Today's snowy video

Tonight I'm in Woodstock, New York and they tell me they've already had snow on the peaks in upstate NY. Which led me to thinking of last winter and our snowy adventure in the Saguenay. "Adventure" is code for it was very very cold, by the way. Check out today's video which has just been posted by the Saguenay Lac Saint Jean Youtube Channel. I made a series of 5 winter videos for them and I've just about warmed up now.

Snow sculptor at work

One of the things I love about Canadians is how undaunted they are by the weather. I guess you have to man-up like this if you are to survive a six month winter in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean  region. So off they go - dreaming up a million crazy things to do with frozen water crystals. Our auberge owner goes kite skiing and here at the Saguenay en Neige festival you can do everything from snow carving to kicksledding (a kind of scooter on the snow).

Families are bundled up at this free annual festival where more than a thousand snow sculptors show off their skills. 

Me watching a snow sculptor

There's also snow slides, a skating rink, a cafe for the inevitable hot chocolate, a jumping trampoline contraption for kids called jumpai, free shows and fireworks.  The festival is held in Jonquiere, a borough, which together with La Baie and Chicoutimi make up the city of Saguenay, 120 miles north of Quebec. The Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region is situated on the edge of the wilderness, with few human settlements North of here. The climate, believe it or not, is relatively temperate as the region sits in a dip in the Canadian Shield.

These people take this stuff seriously.

  If some of the Saguenay's winter adventures seem just a bit too adventurous for you, this festival is a delight. It's all on one site and you get to watch artists create their work out of the one thing there is an abundance of at this time of year - snow. This winter's Saguenay en Neige festival is held from Feb 2- 12, 2012.

More posts on horseriding in the snow, ice fishing and where to stay in the snowy Saguenay.