BRP Experience Center | A novice on the trails

This winter, the guides of the new BRP Experience Center will accompany beginners and experts on the Outaouais trails on snowmobiles or ATVs (also called side-by-side vehicles). Our reporter went on an excursion. Prints.

I am not a “motor girl”. Motorcycle, snowmobile or personal watercraft: not all activities with the prefix “motorcycle” in their name appeal to me. The call of speed? I never received it.

However, I believe that I am a girl of challenges. I am offered an experience that I have not yet tried? My curiosity is piqued.

When I was offered to experience a day of activities at the BRP Experience Center, I accepted even though I knew nothing of the vehicles (all models of the year) that I was invited to drive . On a snowmobile, the accelerator is next to the handlebars? Really ?

It was therefore with a certain excitement that I headed for the Fairmont Le Château Montebello, where the first BRP Experience Center was inaugurated last summer.

“We were looking for a place where a customer could experience all of our experiences, our entire range of products, from the same starting point,” explains Jeremy Duhamel, service manager at BRP.

Because if in winter you can go snowmobiling, in summer, you can have fun on the Ottawa River in a personal watercraft or pontoon. Added to this is the possibility of driving a UTV all year round, or almost.

It is on board this type of machine that the day begins. After donning pants, coats, boots, mittens and helmets, the ten participants listen to guide Mike Smith explain the safety rules. He then shows the group how these all-terrain vehicles drive. A pedal to accelerate, another to brake, a steering wheel: it looks like a car. Conclusion ? I should be fine.

In fact, I have a lot of fun steering this little four-seater on trails covered in fresh snow. In the turns, the vehicle skids slightly and I feel like an ace behind the wheel when I keep it on the track. The previous day’s precipitation sometimes forces our group to cross snow banks. I take pleasure in driving into them… something I would never dare to do with my van.

When my photographer colleague sits behind the wheel, I admire the landscapes that surround us. Mountains, forests and snowfields follow one another. In about two hours, our group explores some 75 km of trails.

By snowmobile

After a very delicious meal at the Fairmont Le Château Montebello restaurant, it was time for the snowmobile ride. Our group climbs aboard a shuttle to access an exclusive trail at the BRP Experience Center.

From hearing the comments of my amazed comrades, I deduce that this is an ideal playground for snowmobile enthusiasts. “One of the main questions our experienced clients ask is, ‘Where new can I go? ride ?” says Jeremy Duhamel. It is in particular to respond to seasoned snowmobilers’ desire for novelty that the BRP Experience Center offers outings on this trail located on private land.

With its forest, its mountains and its river, the place is simply magnificent.

Despite this soothing setting, I feel rather nervous at the idea of ​​driving a snowmobile on a path surrounded by so much vegetation. What if I veer off the track and my vehicle stops against a tree or at the bottom of that drop?

“There is always a little stress at the start, reassures me Jeremy Duhamel. But, honestly, people […] end up with a beautiful smile and have fun. »

During the excursion, our guide, Mike Smith, listened to my worries, gave me advice and succeeded in allaying my fears. Although I remain a little too tense, I manage to follow him and I take pleasure in spinning on the snow in a straight line or in the climbs. At the turn of a bend or on certain descents, my heart leaps, because I’m afraid of losing control of my machine… but it’s not so! And when the snowmobile gets stuck when I go slightly off the trail (oops!), our guide comes to my rescue and puts me back on track very quickly.

Would I have dared to go on a snowmobile without being accompanied? No way. Mike Smith succeeded in giving me confidence. Without him, I probably would have stopped halfway.

All the center’s expeditions are guided. For what ? “The guide is there to ensure safety, but also the quality of the experience,” explains Jeremy Duhamel.

“Our objective at BRP is to democratize sport, to make it accessible to all types of individuals: families, business groups…”, he continues, specifying that children can ride as passengers on are the size necessary for their feet to rest flat on the vehicle.

The afternoon hike ends. I am proud to have overcome my fear and to have had this experience.

However, I note that the heaviness of the helmet and the smell of gasoline to which I am not accustomed have contributed to the appearance of a nasty headache. When will there be BRP electric snowmobiles? “We are investing massively in the electrification of our product lines. We want, in the near future, to be able to offer at least one product per category that is electric,” answers Jeremy Duhamel.

I may wait for the arrival of these new models before my next snowmobile outing…

Starting at $230 per vehicle for a two-hour ride. The driver must have a driver’s license.