Like a Virgin, Snowshoed for the Very First Time

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I can hardly come up with a couple of fun things associated with virginity. Virgin snow is one of them. Oh yeah, there is also virgin olive oil, but let’s talk about snow.

Recently, on my trip to Québec, I discovered that I was a snowshoe virgin. Consequently, I discovered the joy of snowshoeing. As is often the case, the joy was associated with … losing it.

I came to Québec City to rejoice in the Carnaval de Québec, the largest winter festival in the world. On a calm sunny morning, our group of Carnaval revelers joined our guide, dressed in period attire, at the Plaines d’Abraham – the official Carnaval grounds.

First, we received a briefing on the origins of snowshoeing, its development over the ages, and its popularity with the Québécoise high society at the turn of the last century. Then we put on our old-fashioned snowshoes that resembled tennis rackets and were made of ash frame and leather lacing. Those were fittingly called “raquette à neige” in French.

Lastly, we tied arrowhead sashes, ceinture flechee, around our waists. The colorful wool sash with arrowhead pattern, inspired by the indigenous culture, is worn by the festival mascot, Bonhomme Carnaval.

I am not sure if we had those sashes on for purely aesthetic purposes, or for our guide to pull the fallen from the snow ravines if need be.

When we were ready to brave the expanse of the city park, covered with virgin snow, I panicked for a second imagining how I will be sliding backward while trying to go up, or how I will cascade down on the other side of a slight hill.

Turned out, my fears, inspired by my previous ski experiences, were ungrounded. Snowshoes were sturdy, easy to get used to, and fun to use.

Plains of Abraham became immediately accessible, and wonderful to walk through in a leisurely steady pace.

I enjoyed my first snowshoeing experience so much, that the next day I signed up for a group rand orientation adventure in Lac-Delage, a beautiful woody lakeside not far from the city, with Le Manor du Lac Delage resort at the heart of it.

This time, we were wearing modern aluminum-frame snowshoes, more compact and easier to walk in when heading up or downhill. I had to brush off my middle-school knowledge of compass and under our guide’s strict supervision follow the azimuth exactly, which involved plenty of climbing through the trees and up and down the rocks.