Quebec snowmobilers face challenging season amid mild weather

For many Montrealers, winter activities like snowmobiling are a must, but the rain and warm weather have made it difficult to do. 

At Club Auto-Neige Île-Bizard, Montreal’s only snowmobile club, Vice-President Francis Théorêt says that the past two seasons have had the worst riding conditions in decades due to mild temperatures.

“The snow cools down the snowmobile itself. The radiator is located underneath the machine, so if there’s no snow, it’s like driving without tires. It can’t happen,” said Théorêt.

“We can’t really do much. Even our club, we keep it closed because there’s no point in opening up if there’s no snow, because it’s a service we offer to members of the Federation who come from all over the province. We’re not selling food, we don’t have anything to offer right now. So we’d rather stay closed than lose money or time. So it’s a bit of a loss, but we’re hoping for some riding conditions in the next weeks or so. But weather doesn’t seem to be very cooperative,” he added.

CityNews first spoke to Théorêt in February 2024, when the lack of snow and warm weather forced the closure of trails on and off the island. He only managed to ride about 60 kilometres during the season, compared to his usual 3,500.

They opened for only two weeks last year.

“My snowmobile stayed pretty much in the garage for the whole winter. The riding conditions were nowhere near acceptable around here. And if there were some good riding conditions further north or toward Gaspésie and Mont-Valin,” he said.

On the trail, there is also a crossing for the Lake of Two Mountains.

“The ice itself, we take measurements when we start opening up the trails. We have standards to respect for thickness. Once that thickness has been measured throughout the distance of our trail, we install pickets and take weekly, if not daily, measurements of the ice, especially if there’s any warm weather coming in or if it rains. Then, until the end of the season, we decide to close up for safety,” explained Théorêt.

Théorêt’s earliest memory of snowmobiling was when he was three years old. He recalls riding alongside his father. Now, he is keeping the tradition alive and snowmobiles with his son and daughter.

“I’ve recently gotten back into riding, but I prefer taking my kids out for rides. I haven’t done any trips lately,” Théorêt expressed.

“My daughter, she’s seven. She started snowmobiling with me when she was about four, and now she has her own snowmobile. She rides around with some friends. We have a place in the field where a bunch of kids make a track, and they all follow each other and do little races. They’re having so much fun. This year, so far, she hasn’t ridden her sled yet,” he added.

“And my son, I took him on his first ride two weeks ago when there was very little snow. But it was just enough to go around one of the fields, and he absolutely loved it. He’s 20 months old and already starting to develop a passion for it. He asks me every day, saying, ‘Skidoo, skidoo, skidoo.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, well, there’s no snow, sorry.'”

They are hoping for acceptable riding conditions in the upcoming weeks, which Théorêt says is: “It’s having at least a foot of snow that has been worked with the machines to make a decent riding trail so there’s no rocks, or as few holes as possible, and vegetation that is being covered. So a good foot of worked snow would be ideal, but right now it looks like spring.”

He is staying optimistic as the colder temperatures move in.

“It’ll come, it’ll come. Like nighttime comes, snow will also fall. It might be short this year, it might be better next year, and in two years, it’ll be like 15 years ago, but we never know.”