TDI-HAM

I wonder if the 3 rentals you came across were the same 3 I almost made ground meat out of.... I would like to see a mandatory training for people who rent sleds. It might make some people realize that the simple yet dangerous and stupid things they do can have serious results- I came across another interesting rental possible wreck. Riding up a long winding slope ,I came around a corner to see 2 rentals (2 up tourings) riding down the trail side by side and the 2 women on the rear of each of the sleds holding hands. Both sleds stopped dead in their tracks when I came across them and had to hammer the brakes, once again blocking the whole trail. Thankfully another possible incident didn't happen. Not to stereotype, but it would appear that the European Tourists seem to be the least aware of the dangers.

La traversée de la route 175 sera quelques km plus bas que le relais soit au secteur Launière. À cet endroit il y a suffisamment d'espace entre les 2 voies pour permettre au surfaceur et sa gratte de faire un stop entre les 2 voies. Les gens qui arriveront de St-Raymond passeront à cette endroit pour se rendre au Esso ou au Coq Roti de l'Étape en venant rejoindre du côté nord de la 175 le sentier 369 de l'Arrière-Pays en provenance de Québec. Il y aura aussi un sentier local pour rejoindre le Relais de la SEPAQ du rôté sud de la 175. Basically it says the trail will pass a few kms lower where there is enough room between the 4 lanes so the groomer and drag can stop safely without blocking and road. The trail from St Raymond goes this way and there will be a short local rail that will take you to "Auberge le Relais" which is rumor to be levelled next year to be replaced with a new building. Thanks Groomer.

If all of those points were followed by everyone,our sport would be much safer. I think that those who ride on a regular basis realize the dangers and pratice safe sledding. Rentals on the other hand.. Last year in the Parc du Mont Tremblant I came up over a crest to have 3 yes 3 sleds parked abreast totatly taking up the trail, thankfully for studs, enough to slow me down and a quick reaction to more or less take the ditch to ride around the 3 sleds there was no incident. Guess what- They were 3 rentals and the guide who was stopped ahead of them was just shaking his head as if nothing was wrong... These are the individuals who should read and understand your points before getting on the seat.

Unfortunately it's a free for all for the atvs- If the ground was frozen, it would be so bad, but being soft in some areas has caused rocks to be pulled up. Once the groomer does a pass and the trail oficially open, hopefully they will stick to there own trails.

I read about the trail re-location on another site, but I can't find the article. Anyhow if I remember correctly it was relocated from directly in front on the Auberge Le Relais (where there is now 4 lanes?) to a few kms down to where the road is still 2 lanes. I'll keep looking and see if I can find the info.

It was moved 5 kilometers I think. I will confirm later.

Re Bienvenue chez Polaris HDen!!!! I think you will be very pleased with your purchase.

I left Coin Lavigne yesterday rode up to Rouge Matawin and back. Then tried to head up to the Glaciere. Got as far as the hydro lines before turning around. ATVs destroyed what snow there was. At this point the trail resembled more of a potato field than a trail. We turned around and headed back up the park. All in all 141 kms. Not too bad for the 25th of November.

It's a start. Going to try St Come tomorrow. One good thing about your no frills snow indicator-It'll never lie, and if it breaks, it's because it was hit by a snowplow- (or maybe reindeer...) Back to basic isn't always pretty, but it works.

82.6 for regular Wow!! I guess it was a few years ago. It's hard to believe but the b series bombardiers were a real source of transportation when they were brought out. Many rural areas had no snow removal, so other than skis, snowshoes,horse sleighs or dogsleds- this was the way to get around. Great pictures.

That picture in winter of Mont St Pierre... Show that to any one that says snowmobiling is just sitting there pressing the gas and brake. That's right when you snowmobile you don't have any nice landscape because everything is covered in snow.... That picture says it all. I think if I could I would jump through my monitor into that picture and bury myself in the snowbank I would.!!! The season here in Quebec should strt rolling pretty well this weekend in The Laurentides Wildlife reserve- Another 6"-12" today.

T'es pas serieux! Les portes de L'enfer parking lot is at the Auberge le Relais? I've riden through there a few times and never even knew! Depending on what goes on this weekend, maybe I'll head up from montreal next weekend for a day. I'll see what's posted on CIMQ this weekend.

I thought I read people were going to park at "Les Portes de L'enfer" parking lot which is something like 10km past L'etape.Did Stoneham get as much as up at L'Etape? Merci

Switchback- I guess it is still too early to park at the "relais du nord" the red roof restaurant and leave from there? I left from that prking lot on the 11th of April this year.

