Hey Jakub, welcome to Canada and Toronto. Now, you need to move.

I spent the first 30 years of my life skiing in Ontario and there is lots of "skiing" around (I use that term loosely) if you want the good stuff you will need to go to Quebec or Vermont the rest is pretty pathetic in and around the Toronto area. It will keep you entertained for a year or two but you will quickly outgrow it so if you cannot move west for the goods - save your $$$ for a yearly trip.

If you are looking for ski touring in Ontario,... well you won't find it because for this you need good POW and alpine and ontario has neither. But you are in luck, within a 5 hour drive you can get to NY state and the adirondack mountains which offer some decent backcountry skiing, go a little further and you can discover the Chic Chocs.

I know this sounds negative but having moved west 10 years ago I now know how good the skiing can be, you will like Ontario there is lots to discover and it is what you make it  (good skiing in Collingwood or around Ottawa) but be sure to venture west to the Rockies and Selkirks for the real deal then pack your bags and live the dream like so many of us powder snobs.

Enjoy your new home and welcome!

Chiming in 1.5 years later. PowderPig's post is accurate in terms of true backcountry touring.  Still, I can't help but feel like there must be places in Ontario that are steep and technical enough to be worth skinning up for. 

These guys are clearly making the best of the escarpment terrain south of Blue Mountain. Also, I know that Blue Mountain has 2-3 "future development" runs cut on their trail map - no lift access yet. It seems that if they've already gone to the work of clearing the runs, then someone should be skiing it.

There are also numerous old closed ski hills around. For example, there's one just north of Cobourg at 45/Beagle Club Rd. in Northumberland Forest. It hasn't been open for years and I don't even know what it was called, but you can clearly see (on google maps) an old run or two there. There's also Chedoke in Hamilton. It shut down a few years ago, but the runs are still there.

Anyway, I guess the point is that although Ontario skiing pales in comparison to most other regions, the province is still full of awesome skiers looking for new terrain. Maybe we just have to work a little harder to find it and be satisfied with smaller amounts of it. Going forward, it would be nice if this forum could be about sharing hidden gems rather than talking about how much better everywhere else is.

Well done from the land of mostly flat, you make due with what you have:

Ontario folks, let's assemble! 

Great to see some much interest in this post about backcountry skiing in Ontario (my native province), if someone can get some route information and photos of routes together we would be happy to put a new section in the routes section called "Ontario"!

Let me know what you guys got? 

Hi everyone I'm new to this so just a few questions. First of I'm looking at getting into ski touring and mountaineering next season(out west obviously)That being said I have a question about boots, I ware size 17US alpine boots and can't seem to find any large size ski touring boots. Do I really need specialized mountaineering boots? 

Does anyone know anything about Cedar Highlands? It appears to be an old abandoned ski hill near Orangeville.

G,day guys,

Myself and a mate are super keen to do some backcounrty skiing this season. All ready sussed out online what qubec has to offer as i know there's not much chop in ONT but if we could stay local that'd be amazing! any advice or info on places or area's would be awesome!!

Im not sure where you live in Ontario. I live in Barrie and when the conditions are right I have had epic days all within a short drive from my house. Any where from that Escarpment Terrain south of Collingwood to some good treelines in around the Copeland forest to even a few farmers backhill sessions that can ease my powder jones. I have also hiked some spots in around the Haliburton and Madawaska areas if you know where to look can offer some fairly continuous fallline. Good Luck

Andropov

I live in Huntsville, not too far from Madawaska and Haliburton. I was wondering if you`d be willing to give a little more detail on those areas or have any plans to head out there this winter.

Judging by the number of views this forum post has received it sounds like there are a heap of backcountry skiers (or those wanting to start) in Ontario. If anyone wants to help grow an Ontario section on this site send me an e-mail and we can help make it happen. It would be great to get some ski touring locations up on the site and give everyone a place to discuss and post information for each other to help keep everyone informed and safe. Step up and help out.

E-mail me at info at backcountryskiingcanada.com if you want to help? 

We've got about 40cm's of Ontario cold smoke up here in Huntsville right now.  Been snowing hard the past couple of days and temperatures are hovering around -15 to -20. When the sun came out this afternoon it was time to rip some turns. The new-to-me set-up - Madshus Arctic Troll skis, Salamon radv6 boots and Salamon SNS Backcountry bindings - provided a surprising amount of support, allowing for some nice wide tele turns in my short, but steep and deep, in-town stashes. Still jonsing for some longer decents, but man was it nice to rip the first turns of the year and get back on the boards.

If anyone is looking to get off the groomed trails up here in Huntsville, shoot me a message and I'll take you for a tour!

Heading up to National Parc D'Aiguebelle just north of Rouyn Noranda Quebec, in a couple of weeks, for some hut-to-hut back country skiing. Any thoughts?

Post some pics soon.

admin said:

Judging by the number of views this forum post has received it sounds like there are a heap of backcountry skiers (or those wanting to start) in Ontario. If anyone wants to help grow an Ontario section on this site send me an e-mail and we can help make it happen. It would be great to get some ski touring locations up on the site and give everyone a place to discuss and post information for each other to help keep everyone informed and safe. Step up and help out.

E-mail me at info at backcountryskiingcanada.com if you want to help? 

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Count me in as interested, I'm in Ottawa. Most backcountry/touring I get done in ADK's and Vermont with some messing around in the Tremblant area.

Hey all, I'm in.

I'm in Sault Ste. Marie, and I'll take anyone for a tour whenever they like in the Batchawana or Searchmont regions, both of which have some pretty nice hills with over a thousand foot verticals!

I told Brad that I would document some of my routes, but those won't be ready until next year at the soonest, so shoot me a line. My first trip out will be in about 3 days!

Kelly