Organized by Polaris, Yamaha, Arctic Cat and BRP manufacturers, the Snow Shoot event is made of technical presentations and tests of their new models for the next snowmobile season. It is specifically prepared for medias of the snowmobile industry and its lasts 2 weeks.
Since many years, Team SledMagazine.com is invited by the manufacturers to be part of this event. Only few columnists of the magazine have the chance to attend it and this year, I was among our group of 7 lucky ones. Being member of the team for the first year, I did not expect this chance. To my greatest surprise, I received a phone call from our president, Denis, who asked me if I would be available for the 2018 Snow Shoot. At first, I said to myself : “Why me? I am new in the team!”. My colleagues who had already been to the Snow Shoot were saying that I had to go at least once in my lifetime. I checked with my employer who allowed my leave of absence. I assure you that I will never regret my participation at the 2018 Snow Shoot, it has been a memorable experience.
As usual, the 2018 Snow Shoot is held in Montana State, most precisely in West Yellowstone. Those who think that attending the Snow Shoot is some kind of snowmobile vacation, are wrong. The price is not only monetary, but it includes many sacrifices during the trip and after our return.
During our stay, we have tested, evaluated, commented on all the trial machines, about 60 snowmobiles in 4 days. All this in order to prepare the Buyer’s Guide presented by this web magazine Motoneiges.ca/SledMagazine.com and to write many articles related to the 2018 innovations. During our tests, we had to take dynamic and static photos of the different models. We had to be part of the video clips to keep our fans informed on the various video and social medias. All this work is worthwhile because it has been one of the greatest weeks of my life.
To get to the Snow Shoot and to come back, we had to go by plane of course. This is a round trip of about 7 800 kilometers, departure from Montréal, arrival in Bozeman on flights with stopovers in Toronto, Minneapolis and Detroit. Everything went well, without delays, and our luggage followed us all the way. My worst fear was to loose my bags because all my snowmobile gear was in it. What were the probabilities? Our second day was free of work; luckily, because we had not been able to contact the condo owner to get the security code needed to enter. Initially, we were supposed to get to the condo, located 90 minutes from the Bozeman airport. So, our evening plan has been modified. The day after, we had the chance to see the beautiful landscape on our way to the condo. Before arriving to destination, we went to the local Wal-Mart and bought everything we would need for our meals of the week. One pick-up was full of food, the other one was full of luggage. 7 boys in a condo eat a lot!
On Day 1 of the Snow Shoot, we go to the technical presentations prepared by the manufacturers and to the mandatory avalanche awareness meeting, as some sectors are at risk here. When we arrive at the base camp, the first impression is absolutely remarkable! It is like a dream to admire the 4 manufacturers forming a square with the 2018 machines with covers, all aligned in front of their respective trailers, because during my stay, I would be able to test many models from each manufacturer. Teams get inside the manufacturers’ trailers and we have been paired with our friends from the magazine Motoneige Québec.
Team SledMagazine.com and Motoneige Québec
Each manufacturer presents his new products for the 2018 season and cramming begins by many hundreds of models with different letters, names and specifications we must almost memorize.
Everybody listens carefully during the technical presentations
The evening is for medias, supper and night at the Buffalo Bar in the village. Everything had been done to make this activity pleasant for all, with game tables, door prizes, casino and more. I even met two friendly local guides. We checked if they would be available to guide us on our afternoon of mountain snowmobiles, because local people are well aware of the most snowy spots to put our snowmobiles to the test. It has been a wonderful day; they enjoyed their afternoon with us as much as I did with them because it was my first off-trail experience. Believe me, I perspired a lot. That day, my passion for mountain snowmobile began.
Myself on a 2018 Ski-Doo Summit X
A typical day of trials looks like this : up at 6:15 AM for breakfast, planning of the day, getting to the site for 8 A.M., taking possession of our machines, installation of the GoPro cameras on the machines, getting to a magnificent site (a new one each day) for static and dynamic photo session, return to the base camp before noon to refuel and return of the machines. Each time, we exchanged our snowmobiles to test them all. It is so much fun to pilot different types of snowmobiles in a breathtaking landscape.
Lunch time, getting to our condo, battery reload and file transfer from video and GoPro cameras to the computers, quick lunch and return to the site for afternoon tests with new snowmobiles, return to the base camp before 5 PM. The day is almost over, return to our condo to transfer again our videos and photos. It is time to shower, then to enjoy a good supper with colleagues all while proceeding to the debriefing of our day.
Static photo session
To conclude, I would like to thank my colleagues and friends of Team 2018 Snow Shoot, Denis, Julien, Mathieu, Hugo, Vincent and Karl. I had a great week with all of you, guys, and I hope to live it again next year. In no time, we became a close team and this helped us to produce our reports.
Team 2018 Snow Shoot
Special thanks also to SledMagazine.com for giving me the chance to share my passion for snowmobiling with you, dear readers.
Have a great end of season
