Chris Gagnon’s Voyage to the West Coast
Hi, Chris Gagnon here!
I’m from Quebec originally, and now I live and ride in Whistler, BC. But I grew up snowmobiling in northern Quebec. I bought my first sled, a Polaris RMK Dragon 155 back in November 2009.
Back then, my friend and I decided to start a snowmobile team called the Quebekers, and made a movie about Quebec snowmobiling. We don’t really have any big mountains in Quebec though. There are no drops, not a lot of snow, and winter is cold and the sledding season only lasts for 3 months.
In the winter of 2011 there was no powder in Quebec, so I made my first trip to BC with 6 of my friends to shred the west coast powder dream. We spent 10 days in Whistler, and I rented a sled and lived the dream. That was the beginning of my adventures!
Back home, the next 2 years had even less and less snow, and more rain and cold days. A couple of my friends decided to sell their sleds to get into other sports, so in July 2012 at 36 years old, I decided to move from Quebec to the West Coast of BC.
The riding where I live now in the Sea to Sky corridor is so big, you can’t just ride at one place. You need to explore, find new zones and ride, ride, ride! Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton are the main areas to ride if you want to make a trip different from the interior. It’s so huge here, and the weather just doesn’t compare to Quebec! It’s so warm here. No more -35 Celcius. Most days it’s between 0 and -15 Celcius. And the snow. We get almost 1300cm of snow here, compared to only 300cm or so in Quebec!
Now after 3 years in Whistler, I’m riding an Arctic Cat m8000 153 2015 Limited Edition and have several sponsors, including 509, Strikt Gear Company, International Motorsports Langley, Revolution Powersports, RSI Racing, MSD, Highmark by Snowpulse, TSS, Hipertech, Slydog Skis, Bikeman Performance, Toyskinz, Joydigger, Cobra Pull Cord, Cold Cock Whiskey, Braaap Films, Adrenaline NW, and SMD Automotive Whistler.
You can check me out on instagram: @quadairshow or facebook athlete page Chris Gagnon!
