13th Tuques Bleues Celebration and Snowshoe Event: Hundreds of Montrealers contribute to the conservation of Mount Royal
Montreal, February 19, 2010 – Mount Royal was all aglow last night for the magical Tuques Bleues Celebration and Snowshoe Event, a unique wintertime benefit evening orchestrated by Les amis de la montagne for a 13th year. More than 600 mountain enthusiasts celebrated the success of the event that raised close to $225,000 for education and conservation activities for Mount Royal.
Several hundred Montrealers participated in a snowshoe walk through the mountain forest, an activity inspired by the snowshoe clubs of the 1840s whereby members would gather at dusk to ascend Mount Royal in a spirit of good cheer and camaraderie.
Close to 100 snowshoe racers competed for the gold, silver and bronze medals in both the women’s and men’s categories, while numerous teams from companies and organizations contended for the Corporate Challenge Cup, the Sports Club Cup and the Tuques Bleues Trophy.
The honourary co-chairs of the event,
Cyril Bendahan, Regional Vice President, Group Benefits, Quebec,
Manulife Financial, and
Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, awarded medals to the race winners during the festivities inside the Chalet. (
Click here for full race results on the Sportstats website.)
Peter A. Howlett (centre), President of Les amis de la montagne, thanks Michel Leblanc (L) and Cyril Bendahan (R) for their leadership and commitment.
Medals went to:
Women:
- Gold – Andréanne Morin, Club Sportif MAA (12:40.2)
- Silver – Jessica Murphy, McGill University, Department of Athletics (13:11.5)
- Bronze – Audrey Longval, Club Sportif MAA (13:27.6)
Men:
- Gold – Charles Perreault, Club Sportif MAA (9:36.3)
- Silver - David LePorho, Club Sportif MAA (9:36.9)
- Bronze – Alex Nadeau, Mansfield Club Athlétique (9:50.5)
The Corporate Challenge Cup was awarded to:
The Sports Club Cup was awarded to:
- Mansfield Club Athlétique
The Tuques Bleues Trophy was awarded to:
- Manulife Financial (for a third consecutive year!)
The evening's MCs at work, Pete Marier (L) and Mike Gauthier (R)
Special guests of the evening included our hosts, Mike Gauthier from MusiMax and Pete Marier from CHOM 97,7 FM, who congratulated the snowshoers for their participation and generous support of Les amis.
The Tuques Bleues Celebration was held on the opening night of the Festival Montréal en lumière. The organizers wish to underline the commitment and contribution of the events’ sponsors and partners: principal partner, Gold level: Manulife Financial; Silver level: Atmosphere, Club Atwater and Mansfield Athletic Club; with the support of: Tubbs Snowshoes and Atlas Snowshoes.
Les amis de la montagne also extend their thanks to their sponsors of products and services: the Ville de Montréal, 2nd Field Regiment of the Canadian Artillery, Barefoot Wine, McAuslan Brewery, Hewitt, Le Château, Domaine Pinnacle, Java U, CHOM 97,7 FM, CJAD 800 AM, Virgin Radio 96, La Presse and The Gazette.
Thanks to our TERRIFIC volunteers!
