At the end of January, I headed for the Chic-Chocs to reach an incredible playground and to go for off-trail snowmobiling in these wonderful mountains. The Chic-Chocs Backcountry Adventure team members, leaded by the owner Jonathan Lefebvre, were waiting for me at their base camp in Marsoui, a village located between the mountains of Gaspésie and the sea of the Gulf of St Lawrence. Located 30 minutes by road from Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Marsoui was formerly part of an important forestry development sector. Today, it benefits from the economic impacts of snowmobiling, thanks to organizations like Chic-Chocs Backcountry Adventure. Devoted to his profession of off-trail snowmobiling guide, true outfitter of mountain snowmobiling, Jonathan and his team offer packages that can be adjusted to their customers’ needs. This way, snowmobilers can benefit from the experience and knowledge of Chic-Chocs Backcountry Adventure team members and live memorable moments by finding the best powder areas in the sector.
During this week-end, Johathan was hosting a very special guest, Julie-Ann Chapman, professional backcountry snowmobiler in Western Canada. Born in the Province of Québec, Julie-Ann went to live in British Columbia a few years ago to discover mountain snowmobiling and then, to have it as a career. Along with making many corporate videos and action films in different places in North America, Julie-Ann also regularly offers training sessions where she teaches the various techniques of mountain snowmobiling. Whether you are a beginner or you want to upgrade your knowledge, Julie-Ann offers many programs adapted to the objectives of a group.
This week-end, Julie-Ann had accepted for a second consecutive year, the invitation from Jonathan, owner of Chic-Chocs Backcountry Adventure, and from Philippe Soucy, representative of the company 509 in Eastern Canada, to give a training session to 12 women who wanted to get initiated into mountain snowmobiling pleasure. These women were coming from Québec, New Brunswick and north-eastern states of United-States, and they were all novice in mountain snowmobiling. Who else but a woman expert among the best of the world in her discipline, to teach to a group of women snowmobilers. This is what Julie-Ann has offered to this group all week-end long, assisted by a highly skilled expert in this matter, Jonathan Lefebvre.
Besides the female connection, you must also have the experience and technique of such a demanding sport, and all this combined with an outstanding talent for teaching and innate sense of communication. This is where Julie-Ann is so exceptional. Right from the start of the session, she offers many hours of theory at the beginning and all along the session in order to pass her knowledge. She makes sure that everyone understands before starting a new lesson. The other key element is the choice of the terrain in accordance with the group level and the techniques to be taught. Thanks to the excellent knowledge of the mountains acquired by our friend Jonathan, Julie-Ann was able to ask for the most appropriate terrain in regards of her lesson. Once again, for each new lesson, Julie-Ann took time to stop and to clearly explain what she expected from each participant, all while giving safety instructions related to the actual terrain.
With all the qualities as a teacher and the technical expertise that Julie-Ann can transfer, the highlights of this experience are clearly her passion and the confidence she provides to her students. All women met here were smiling. Each had her own personal background and snowmobiling experience. In no time, Julie-Ann has been able to ease their concerns so that they could concentrate on the training and this way, make important progress in just a few days. Personally, I have been seduced by the learning program, as it remains accessible to many women. Many women do not dare to ride off trails, but they would have so much fun with Julie-Ann because she does not want to make them mountain snowmobiling experts. She just wants to share her passion with novices. To all women who do not dare but who would like to be able to discover mountain snowmobiling, do not hesitate anymore to go to the next training session offered by Julie-Ann Chapman. All participants met this week-end were unanimous; this is an experience you have to live. And you, Sirs, do not be chauvinistic, the training session is also for you because we can learn a lot !
