Le pire c'est que je ne voulais même pas ces souliers. Je voulais les The North Face Single-track, mais par accident, j'ai commandé les The North Face Alkaline GTX XCR. Je voulais les Singletrack parce qu'ils sont légers et se rangent facilement dans un sac à dos. C'est selon ces critères que j'évaluerai les Alkaline GTX XCR. Ainsi, mon erreur sera à votre avantage puisque je ne pourrai qu'être impartial!

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Cliquez ici afin de lire la critique des The North Face Alkaline GTX XCR

Ho Ho Ho! ‘Tis the season to get GIFTS! But as part of the unspoken convention, we have to give some to get some. Fair enough, let me help you with that.

This winter I decided to put together a list of some of the most useful gear I have, and package it as a suggested gift guide. Here you’ll find a number of items that surprisingly many people still don’t own. The gifts I suggest are all things that I didn’t appreciate before I got one, but that have since become a permanent resident of my backpack or car trunk. I also limited the list to only items that are fun to receive. You won’t find spare batteries, camp suds, or water repellent spray in this list, only cool toys.

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Patagonia, Mountain Hardwear, MSR and more: Jolly christmas gift ideas

It’s two a.m. when a man’s voice announces wakeup throughout the mountain hut. One by one, the sardine-squeezed sleeping bags begin to wiggle and unzip. Headlamps turn on and people start shuffling.

Outside, we hear the sound of wind and rain beating against the thin walls of the mountain hut. My neighbour is discouraged. She complains that she couldn’t sleep last night. The altitude air is too thin, the hut too cold and too noisy with snorers. A quick peak through the window reveals that the darkness outside is windy, rainy and freezing cold. There will be no sunrise, she decides, and she goes back to sleep vanquished.

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Read more about hiking up Mount Fuji

In most people’s minds, Japan invokes images of crowded supermetropolises bustling with jam-packed subways, neon-drenched electronic districts and futuristic travel systems. Indeed, Japan has a highly urbanized population and some of the world’s largest cities. To visit Japan during the August high season, when the whole country grinds to a halt for the annual Obon vacation, is to suffer the stifling heat of this country’s hottest month in the suffocating pressure of the summer crowds. Or so goes popular wisdom.

But as large as Japan’s 128 million strong population may be, most of it is concentrated in a small portion of the country, leaving vast mountainous areas wild and untouched by urbanism. A prime example is Yakushima.

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Yakushima: Read on

How do you get started in whitewater kayaking if you don’t have any friends to show you the ropes? It took me a while to figure that one out. But I did, and I will now share with you what I found.

I first decided that I wanted to try whitewater kayaking while rafting on the Rivière Rouge. Perhaps you’ve tried the rafting trips offered by the many companies on the Rivière Rouge (ABV, Nouveau Monde, H20, Propulsion, etc…). They’re great fun, and I highly recommend them, but the whole time we were rafting I was fixated by the safety guide following us in his kayak. Inches above the water line, this guy would dive head first in 2m standing waves, return in an eddy and surf the waves with his boat. He would perform flips of all kind, effortlessly burying nose and tail of his boat into the water as he pleased occasionally tipping completely over only to eskimo roll right back up as if nothing had happened. When the sun shined too strong, he’d wet his hair in an eskimo roll. When our raft got stuck on rocks, he’d surf a standing wave while waiting for us.

It. Looked. Awesome.

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Read more about white water kayaking with Jean-Yves

The Leap.

It’s a moment that everyone must go through at least once in their lives. You worked your way up to where you are with a clear objective in mind and you have bold plans. You’ve come a long way, and now it’s time to take a leap of faith. But suddenly, at the critical moment, you find yourself standing at the edge of an abyss, scared to move forward. What’s ahead looks risky. You look back at what’s behind and it seems so safe and familiar. You consider changing course, turning around and sticking to the comfortable life you led before.

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Read more about The Leap

Florida is a very popular winter destination for us cold-stricken Quebecers. By March, we’ve already had 4 months of winter and have at least one more month of it before it all melts away. It’s only natural that we seek to escape our frigid fate, if just for a week. And so we head en masse for the sun-drenched beaches of the sunshine state.

