Montreal's Old Port To Host The City's 2nd "Ice Canoe Challenge" Next Month
Photo cred - @jfsavaria for Montreal Ice Canoe Challenge
Last year, a sport lost to the city of Montreal made it's return to the Saint Lawrence River after 20 years of absence: the Ice Canoe Challenge. Following the success of last year, ice canoeing is back, and will be tearing up the frozen St. Lawrence on February 21st.
A traditional extreme sport practice almost exclusively in Quebec, ice canoeing is kind of like regular canoeing, just done in the harsh conditions of winter. Forty different teams will compete, all pushing/paddling a canoe over many kilometers on ice and in cold waters, which definitely gives the sport an "extreme" ranking in our books.
The course for this year's Ice Canoe Challenge will be a tour of the Old Port, going from the Clock Tower, to the Alexandra Basin, then to Parc Jean-Drapeau. Spectactors will be right next to all the action, literally, as one unqiue aspect of the ice canoe race is just how close you can be to the racers. The whole thing will also be streamed online, for anyone who doesn't want to stand in the cold.
Check out the course and schedule below (photo courtesy of the official Ice Canoe Challenge website) and find out more by heading to the event's Facebook page here.
For more on all things Montreal, follow Michael on Twitter @MDAlimonte
