NHTOM

Jan 4th Dont panic. There have been many good winters that were horribly thin till late January.

thanks Iceman!! Hoping to ride out of Shawinigan next Saturday.The 17th. Got my fingers crossed.

We will be trying on friday morn from Comfort inn Shawinigan to get to 355 all the way to Roberval. If Shawinigan is a no go, we'll trailer to the Roquemont and take 23 up. I love Shawinigan area, but one of the reasons its nice is its 90% locals, and they dont go out when its less than perfect( why should they) so the trails dont get ground up by sleds. Also , the 355 has low elevation the entire route which generally means less snow and this yr more ice. St. Raymond gets a lot more traffic so Im guessing the ice there will be ground up a little by all the sleds. Also,once you climb on 23 to the 1st lake, its a different (snowier) world from there all the way till you drop down onto the Sagueney plain. Good luck and stay safe to all this weekend.

Thanks Iceman, I look forward to your report

Hi Iceman, Were planning a ride friday from Shawinigan towards LSJ. I was wondering if you have any info on the 355 North of Lac edourd to 83 at Roberval. Is it being groomed this year? In the past Ive seen it from perfect to almost inpassable. Thanks for any info you may have. Tom

Thats the perfect base! Wet snow then a hard freeze.

I'll pay more to ride up there , as I have every year. But if you havent already noticed, there are fewer americans than past years. I think the big reasons are Passports, Improved New England trails, Fuel cost and Trail pass cost. Even at the early bird rate its 3 times the cost of Maine or NHTrail pass. I still pay and ride in Quebec but I know of folks that stay home now and its gotten harder and harder to convince first timers to go. Jacking the trail pass fees higher and higher will only reduce rider numbers and put even more locals on Quads.

When you bring 1st time riders to Quebec, especially kids, you really have to drill this into them. Folks get caught up in the snow dust and smack groomers or blow thru road crossings. The kids think everyride is a race so you have to keep reminding them. Our groups style up there is typically we are just beyond site, sled to sled, even on open long trails. I'll slow just long enough every 15min or so, when I see the theadlight of the sled following me to know hes there, then we space it out again. So far we havent lost any tail lights!

Got back yesterday from a ride out of Shawinigan. The trails yesterday morning from St. Ray back to the truck at the Govenor were A++. In our journey over 3days from Shaw to St Anne de beaupre up to Sagueney and back Shawingan has the most snow. In fact the low country all around LSJ is just about done. Strange year.

Great news. Hopefully that Sunday brunch there returns as well. If I remember correctly I think this was the 2nd time Roger bought his place back from a failed new owner?

Bill- Thanks for setting the record straight. Didnt realize the towns actually paid the tab. From your reports it sounds like you had a terrific season up there! Have a great summer. We did a Gaspe trip this year but next yr we will head back to the Saguenney region. Better trails and more of them. -NHTOM

As ICEMAN mentioned in a previous post, the Sagueney LSJ area clubs decided this season, to pay the local farmers union some amount of $$$ to cross their lands. Because of the 2 previous strikes that shut down the early riding in 2 of the last 5 yrs, I believe the clubs got nervous and decided to pay the ransom rather than risk loosing their trails. And as you know the South side of LSJ is virtually all farmland. So Im only guessing here........, but Im thinking these additional fees in conjunction with $5 diesel, is putting a huge money hit on the clubs in that area. This year they all started grooming late (mild weather) and it sounds like theyre quitting early, even if the weather cools. I know most of the Caribou Club is in rhe woods and doesnt cross much open land, but they may have payed some $$ to the farmers near the river and fiord.