I tried the powermadd mirrors on the handguards- I ended up sending them back as after 1 ride one of the mirrors fell off and they were basically useless. I've always ridden with a mirror on my glove, never had a problem at checkpoints. I believe the law says you must have 1 fixed mirror on the left side of the sled. What most people do is just get a small "Blind spot" mirror and stick it on the cab. Depending on where you locate it they can actually work quite well. Also I have noticed that when you get stopped at a checkpoint, take off your helmet and have a chat with the officers. So many times I see people getting stopped and getting all mad because they are losing 5 minutes of riding time. These people are just doing their job and unless you are being stopped by a Police Officer, the people stopping you are volunteers. That's right they aren't getting paid, so a nice thank you you are doing a good job can make all the difference. Actually I've had a couple of good laughs with patrollers. They always have stories about outlaw sledders that try and ride without passes, and then endings can be pretty funny.

Fantastic photo. Just wish I was there right now..

Need pictures!!!!

We have a family cottage in Ayer's Cliff on the lake. I grew up riding an old Snow Cruiser around the lake and fields that are now housing developments. Last time I rode around there was about 18 years ago. Been meaning to go back every year, but the lousy snow been keeping us in the Lanaudiere and St Raymond area. Amybe this season we can make a loop. What's a day pass in Vermont go for?

Bienvenue as we say in Quebec !!!! Where do you ride when you come up? Hauling all the way from Michigan ... You're a true Quebec Rider !!!

Daniel- Interesting comparison... Until last year I was a volunteer with a club. Opening the trails takes about a week- ALL VOLUNTEERS- The BR suck fuel like crazy, trail groomers are about 10K, insurance, break downs.. You know how often the hydraulic drives on a BRs let go???. Major bucks to get them fixed. Maintenance. The list goes on. The majority of people that complain about trail pass prices are people that take no interest in helping out the NON PROFIT clubs. I remember in December 2000 we were opening the trail took about 8 hours to get 6 miles done.. Trimming branches, planting trail markers, signage, filling in ditches.. A couple of sledders pull up to us and start complaining saying "Why are the trails open yet?" One of the volunteers said" Why don't you give us a hand" The answer was "Oh I don't have time and I pay for a trail pass.. That's my contribution." Well he didn't have his 2000-2001 pass and fortunately the volunteer was too tired to let the idiot have it. Yes 225$ is a lot of money.. I am not in the sport of snowmobiling to save money. If people think it's too expensive then buy cross country skis. But then again how many times have you passed cross country skiers on a snowmobile trail....I could go on and on with this topic. Do you know how many new sleds are on the trail system with no passes? Go out and pay 12 grand for a top of the line sled and you can't pay 1.9% more for a pass... "Nuff said...

You know I'll be honest with you- We had people from 25 years old to 75 years old in the group. I had ridden once before in a big group and decided I would never do it again. This outing however was great. The slower people stayed in a group, and the faster paced ones were in a group....In the 154 kilometer going up - we stopped 3 times everyone regrouped, take a break Then we'd take off again. The one nice thing about this ride was my buddy and I did not know anyone else and yet the we almost felt like we knew everyone. Very friendly group of riders, and the great thing was nobody was trying to impress another, the most people had at lunch was 1 beer, and one one occasion there was one guy that passed another sled in a bit of a "could have been an incident", and that person was basically told- We are here to enjoy ourselves, don't go aout and ruin it for others. He apologized imediately and there were no hard feelings. This group of people are absolute hardcore sledders- They ride about 10 to 12000 kilometers per year. They are out to enjoy the sport and don't care if your sled is faster than theirs. Maybe yours is, but they will ride 4 times as much in a winter as you. You wana be fast or you wanna go out and ride..

Your right on the money "The Cabane du Bell". We left from the red roof restaurant and the Cabane was out first stop to meet up with some others we were 22 sleds all together. I would probably put it down as one of the best rides I ever did. The weather was amazing and the trail had been dragged up the the fork to go down to L'etape. After that it was a bit of a workout, but was better than sitting in my office!!

Nice to see a new site to check out. Living all my life and riding in Quebec for almost 30 years, hopefully I will be able to post some helpful info on trail conditions and any other useful info on our sport. We are looking at about November 3rd for our first ride this year- Parc des Laurentides up around L'Etape might do it. We ended our season this year April 11th. Relais du nord to Mont Apica and back-308 kilometers. Not bad considering we really didn't have a good dumping of snow this past season. I won't go into a long explanation of how great the ride was, but the pictures should say it all. Yes April 11th.....