USA Eesti Spordiliit Ski Weekend – Mont Tremblant, CA

ESTO Ski 2023 generated a record turnout of US and Canadian Estonians for a 3-day weekend of winter sports which included alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, water park fun for the kids and of course après-ski socializing.

The weekend kicked off Thursday evening as Estos gathered for their usual 1st night reunion at one of Tremblant’s legendary pubs. By Friday, approximately 250 Estos had arrived at the resort with the mix being relatively split between USA and Canadian participants.

Esto group activities for Friday featured the traditional downhill ski race which was sponsored by the Estonian Foundation of Canada. There were 65 racers in total and the 2023 medal and trophy winners. Complete race results can be found on Eesti Spordiliit’s website at www.eaaasport.com

Friday’s après-ski gathering hosted by Eesti Spordiliit (Estonian American Amateur Athletes) was held at the Le P’tit Caribou, one of Tremblant’s most iconic restaurants. Thanks to what turned out to be amazingly mild weather across all 3 days, the large outdoor terrace at Caribou was buzzing with Estos who had 3+ hours to mingle and make new friends.

Saturday’s schedule featured Spordiliit’s 2.5km Cross Country Fun Race. The event took place in a beautiful setting adjacent to the Leitham-Moore chalet which was an 8-minute drive from Tremblant village. There were 20 participants this year and a strong turn-out of onlookers to cheer them on. The race was followed by a lovely picnic coordinated by Ülle Leitham and Helle Hantho. Thank you Ülle, for your gracious hospitality!

The Saturday evening dinner and awards gathering was lively and well attended. The speeches included a warm greeting from Margus Rava, the Estonian Ambassador to Canada, who was in attendance, Karl Raudsepp from Montreali Eesti Selts, donating a new XC trophy for ESTO Ski, and Andrus Ers from Spordiliit, who provided some insight into ESTO ski history and also introduced the future ESTO Ski Trip Team coordinators: Lia Vaska, Lia Triantafylidis, Erik Must, and Katrina Künnapas.

Once the medals and trophies were distributed, things kicked off with a special musical treat coordinated by Urmas Kärner, who assembled a vocal ensemble which included Ellen Valter, Mati Lehesalu, Raimo Heyduk, Roosi Lindau and Ülo Isberg. After their performance, the usual group perekonnavalss took place (led by Helle Hantho) and the evening then launched into a dance party with music by DJ Stefan Skonberg going strong until 1am.

USA Spordiliit would like to thank everyone who traveled to Tremblant to revitalize the first non-restricted post-pandemic ESTO Ski event. We’re looking forward to an even larger group and a more exciting itinerary next year when we will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of ESTO Ski. We will be circulating a survey shortly to help plan our milestone event.

In the meantime, we hope to see you at one of the future Eesti Spordiliidu events