Once again this year, the riding congress of SledMagazine.com was held in the wonderful region of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, more precisely in Monts Valin area, at the Auberge du km 31. Personally, it was my first congress and my first visit in Monts Valin.
Our team in front of Auberge du km 31
To reach our destination, we had to travel 600 kilometers in a pickup, for about 7 hours. It is always more pleasant when accompanied by another collaborator and in a convoy. We left in the morning under a rather unpleasant weather for any snowmobiler, it was raining. The higher the altitude got, the lower the temperature got. Each time it decreased, our smile got wider and we finally arrived under nice powder snow. We could easily see that we were in the paradise of snow and snowmobile.
The first step was to meet with our colleagues who were already on the site since a few days. Then, we got the keys of our chalet. Once settled, we had some refreshment while planning our next day.
Our weekend schedule was loaded : on Friday, a ride in the vicinity to make videos and take pictures; on Saturday, a ride with other collaborators and on Sunday, our return. Despite a good planning, unexpected things happen. On Friday, Mother Nature was not very cooperative; we had snow, wind and cold that complicated our day of filming and photo session. Despite all this, we have been able to shoot few sequences of snowmobiles in motion that will be used in videos presented by Motoneiges.ca/SledMagazine.com. For snowmobile enthusiasts like us, riding 80 kilometers in one day just made us want more and we were already eager to ride the day after.
On Saturday, we were supposed to leave early to arrive for our team lunch at the Centre plein-air Mont Vilain. That morning, we had sun and cold weather, -27 ?C. When 13 snowmobilers ride in line, it makes quite a white powder cloud that reduces visibility. Despite all this, it has been a wonderful day. A good lunch, a warm welcome by our hosts and a nice ride of 270 kilometers, what more could we ask for? We have even been able to take more photos and videos during the day, which made our president smile again.
Our team waiting for a video session
On Sunday, we had planned to pack our bags and to get ready for an early departure. But Mother Nature and our president decided otherwise. What could be better than a photo session under a nice, quiet and sunshiny day? We had to leave before 11 a.m., so it has been a short photo session. Despite this short time, we realized beautiful images with our hybrid and off-trail machines.
During my stay, I had the chance to test other models of the Motoneiges.ca/SledMagazine.com fleet but my official trial snowmobile for the weekend was the 2017 BRP Renegade X 850 E-TEC. The final report on my short-term trials will be published soon.
I would like to thank SledMagazine.com for this wonderful experience. It is extraordinary to share our passion with colleagues and friends.
Have great rides and be careful.