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Click here to find out more on kayaking in Florida

I’ve tested the TNF Jannu II GTX boots on an Adirondack trail (Mt Marcy) and was globally happy with their performance. Here’s what I found.

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Read on about The North Face Jannu II GTX

J'ai testé les bottes The North Face Jannu II GTX sur une piste dans les Adirondacks (Mont Marcy) et j'ai été content de leur performance en général. Cliquez le lien pour voir ce que j'en ai pensé, plus en détails.

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Cliquez ici pour le reste de la critique des The North Face Jannu II GTX

Le pire c'est que je ne voulais même pas ces souliers. Je voulais les The North Face Single-track, mais par accident, j'ai commandé les The North Face Alkaline GTX XCR. Je voulais les Singletrack parce qu'ils sont légers et se rangent facilement dans un sac à dos. C'est selon ces critères que j'évaluerai les Alkaline GTX XCR. Ainsi, mon erreur sera à votre avantage puisque je ne pourrai qu'être impartial!

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Cliquez ici afin de lire la critique des The North Face Alkaline GTX XCR

I didn’t want these shoes. I wanted the The North Face Singletracks, but I accidentally ordered the The North Face Alkaline GTX instead. I wanted the Singletracks because they are as light as shoes get and their soft uppers flatten easily, which make them ideal features for packing into a backpack, and light on your feet. But my "loss" is your gain. It has allowed me to be an impartial reviewer of the Alkaline.

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Click here to read The North Face Alkaline trail runner review

L’hiver achève et on aura bientôt plus de neige et de glace pour jouer dehors. Au moins peut-on se réjouir de la crue imminente qui ouvrira la saison des sports aquatiques! En attendant, c’est le moment idéal pour recueillir l’expérience qu’on a acquis cet hiver, en but d’en faire usage l’année prochaine.

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Cliquez ici pour voir les meilleurs coins où patiner à proximité de Montréal

Anyone who’s taken the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria remembers the awe-striking natural beauty of the Strait of Georgia which separates Vancouver Island from the mainland. Whales protruding from a deep blue main, densely forested islands plunging into the sea and bald eagles flying overhead. It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful public transportation routes you can take in Canada.

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Click here to see more of the BC's Channel Islands

If you’re an average North American, you’re probably planning on toughing out the winter by staying indoors as much as possible. Maybe you’re one of those who suffer the cold all week, living only for the few hours of weekend you spend on the slopes. But there is more to winter boarding and skiing and many adrenaline junkies are discovering new snow sports like ice climbing.

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Click here to read more about ice climbing with Jean-Yves

I hate to disappoint some of you, but I did not complete the trail naked, eating twigs and berries. Here's the gear I used for my West Coast Trail fun.

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Read on about the gear Jean-Yves used on the West Coast Trail

My Experience

My West Coast Trail (WCT) experience started with as a rather impulsive decision. I had been in Victoria to spend a week sailing in with my friend in the gulf islands (an amazing experience where wildlife –whales, dolphins, seals, otters, bald eagles, wild deer etc… met awe-strikingly beautiful coastal landscapes). Since we’d been anchoring in bays and camping on random islands, I had most of my lightweight gear with me, but I had given up my early hopes to hike the trail for want of time –I had only four days between the planned return from sailing and my flight home. But when we sailed in to Victoria a day early, I quickly did the math and decided that I could do the trail in three days (probably a foolish conclusion), bought a bus ticket and hopped on the trail the next morning.

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Read more about Jean-Yves and the West Coast Trail

The Set-Up

Stretching 85 kilometers along the west coast of Vancouver Island, the West Coast Trail stands at the edge of the world. Snaking along the jagged contour of a hostile shore where the endless sea batters relentlessly the sharp rocks rising from its depth, this trail literally marks end of land and the western limit of the pangean coast. There are no roads crossing this trail, no village, no service station, just mile after mile of the jaw-dropping rugged beauty of the Pacific Rim National Park.

