scorpionbowl

I always use gauntlets, except in warmer weather [>20F]. I never thought I'd use them, but now wouldn't ride without them. I tried 3 pairs to find something comfortable, and I had to modify that pair to work. The skidoo set bends at a 90 degree angle which isn't natural and feels awkward, i think i have choko's. With gauntlets you ride with thin gloves and keep the hand warmers on low or off. thin gloves make for easy camera operation, etc. I also carry heavy gloves for when the hand warmers die. I find heavier gloves in the gaunlets makes it a little more difficult to grab the brake. As for difficulty when signalling, thats not a problem for me, and is probably a topic for another discussion.

There are so many. FYI, i stayed at M-S-P last Saturday, there are new owners, maybe mother/daughter? Still a nice place with good food, and a pretty blonde hostess [daughter?]. Not sure if this is a hotel/motel topic, but Hotel du Jardin is my favorite. Easy access, local gas and SAQ, sled parking, great food [except the thursday chinese buffet], internet access, excellent rooms, great bar, good location. For outfitters, it would be Kanawata.

I also have an HJC CL-14, didn't know it was noisy. It helps to add some weather stripping on the top of the shield where it meets the helmet. The best features are that the helmet and shields are [relatively] inexpensive, most people i ride with have them, so we carry a spare parts/shields, and every dealer has them if you need parts on the trail. The only disadvantage is it doesn't have the sun-visor. I've seen many who ride with a BV2s, although maybe earlier designs, they had major flaws. Maybe they're ok for riding in the US, but not for hardcore sledders [can we use that term here?]. If the weather is below zero, the breath guard will freeze up, and cause fogging. Thats why they created a heated shield. I've only riden with one other person that had the bv2s and heated shield, and the shield was defective and still fogged, he returned both and now has an hjc. Knowing skidoo, if the e-shield dies in the middle of a 7 day trip, the dealer won't have the replacement in stock.

The site is here http://www.fcmq.qc.ca/english/pages.asp?id=133 . You can't download the trails into your gps. You get to view the maps online or download the entire trail system into Google Earth. Maybe with the new gps's, you can convert google earth format into trails/tracks to load into your gps. Mine doesn't have the memory, so I just marked the trail intersections and loaded them [as waypoints] into my gps. That way when you get to an unmarked intersection, with the gps and a map you'll know where you are. You can get the waypoints off of my site.

Here's what I used last year for the ~80 miles [wide-open] railroad track run from Chibougamu to Senneterre, in -35c weather, and part of a 400 miles day. I wasn't cold, but you cold feel your core temperature dropping after the 12 hour day [nothing a cold beer can't fix]. 1. Polartec base layer, pants/shirt. 2. Polartec heavy wieight pants. 3. Long sleeve shirt with a stick-on disposable body warmer. 4. Polartec heavy weight pull-over. 5. Reima [before Scott] gortex lined bibs and jacket. 6. Sock liners, wool socks, baffin boots. 7. Thin gloves, hand-warmers, gauntlets. Once you have that [or similar], you can mix and match for any weather.

I used to be in denial, on the 12.5 mpg [and just drinking 2 beers a day], but then reality struck. I can easily get 18+ mpg when holding 1/2 throttle. That happened last year for 100 miles with a bad jack shaft bearing. I wish i had my ipod it was so boring [well it was at night]. In my opinion, if you want to ride hard, fast, and safe...you have to work the throttle and brake very hard [and not listen to the ipod, or drink], especially when following an Apex [which gets 19 mpg all the time], and all that that kills mileage. Another big hit to mileage is cranking the ski pressure with fresh snow to keep up the speed in the corners [for safety] at the expense of top end speed. My avg mileage also includes spring weather and rainy conditions, which unfortunately is becoming more common. I'm also following the same type of sled which gets the same mileage. For the last few years I've read the posts of some gade's getting 20+ mpg and others that get 10 mpg. When considering buying a gade, i was surprised at the variation, but after riding one, it's not the sled [for the most part] it's the driving style and environment. FYI Legend, i think if you drive your sled like your SUV, you'd be closer to 12 mpg :)

That spreadsheet is for a "typical" person. For my costs, MPG goes down to 12.5, miles go up to 300, total PQ riding days about 30, beer up to 6, and I didn't count the bottle of vodka. Total for the week $2209.

Forgot to add that equates to $1.06 [uS] per riding mile.

Every year you see the same reports...How much it costs to take a family to a ballgame, How much thanksgiving dinner will cost, How much we spend on xmas gifts, etc...I figured I'd give it a shot for a typical 7-day snowmobile trip in Quebec. This year I estimate the cost to be $1855 [uS]. Of course this excludes the cost of the sled, truck, trailer, and breakdowns. Here's how I arrived at that figure...

I guess Bernard isn't a member yet. This is one of the best/closest starting places for those of us in the US. Once you get away from the river/city, the trails really open up. Here's a where am I?

Does Odo count? Here's nearly 400 miles in one day...in by dinner.

Unfortunately it's hard to get too. It's about 200 miles from Toudassac, by sled, and there's only one trail up, same trail back, unless you take the boat over to the Gaspe. The trail from Forestville to B-C is fast, but busy/rough on weekends. And for you HCS guys, the strip joint in B-C is closed!

Maybe the only casino you can snowmobile to? 5-star Hotel to the right, Casnio [off pic] to the left, St. Lawrence straight ahead.

No, but he had some post-worthy offs on that trip.

Everyone goes off trail now and then, but some are more noteworthy than others. Here's a perfect example... A fresh foot of powder, no tracks, coming out of Petit or Grand Vallee on the North shore of the Gaspe, taking the mountain feeder trail to TQ5. The lead sled gets sucked off the trail, nothing you can do...down the mountain. It stops about 15-20' down on brush and a tree. A heavy 4-stroke, nose-down a mountain, no damage, it all happened at low speed. Took 3 of us about an hour an half to get it out. We had to cut some small trees and one big 8" tree to spin the sled around. In retrospect, we should have just taken off the skis and pulled it out in reverse. Here's a pic, the sled is out of view, well down then bank.

Let's get things started in this forum with a picture...Joncas Adventure.

Here's one from the top of the Hill...

Things are quiet around here...Is global warming true? Or are you sticking with the el-nino theory for another year? Mt Valin last thanksgiving was a washout, a reschedule to Dec 14, was still poor [see pic]. The last 2 years, it's was raining in mid January. The first week of March also has been bringing rain. I know, 5 years ago [or whenever] it rained in February, but this seems less than random...

Outside Roberval, last March...Best time of year to ride [in my opinion]

Correct. The river is the Shipshaw. Once you get up the hill, it's wide-open in the field. Here it is from another angle :)

If the trails were like in the US, I might have seen some of these things :) I've been on those trails at least four different times and those pics dont ring a bell.

Looks like Bill will need a new sign this year...

FYI, the moose pic is at Lac Edouard.

Nope. You got the "lac" part right. They probably didn't see much traffic last year, because of a trail closure.

Rob, That Saguenay pic above, is that the stretch of the river that is now closed to sleds? This is going to be a great site, looking forward to it... Gary