Joseph Bondurant Ryan, an explorer from a wealthy American family from Philadelphia, came to the region prospecting gold in 1938.
Accompanied by Harry Wheeler (founder of the Gray Rocks Inn in Mont Tremblant) and Lowell Thomas, the American journalist, they climbed to the summit of Mont Tremblant with skis wrapped in seal skins for traction.
After an exhausting trek to the summit, it's said that Joseph Ryan vowed to transform the landscape into a world-class alpine village.
Only one year later, his dream was realized.
On February 12, 1939, Joseph Ryan opened the Mont Tremblant Lodge, which remains part of the pedestrian village today.

In its early years, Lowell Thomas, the American radio broadcaster, was an avid skier who helped popularize the resort by broadcasting shows from the site, thereby establishing the resort as a prime destination for skiers.
The resort named a triple ski lift, which is located on the north mountainside, and trails after him as well as other early devotees.

Following the sudden death of Joseph Bondurant Ryan in 1950, the Mont Tremblant ski resort was operated by his wife Mary Rutherfoord Johnson Ryan until 1965, when it was sold to local Quebec entrepreneurs led by André Charron.
They ran the resort until 1979, when they sold to La Société des Caisses d'Entraide Économique.
They ran the resort for four years until it went into bankruptcy.
The resort was then bought in 1983 by Louis-Pierre Lapointe, who in turn sold it in 1991 to Intrawest.

Intrawest immediately expanded the pedestrian resort village with architecture reminiscent of traditional Quebec and built new ski lifts, including a gondola.
Other changes included building the Grand Manitou summit lodge.

In 2009 a casino located at the base of the soleil trails was opened.
The casino is serviced by an  8-passenger gondola that runs from the main resort to the casino.

Joseph Bondurant Ryan is buried next to the St. Bernard Chappel which he built in 1940-41 at the base of the alpine village, along with his wife Mary and son Peter, who died in Paris, France in 1962 at the age of 22 as a result of an auto racing accident.
 Peter Ryan was an accomplished champion skier who'd been named to the Canadian Olympic ski team, but had switched to auto racing after a 1959 skiing accident.
He quickly showed tremendous talent in auto racing and was the first Canadian in Formula One auto racing and the winner of the first Canadian Grand Prix held at Mosport in 1961.

On March 16, 2009, actress Natasha Richardson sustained a head injury when she fell while taking a beginner skiing lesson at the resort.
She died two days later in New York City.

Since Alterra has taken ownership of the resort in 2018, the resort has seen some major investments.
For the winter 2018-2019, a new high speed quad ski lift was installed to replace the old Lowell Thomas Lift.
During the summer of 2018, the Manitou Chalet located the top of the mountain has seen significant improvement.
The total number of trails is now 102 with several new glade areas.
Alterra has already announced another 14 million dollar investment for the 2019-2020 season.
New developments will also be taking place on the Soleil Side including a new hotel.
Joseph Bondurant Ryan, an explorer from a wealthy American family from Philadelphia, came to the region prospecting gold in 1938. Accompanied by Harry Wheeler (founder of the Gray Rocks Inn in Mont Tremblant) and Lowell Thomas, the American journalist, they climbed to the summit of Mont Tremblant with skis wrapped in seal skins for traction. After an exhausting trek to the summit, it's said that Joseph Ryan vowed to transform the landscape into a world-class alpine village. Only one year later, his dream was realized. On February 12, 1939, Joseph Ryan opened the Mont Tremblant Lodge, which remains part of the pedestrian village today.
In its early years, Lowell Thomas, the American radio broadcaster, was an avid skier who helped popularize the resort by broadcasting shows from the site, thereby establishing the resort as a prime destination for skiers. The resort named a triple ski lift, which is located on the north mountainside, and trails after him as well as other early devotees.
Following the sudden death of Joseph Bondurant Ryan in 1950, the Mont Tremblant ski resort was operated by his wife Mary Rutherfoord Johnson Ryan until 1965, when it was sold to local Quebec entrepreneurs led by André Charron. They ran the resort until 1979, when they sold to La Société des Caisses d'Entraide Économique. They ran the resort for four years until it went into bankruptcy. The resort was then bought in 1983 by Louis-Pierre Lapointe, who in turn sold it in 1991 to Intrawest.
Intrawest immediately expanded the pedestrian resort village with architecture reminiscent of traditional Quebec and built new ski lifts, including a gondola. Other changes included building the Grand Manitou summit lodge.
In 2009 a casino located at the base of the soleil trails was opened. The casino is serviced by an  8-passenger gondola that runs from the main resort to the casino.
Joseph Bondurant Ryan is buried next to the St. Bernard Chappel which he built in 1940-41 at the base of the alpine village, along with his wife Mary and son Peter, who died in Paris, France in 1962 at the age of 22 as a result of an auto racing accident.  Peter Ryan was an accomplished champion skier who'd been named to the Canadian Olympic ski team, but had switched to auto racing after a 1959 skiing accident. He quickly showed tremendous talent in auto racing and was the first Canadian in Formula One auto racing and the winner of the first Canadian Grand Prix held at Mosport in 1961.
On March 16, 2009, actress Natasha Richardson sustained a head injury when she fell while taking a beginner skiing lesson at the resort. She died two days later in New York City.
Since Alterra has taken ownership of the resort in 2018, the resort has seen some major investments. For the winter 2018-2019, a new high speed quad ski lift was installed to replace the old Lowell Thomas Lift. During the summer of 2018, the Manitou Chalet located the top of the mountain has seen significant improvement. The total number of trails is now 102 with several new glade areas. Alterra has already announced another 14 million dollar investment for the 2019-2020 season. New developments will also be taking place on the Soleil Side including a new hotel.
Mont Tremblant Resort