Originally dubbed the Dominion Life Saving Trail, it was first built in 1907 as a way for rescuers to reach survivors of the far-too-frequent shipwrecks of the treacherous western coast. Hundreds of people have been victimized in the countless wrecks that have marred this coast, the remains of some of which can still be seen from the trail. Today, satellite navigation and modern SAR has rendered the narrow trail obsolete as a lifesaving medium, and it has been recycled as one of Canada’s most beautiful national parks.

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Read more about Jean-Yves's overview of the West Coast Trail

Photo de Genghis Khan (de sa statue du moins) par Chinneeb

Il y a 800 ans, autour d’un feu de camps nomade, les lieutenants de Genghis Khan se penchèrent sur la question de quel est le meilleur des plaisirs que la terre offre aux hommes. Après un long débat, ils se mirent d’accord sur la fauconnerie (à l’exception de Genghis Khan lui-même qui préférait le massacre de ses ennemis). Des siècles, plus tard, l’aristocratie médiévale s’adonnait à ce sport qu’elle jugeait des plus noble. Aujourd’hui, cet art qui jadis inspirait nomades féroces et princes charmants est plus accessible que jamais, et il est pratiqué par des amateurs de partout au monde. Mais qu’est ce que c’est au juste?

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En lire plus sur la fauconnerie au Québec

C’est une scène typique de sports d’équipe. L’équipe hôte est devancée d’un seul point. Il reste trente secondes au chrono. Un attaquant fonce derrière la défense et s’apprête à tirer mais avant qu’il ne relâche la balle, il se fait plaquer et chavire….

Chavire???

Le kayak polo est un sport émergent unique qui combine des éléments de lacrosse, du polo, du kayak d’eau vive et de la joute dans un sport d’équipe palpitant qui se joue en kayak.

Ça, c'est du kayak polo

Connu aussi sous le nom de canoe polo, le concept de ce sport simple : deux équipes de cinq joueurs, dont un gardien, s’affronte sur un petit plan d’eau (souvent en piscine) à bord de bateaux de kayak polo, qui ressemblent un peu à des kayaks d’eau vive mais qui sont conçus uniquement pour le kayak polo. Les affrontements sont intenses et durent 20 minutes durant lesquelles chaque équipe se bat pour établir une dominance stratégique et physique.

Sport avec contact

Contacte-moi ce soir

Ce qui est le plus remarquable de ce sport c’est qu’il s’agit d’un sport « contact ».

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En apprendre plus sur le kayak polo

Je dois admettre que je ne savais pas à quoi m'attendre en sortant du canot à Chisasibi. J'ai été agréablement surpris de me retrouver dans une belle petite ville, propre et prospère. Les 2000 habitants Cris de Chisasibi forment une ville beaucoup plus grande que Radisson. Les employés d’Hydro-Québec qui habitent à Radisson font 120 km de chemin de terre pour y acheter des fournitures à la quincaillerie locale. Cette petite ville ne resemble aucunement à la réserve que j'ai vu près de Montréal. Ici, il n'y a que de belles maisons (pas préfabriquées, comme à Radisson) et les rues sont propres.

J’ai appris très vite que ce n'est pas un village ordinaire. J'ai découvert qu’ici, la vie est complètement différente de celle que l’on trouve dans les villages urbanisés les plus proches de Montréal. J’ai été surpris d’apprendre que 98% des gens communiquent en cris. Certains ne parlent qu’un peu d'anglais (la principale langue seconde).

Tout est écrit dans le langage des Cris incluant les panneaux de signalisation et les noms des magasins. Evidemment ce n'est pas pour les rares touristes qui, parfois, font le long voyage dans le Nord.

Devant chaque maison ce trouvait un camion assez neuf, un VTT et une motoneige. En arrière, se trouvait un grand tipi faisant deux étages de haut. Les tipis m’ont surpris le plus. Je croyais qu'ils étaient purement symboliques, construits pour leur valeur culturelle. Pas du tout ! Ils sont très utiles.

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En lire plus sur les aventures avec les Cris de Chisasibi