New St-Joseph Oratory road

Mount Royal has a new challenge.

I was playing on the U de M hill and decided to go over to the east a bit with vague aspirations to head south to the canal and back via the old port and the Plateau.

I rode past the St-Joseph's Oratory and for some reason was drawn in. To climb the 300 stairs. On foot. Carrying my bike. At the almost-top landing I left my bike and walked the final section.

The location is high on the hillside, bathed in glorious sunset light, on the first day of the year when shorts could be worn, the "day summer weather arrived!"

I did some stretching while looking at Lac St-Louis and the Saint Laurence, and the tip of Pincourt island. I engaged an asian tourist in conversation, and when I determined that he couldn't speak english, I pointed to the west and the st-laurence, and said "Chicago."

He said "Chicago, USA?"

"Chicago USA," I said.

Then went down and over to the road that goes around the back of the church.

And I discovered the new road.

I had heard that there was some road work being done at the oratory, but that didn't prepare me for the discovery of an amazing new steep road from Queen Mary around the right side going up to the upper parking at the St-Josephs Oratory.

A beautiful, perfect, WALL of a road.

The lower section is brand new, and there's the same super steep upper section as before, which goes past the original chapel and continues to the very top where you can enter upper Westmount.

This climb is the best 3 minutes in Montreal.

Un pente jouissent.