Me, seated on the 2017 Thundercat
Even if it was the 9th time that I attended a Snow Shoot, this is without doubt one of the most memorable… Memorable for many aspects like adventures lived before as well as during the event, like the 2017 innovations, our great team members, in short, unforgettable !
The flight…
I have to mention the turbulent beginning of my 2017 Snow Shoot. It all started on my first flight to Chicago, our only stop towards Bozeman, Montana… As you might know, right before embarkment, sometimes airline agents offer you to leave your larger cabin baggage in the passage before embarking, to put it in the baggage compartment. Hugo and I agreed without asking too many questions but when we landed in Chicago, we could say that the employees were not in a hurry to give us our cabin baggage. So, we missed our second flight while the four other members of our team could make it… We spent the night in Chicago and took a flight the morning after… As you might say, it’s part of the game !!
The technical sessions
Unfortunately, due to this delay, we missed two technical presentations. Fortunately, the four other members of our team were present. Even if we already knew about the innovations through manufacturers’ private events, it is always interesting to learn about the technical details directly from the marketing and engineering representatives. Like usual, BRP people were the leaders in this matter. Their presentation is complete, all innovatons are detailed and moreover, we can take photos of each new part right there !!! Fantastic for journalists, but mostly for myself, great fan of mechanics… Hugo and I started our day with BRP, then continued with Polaris. 2017 will be a more tranquil year for Polaris and their presentation was a little less amazing. Sadly, answers to questions were a little more laborious than other manufacturers’ answers. But to be honest, the final result is what matters…
Incredible weather…
Denis Lavoie getting the cameras ready for filming
Filming the 2017 Polaris XCR
One thing is sure, I never had such nice weather during a Snow Shoot. Over 4 days of tests, only one has been cloudy, temperature was lightly below 0 in the morning, -8, -5, etc… And few hours later, the sun was shining on trails and mountains of Montana and Idaho to raise the temperature up to 10, 12 degrees !!! We had to take off our jackets to set up the equipment for filming. We could call this « To combine business with pleasure », right ?? Of course, it was a little warm to get excited but it was easy to forget this tiny inconvenience… LOL Photographers were very pleased by that sunshine !! Photos and videos will be splendid !!!
Our team…
What a beautiful mix… Young, older, some experienced Snow Shoot participants, other Snow Shoot novices, some more agile in powder snow, some more at ease with cameras… In short, a team that complemented one another perfectly… And what about the incredible career of one of us, who was celebrating his 40th anniversary as reporter for the Journal de Québec, Mr Julien Cabana. How could I describe him ? Professional, meticulous, humorist, chef… With such a guy among us, you can be sure that our evenings were very busy… He knows so many jokes, always one story after the other. I know that all team members agree with me, we enjoyed our jaw-dropping laughs… However, do not underestimate him. When it gets serious and we talk about snowmobile, we quickly see his experience and critical mind. He brings a vital dimension as he represents a very large number of snowmobilers.
You know, it is not easy to coordinate many enthusiasts like us. We need a leader who plans, observes and most of all, can see in the long term. I attended many Snow Shoot events and I know that to avoid wasting time, rules and procedure are necessary to get some efficiency. Well, despite a team with new members, our maestro Denis has been able to lead our group of enthusiasts with success !! It is not easy to give clear details in few seconds about speed, distance between machines, etc. Great job, Denis !
A typical day…
I am testing the 2017 XCR
Many who never attented the manufacturers’ trials believe that it is only pleasure. Well… they are right !! It is an incredible experience of pure fun but it also includes a lot of work !! Our day starts around 6 a.m., breakfast, preparation of our gear, etc. As soon as 7:30 a.m., we head for the West Yellowstone airport, about 10 km from downtown, where our base was set for the week. Once on the site, we make sure to have the right snowmobiles for the first 4-hour block of tests. We install cameras on some of the machines and there we go ! During this block of 4 hours, we have at least 6 snowmobiles to test, we must take static pictures of each machine and close-ups of the different parts and innovations, photos in action and also some background photos during our tests. On lunch time, we go back to our condo where some of us cook, others empty memory cards and reload the camera batteries. Few minutes later, we are back on the site for our afternoon block of tests. At 5 p.m., we bring back the snowmobiles and return to our condo for supper. Is our day over ? No way !! The bigger part of our work begins; besides cooking supper, emptying memory cards and reloading batteries, we start the evaluation of each model we tested.
For each snowmobile, we have about 30 questions to answer. Everyone discusses and explains how he personally lived his test. This process is repeated for about 15 snowmobiles we tested during the day. We also check the photos and videos of the day. Then, we send them to a colleague in Québec who achieves their edition for publication as soon as possible. In short, our day ends each evening around 10-11 p.m. and even later… Lot of work, but all this in an atmosphere of fun, relaxation, discussing comfort, performance, ergonomics with enthusiasts !
Nice encounter…
Our bisons friends monopolyze the trail
West Yellowstone is famous all over the world for its wonderful wildlife, the geysers, the free-wandering animals, the mountains with breathtaking points of view, etc. Personally, I think that it has been an exceptional year to encounter wild bisons ! A few times in the past, I had the chance to see these huge animals quite closely, but this year, we came many times in contact with a herd and this, right in the middle of the trail ! I would even say that Denis saw them very very closely… Imagine this : you are riding at a good speed, you enter a curve keeping the right side of it and then, you see about twelve bisons walking slowly all over the trail ! Then, emergency braking to avoid the horns of some giant beasts ! But later, what a wonderful spectacle. Our friends simply went on their path right beside us, on the trail, as if nothing special was happening here !! It would be a lie to say that I was not stressed when they walked by my side. Even if bisons are used to snowmobiles, we may still imagine that one beast could easily kick and make me fly a few meters away… After all, this is their territory…
Year of innovations
Testing the 2017 Summit 850 E-TEC
I am seated on the 2017 MXZ X
Yes, my friends, year 2017 is a very important year of innovations ! Three manufacturers out of four introduced new engines, chassis, etc. As a fan of acceleration and performance, I was thrilled by a new turbo engine and a 850 E-TEC engine !!! Our job is really tough… ?
Personally, I will always remember that week, the fun I had, our friend Julien stuck in three feet of powder snow, our nice talks at night, sharing everyone’s experience, the several films with some bloopers of course…
Thank you, Denis, for this incredible experience !