back from grooming tq 5 !!heavy traffic today !!ha!ha!! about 60 sleds.98% of them coming from cross point. it was +1c when i went to bed.-1c at midnight, when i woke uo and now i m sure it s around 10 c!!it was time to come back ,snow was sticking in the drag and machine was almost out of breath !!ha!!ha!! coming back ,i stopped in the first field in ste marguerite to take a few pics.bunch of sledders stopped to say hello !!tom ,from nh ,if i remember well ,with his son + 2 friends. hi tom !!5849.6 hrs on the machine right now. friend told me we should have snow tomorrow ,did nt check the forecast !! Hi Groomer, Great meeting you Friday. Im very jealous, thats a beautiful area you live in. Unfortunately right after we left you my sons old Polaris locked up. Engine would turn backwards but locked up trying to spin forwards. Engine had compression in both cylinders so I think maybe a piece of piston skirt was in the crankcase. Towed it to your clubhouse and left it at the Gas station next door. My son then rode my Doo back to Riviere du Loop and got the truck. He got back to Amqui at 1130 pm. Oh well, that was the end of our trip. But we did get 6 days of riding in. So now its back to work till next year! Thanks for everything you do and have a great late winter. Looks like theres lots more snow up there. Rgds, Tom from N.H.

Now thats what I call a trail report. Awesome photos and descriptions. Have been to most of those spots and it looks awesome. Thanks Alain!!

Rode to Shawinigan from 73 on Saturday 1/14 via 23,351. I can report that its all good to great. 23 runs a lot of plowed roads b4 St.tite. Id stay away from that route late season unless you have a wheel kit. River is fine and fairly smooth. Trails around that area are still as good as ever. Like the bonneville salt flats. Super fast. With the cold temps and more snow tomorrow this area will be even better. Couldnt resist stopping by Rogers on trail 3. Its real weird, I gather its a chinese resteraunt, but it wasnt open. Fridays snow had no foot prints to the door. ICEMAN-do you know why they stopped the old winning format? I would think that place was a gold mine by the crowds years past. And since its gone , is there someplace else that took its place for sledders in the area?

Love that area. Started out of "Bernards" back in 97. Twas a Snowmobile revelation, compared to New England. It was like going from Maine to Hawaii for Beaches. Literally same comparison. Still remember going across those swamps and rivers at top end. It was the 1st time, I had to admit, that the trails were too big for any sled. You had to go over a hundred (mph) to even get nervous. Sounds like the Club needs a Bush Hog to mow down those sticks that grow up every summer.

Gotta advertise down here bigtime, or it wont amount to much. Most US sledders are scared to death of Canada and dont have passports. Sad but true. Of all the sledders I know (about 75) only 5-6 go to Quebec, and its only cause I dragged them up.

It was sold by Roger (for the 2nd time) last year. Its now a Chinese restaraunt, and I guess the locals dont like the Scorpion Bowls!

Thanks for the info guys , still looking for someone thats gone from say Shawinigan or St. Raymond up to the ice Hotel and beyond. I think the real scary re-route is west of St.foy towards the airport, 73 and St.Raymond.

Need to make this route Sunday and Im reading on CMIQ that Trail 3 has a horrible re-route by the airport, Hwy 40, etc. The locals in that area are BS about it. :unsure: Has anyone tryed it this yr ? And if so is it do able , or is everyone going up 23 and down 369 to get East of Quebec city from the st raymond area? Thanks for any/all info...

Hi Bill, You've probably covered this before, but I need to transfer my existing Quebec trail pass to a different sled I just got. I've heard that I can do this at any place that sells trail passes. Is this true? And do I need to peel off the old sticker and present it as well as my paperwork? Thanks in advance... Tom

All you have to do is watch 30 seconds of those tapes to understand why Quebec is the best Snowmobiling in the world. What you guys can do with 6 or 8 inches of snow is incredible. Sorry to all us hard working americans but those trails are ridiculously good and dont occur down here. Anywhere.

Hi Groomer, Yeah its a little rough on the translation but for us folks down here in the States it removes some of the guess work. Cant wait to ride and were hoping to hit Gaspesie in February this year. Thanks for all your incredible work on the trails up there!! rgds, NHTOM

Heres the link, via the Google translator for us anglophones.Kinda long address but it works http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.motoneigeauquebec.com/&ei=ReKXTOKVKcKBlAer1sDWBQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBYQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://www.motoneigeauquebec.com/forum/index.php%26hl%3Den%26prmd%3Divdf

If Im not mistaken your Avitar looks like the back lot at the Roquemont? Is it true?