.
Alex Lavoie
Akamp has evolved into an event with a strong sense of belonging, where so many people go the extra mile to help out. The word of mouth from everyone who's had a positive experience at the event in the past, compounded with the social media visibility Akamp has earned, made for a 15th edition unlike any other. This summer’s event saw people coming from not only Québec, but also Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia, Maine, Vermont and more. It seemed like for a week, the place to be skiing was at Akamp.
With six consecutive days of skiing in summertime weather with a rope tow and different setups every day thanks to the diggers, what more could you ask? Throw in daily branded sessions with prizes from J Skis, Joystick, Capeesh and Vulgus (just to name a few), and top-notch pro freeskiers such as Phil Casabon, Edouard Therriault, Mat Dufresne, Jérémy Gagné riding and hanging out with everyone, and Akamp has built a recipe for success.
Sam Scheff, Alexis Fortin & Phil “B-Dog” Casabon
Brown already has big plans for Akamp’s future. He hopes to extend the number of days of riding to eight along with increasing the amount of snow gathered to allow for a larger snowfield. The latter idea centres around having more space for features that are oriented towards a beginner section for groms. The biggest constraint for this goal is financial, as snowcat time is a significant expense, but Brown is confident it can be done with the current growth and success that Akamp has experienced over the past couple of years.
Mat Dufresne
With the incredibly sad news that Whistler Blackcomb’s Horstman Glacier is now permanently closed for summer skiing after decades of incredible memories were made at Momentum Camps, Camp of Champions, High North Ski Camp and others, Akamp shows there is an alternative to getting on snow in the summer in Canada. Is this a model that could be implemented at many resorts across North America, which would bring snowsports communities together at a price that’s more affordable than a trip to Whistler, and in a format that is more convenient to most? It sure seems like it.