From my room at the Auberge Sainte-Antoine I had a fabulous view of the St. Lawrence. The steady flow of boulder-size chunks of ice was a telltale sign of the current and of the fact it was February in Québec City.

As a sailor, I’m naturally attracted to water.  But, the thought of being on that river in any kind of boat at that time of year sent shivers down my spine. Why anyone would even consider going out there in a canoe was beyond me.

Canada’s Coldest Sport: Ice Canoeing

Until I saw a race, I figured ice canoeing was just an unusual pastime thought up by Quebecers desperate to break the monotony of winter. Little did I know it’s really a uniquely Canadian sport that requires more than just an ability to withstand subzero temperatures. It involves skill, stamina, ruggedness, teamwork and a healthy dose of crazy. 

From the shore, the race looks like pure chaos. The 29-foot, five person boats look like traditional canoes, but the way teams maneuver them is anything but. The first thing you notice is how seldom racers are actually in the canoe paddling. Much of the time they’re out of the boat, running on the water/ice mixture while pushing the boat forward. It looks comical and dangerous at the same time.

The Thrill of the Race

Like many extreme sports, the view from the stands offers a vicarious thrill. For most of us, that’s enough. The journalist in me, however, wondered what draws people to actually participate.

For answers, I turned to Eric Fraser, a 10-year veteran of the Château Frontenac team, one of the best teams in the sport.

Fraser, who was born in Québec but grew up in Alberta, didn’t take up the sport until he moved to Québec City as an adult. In an odd way, ice canoeing fulfills one of Fraser’s childhood fantasies.  “Growing up in Alberta every kid wants to be a cowboy and ice canoeing is very much like rodeo,” he says. “Though there are no wild animals involved, it sure feels like you’re on one.  It’s a pretty wild a ride,” says the 42-year-old.
 
“When I first saw ice canoeing it looked perfectly natural to me. Curious about it, I tried it and I loved it,” says Fraser. “There’s so much about it that I find intense: the speed, all of us working in sync, the cold, the water, and the creaking sounds of the ice,” he says. 

And now, after more than 10 years with the team, Fraser is still passionate about it. “What really gets me going every time I get in the boat for a practice or a race is the challenge of seeing how fast we can put the canoe through the obstacle course the river provides,” says the 42-year-old.

The Dangers of Ice, Water and Frozen Leggings

Even though no one has ever been killed or seriously injured in a race, the conditions on the river are dangerous by definition. “The transition between different types of ice is the most dangerous. Areas where static ice meets moving ice can crush bodies and swallow canoes,” he says.

And, if someone on the team isn’t vigilant and the canoe rams a chunk of ice, the boat can veer off into a completely different direction. Such sudden shifts can “make the canoe seem like a ping-pong ball bouncing around off the ice,” says Fraser.

Though clearly pumped on adrenaline during a race, temperature is a factor. “The warm trickle of sweat ends up soaking in your toque, which then freezes on your head, and icicles form on your eye brows.  And of course, river water freezes on your leggings, which adds pounds to your stride effort,” Fraser says.

Frazzle and Floatsies: Ice Canoe Terminology

To the ordinary observer, all the ice looks pretty much the same: treacherous and daunting.  Not to Fraser and his team, who use words like frazzle, floatsies, chunks, lunar fields, and slush to describe different conditions.

Different types of ice require different techniques, according to Fraser. “Scootering, which is where you have one leg in the boat, one out of the boat, and both hands on specially located handles, is the fastest and safest way of moving the boat. Slush, on the other hand, is the slowest stuff – all you can do is row through it,” he says.

Teamwork is Critical

Teamwork is crucial and one of the biggest challenges is communicating over the noise of the 265 pound carbon-fibre/Kevlar/fiberglass hulls crunching up against the ice. “Voices are drowned out by the boom and hiss of the hull on the ice and the sounds of the crampons gripping, not to mention the wind whistling, so teams have to rely on body language and hand signals,” he explains.

To ensure minimal reliance on hand signals, Fraser’s team even practices in the dark so that they learned to recognize and react to specific sounds of the ice against the canoe.

I have to say, after seeing racers in action and hearing Fraser’s poetic description of the challenges and exhilaration of being out there, the ice-filled river looks different to me. Now, instead of seeing it as bleak and foreboding, I see it as a playground for winter rodeo riders.

Ice Canoe Racing Video

Upcoming Canoe Races

If you are interested in checking out these events here is the 2011 race schedule:

February 6, 2011 La Course en canot du Carnaval (Québec)
Feburary 12, 2011 La course de la banquise Portneuf (Portneuf)
February 26, 2011 Le Trois-Rivières Extrême (Trois-Rivières)
March 5, 2011 Le Grand Défi Château Laurier (Québec)
 

Photos courtesy of Carnaval de Quebec