Kneeling with my left padded knee on the seat of the canoe, I gripped the siderails tightly with my gloved hands. Simultaneously, I pushed off the chunky ice below with my right foot, using a cleated shoe that created traction against the frozen ground. It’s a process called “scootering,” and together, four of us worked to propel our 300-pound canoe across the ice until we reached frigid water. We quickly jumped into the canoe, grabbed our oars, and sliced through the water to keep our momentum going. My cheeks were pink from the biting wind, but the exertion kept me warm.
Luckily, I was with a professional who knew how to navigate over and around the sheets of ice and through the open water of the St. Lawrence River in Québec City, Canada. Our guide and captain, Maxime Gaillard, would call out the conditions from the back of the canoe, as he was the only one facing forward. “Ice everywhere” was something we heard more than a few times.
Ice canoeists in Quebec demonstrating “scootering.” Photo: ALenci/Shutterstock
Gaillard was first introduced to ice canoeing in college, at the University of Quebec at Rimouski. As an experienced slalom kayaker in his native country of France, he quickly fell in love with the physical and mental challenge that ice canoeing provided. He competed for three years before deciding it would be fun to share the tradition with tourists, and began guiding with Canot à Glace Expérience; it translates to “ice canoe” experience. “I wanted to share my passion with other people,” he says, to help them not just discover ice canoeing, but “even like it.”
Gaillard’s path was quite literally the opposite of mine, as I was a competitive outrigger canoe paddler at the University of Hawai’i. Still, there were similarities between the sports, including how demanding they are.
“This activity is really physical,” he says. “You always have to think and find the best way to go through the St. Lawrence.”
Continuing a long-standing tradition
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Gaillard picked up the sport in college, but company founder Julien Harvey is a third-generation ice canoeist. Growing up on L’Isle-au-Coudres, an island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, ice canoeing was a way of life.
“Before me, my father and grandfather made their way across the ice,” says Harvey. “I felt called to continue the tradition.” Eventually, he ended up spending 10 years competing at the highest levels around eastern Canada.
Harvey’s family has been ice canoeing for decades, but the sport in Québec dates back thousands of years. As with many indigenous cultures, canoes were an essential form of transportation. In Québec, the first ice canoes were made of birch tree bark and allowed Indigenous people to travel between communities when the river would turn to ice.
The frozen (and wide) St. Lawrence River near Quebec City. Photo: flashbacknyc/Shutterstock
French settlers arrived in Québec in the 1600s and made ice canoes from spruce wood, a material that made them sturdier and reduced friction on the ice. This allowed them to cross the river from Québec City to places like the Île d’Orléans and Lévis to transport mail, go to the doctor, and buy and sell goods.
For years, wooden ice canoes were used to ferry passengers to points along the river. But by the late 1800s, canoe shuttles waned as steam-powered ferries that could break through ice took passengers to ports along the St. Lawrence shoreline. Harvey adds that in his grandfather’s era, when the ferries would break down, canoes were still used. Back then, only men commandeered the canoes.
An ice canoeing race circa 1894 at the Québec Winter Carnival. Photo: Library and National Archives of Quebec
“They were perceived as heroes because they were able to maintain that connection to the mainland, which was especially hard with the conditions on the river in the winter,” says Harvey.
Québec’s first winter carnival took place in 1894 and featured a canoe race from Québec to Lévis, as depicted in photos from the Québec National Archives. In 1955, the carnival became an annual event and ice canoe racing, including both men and women, became a major attraction.
These days, the canoes are made from fiberglass, making them lighter and more durable. Between December and February, many highly skilled ice canoe athletes travel around the province of Québec to compete in races on the St. Lawrence River, from Montreal to Île-aux-Coudres. Winning requires not only strength and endurance, but an in-depth knowledge of weather, tides, currents, and the various types of ice.
Ice canoeing is a chance to find adventure in the cold
Racers at a modern-day Quebec Winter Carnival. Photo: Vlad G/Shutterstock
As we continued our excursion on the ice-choked St. Lawrence, the below-freezing water lightly splashed my face with each pull of the oar through the river. With Gaillard’s coaching, we pulled onto a large slab of ice and he yelled, “Stop, stop, stop!” He told us we could get out of the canoe for chocolat chaud time, and began handing out cups of hot cocoa.
Though it felt like we were on stable ground, we were, in fact, perched on a piece of ice drifting with the current of the river. I was amazed at the different shapes, sizes, transparencies, and configurations of the frozen water. Each one seemed intricate and unique, like a floating art gallery. Some had sharp edges, while others were smooth and rounded. Some were solid white; others, crystal clear. Experiencing the waters from this perspective was completely different than seeing it from high above on the ferry. It was harsh, cold, and exhausting – but also so serene and beautiful.
Making ice canoeing accessible
The author ice canoeing in Québec. Photo: Sharael Kolberg
In 2019, Harvey turned his passion into his profession with the founding of Canot à Glace Expérience to share his love of the sport with the public. “It’s a wonderful way to continue my family legacy, one winter at a time,” says Harvey. “And it’s a great way to connect with winter and see how people in Québec once lived.”
His is the only company that offers a chance for the general public to try the immersive sport. “We wanted to take an intense activity and make it accessible and fun,” said Harvey. The ice canoeing season, which is only about three months long, seems far too short for those that are passionate about the sport. And he wants to make more and more people passionate about being out on the water in the winter.
“Ice canoeing is a really funky activity that makes you forget, if you don’t like winter, that you’re in it,” he says. “And when you love ice canoeing, you’re sad when the ice begins to melt.”
After our time on the frozen river, we defrosted in an outdoor wooden sauna on the Canot à Glace grounds, having spent roughly two hours traveling somewhere between four and six miles downriver. From the sauna, we had epic views of the harsh environment we had successfully conquered as a team. My experience lasted only half a day, though there are packages available that include ice canoeing plus access to the nearby Strøm Nordic Spa.
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My first time ice canoeing was thrilling, exhausting, and inspiring. It provided an immersive experience that allowed me to embrace the beauty of winter in a place where many others can’t get past the cold. Although I love winter, I’ll still prefer paddling in the warm waters of Hawai’i. But I now have first-hand knowledge of the fierce dedication and courage it takes to brave the icy waters – and greatly admire those who do.
